Easter Yearling Sale buyer bookings on track despite coronavirus threat
Inglis monitoring situation as Australian government considers European travel ban
Inglis is developing a contingency plan for next month’s Australian Easter Yearling Sale in case the Covid-19 pandemic worsens and the federal government imposes stringent travel restrictions in a bid to halt the rapid spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus.
Auction house management yesterday held a meeting about the growing world health crisis and the possible effect on its flagship Easter sale, resolving to “proceed as scheduled” unless advised otherwise by government authorities.
“We have been monitoring the Covid-19 situation closely and will continue to do so in coming days and weeks,” Inglis managing director Mark Webster said in a statement last night.
“The Australian government has been very proactive in managing this situation over the past month, which allowed us to deliver excellent results a week ago in Melbourne and we anticipate the appetite for quality yearlings will continue at Easter.
“That said, we are obviously well aware of the coronavirus situation and the potential complexities it may cause.
“We have developed contingency plans to help us conduct the sale with minimal disruptions, should the government put in place additional travel or event-based restrictions.”
The meeting was staged as the enormity of the situation intensified when news broke that the United States had banned travel to and from Europe to America for 30 days.
The Australian government was last night also reportedly considering similar measures that could see travellers banned from flying in from Europe. The UK is so far exempt from the US ban.
If travel restrictions were implemented by the Australian government, preventing international agents and owners from attending the Easter sale, it could have a severe impact on the depth of the buying bench.
But Webster last night said there had been no apparent pullback from buyers, with bookings from domestic and international investors who are planning on attending the Easter sale “tracking similarly if not better than previous years”.
“We will continue to communicate closely with our clients in coming days and weeks, but at this stage it is all systems go ahead of Easter and we look forward to hosting the world’s racing industry at Riverside Stables for the sale in a couple of weeks,” he said.
The two-day Easter sale, known to attract many of the world’s biggest thoroughbred investors and averaging an Australasian-high $353,511 in 2019, is scheduled for April 7 and 8.
Inspections at Riverside Stables are due to start a week earlier, on April 1, and this week many vendors have been holding on-farm viewings.
At last year’s Easter sale, 19.43 per cent of the market was made up of international purchases, led by New Zealand, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates investors.
These figures do not include the likes of US-controlled Spendthrift Australia, Hong Kong-based Sweetbriar Equine and the China Horse Club-Newgate Bloodstock partnership whose purchases were listed as Australian.
The coronavirus also has the potential to impact Inglis’ The Chairman’s Sale and Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale in May, while implications for the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Sale in May and June are unknown.
The Magic Millions Gold Coast March QTIS Yearling Sale is set to be held on Monday and Tuesday with inspections getting underway yesterday without incident.
The Australian government has already enacted a travel ban from Italy and health minister Greg Hunt said yesterday that they were considering whether to expand that to other parts of Europe.
“We will continue to follow the medical advice,” the minister said.
In reaction to the latest moves from world leaders, the ASX All Ordinaries fell by a further seven per cent yesterday to close at 5304.6, continuing this week’s bloodletting by recording the biggest single-day loss since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.