The Impact speaks to one of the industry’s most respected licensed syndicators about the sale catalogue and the industry in general.
Q: Have you had a chance to look at the catalogue and identify any sires you are keen on?
A: No not really. The catalogue comprises of progeny from local WA sires as well as East state stallions. There are some yearlings from top-ranked stallions as well as I am Invincible and Nicconi. Almost 30% of the sale catalogued is from sires based in the eastern states. Obviously, stallions like Blackfriars, Snippetson and War Chant are doing a good job here in WA and are popular with the local market. There are some interesting yearlings from these stallions in the sale. Also, more than 90% of yearlings catalogued are eligible for either the Westspeed Platinum or standard Westspeed scheme. These are very good schemes and provide a good incentive for local trainers to buy locally bred horses.
Q: In your current Prime Dispatch, you mentioned that sometimes the size of a sale catalogue can be of concern for buyers. What do you think of the new complex and the size of this catalogue?
A: The new complex is outstanding. They only have 156 horses in session one which is good. The Classic Yearling Sale had over a 1,000 horses for sale. Over 3,000yearlings were sold in the month starting 9 January which flooded the market. It’s a very busy and congested time of the year.
However we did well at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, we purchased 3 yearlings for aboutA$200,000.
Q: How many yearlings are you planning to buy in Perth?
A: We plan to buy 2 yearlings here and a couple in Adelaide. I will also be active at the Tasmanian sale.
Q: Given your earlier concerns of 3,000 yearlings flooding the market, do you think the market will absorb all these yearlings?
A: The breeders will retain up to 30% of the yearlings from the sales. The rest get sold, to their clients. The market seems quite strong at present and we usually sell without too much trouble.
Q: So continuing with the same question, what is your strategy to buy at sales?
A: We do a lot of research beforehand. Bill and James Mitchell, now of Mitchell Bloodstockhelps us with the research. We identify horses of good value and pedigree. We agree on a reasonable value for those horses in-advance. We won’t go beyond that price when bidding for the horse. I don’t like buying expensive horses. For example, on Saturday one of our mares was runner up in Flemington. We purchased her for A$17,000 but she has won A$201,000 so far. She is also stakes-placed. Then I look at those horses when I arrive at the sales. We will then discuss and shortlist and eventually, we bid on the shortlist.
Q: How do you decide which horses/ yearlings to purchase? Do you choose which races you would like to enter or do you prefer to look at overall athleticism?
A: There are over 800 sires in Australia right now. We know from experience which horses go with which horses and which pedigrees work best. We try to eliminate the risk as far as possible. Then I inspect the horses and try to further eliminate the risk. We look for over overall athleticism in a horse.
Q: How would you define a good commercial horse?
A: Australia has a very harsh climate. We are currently experiencing a drought throughout most of the country. As a result, we have fairly firm tracks. In order to be successful in Australia, you need a good bone structure, sound legs and a good confirmation. They have to be able to handle the heat. We see these characteristics from the progeny of Australian sires. Not a lot of overseas or shuttle stallions have really worked in Australia although we have benefitted from the infusion of fresh blood they bring into our industry. Recent examples of this are More Than Ready and Street Cry. They both did a great job here. In contrastGalileo who is one of the best stallions in the world didn’t really work here in Australia.
Published in The Impact 5 Issue, 2 Vol
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