Soaring High With The Legends Of Racing
Phoenix Thoroughbreds owns over US$25 million in bloodstock, with stables in the United States, Europe, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Phoenix is a Thoroughbred racing investment fund founded by Dubai-based businessman and racing enthusiast Amer Abdulaziz.
Ten Furlongs interviews the racing industry leader to find out more about his passion for horses, the beginnings of Phoenix and of course his plans for the Phoenix horses during the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
Q: Amongst those horses, you will have to compete in the DWC Carnival and on DWC race night itself, which would you consider the surprise factor?
A: We’re lucky enough to have assembled a strong team for Dubai with a few high-profile names. Axelrod ran a huge race in a Grade One on his last start and Sands Of Mali is going to the Carnival as a Group One-winning sprinter. I guess Gronkowski would be the one I would say could surprise a few people. It would be fair to say he’s not performed as well as we would have hoped following his big effort to run Justify so close, in the Belmont, but he took a step in the right direction in his last run and I feel he’ll do well in Dubai. He’s currently in quarantine in Florida and will arrive at Meydan in the next few weeks. We wanted to give him plenty of time to acclimatize and get used to his new surroundings. I really think the change of scenery will do him the world of good and I think he can run a big race in the World Cup itself.
Q: What excites you about 2019? And what would you say was your biggest disappointment in 2018?
A: We had a great year with our two-year-olds, especially in the UK, and it’s exciting to dream about what they might achieve next season. Advertise was our first European Group One winner and he’ll have his sights on the 2000 Guineas and other top races of over a mile. Kadar is a colt we like very much, and he looks very much like a Derby horse in the making. While we shouldn’t forget the likes of Magic J, who was also extremely good on his only start. We also have a few others entered in the classics, who you are yet to see, that we have high hopes for, so hopefully 2019 can prove a very big year. We’ll also be hoping for another winner at Royal Ascot following our first with Signora Cabello last season. She’ll be back this year targeting in the Commonwealth Cup and Kings Stand. We were lucky enough to have more ups than downs last season but if anything, it was disappointing that Dream Tree got injured so close to the Breeders’ Cup. She was working very well and we were convinced she was going to run a big race.
Q: Please tell us about how your investment fund will be regulated and why you chose this route?
A: Our Fund is in the process of becoming a fully Registered in Luxembourg as a Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (“RAIF”) managed by a fully regulated Alternative Investment Fund Manager (“AIFM”). We chose to go this route as it provides not only complete transparency but all the checks and balances available under the relevant rules and regulations governing the RAIF and the AIFM.
Q: Tell us more about your decision to create Phoenix?
A: I’ve been involved in investments for a long time, but I wanted to share my love of horses and prove that you can make money from investing in thoroughbreds. I wanted to create a vehicle that would give investors a chance to be involved in all aspects of racing, not just the horses on the track (exciting as that is) but in the breeding side of the business as well. We now have a good track record behind us with plenty of success in all areas of the operation.
Q: Is there ever a point which you feel that you would have been happier in the highest echelons of the dry finance industry dealing in stocks and commodities?
A: I’m still involved in that side of investment through Phoenix Fund Investments and still enjoy that element of the finance industry. I just wanted to use my love of horses and interesting in bloodlines to open-up another avenue for investors to get involved in.
Q: The Magic Million’s Gold Coast sale, Karaka National Yearling Sale and the Inglis Easter Yearling sale are just around the corner. Will you be going down and what are some specific yearlings/matings/ lots that you will be looking out for?
A: We were active at the Magic Millions sale adding nine new horses to our roster in Australia, six of those in partnership with Aquis Farms, and I suspect we’ll do some business at a few of the other sales as we look to expand our presence in the Southern hemisphere.
We don’t necessarily go in with certain bloodlines in mind. Our expert team and I do study pedigrees closely and we do have one or two favourite sires and mares but if we see something, we like physically we won’t be afraid to look at that either. Our team have plenty of experience and know what they are looking for.
Q: Which horse would you say would be your biggest giveaway that proved to be a topliner later?
A: Our aim is to purchase, train and breed top class Thoroughbreds in order to make a good and consistent return for our investors. As part of that process, we will inevitably sell some of our Thoroughbreds who will go on to achieve far greater success in their future careers for their new owners. That is our goal and our business model could not work any other way. So, in short, we do not and will not regret ‘giveaways’ because they will not be ‘giveaways’ rather there will be a strategic decision to sell or hold any particular horse for the benefit of the fund
Q: What are your plans for the breeding side of Phoenix Thoroughbreds? Is there any strategy towards moving forward with just one gender eventually, or will you look at building a broodmare band and stand stallions as well?
A: The short answer to this question is that, no, we will not be moving toward just one gender. Our business model depends on breeding Thoroughbreds so clearly this involves both broodmares and stallions. We believe this aspect is vital to continued growth and consistent returns and to a great extent removes much of the risk in the equine business. With that in mind, it’s fair to say the breeding side to Phoenix is vital to our business model and has been in place since the start. We already have plenty of broodmares, especially in Australia where we have around 50 and have recently added to our roster in Europe and the US at the recent breeding stock sales. They will join our mares already in place, many of which are in foal to top stallions like Frankel and Kingman. We also have some shares in some potentially great stallions. A claim in the UK and Daddy Long Legs in the US to name just two. We wouldn’t be afraid to buy any at auction, but we do want to develop our own with success on the track. For example, Advertise is already a Group One winner so you would hope, when the time comes, he will become an attractive prospect to breeders. We don’t really focus on either mares or stallions, but this will be an area of continued growth for us.
Q: Manama is one of my favourite places in the world. Its old-world charm, the azure blue of the ocean around Bahrain and the naturally warm Bahrani people which make me smile whenever I think about Bahrain. What do you love and miss about Bahrain? Do you go back often?
A: As you can imagine my work keeps me very busy, which means I don’t get to see Bahrain that often. Of course, there are things I miss but I’m also very fortunate that the nature of the business we do at Phoenix means I get to travel to many different places and get to experience lots of new sights, even if that is sometimes just a new racecourse!
Q: Could you tell us about where your passion for horses comes from? I read that your family-owned some of the best Arabians. Do you still have an Arabian stud farm in Bahrain?
A: I grew up around horses on my family’s former stud farm where we bred Arabian horses, so I have always had a great passion for them. It wasn’t until I went to Berkeley to study that I found a love for Thoroughbreds. I used to go to Golden Gate fields to watch the racing there and my interest grew from there.
Q: If you could spend a day in someone else’s shoes, whose would it be and why?
A: This is a bit tricky to answer as I love to meet interesting people, to sit down with them and exchange ideas. I would have loved to have had a conversation with Nelson Mandela, a true visionary but so humble at the same time. But to answer your question, I guess it would be fun to experience a different kind of lifestyle. I developed an interest in basketball during my studies in America and to have a day as someone like “Magic Johnson” (who our winning three-year-old Magic J is named after) during his peak years would be interesting, just to see what life is like for a World Class athlete.
Q: Who was the biggest influence in your life?
A: Not so much my life but HRH Sheikh Mohammed has been a big influence on my career especially in setting up Phoenix Thoroughbreds. His vision to see the potential in horse racing, not just as a sport but as a business was revolutionary at the time and has opened-up great opportunities in Dubai and across the Emirates. One day, although our business model is very different, I hope we can go some way to emulating his achievements in the sport.
Published In Tenfurlongs Journey To The Dubai World Cup Vol - III
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Credit: Pallavi Shevade pallavi.shevade@secretariatsworld.com