Mark Webster CEO

A New Challenge for Black Caviar

Having won the hearts and minds of millions of racing enthusiasts and members of the general public, Black Caviar will now embark on a new career and indeed a new challenge in the breeding barn. Not all top class race mares go on to perform at the highest level as a broodmare, but in Black Caviar’s case she will simply be following in the footsteps of her dam and grandam, both considered to be blue hen producers by breeding experts. Unlike some top class race mares, she is not a freak or an accident of nature, she is one of many family members to perform at the highest level and is well placed to produce the finest thoroughbreds. I envy her owners, with so many top stallions to consider for her first mating, with Fastnet Rock, Redoutes Choice and More Than Ready the likely local contenders.

I would like to thank Rick Jamieson for buying Helsinge from Inglis (with help from Peter Ford), and then allowing our company to sell all of her yearlings. Black Caviar was of course the first, and I know Peter Heagney will saviour the day he offered her for sale in 2008 at Oaklands and commented that she would be a valuable broodmare one day if she could win a Group One, after knocking her down to the astute yearling judge Peter Moody for $210,000. How right he was, and
no-one in the Oaklands auditorium that day could have predicted she would win 15 Group One races and remain undefeated after 25 runs and go down in history as the best female racehorse of all time. 

I have no intention of comparing her with former champions, but her achievements are unique – the most special for me was how quickly she became a household and school yard name. I remember my youngest child Harrison at the age of four finding an old race book in the back of my car and flicking the pages. He screamed out from his booster seat that he had found Black Caviar on one of the pages after recognising her silks – not bad for a four year old who had no learnt to read. He has cheered her home every race since, and she is much admired by his schoolyard friends.

My favourite moment was her 2011 win in the TJ Smith. Hay List had stolen a 4 length lead coming around the bend at Randwick and the crowd gasped in shock at the thought of her being beaten by another top class sprinter. But she did not let us down, Luke simply pressed the button and she flew past Hay List within seconds to show to the world her dominance, and unbelievable win.

Congratulations to her wonderful owners and Peter Moody and his team for managing her racing
career so well, and always putting her welfare first. They have been patient when needed, and have allowed all of us to be part of her journey. Her younger sibling All Too Hard has already taken up the mantle having won three groups ones, and Australia now waits in anticipation and Bell Couture and this years Easter Sale topper Jimmy to add to the families achievements on the racetrack.

She will always have a special place amongst her friends here at Inglis, and will no doubt be top of mind for years to come when buyers and vendors celebrate their success in the Black Caviar Bar at Oaklands. God bless Black Caviar.

Reflections on Premier 2013 and updated sales statistics

Looking back at the 2013 edition of the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale provides valuable insight into the market. Starting with the highlights, Premier 1 achieved 80% clearance after private sales and an average of $76,302 which is up on last years $72,412. Premier 2 achieved a clearance of 75% well up on last years figure and an average of $28,000 on par with last year. The gross for the entire sale was $36.2m, up on $35m in 2012 which is pleasing noting we catalogued 15 fewer yearlings in
2013. It was great to see so many buyers in attendance, with 31 from South Africa and a good mix of trainers and owners from Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand. On the local front, we had excellent representation from Western  Australia and from Victorian based trainers who
increased their expenditure from the prior year. All of the vendors I spoke to said their parade numbers were well up on 2012, and I know our caterer supplied twice as much food this year due to numbers on the grounds right throughout. The photo accompanying this post says it all.

The most significant highlight this year was the success of the Blue Riband session of 50 classic and staying type yearlings. This session finished with an 87% clearance and an average of $114,400 which demonstrates that buyers do want to invest in this type of yearling and not just sprinting types. Congratulations to my team in particular Simon Vivian for bringing this new initiative to fruition, delivering results better than I could have imagined for year one. I believe this session represents a turning point in the Australian breeding industry, with buyers embracing yearlings that with a little patience should be competitive in the classics and cups of the future. 18 races conducted in Australia are worth $1m in prize money, but it seems the secret is out that 15 of these
are run over 1600m or more in distance and that we have the right type of yearlings on hand to compete in due course. There will always be the demand for the quick fix European bred older stayer, but we hope to add some balance to the marketplace via the Blue Riband session and encourage Australian breeders to produce a more versatile thoroughbred in the future.

The clearance rate for Premier 1 through the ring was a little lower than last year, but has reached a respectable 80% which is better than you see in many sales around the world even in the good years. There is no question that it is still a buyers market, and they can afford to be selective. Good conformation has never been more important, and even a Super Vobis sticker on a yearlings hind quarters is not enough to encourage buyers to bid if there are better types on offer, regardless of where they have come from or whether they carry that sticker. The challenge for all of us is to lift the bar in terms of quality, as we certainly had a buying bench in attendance that had the firepower to take home every yearling if they measured up.

I congratulate our leading vendors Lauriston Thoroughbred Farm (by average with 3 or more sold), in particular Kevin and James O’Brien. They sold 7 high quality yearlings for an average price of $177,857 which is outstanding. They also won the best presented award for their draft. I also commend the second leading vendor by average (3 or more sold) Mike O’Donnell from Fairhill
Farm in NSW. Noting Esker Lodge from NZ was also amongst the leading vendors by average it goes to show that buyers zero in quality, whether it resides in the draft of a big name vendor or a lesser known vendor from out of town. The Premier Sale is a level playing field. I’d also like to acknowledge the efforts of the leading vendor by aggregate, Eliza Park. It is a wonderful achievement and a logistical challenge to sell 44 yearlings at any one sale, well done.

Thank you also to our many buyers who supported the sale. In particular to those who dug deep such as our leading buyer David Hayes from Lindsay Park Racing, and other top ten buyers in order Ricky Yiu (HK), Peter Moody, Brad Spicer, Mick Price, Triple Crown Syndications (NSW), Form Bloodstock (South Africa), John Chalmers (WA), McDonald Racing (Clinton McDonald) and Glenhuntly Lodge (Mark Riley). We appreciate your support.

Thanks also to everyone who helped deliver the Inglis TV coverage, in particular Rob Gild and his production team, our hosts Caroline Searcy, Jason Richardson and Tanita Vella, Executive Producer Bonnie Connellan and Tech Director Dean Jacobs. Well done guys, excellent continuous coverage of the sale and some excellent interviews, many available on Inglis TV for viewing now.

Why the new Inglis Sydney Ready 2 Race Sale needs widespread cross Tasman support

Most open minded people know that the world is always changing. Whether its the impact of digital technology on media consumption or the way people shop for a new dress and hat for their next big raceday, customer behaviour is changing and suppliers need to move with them. Inglis is one of the best in the world at selling yearlings, with a track record few would question after glancing at the world thoroughbred rankings released today - with 3 world champions in their respective categories - Black Caviar, All Too Hard and Mosheen. There were numberous other Inglis grads rated at 115 or above. http://www.inglis.com.au/news/item/inglis-yearlings-star-in-2012-world-rankings

Regardless of how well Inglis yearling graduates are performing, there is a growing buying bench of customers wanting ready made racehorses. In our research, countries such as HK, Singapore, Korea and Malaysia having an increasing appetite for this type of product. China will be next. We are also seeing growing local demand from syndicators and trainers needing horses to syndicate in the latter half of the year after they have sold down their yearling purchases. There are also local owners who are less patient than yearling buyers - and want a two year old that will be ready to race within weeks or months. This is the market Inglis will be working tirelessly to serve with help from professional pinhookers, many of whom will be assisted financially to buy yearlings from Inglis Sales to put back through the new Inglis Ready 2 Race Sale. Despite some synical remarks that Australian's won't sell a good two year old - many of our customers will be contracted to re-offer their yearling purchases as two year olds via our funding agreements. They will not be in a position to keep the good ones as some may argue. That is all in the past for Inglis - we have a new model and with the right vendor support we will secure the right types of buyers. The new world requires a positive attitude and a willingness to seize new opportunities - anyone who wants to be part of the future should contact me or one of my team members. I welcome respected NZ bloodstock agent Michael Wallace to the Inglis Ready 2 Race team. Lets face it, the Kiwis have developed a good two year old sale and we are not about to change that - we feel there is room for an additional two year old sale in Australia as the market is growing - our sale will be selective with a focus on quality and integrity. The new Inglis Ready 2 Race Sale has been scheduled for early October which will allow NZ vendors to prepare a draft for Sydney in addition to what they would normally prepare for the NZ sale. We also leading Australian breeders and pin hookers to get behind this sale. Full details of this new initiatve can be viewed here http://www.inglis.com.au/news/item/inglis-yearlings-star-in-2012-world-rankings

Are there too many European bred runners? My thoughts on this issue.

I like to think I'm an open minded person, and recognise we are in a global industry, but when is enough enough? Like all good things in life, we need a sense of balance and proportion. Excess in any pursuit can lead to distorted results, and unhappy particpants. When Black Caviar graced the turf at Royal Ascot, she was one of a handful of Australian breds competing in her majesty's carnival. On that basis, the Australian's felt welcome. All was in proportion.

Aside from concerns expressed by leading Australian trainers in recent days that we are allowing too many European trained horses to compete in the Melbourne Cup which limits the opportunity for locally bred and trained horses, I believe Australians should also think carefully before rushing overseas to buy older staying horses. Obviously Europe has tradtionally provided a good source of stayers , but there is also a good case to provide greater support for home grown middle distance and staying horses, particularly over the next few years with so many top staying bred stallions now standing in Australia. Owners who jump on the import bandwagon may be doing themselves a disservice by overlooking the opportunities that present closer to home.  Although we hear of the successful imports, there are many that don't perform. I question how much money is being spent on tried horses from Europe and the USA, there can only be one winner of the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup each year.  So far this year we have seen the Caulfield Cup go to a raider owned by a Sheik from Qatar trained in France, with second placing to an Australian bred and third to a New Zealand bred. It was pleasing to see this years runner up Alcopop was sired by 1994 Melbourne Cup winner Jeune, who unfortunately did not get the support he deserved at stud in Australia and provides a good example of why we should support our own.

Remember, the imports in this years Caulfield Cup did not place. In fact, the imported horses owned by Australian connections in last weekend’s Caulfield Cup earned a total of $200,000 in prize money, from a pool of $2.6m. Last year's Caulfield Cup was won
by an Australian bred. The first 6 home in last Saturday's Cox Plate were Australasian bred, despite many imports and raiders targeting the race in recent months. Obviously Glencadum Gold is one import that has recently performed well in Sydney winning the Group 1 Metropolitan, but there are many expensive imports that will not achieve this type of success.

As someone with an eye on our breeding industry, if an Australian wanted to purchase a stayer from Europe or the USA, I would encourage them to purchase a racehorse with breeding potential such as Americain, rather than a gelding with no residual value and offering no upside to our breeding and racing industry in the long term. I’m not suggesting we should not import quality bloodlines that can add to the diversity of our bloodlines, but I am worried that the frenzy in the media at present regarding imports is unbalanced and could lead to an over investment from Australian racehorse owners, particularly when buying expensive geldings.

One of the perceived threats posed by the burgeoning trade in imported tried stayers is to diminish the finite amount of money owners have to spend on horses directly impacting yearling sales. Despite assertions by some media commentators that yearlings are too expensive, the average price of a yearling sold at auction in Australia is around the $60,000 mark. The average price being paid for good quality tried racehorses in the northern hemisphere would be closer to $500,000 - with many well above this price. It costs around $40,000 just to transport a horse from Europe to Australia - just shy of the average Australian yearling price.

When Australian's started buying tried horses from Europe five to six years ago they could be purchased for $100,000 - $200,000 but due to increased demand the price has sky rocketed.

A criticism of Australian breeders from some in the media, mostly directed at studmasters, is that we don't have the want or the capacity to breed stayers. There may be an element of truth in this with some studs clearly focused on producing sprinters, but there have always been breeders in this country that have demonstarted an ability to produce stayers - the question is whether they have been given the right level of support. At Inglis, we recognise the need to provide much greater support to breeders and buyers of stayers but acknowledge we could have done more in the past to support stayers. There is absolutely no reason why Australia can't develop a reputation for producing stayers, to complement our excellent record of producing sprinters like Black Caviar.

The current line up of staying perfomed stallions standing in Australia will, over time, boost our local classic and staying stocks to a considerable degree. We are blessed to have stallions such as High Chaparral, New Approach, Street Cry and Authorized among them. And what a revelation Redoutes Choice and Fastnet Rock have become, producing very versatile horses that can perform as two year olds and in the Blue Riband classics. The stocks of Reset and Savabeel are also on the rise. Lets not forget their sire Zabeel and the top stayers produced from our friends in NZ, it's worth mentioning the great Might and Power came from over the ditch and was sourced from the Easter Yearling Sale, like many other well performed NZ breds.

On that note, Inglis will be actively encouraging the industry to support the home grown product via the Blue Riband session of the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale in 2013. This will be a session of 40-50 well bred and conformed yearlings that we feel could perform in the Blue Riband events, and of course the cups. This initiative alone will not turn around the tide, but I encourage all Australians to think about this issue and look at what they can do to produce and procure more staying types in their own backyard.

 

HK Popstar enjoys "money can't buy" moment with $11,000 bargain buy

I've been harping on about the need for new blood amongst the racehorse owner ranks for the past few weeks. It's not only important that we all help recruit them, but it's also important that they are looked after and have every chance of success on the track. It was therefore great to see Calling For Love win his first start for new owner and HK celebrity Aaron Kwok in Sha Tin last Sunday. Most of you won't know Aaron, but from all reports he is a massive star in HK and was followed around the track by a cast of 20 or more reporters - who revelled in his maiden win. Well done to Dean Hawthorne who purchased this Seinazar colt from the Inglis Classic yearling Sale in Sydney in 2010 for just $11,000, and congratulations to Casper Fownes for training such an impressive first start winner. This is exactly the sort of outcome we'd like to achieve with the Inglis Platinum Club, helping people like Aaron Kwok achieve their racing dreams. To read more about this story - click here http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20120924.asp 

What a great weekend in the wild wild west

Last week I travelled to Western Australia to visit clients in Perth and attend the legendary Kalgoorlie Cup. What a wonderful way to spend 5 days of my life, the goldfields are amazing. I met many interesting characters on this trip, with the highlight of course being the Cup and the entire Kalgoorlie experience. The pre-raceday lunch at the Albion Hotel in Boulder was amazing - great food, too much beer and plenty of laughs thanks to bush comedian Peter Dee. Any lunch that starts at 1130am and finishes at 1030pm is worth attending. The locals were out in numbers early the following day for the Cup. The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Club committee were excellent hosts, making it a pleasure to be a raceday sponsor. A special thanks to Harry Donald and Andrew Inglis (no relation to William Inglis) from the club for looking after us so well. Also grateful to Ron Sayers and the Ausdrill team for keeping us watered all afternoon. A highlight of the program was the training achievement of Steve Wolf, scoring 4 winners on the day and missing number 5 by a nose - great effort noting he spent the previous day with us at the never ending lunch. Only regret is that I only backed your first two runners. This event proved the perfect place to launch the Inglis Platinum Club for anyone interested in becoming a racehorse owner - or for new owners looking to learn more about the sales process or breeding. We've had a wonderful response so far including many people from the resources rich WA, if you'd like to find out more go to www.inglis.com.au/platinum

2013 Inglis Yearling Sales Shaping Up Well - Preview here

Last week the Inglis bloodstock teams from Sydney and Melbourne locked themselves away in the Newmarket Room to rate several thousand pedigrees of yearlings entered for the 2013 Inglis Sale Series. After rating the stallions based on their commerical appeal, each and every yearling pedigree was rated on a scale of 1-12, with 12 being the highest. It is a very thorough and fair process, with each yearling considered by a group of 10 bloodstock specialists to ensure no bias. It's pleasing to watch this process and see the outcome, with some very special yearlings to be offered in 2013. A highlight will be Black Caviar's half brother by Redoutes, but there will be plenty of other stars such as a More Than ready colt from Samantha Miss, a Fastnet colt from Hips Don't Lie, a Redoutes colt from Fragmentation, a Fastnet colt from Procrastinate, a More Than Ready colt from Mimi Lebrock, a Redoutes colt from Snowdrift and so on. Very exciting. There are also some wonderful entries for Premier - especially for the new Blue Riband session which will feature yearlings with the potential to go on to perform in the major middle distance and staying races. We can and have bred good stayers in this country, and they can be purchased from yearling sales just like Niwot, Shocking, Littorio, Pinker Pinker etc all came through the Australian sales system. Think of all the wonderful locally bred Oaks and Derby winners, many did not get a chance to go on to the big spring staying races such as Samantha Miss, Miss Finland, Elvstroem, Rebel Raider, Ethiopia and Headturner - all Australian bred. No need to buy old staying geldings from Europe that are over-priced and offer no value to our breeding industry. The new Classic Sale format of a Summer book in January and a Winter book in June has also been well received, with good entries for both. The inaugral VOBIS Gold Yearling Sale in Melbourne is also shaping up well, with good vendor support so far. The team are now out on the road doing their conformation inspections. This year type will be a major priority - a good type will allow a yearling to jump several grades and into a better sale or session than may have been the case in the past.

Queen Victoria would be breaking glass if she was at Ascot this year.......

Is it any wonder that Queen Elizabeth has only missed one Royal Ascot meeting in 60 years!! Her grandmother Queen Victoria is said to have become so excited while watching a race at Ascot that she broke the window of the Royal box in a rush to see the finish.  One can only imagine how excited she would have been to see the amazingly talented Black Caviar thundering down the straight at Royal Ascot this Saturday.  Black Caviar was of course bred by Rick Jamieson at Gilgai Farm in Victoria, and is by leading Victorian based sire Bel Esprit who stands at Eliza Park. Although Black Caviar is on everyone's lips this week, it was only two years ago that another Victorian bred in Starspangledbanner proved himeself to be the best sprinter in the world when he won the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot. If you'd like to relive this race, check out this replay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC5dGaQfpt0 . Bred in Victoria by Tony Santic at Makybe Stud, he remains the fastest horse to be trained by Aidan O'Brien, his words not mine. And bred just over the Victorian border by the talented sire Testa Rossa who started his stud career in Victoria, is the mighty mare Ortensia who races tonight in the Group 1 Kind Stand Stakes. And keeping with the Victorian theme, I'm proud to say that all three stars of the turf mentioned above were sold in Victoria at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.  So perhaps it is fitting that Victorian bred and Victorian sold progeny continue to perform so well on the hallow turf of Royal Ascot. Click here to access the timetable for Aussie runners: http://www.sportsnews.com.au/horse-racing/royal-ascot-2012-race-times-for-australian-horses/37800

 

Let the coronation begin - read on

When you've beaten the best that Australia has to offer you have nothing left to prove by catching a 747 and travelling 17,000 kms to compete on the so called world stage. Australia produces the best sprinting thoroughbreds in the world, so its arguable that Black Caviar has already beaten the best and made her mark. Forget what the experts say - just look at the impact she is having in the family home. When I ask my five year old son Harrrison who is the fastest horse in the world, he doesn't hesitate in shouting back Black Caviar - he can recognise her colours as they flash on the screen, and his miniture pony Stan The Man is now used to role playing Nelly around our arena at home.

But the decision to make the journey is driven by a range of factors - beating the poms at a sport they invented and achieving formal recognition that she is indeed THE best. The pomp and ceremony of Royal Ascot adds to the mystique of the entire experience - much like an ancient ritual of rights. If nothing else, the journey should culiminate in the coronation of our champion whilst in the company of fellow Royalty. We wish Peter Moody and all of the connections the best of luck. Enjoy the moment.

The article below is an opinion piece published on the National Times network.

http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/black-caviar-on-track-to-become-racing-royalty-20120604-1zrf4.html

It's time we all became recruiters for the future of our sport

The major yearling and broodmare sales each year are interesting for many reasons. One obvious one is to assess whether any new players are buying their way into our sport, or at least putting a toe in the water. There were a few new players this year, but not enough to make up for a few of the regulars who decided to sit this year out. We are all grateful for the High Court win and the subsequent announcement re prize money increases, but this good news is not enough to lure new comers, more needs to be done. Its up to all of us who play a role in our sport, breeders, owners, punters, trainers administrators, journalists and auctioneers to invest some of our time in recruiting new participants. I'm sure most of have spent some time doing this in the past (I sure have), but this time its different - we actually have good news to help us sell our sport. We need to look outside the obvious to find new investors and owners. Some will respond to the financial upside, others will be more interested in the social or networking opportunities, whilst others may simply pursue their latent love of horses. If we can make better use of technology and provide creative media opportunities we have some hope of capturing young tech savvy owners. At Inglis we are segmenting the marketplace and will implement a plan to recruit buyers from each. But my message is simple, we all need to recruit for the future - this can be as easy as inviting a few friends of friends to come racing - or promoting your love of the sport to your virtual friends on Facebook. It all helps.