Strong buyer appetite set to power entire sales season

With a record sale aggregate of over $210 million, and near records for both average and clearance rate, just getting your hand up for a bid on the Gold Coast proved a challenge.

The knock-on effect could make the upcoming sales at Karaka, Sydney and Melbourne competitive for buyers as well, with money undoubtedly left on the table last week.

The Gold Coast buyers' bench was dominated by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock, with 38 purchases, twice as many as he bought last year, and the highest by an individual buyer at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale since Gai Waterhouse and James Harron combined to buy 39 at the 2014 January Sale.

All in all, Maher and David Eustace's stables in Victoria and New South Wales can expect to be bolstered by well over 50 horses from this Sale, which proved a serious statement of intent for them to claim the mantle of Australia's leading training operation.

A further breakdown of the list of the top buyers on the Gold Coast points to some interesting year-on-year trends. TDN AusNZ compiled a list from the top 100 buyers (by volume) at the Sale from the past two January sales, and separated each of those buyers into four different categories, trainers, syndicators, bloodstock agents and investors.

Buyers' lists can be tricky to categorise, with agents working with trainers and syndicators alike, but for the purposes of this exercise, the category each buyer fell into was their primary role of business. Where bloodstock agents purchased under their own name, they fell into the 'agents' category, but where they purchased in partnership with a specific trainer or syndicator, then it was counted in that particular category.

The 'investor' category accommodates those buying for specific long-term investment, such as colts' funds, as well as those owners purchasing for overseas clients. As an example, the Sale's leading buyer in terms of overall spend, Tony Fung Investments/Phoenix Thoroughbreds, is considered an 'investor'.

Trainers to the fore

The most noticeable trend was that of the top 100 buyers, 54 of them were trainers as compared to 46 last year. Those 54 trainers purchased an average of 7.11 horses, up from the average investment of 6.44 horses-per-trainer in 2020. The overall percentage of 'trainer-purchased' horses (from those sourced by the top 100 horses) was 60 per cent, up nearly seven percentage points from last year.

Undoubtedly, Maher's spending splurge influenced this increase, but the fact the number of trainers inside the top 100 increased is a sure sign of their willingness to step up and be involved more on the Gold Coast.

Warwick Farm-trainer Bjorn Baker, who works with Clarke Bloodstock, maintained an identical level of investment to 2020 in terms of numbers with seven purchases, and a very slight increase in terms of overall spend.

"It was great to be up here for a start after a tough year. Obviously, I had to do those two weeks out of Sydney. It was a strong market, but it probably reflects how well racing is going at the moment," Baker said.

"The demand for good horses was exceptional. In saying that, the prices held up. It was a very good catalogue despite there being extra horses, and it was just great to be up there and I'm looking forward to getting these youngsters up and going."

Baker said having pretty much stuck to his budget on the Gold Coast, he has got plenty left to spend in the upcoming sales at Karaka and Sydney.

"It was around what we wanted to spend. Come the rest of the season. We’ve got plenty to come. We’ve got the sales in New Zealand next week and the Classic Sale," he said.

"With Magic Millions back a week, we need to be a bit better organised for everything. It does make it a bit tough for New Zealand, but I'm lucky I have Murray (father) over there, who I can run a few horses past as well.

"We will get through Classic and then maybe look at setting our sights on Easter."

Syndicators keep their heads in hot market

The overall number of syndicators involved in the top 100 buyers also increased from 12 to 17 year-on-year, although the percentage of the catalogue purchased by those buyers largely remained the same (15.8 per cent up from 15.2 per cent), as did their total investment. That was due to the fact that the average number of horses purchased by the top syndicators dropped from 7.08 to 5.94.

Triple Crown Syndications has been a significant player in that syndication market for many years and seven years ago, sourced dual The Everest champion Redzel (Snitzel) from the Gold Coast Yearling Sale for just $120,000.

As one of the few Sydney-based syndication operations to get to the Sale, Triple Crown purchased five horses in 2021, a reduction of one from its haul in 2020. While it was a tough buying market, Chris Ward felt he was able to get the business done that he wanted.

"It was a strong market that's for sure, it was very healthy. We managed to do well out of it and with a few of the usual faces missing, there were a few opportunities there," Ward said.

"We maintained our usual discipline and waited for the right opportunities to pop up. We targeted those horses and when they came up in our range we were there to strike. It was strong, we did miss out on a few, but we were very happy with what we walked away with."

Ward said there was still a strong sense of opportunity in the market moving further forward in 2021 in the quality and opportunities on offer.

"I think the whole industry is progressing well, and I think that will be reflected in the coming sales. There are plenty of good horses still to come," he said.

"We're usually active at Magics, Classic and Premier and will be back up to look at Easter if there are opportunities there and will be back up to the Gold Coast for the June Sale for Magics again."

Investors up the ante

The amount of 'investors' in the top 100 buyers dropped from 26 in 2020 to 19 in 2021 as was the average number of horses they purchased, but those investors were prepared to spend more on average with each purchase they made. Colts' funds and the major international farms such as Coolmore drove considerable growth in this area, with the average price of a horse purchased by those classified as an 'investor' up from $358,595 last year to $414,928 in 2021. That more than made up for the drop in international buyers' present at the Sale.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club was one of the international buyers that was active at the Sale, through its Australian representative, Craig Rounsefell of Boomer Bloodstock, who was made to work hard to get the ones he did.

"We got five and had a crack at a few others that went quite a bit over. It seemed like if you came up against a stallion fund, they were the ones that were very difficult to buy at the upper end," Rounsefell said.

"In the middle, it was also tough buying. Trying to stick to proven sires, the competition was thick and fast, particularly on anything that was a nice type. They just sold really well."

Rounsefell feels confident in the quality that is available at other sales in 2021, which enabled him to maintain a disciplined approach when it came to bidding on the Gold Coast.

"We had our values on them and stuck to them, knowing there is plenty more sales coming up. We are well positioned going into Classic, Melbourne and Easter, with the orders I have," he said.

"I thought the horses were going well over value on a number of occasions. We got close on quite a few, but we were still on the upper ends of our limit.

"It seemed like those horses that maybe needed a bit of time, you had a chance on those, but the ones that were forward, they well and truly made overs."

Agents negotiate through hectic week

The amount of bloodstock agents buying under their own name in the top 100 buyers fell from 16 to 10, but as mentioned earlier that was probably a reflection of a higher number of them working in partnership with trainers or syndicators. The average number of horses purchased by them increased from 3.3 to 5, meaning their overall contribution to the Sale in terms of spend was quite similar to what it was in 2020.

The majority of the 16 horses that Julian Blaxland of Blue Sky Bloodstock purchased on the Gold Coast were in partnership with Anthony Freedman Racing. His perspective was that it was hard work in the first few days, but as the week progressed, he was able to adapt his planning.

"The first couple of days, it wasn't easy to buy an early 2-year-old type, so we looked at more milers and Derby-type horses, we got a Churchill, a So You Think and a Ribchester, three more staying types," he said.

"By day three, if you looked hard enough, you could buy some decent ones at value."

What has been heartening has been the subsequent desire for people to get involved in the horses that were purchased through the Sale.

"The market was strong, but more encouraging for us is that we have basically sold all 11 (bought with the Freedmans). We’ve got 25 per cent left in one. It’s one thing that you have a record sale, but I don’t think we’ve had a year where we've sold the horses so quickly," he said.

That engenders a particularly strong level of confidence for all buyers heading into the rest of the sales season, according the Blaxland.

"If you are getting them away, then you are happy to go and speculate more and buy horses, because there is a ready market there. If we’d bought 15 horses (rather than 11) for Anthony, I'm pretty sure we’d have most of them done, that's the really encouraging thing," he said.

"I know there were a lot of trainers and syndicators who couldn't get horse and no doubt they will be in the market strongly at Classic, Melbourne and Adelaide and these sorts of sales.

"I think it’s a great indication of how Australia is going in its economy and its probably a reflection of the fact that in a lot of areas, property prices are still going up and no-one has been able to go overseas for 12 months."