‘If we lose it, we lose it, but at least we won’t lose any people or stock, that’s the main thing’
Fire threatens Western Australia studs as Perth yearling sale looms
Western Australian stud farm owners have spent the dead of night moving horses to safety and used daylight hours to protect their properties as out-of-control bushfires wreak havoc near Perth, just two weeks out from the state’s major yearling sale.
Mogumber Park at Bullsbrook, one area heavily impacted by the savage blaze, was forced to move a number of mares and other horses from one of its properties, which was in danger of being engulfed by the fire, early on Tuesday morning.
Owners Colin Brown and Fiona Lacey joined hundreds of other residents relocating stock, with one refuge set up at the Magic Millions complex in Swan Valley to house animals while the danger passed.
“Our main property was safe, it was out of the red zone, but the other one was in the red zone. So, at 2am on Tuesday we started moving horses from there. A lot of them came back here (to our main property) and we also took some down to Magic Millions who opened up the sales complex,” Perth Racing chair and Mogumber Park co-owner Brown revealed to ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“There were a lot of horses, not just thoroughbreds, every sort of horse, dogs and every pet who were at Magic Millions, but we were able to bring them all back on Tuesday night.”
Describing the unfolding scenes he had experienced for more than 24 hours, Brown said yesterday: “There was a lot of smoke, the vision wasn’t good, and we were going into paddocks to put them on the float and they are an amazing animal.
“Horses are, at times, more difficult to catch in bigger areas – wiser broodies can sometimes say no – but they were all compliant. I think they sensed (the danger).
“They were happy to come home. It’s a stressful time but that is life in Australia on properties, really.”
The younger Mogumber Park horses, including its draft of Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale horses, were safe on the home block but their preparations were disrupted as a result of the fires.
“We didn’t have any power for 36 hours or so and that’s always a struggle when you can’t run your bore because the generator is not big enough,” he said.
“We were pinching rain water from around the place to keep us going until the power came back on.
“Seventy-one houses have been lost, so (in comparison) we are doing all right. We’ve had our other property under threat and if we lose it, we lose it, but at least we won’t lose any people or stock, that’s the main thing.”
Fellow Perth Racing board member Ron Sayers’ Yarradale stud at Gidgegannup was, unfortunately, impacted by the fire but the farm reported yesterday that no animal or human had been hurt.
“It has been a quiet night for those who remained on the farm overnight, after a horrendous day of fighting fires,” the stud posted on social media.
“Unfortunately the fire has managed to cause some damage to the back of the farm, however thanks to the efforts of our dedicated team, neighbours and firefighters, (the) damage has been kept to a minimum.
“Our team remains vigilant today, extinguishing spot fires, and caring for livestock at the forefront of their priorities.
“Their efforts have been a true testament to ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ and we could not thank everyone involved enough.”
Once again the community’s ability, Brown says, to unite in a time of crisis was demonstrated on Tuesday.
“It would have been the same as last year in the east with the fires. As soon as there’s an issue, the phone starts ringing, ‘Are you OK? Can we help?’,” he said.
“We come together as a community and it’s broader than just the thoroughbred racing industry, but the horse community comes together in an amazing way whenever there’s any threat in situations like yesterday for us and previously where the animals take precedence.”
‘Fingers crossed for Perth sale’
Meanwhile, the Perth sale, which had already suffered a hiccup with the shock Covid-19 infection discovered in a hotel security guard last week, is set to start on Monday, February 15.
Mogumber Park has 20 yearlings by stallions including Menari (Snitzel), So You Think (High Chaparral), Safeguard (Exceed And Excel) and youngsire Rommel (Commands) being prepared for the two-day auction.
Brown has his fingers crossed that the Perth sale can be held as a live auction, with a curveball coming last Sunday when a hotel quarantine security guard unexpectedly returned a positive test to Covid-19, causing Premier Mark McGowan to impose a five-day lockdown on the city and wider region.
“There are a number of people who buy from us and have had success with our horses, they want to come over from the east to attend the sale,” he said.
“We have built up some good relationships, but if they can’t get here, the fallback is the digital platform.
“The breeders’ association here and Magic Millions have been really helpful in outlining how to increase digital presence.
“Most places are doing videos as well as their normal photographs, so we are preparing for what may be and keeping our fingers crossed that it will be a live auction.”
Brown, who welcomed the appetite from buyers experienced in the Australasian yearling sales so far this year, was hopeful that the demand would flow through to the Perth auction but he also warned “we are a different market”.
“However, what it does do, it gives people a degree of buoyancy because, if Magic Millions kicked off the year poorly, it would bring doom and gloom. Because they kicked off so positively and the success of the subsequent sale in New Zealand, there’s a buoyancy.
“We have also got a number of our trainers who didn’t go east and buy to this stage. Normally, they would be at Classic, they would be at each of the three sales before ours, but they haven’t, so there hasn’t been a lot of Western Australian buyers who have spent money.”