Australia’s leading thoroughbred auctioneer; Inglis, today announced a partnership with the world’s leading premium Scotch Whisky, Johnnie Walker.

Johnnie Walker is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.

Inglis, renowned for selling Group 1 Winners, such as Black Caviar, Mosheen, Sacred Kingdom, Igugu, Sincero, Ortensia and many more over their rich history have entered into a partnership with Johnnie Walker to celebrate and congratulate owners of Group 1 winners purchased through Inglis sales. Johnnie Walker will provide each managing owner and trainer with a personally engraved bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue, etched with the graduates name, race and date.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label is widely recognised as the pinnacle of blending excellence in Scotch Whisky. Maintaining the traditions of the legendary '1867 Old Highland Whisky' alive, only the highest quality and rarest whiskies are used by the blenders, with only 1 cask in every 10,000 considered good enough to be worthy of the Blue Label blend.

Johnnie Walker will also personally invite the connections of all Group 1 winning Inglis graduates to visit the spiritual home of Johnnie Walker, the Cardhu distillery in Scotland, if they have plans to travel to the northern hemisphere for the 2013 racing season in Europe.

To kick off the celebration and exciting partnership at Flemington on Derby Day, it was fitting that the inaugural winner of the Johnnie Walker and Inglis Group 1 winners was a Cummings. The Cummings family are synonymous with the famous Spring Carnival, Anthony taking the limelight with Fiveandahalfstar winning the day’s $1.5 million feature, the Gr. 1 VRC Victoria Derby (2500m).

Fiveandahalfstar ($20,000 2011 Classic, 3g Hotel Grand-Cryptic Miss) was ridden to perfection by champion jockey Damien Oliver, who ensured this year’s Derby was a truly run 2500m staying test. For his efforts Oliver will also be presented with an engraved bottle of Johnnie Walker’s Celebration Blend, Gold Label Reserve. Gold Label Reserve is an evolution of a recipe developed to celebrate 100 years of the Johnnie Walker business, and is now a whisky used for celebration all across the world.

Anthony Cummings bred Fiveandahalfstar using two racehorses he trained, crossing Group 1 winning entire Hotel Grand and winning Snippets mare Cryptic Miss. The resultant colt was put through the 2011 Inglis Sydney Classic Yearling Sale and when bidding stifled Cummings decided to buy the colt for stable clients for just $20,000.

Anthony and Bernadette Cummings joined Inglis directors Arthur Inglis, Peter Heagney, Managing Director Mark Webster and Johnnie Walker Senior Brand Manager Andy Morley at the new Johnnie Walker luxury marquee in the Birdcage at Flemington to share a toast of Johnnie Walker Blue and launch the new partnership.

Johnnie Walker joins an elite stable of Inglis sponsors in 2012 including major partner Luxbet and supporting partners Antler Luggage, Yalumba, Audi NSW and VIC, Callaway Golf, Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach, Crown Hotels Melbourne, Hume Council, Intercontinental Hotel Sydney, Jaeger Le Coultre, Mittys and Swarovski Optik.

For media comments:

Adrianne Sarkozy Inglis – Sponsorship and Alliance Manager M: +61 419 533 377

Andrew Morley Johnnie Walker – Senior Brand Manager M: +61 402 357 329