Aussie agent Boomer bound for Keeneland
Australian agent Craig Rounsefell, spurred on by a US Grade 1 winner this year, will make a long-awaited return to America to take in its bloodstock sales series over the next three months, starting with the Keeneland September yearling extravaganza.
The Gold Coast-based Boomer Bloodstock principal, who has an extensive American client base, was like the rest of the nation and unable to attend last year’s US auctions due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.
However, Rounsefell was not letting Covid-19 stop him and his family from making the trip this year.
“It is a business I have built up over the last 12 years. Earlier this year we had a Group 1 winner in America that I purchased just as a yearling, Hit The Road, who is aiming towards the Breeders’ Cup, so I was determined to get there this year,” Rounsefell said.
“Fortunately, I have been granted permission from the government to go.”
Unlike international travellers coming to Australia and New Zealand, Rounsefell will not be required to undertake any quarantine when he arrives in the US and he will head straight to the Keeneland sales complex in Lexington, Kentucky.
He plans to remain in the US until after the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
“I am really excited to get over there. The (September) sale is the biggest yearling sale in the world with over 4500 yearlings (offered) over two weeks and I can’t wait to get stuck into it,” he said.
“I think it will be a strong sale. The stock market has been very strong (over there). They have come out the other side of Covid in terms of living life and the economy is rolling again, so I think the market will be strong.
“People are wanting to buy horses, the interest from my clients over there is very good, so I suspect (the buoyant market) will continue on.”
While one motivation for Rounsefell to reside in the US until November is to watch the Dan Blacker-trained Hit The Road (More Than Ready) at the Breeders’ Cup, he also says the November Breeding Stock Sale would be a key focus for him and Australian breeders in general.
Hit The Road won the Frank E Kilroe Mile Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Santa Anita in March after the agent selected him from the 2018 Keeneland September Sale. He has won six of his 11 starts and more than US$500,000 in prize-money.
“It has been a segment of the market that continues to overachieve, the American mares here in Australia, so I think that the breeders are always looking for new bloodlines to widen their broodmare band,” the agent said.
“Also, probably the biggest tipping point is how tough it is to buy quality here in Australia right now with the (skyrocketing) prices.
“Given that, it is why people are now casting their eyes further afield and I think a lot of people will be delving into that Keeneland November Sale.”