TBNSW is sponsoring the Group 2 Breeders' Classic for mares at the ATC’s great Warwick Farm meeting on Saturday, February 18 and we have 20 double passes to the Members’ Enclosure to allocate to our members for the day. To request tickets on a first come, first serve basis please ring (02) 9398 8811 or email with address details to tbnsw@bigpond.net.au

The Breeders Classic' has had some outstanding winners in recent years including Group 1 winners More Joyous (pictured), Hot Danish, Alverta, Private Steer and Spinning Hill.

The 96th annual Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale catalogue, featuring 579 of Australasia’s finest bred and conformed yearlings entered for sale, is now available online.

The 2012 Easter Sale will be held at Inglis’ Newmarket Complex in Sydney from April 10 to 12, between the Australian Turf Club’s Golden Slipper and Derby weekends.

Representing the cream of the thoroughbred yearling crop from Australia and New Zealand’s leading breeders, the depth of pedigree and strictness of conformation selection criteria is unsurpassed at any other southern hemisphere sale.

Yearlings purchased at Easter set the benchmark on the track and at stud.

Leading sires Fastnet Rock, Encosta de Lago, Flying Spur and Exceed And Excel all went through Easter, as did recent well-performed blue-blooded retirees Wanted, Von Costa de Hero, Beneteau and Onemorenomore plus current star racetrack entires Musir and Foxwedge.

Absolutely and Mosheen (pictured) are prime examples of the quality fillies offered at Easter, winning the ATC Australian Oaks and VRC Oaks respectively last year. Easter fillies have won six of the last eight runnings of the VRC Oaks at Flemington.

Easter also has a strong affinity with Group One juvenile events, something recent city winners Raceway, De Shamekh and Jade Marauder will be hoping to add to later this season.

"Easter is the benchmark sale for this part of the world and again our bloodstock staff have worked tirelessly for the last four months pulling together a spectacular selection of yearlings for this year’s renewal”, said Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster.

The 2012 Easter catalogue features 45 yearlings who are siblings to Group One winners, including the three highest ever internationally rated Australian trained gallopers in Black Caviar, So You Think and Makybe Diva.

There are also 39 lots from Group One winning dams including Miss Finland, Tuesday Joy, Sun Classique and Gold Edition.

Australia’s current leading sire Fastnet Rock is the most represented in the showcase sale, with 50 yearlings catalogued, including full siblings to Foxwedge and Irish Lights.

Coolmore Stud barnmate Encosta de Lago will be represented by 47 yearlings at Easter, including a filly from Gai Waterhouse’s exciting juvenile Amelia’s Dream, a colt from Private Steer, a half-brother to Sebring and full-brother to Racing To Win.

Redoute’s Choice has 43 yearlings entered, including siblings to Black Caviar, Starspangledbanner, Virage de Fortune and Samantha Miss. The dual Champion Sire is also represented by progeny of Group One winners Carry On Cutie, Ike's Dream, Ellicorsam and Star Satire.

More Than Ready has 30 yearlings catalogued, while Champion Sires Lonhro and Flying Spur have 30 and 20 respectively.

Other stallions with double figure drafts include Bernardini, High Chaparral, Street Cry, Exceed And Excel, Choisir, Street Sense, Charge Forward, Red Ransom, Stratum, Tale Of The Cat and Zabeel.

Widden Stud residents Sebring and Northern Meteor head the first season sires list with 39 and 20 yearlings catalogued respectively.

"Again session one is without peer and session two will no doubt unearth more bargain Easter buys like dual Group One winner Response”, Inglis Director Jonathan D’Arcy said.

"From $50,000 upwards you can buy a beautifully bred yearling at this year’s Easter sale with outstanding credentials to make it on the racetrack”, D’Arcy added.

The 2012 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale catalogue is now available online at www.inglis.com.au

A last start winner of the G2 Ipi Tombe Challenge (1600m) at Turffontein in early December, Champion NSW-bred Galileo mare Igugu had to overcome some recent sickness and quarantine issues, to score a determined victory in the G1 J & B Met (2000m) at Kenilworth in South Africa on January 28.

The current South African Horse of the Year, Igugu (pictured) swooped down the outside of the field to record victory, leaving last start G1-winning More Than Ready colt Gimmethegreenlight (also bred in NSW) to finish in third position.

Vinery Stud's leading sire More Than Ready was represented by his 10th Group One winner recently, when the Justin Snaith-trained Gimmethegreenlight recorded victory in the Queen's Plate (1600m), in South Africa.

Bred by David Benatata, Gimmethegreenlight (pictured) is out of the Canny Lad mare Yes She Can Cancan, who has already produced the Listed winner Ofcourseican and the stakes-placed La Goule. Purchased from the Magic Millions weanling sale from the draft of Vinery Stud, the colt was knocked down to Hassen Adams for $150,000.

Heading to the spelling paddocks for a well-deserved break, the three-year-old colt is the winner of five races, having never finished further back than fourth from his ten career starts to date.

Picture courtesy of sahracing.com

Horses bred in NSW have enjoyed a number of major successes in New Zealand this season and they achieved a G2 double at Ellerslie on December 26.

Fastnet Rock's daughter Planet Rock (pictured), after capturing the earlier 2011 G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas, at Ellerslie confirmed her standing as the season's best three-year-old filly with a strong win in the G2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m).

Scoring his first black type victory in the G2 Great Northern Guineas (1600m) for three-year-olds was Knight's Tour, a Darley-bred colt by Victoria-based sire Reset who now has 16 stakes winners to his credit.

Knight's Tour, out of the Machiavellian mare Hestia, was sold by Darley as a weanling then resold for $NZ 65,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Select Yearling Sale.

(42.4 percent) arriving in NSW.