By Tony McMahon
Rockhampton’s Capricornia Yearling Sale has been inundated with record entries for its 2023 edition on Sunday, April 2.
The sale is the only one of its kind in this state outside of South East Queensland.
A record 132 yearlings have been entered to be catalogued for auction making it the biggest after its transformation to the current format since it was inaugurated in 1988.
At the 2022 version, 118 yearlings were auctioned with 96 selling for a gross turnover record of $1.67 million.
Given the quantity but more so the quality of the 2023 catalogue, there is every possibility that those figures will be eclipsed at the Robert Schwarten Pavilion, Rockhampton Showgrounds.
During its dynasty, the CYS has stood the test of time as a nursery from which yearlings have graduated into some of Queensland’s best racehorses.
The most illustrious graduate being the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap winner River Lad while in more recent times Marway has been a great advertisement through wins on Sydney racetracks.
Current poster girl is 2022 CYS graduate Party For Two, who was passed in at $24,000, but has since gone on to win twice including the $127,000 QTIS 2YO race over 1000 metres at Doomben last Saturday.
Rockhampton Jockey Club CEO Ian Mill is justifiably happy with the sale entries after they were announced on Tuesday.
‘’It certainly is a great result and well up on recent years. The most pleasing factors from our perspective is not only the sizeable drafts from southern vendors but a resurgence from some vendors that have not presented yearlings for sale in Rockhampton for some time," Mill said.
"As well there is a good sprinkling of yearlings from both established and new vendors based in Central Queensland."
The largest draft is that of 13 yearlings to be offered by KBL Thoroughbreds, Beaudesert which just recently sold yearlings at the Magic Millions, January Sale at the Gold Coast.
Other vendors in the Rockhampton sale that also sold there include Kenmore Lodge, Wyreema, Grandview, Raheen, Oaklands, Bahrinna, Fraser Bloodstock, Lucas Bloodstock and Lyndhurst.
“Those names are instantly recognised as significant players in the thoroughbred bloodstock breeding industry in Queensland and in some cases throughout Australia. It is not only endorsement of the Capricornia Yearling Sale but in Rockhampton racing as an entity in Queensland as well," Mill said.
Glenthorne Park, Taree from where 2022 CYS 2YO Classic winner Sammiballerina emanated will despatch two Sebring Sun yearlings to Rockhampton while others “babies” are coming from Mareeba.
Diversity in the range of stallions with yearlings on offer is also at a premium for the 2023 sale, with no fewer than 66 individual stallions represented.
Such a range of stallion progeny has never been assembled before at a Rockhampton yearling sale.
It affords buyers a far greater options while including progeny of many of the “big boys", such as the glamour Queensland stallions in Spirit of Boom and Better Than Ready.
While over the years it has become a well-worn cliché but this year the 36th annual CYS can without qualification boast “the best catalogue” ever offered.
Graduates from the CYS are exclusively eligible to run in the $150,000 CYS 2YO Classic over 1200 metres and the following two years the $100,000 3 & 4YO Classic over 1300 metres.
The fact that prize money for both those CYS races was raised substantially by Racing Queensland since the 2022 sale can be attributed in part to the increased volume of yearlings on offer in 2023.
Both those races are run annually at Callaghan Park on the Saturday preceding the Sunday sale.