‘Australia really provides an amazing opportunity’
Aushorse releases its 2024 Investor’s Guide to market racing to the world
Tom Reilly believes the Australian racing and bloodstock sectors’ standing on the world stage has it well–placed to withstand any economic downturn, pointing to recent international success as a driving force ahead of the new sales season.
The Thoroughbred Breeders Australia chief executive, whose TBA marketing arm Aushorse yesterday released its 2024 Investor’s Guide, said Australia remains a compelling place to race horses.
The annual Guide, circulated to domestic and international owners, showed that Australia’s prize-money had soared by 45 per cent in the past five years and that there are 95 races worth $1 million or more annually.
“If you look at the numbers in the Investor’s Guide, whether you’re looking at the top end with the million dollar races or you are looking at the average race value, which is now up over $50,000, these statistics prove that if you want to get involved in racehorse ownership, Australia really provides an amazing opportunity,” Reilly told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Domestically, there may be a fraction less confidence than we have seen in previous years, but the Australian market is very resilient and that resilience is in part due to those underlying numbers that we really highlight in the Guide.”
Information contained in the Guide shows that it is more affordable to invest in Australia than in Europe or North America, with the price of the top colts and fillies significantly lower than in other yearling markets.
The average prices for the top 50 colts and fillies sold in the past five years, the Guide shows Australia (US$764,986 colts, $573,976 fillies) compares favourably with Europe (US$966,699 colts, $858,045 fillies) and America (US$1,049,733 colts, $834,250 fillies).
“The global bloodstock industry is a real phenomena, isn’t it? You take the results we’ve just seen in the past week to ten days from Tattersalls and Arqana [in Europe], when you’re looking at the top end there’s great strength and depth there in that sector,” Reilly said.
“Those people who are big breeders or owner-breeders who are bidding on those top lots overseas, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be coming down to our yearling sales and investing here because it’s more affordable to get involved in the top end here than it is anywhere else in the world.”
Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch said: “The Investor’s Guide does a great job selling the Australian thoroughbred industry to both international and domestic audiences. It contains so much compelling information.
“It is referenced right throughout the year by the Inglis team when discussing the Australian bloodstock market with both domestic and international participants or prospective participants.
“It is without doubt the most effective document of its kind that I have seen published anywhere in the world.”
Magic Millions’ managing director Barry Bowditch added: “With a million dollar race every 3.8 days and average race prize-money of over $50,000, the Investor’s Guide does a great job of selling the Australian thoroughbred industry to Magic Millions’ clients, no matter whether they are buying at the top end of our Gold Coast Yearling Sale or trying to find another Group 1 winner from our diverse Australia wide yearling sale series.”
As well as being available in a digital version, printed copies of the Investor’s Guide will be posted with the Aushorse annual magazine to some 4,500 major players in the global bloodstock industry. The Guide is also translated into Chinese and sent to every owner in Hong Kong, as well as many of the major owners in mainland China.
“The guide gets a huge amount of cut through, especially with people overseas,” Aushorse chairman and Widden Stud principal Antony Thompson said.
“If you’re investing in a significant scale in the global bloodstock industry, then the Guide makes clear that you really need to be involved here.”
Hong Kong is an important segment of the international buying bench and that cohort’s increased enthusiasm to reinvigorate its horse population was evident at the recent New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale.
Reilly is confident Hong Kong owners and trainers will continue that trend at next year’s Australian sales, their appetite only heightened by Sunday’s success at Sha Tin where Golden Sixty joined Good Ba Ba (Lear Fan) as just the second horse to win the Hong Kong Mile on three occasions and the emerging sprinter Galaxy Patch (Wandjina) winning an undercard race in impressive style for Pierre Ng and owner Yeung Kin Man.
It comes on the back of Japan’s champion filly Liberty Island (Duramente), a daughter of Australian Group 1 winner Yankee Rose (All American), who was runner-up to the country’s recently retired champion Equinox (Kitasan Black) in the Japan Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) last month.
“We’ve had our Group 1 winners out of Australian mares this year which I think really highlights how important the Australian bloodstock competes with the best in the world,” Reilly said.
“Then, when you look at the success of Australian horses in Hong Kong, year in, year out and particularly at the moment, Golden Sixty’s win the Mile on Sunday was one of the performances of 2023 and then there’s the emerging talent in Galaxy Patch by Wandjina, who won a Class 3 and he looks like an absolute weapon.
“So, I would expect that we will see a strong buying bench from Hong Kong taking part in our yearling sales.”
Related links
Aushorse Investor’s Guide 2024