Lot 213 Sale Topper ($180,000) Photo Credit: Michael McInally
A high demand for pacing colts, particularly the stock of champion sires Captaintreacherous and Bettor’s Delight, underpinned the 2026 Australian Pacing Gold Sydney Yearling Sale at Warwick Farm on Sunday.
Catching up with General Manager, Anthony Essex, after the sale he said “One of the big talking points out of the sale was definitely the colts. They were in strong demand all day and when nine of the top 10 priced lots are colts, it tells you pretty quickly where the market was.”
The eight highest priced lots were all colts with a filly coming in with the 9th highest followed by another colt. The top price of $180,000 went to Lot 213, a striking Bettor’s Delight colt out of the 2019 2YO Filly of the Year Maajida, consigned by the Johnson family’s Atworthy Park Group and secured by Tony Licastro’s Kingstead Lodge.
The next two most expensive colts were both offered by Phil and Denise Thurston’s Celestial Standardbreds, one a Captaintreacherous out of the Group 3 winner Our Cowgirls N Lace NZ at $120,000 and the other a Poster Boy from the Vicbred and Breeders Crown champion Nostra Villa at $80,000.
The top priced filly was Lot 247, a Downbytheseaside-Sweet Maddison NZ filly, also consigned by Atworthy Park and purchased by champion Sydney trainer Paul Fitzpatrick for $60,000.
A total of 11 horses made $50,000 or more on the day.
The sale grossed $1,671,500, up from $1,510,000 last year, with 48 lots sold for an average of $34,823.
The average price for colts was a hefty $43,250, an increase of 11 percent compared to last year’s auction.
“You’d have to be happy with how the Sydney sale played out, though there is always room for improvement. It was great to be back at our traditional time on Miracle Mile weekend and I think that really added to the whole feel of the sale. There was good energy around the grounds all weekend and we saw some top-tier yearlings go through the ring on Sunday,” Essex said.
“We’ve also continued to see an increase in buyer registrations across the 2026 sales, and that’s something we’re really pleased about. It’s always great to see our regular buyers back again, but it’s just as encouraging to see new faces coming in and getting involved. That’s a good sign for the industry going forward”
Among the sires Captaintreacherous, who produced three of the five highest priced lots, topped the averages at $85,833. Bettor’s Delight had three head sell at an average of $81,666 and Sweet Lou four for $38,875.
Pebble Beach was the leading first crop sire on average with $36,125 for four lots.
“As always, there are still some very nice horses there for buyers who might have missed out on the day. I’d encourage people to keep an eye on the APG website and social media for the available lots. There’s still value there, vendors are willing to meet the market, and our sales team is always happy to help where we can,” Essex stated.
APG Sydney Results Page – See lots that are still available
The last sale of this year’s APG yearling season is the SA Yearling Sale to be held at the Gawler trotting track on Sunday, March 29. It will be followed by the inaugural Pinjarra Mix Sale on Sunday, April 19.
