ROB'S SHOUT - THE LOTTERY OF THE SALES-RING

By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, August 26, 2010

Robert Heathcote is the leading racehorse trainer in Brisbane. 'Rob's Shout' - the personal blog of the premiership winning trainer will appear every Thursday on HRO.

A question was asked recently about how I go about the selection process when buying a new yearling.

There is no doubt that the whole process of going to the sales and buying a new yearling can be a very daunting task. So much more so when you have little experience in the whole auction process, so I have always maintained it’s essential to have a few factors in your favour … and even then it can still be very much a lottery.

Ask the buyers of many $1 million plus yearlings over the years that have, quite simply, not been fast enough!

I have been very fortunate to have had a very long and successful association with one of New Zealand's leading Bloodstock experts. Paul Willetts has had a life time in the industry and I believe he has an eye for a young horse second to none in Australasia.

His results since I have been in the industry are quite simply outstanding and it's been my good fortune to have had a long and successful relationship with Paul. We have enjoyed a huge amount of sales success over the years from the very first horse that Paul selected for me way back in the ‘90s.

He chose her out of 500 yearlings. She cost $9000 and she went on to win a couple of hundred thousand dollars and gave me my first winner. ‘Kaminka' was her name and yes, that's a pleasant memory indeed.

Paul is now extremely respected right around the sales rings of Australasia.

Paul does all of the hard work at the sales for me. He painstakingly examines all of the yearlings at the sales in a process that is both long and tiring, but essential for one to find the right horse for the right price.

I have always said it’s not hard to go to the sales and put your hand up for a $200 000 plus yearling with a good pedigree and find you have bought a Saturday class racehorse.

For that kind of money there is little doubt he or she would have a something in its favour, either a good pedigree or stunning individual or perhaps even both!

That's the top end of the market and it’s always important to have deep pockets for that shopping! I usually do my shopping at the lower end looking for the QTIS bargains where I have been so successful over the last 10 years.

Paul has been able to find me a lot of very successful racehorses, but at prices which are extremely reasonable.

My current stable star Buffering is a classic example. We picked him up last year for $22,000 and he has now won over $400,000.

He passed Paul’s conformational criteria and then ultimately mine as well as I won the bid on him to take him home!

Interestingly he had his hind leg quite heavily bandaged as well when we saw him. He had suffered a minor injury, but the vendors had a vet clear him and that was good enough for me.

It may well even have put a few prospective buyers off him and it’s why I felt he was a real bargain for the $22k. He certainly is now!

He has brought together a great bunch of people who are enjoying a great ride.

Paul will narrow the field down at the sales from many hundreds to bid on to a more manageable number of 20 or 30 or 40 which have passed the initial criteria of being perhaps affordable and in my or my clients price range, but importantly having a reasonably correct conformation.

As a trainer, this is an aspect that is so important as we try to limit the risk of injury when the young horses come into training and racing.

A conformational fault can lead to an injury down the track when we put increased pressure on the young horses in training.

That's not always the case as there have been many, many examples of horses who have failed the vet tests and gone on to be stars.

We will then re-examine the individual horses to further narrow the field to find the right horse to bid on. There are times when we may knock a horse back just by the way the horse behaves as the attendant leads him whilst being inspected.

The young horses do get a bit irritable about being paraded up and down over a few days. I like a horse with a good temperament and one who attentive to the handler’s requests.

There is a difference between the youngster who might just be a bit irritated as opposed to one is might be a bit of a rat and just plain uncooperative!

Buffering was a fantastic walker the first time I saw him and his temperament was faultless. He actually looked like he might have needed a bit more time than he eventually did. We got lucky that he came to hand so quickly and enjoyed four wins as a two-year-old.

Whilst the pedigree of the youngster is important, it is not often the most important factor in our my selection / bidding process.

A good pedigree will almost surely mean that you will have to pay more for the horse. It may also be that the horse has great conformation and a great attitude, but his pedigree suggests he may need some more time. That can affect his sale price so, for a patient client, this could be a good buy!

For sure the most important factor for a prospective purchaser is usually the cost. It's a factor that we generally determine prior to the auction and a figure is set and if the auction price goes over our estimate, we generally let them go and wait for the next one.

I find it is important to set a figure that you believe the horse can be brought for, a budget so to speak, and when that's past, go to the bar and have a drink!

Yes, I have missed a few horses over the years that have turned out to be good’uns, but a level of discipline is important and sometimes it can be cheaper!

Paul keeps an extensive database on all the horses which are sold at both the NZ and the Aussie sales. As he attends all of the sales, his expertise and experience is invaluable to me.

Like all bloodstock agents, Paul also works on a commission basis, but as far as I am concerned, it's always money well spent. I have learned a lot off Paul over the years and I will continue to do so.

He has a great eye for a horse, and he has taught me what to look for, but just as importantly to be patient and buy with your head and not your heart!

My theory is simple in this business. Try and use the best professional people available as often as possible and that pretty much goes for all aspects of this business.

All said and done it will always be a bit of a lottery, but it helps if we can narrow it down a bit. It’s simply not possible to have a strike rate of a one hundred percent and it’s very scary when one fully understands how many horses actually do not make it to the races in their career.

I am pleased to say that the record of Paul and I over the years has stood up. It’s not a one hundred percent win rate, but it’s just about a clean record of getting them to the races and that's about as good as it gets!

So many other factors then determine the outcome of the youngsters as they head to their 'new homes' after the sales. The breaking and education process which then takes place over the next six to nine months. This is vital to get right along with the process of getting the new acquisition some new owners if the purchase was a speculation.

Perhaps more on that another day.

Regards,
Robert.

More articles