Two horses shared top billing at the Hong Kong International Sale at Sha Tin tonight (Friday, 15 March) as 27 lots sold for a total of HK$116.2 million.

Lot 11, an O’Reilly full-brother to Australasian champion Sacred Falls, and Lot 17, a Snitzel gelding out of the dual G1-winning mare Scarlett Lady, each sold for HK$7 million. Alessandro Palluzzi sealed the winning bid for the son of O’Reilly, while the Tang Tou Syndicate celebrated the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer for the handsome Snitzel.

Andrew Harding, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director, Racing, said: “The sale results are in line with our expectations. Some nice types have been offered to our owners which is always the overriding objective of the Hong Kong International Sale.

“In terms of the results, it is a healthy average at HK$4.3 million and a profit of about HK$12 million.”

Nine of the lots sold for more than HK$5 million. The night’s HK$4.303 million average was below the HK$5.203 million registered at the corresponding sale last March when 26 lots passed through the Sha Tin Parade Ring. The median of HK$3.9 million was down on the HK$4.7 million of 12 months ago.   

Mark Richards, the Club’s Executive Manager, International Sale, said: “We have seen in the sales around the world that people are particular in their purchasing. That was very much the same tonight. The top lots were very keenly contested and that is how it has been at pretty much every sale for the last year so it was roughly as we thought it would be here.

“I think the horses have sold very well and we are more than happy with the way the whole sale has gone. It is good to see that the owners continue to have their trust in the Jockey Club in the way the sale is performing.”