A bumper selection of 161 yearlings will go under the hammer at the 2026 Melbourne Yearling Sale to be conducted by Nutrien Equine at Oaklands Junction on Sunday, April 12, starting at 11am.
The star-studded catalogue of yearlings features progeny of 46 individual sires, including Bettors Delight, Sweet Lou, Captaintreacherous, Always B Miki, Art Major, Downbytheseaside, Rock N Roll Heaven, American Ideal, Huntsville, Tall Dark Stranger, Bulldog Hanover, Bettors Wish, Captain Crunch, Poster Boy, Ride High, and the trotters Volstead, Majestic Son, Face Time Bourbon, Father Patrick, Classic Connection, Dancinginthedark M, Six Pack, Tactical Landing, Skyvalley and Orlando Vici.
There is also representation from an exciting crop of eight first-season sires in Australia: Pebble Beach, All Bets Off, Summa Cum Laude, Walner, Calgary Games, King Of The North, Ecurie D and E L Titan.
Graduates of the Melbourne Yearling Sale include the Victoria Derby and Vicbred champion Petracca, the Victoria Oaks and Vicbred champion Sweet Bella, and the Inter Dominion Trotting Grand Final victor The Locomotive.
A total of 61 individual vendors are presenting yearlings, of which 152 of the 161 lots catalogued are Vicbred Platinum or Vicbred Pure, meaning the $5,000 Vicbred Owners Voucher Scheme certificates from Harness Racing Victoria can be used towards purchasing these horses.
All yearlings sold at the sale are eligible to be sustained for the rich Nutrien Classic race series for two-year-old pacers and trotters to be held at Wagga in 2027, and the three-year-old series in 2028.
They are also eligible for the NSW Breeders Challenge, Bathurst Gold Crown and Coronet, Need For Speed Trotting Series, Llowalong Farms $100,000 Bonus, QBred, SA Southern Cross, Tasbred and NZ Sires Stakes.
Among the lots catalogued are siblings to Group 1 winners including Hurricane Harley, Bling It On, Baby Bling, Bondi Lockdown, Fighter Command, Villagem, Miss Graceland, Let Her Roll, Our Waikiki Beach, Dangerous, The Lost Storm, Best Deal, Sweet Bella, Irish Black Label, and the trotters Jilliby Ballerini, Tracy The Jet, Derek The Jet, Eljaykay Phoenix, Cruisin Around, Notanotha Naughty, Valtino, I Am Wilma, Keayang Ignite, Cover Of Darkness, Ofortuna and Keayang Kurki.
Yearlings from leading racemares including Tough Tilly, Rocknroll Magic, Bamako Mali, Life Inthefastlane, Heavens Trend, Momentslikethese, Goodtime Heaven, Kualoa, Starburst Girl, Without You, and the trotters Dance Craze, Glenferrie Burn, Miss Warbucks, Shezoneoftheboyz, Sassy Pinevale, Betty Hall, Fear The Yankee, Mizzuri and Jaxnme are all catalogued.
The Woodlands Stud yearling parade will be held on Saturday from 12 noon, with Hygain and BetaVet sponsoring the best presented colt and filly at the parade.
The sale and parade will be livestreamed on the home page of the website www.nutrienstandardbred.com.au
