Last year's Queen of the Turf Stakes winner to be offered by Brett and Rachel Howard's Glenesk Thoroughbreds
Nimalee (So You Think) will be offered by Glenesk Thoroughbreds, on behalf of owners Lester and Margaret Durney of Letmar Investments, at the forthcoming Inglis Chairman's Sale.
The six-year-old daughter of So You Think (High Chaparral) has raced 27 times for eight wins and eight placings, with her biggest victory coming last April in the Group 1 Queen of the Turf Stakes (1600m).
Unraced at two, Nimalee broke her maiden on debut as a three-year-old in December 2019 and her first stakes victory came in the Group 2 Emancipation Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill in April 2021.
Nimalee was bought by Brett Howard's Randwick Bloodstock for $270,000 at the 2018 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale when offered by Millford Thoroughbreds and will be sold under his Glenesk Thoroughbred banner at the sale in May.
"There's so many options to different stallions with her which is a big bonus for whoever purchases her,'' Howard said.
"She's a lovely type, a good sized mare, well balanced with a great attitude and temperament. I'd be more than happy to have her in my broodmare band.
"The day she won the Queen of the Turf she absolutely caned them and it was a proper field, she left some very good fillies and mares in her wake.
"I genuinely believe she had more Group 1 wins in her too, it's just unfortunate she had to be retired because her best was ahead of her, I have no doubt about that.
"She really is one of the elite mares that will be offered for sale off the track in 2023.''
Lester Durney added: "She was such a talented mare and took Margaret and I and our whole family on such an exceptional ride.
"She's a very special mare to us and while you never want to part ways with them, it's time for the next phase of her life as a broodmare so somebody is going to take home a true star from the Chairman's Sale.''
Inglis Senior Bloodstock Consultant Harry Bailey welcomed the addition of Nimalee to the Chairman's catalogue, noting she is one of the best-bred mares in Australia.
"She's a beautiful mare and it's an awesome international pedigree,'' Bailey said.
"Nimalee has Highclere, one of the greatest producers of all time, as her fourth dam and is one of over 90 Stakes winners descended from her, 14 of whom are G1 winners including the likes of Baeed and Deep Impact.
"Breeding is a puzzle, but whoever is lucky enough to end up with Nimalee is going to have a massive advantage in terms of their ability to produce high-class horses from her, given the family already has a pre-disposition for doing so.''
