Paul Moroney wears many hats. The famed ex-trainer is also the founding Board Member of New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame & the Managing owner of 7 individual Gr.1 winners including 3 Derby winners and a Melbourne Cup winner but these days he is one of the most well-known for his bloodstock choices. He bought some of the best and most number of horses in the 2018 Karaka National Yearling Sale.
The Impact chats to him about his plans and expectations for this year's instalment of New Zealand's top sale.
Q: What is your opinion of the 2019 Karaka catalogue? And are there any specific lots/ yearlings in the catalogue that we should be keeping an eye on?
A: I have not studied the Karaka catalogue as I physically inspect every horse and start those inspections there on Monday. Hence I do not have an opinion on the comparative strength of catalogue nor do I have specific lots to suggest keeping an eye on or an opinion on the first season sires.
Q: Which young sires do you feel will become valuable in the next few years?
A: There’s always good value at Karaka and the sale consistently produces many high-class racehorses.
Q: Are there sires, you always keep a lookout for as a good return for your yearling investment?
A: I have no particular favourite sires because I treat each yearling as an individual.
Q: How long have you been coming to Karaka?
A: I have been attending and buying at Karaka since its inception.
Q: Has technology affected and influenced your business?
A: Technology affects everyone’s business because it allows easier & usually instant access to information.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
A: The best piece of advice I’ve had is that every stallion has its champion and that it's usually a freak. That’s why I don’t dismiss horses by their sire.
Q: When you’re not working how do you like to spend your time?
A: I’m always working. This industry is 24-7 and global.
Q: Which particular yearling in recent years gave you the most pleasant surprise with the sale price?
A: This year’s Victoria Derby third-placed Chapada was a very good buy. I immediately recognised him as an ideal Derby prospect so his purchase price of only $A32,500 at the 2017 Inglis Classic was a nice surprise. We have since been offered $A1m for him.
My buying record includes 35 individual Gr.1 winners of 51 Gr.1 races, 119 individual stakes race winners and 228 individual stakes performers (1st, 2nd or 3rd in stakes races). Seventeen of my Gr.1 winners have cost less than $60,000 in the yearling ring.
Q: Would you say, based your experience, that every horse or yearling should be inspected personally? And perhaps in this instance technology may not be the best option?
A: Personally I would not buy unless I had inspected it either myself, my partner Catherine Bruggeman or by a trusted associate from my global network. There are so many physical aspects that cannot be properly analysed from photos and videos.
Q: And based on your experience (which is that every horse brings something unique to the marketplace and to the racing industry), would you say it is tough to define success by looking at the sire?
A: Each horse is unique to its genetic physical make-up which is often influenced by many of its forebearers, not necessarily its sire. But dominant sires will certainly be more attractive to intending purchasers who are looking at increasing their percentages of buying a top racehorse. With that, though, often comes expensive purchases, many who don’t make the grade.
Q: And by the same measure, from a breeding perspective, what would you say is the best type of horse which can succeed in becoming the most commercially successful racehorse?
A: It is safer in my opinion to firstly select an athletic type. The pedigree will then dictate if you can afford to buy it.
Published in The Impact 3 Issue, 2 Vol
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Credit: Pallavi Shevade pallavi.shevade@secretariatsworld.com