‘It’s getting tougher’ – economic impacts hit lower end of bloodstock market in Adelaide

The harsh realities of the Australian bloodstock market, and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots, were on show at the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale.

The two-day sale concluded on Friday with six yearlings selling for $100,000 or more, headed by a Tassort colt from Sullivan Bloodstock who was bought by Trilogy Racing and agent Suman Hedge for $120,000.

Fillies by Grunt ($115,000) and Dalasan ($110,000) and colts by Brazen Beau ($110,000), Zousain ($100,000) and Anders ($100,000) also sold for six figures during the second season.

A Zoustar filly sold for a sale-topping $200,000 on Thursday, with trade hitting $9.63 million at an average price of $40,295 and median of $30,000.

The clearance rate improved to 69 per cent, but it was still a tough market for vendors with limited demand for those yearlings in the lower price bracket.

It’s a far cry from the COVID-inspired splurge on yearlings, of which all sales and auction houses benefited, particularly during 2022 and 2023, with Adelaide’s turnover declining by more than half this week compared to what transpired four years ago.

Almost $21 million changed hands at Morphettville that year and the gross was more than $17 million a year later.

Fourteen million dollars was turned over in Adelaide this year, although an expanded March Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast, which took in interstate horses for the first time, could have impacted the depth of the southern offering.

“I think from a clearance rate perspective, I thought it picked up today. The better horses on a whole landed (on Thursday), so obviously the average was always going to come back to a cog,” Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said. 

“It’s disappointing it’s come back a good amount of last year’s, but effectively this is the grassroots of the industry.”

Despite the market sentiment this week, Bowditch is adamant that the smaller yearling sales are vital to the market.

“This is where it starts and it’s an important part of the ecosystem, but it’s getting tougher at that end,” Bowditch said. 

“If you’ve got a quality horse, it doesn’t matter where you offer it, you’ll get paid well, and that was evident over the last two days. 

“But if you’ve got a horse that’s off the pace or it’s not what the market’s looking for, it’s tough out there when you look at the climate, whether you’re looking at interest rates or fuel prices or everything in between, at the bottom end, it’s affecting people.

“As I say, that’s evident at that lower end more than anywhere. A sale like this sale or a sale like we had last week, you’ve got more of those horses in the catalogue. They need to be sold or need to be offered somewhere.”

Inspections for the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale start at Riverside Stables next week, with selling taking place on March 29 and 30.

This year’s sales season has been cramped, with the Magic Millions sale in January starting a week later and Easter brought forward by a week, with various others in between.

That was another of many factors that may be impacting the appetite to buy, Bowditch said.

“I think buyers or trainers or agents, they’ve all got their own businesses around them, which obviously sales are an important part of that, but the wall-to-wall sales, basically, each week since January, there’s been an auction or an inspection day or something going on,” he said.

“It’s been since the 8th or 10th of January until now, and obviously it goes on for a little bit longer. It’s been a really, really busy time and buyers are … still selling down the stock that they’ve bought at all the sales. 

“That’s an important part of what they do and they need time to do so.

“I think next year, there will be a little bit more space there, an extra week or two, and we’ll look at what fits the calendar best for a sale like this and a sale like March and see if we can give the market a little bit more room if it’s possible.”

Final stats – Adelaide Yearling Sale

Lots Catalogued: 425 (455) 

Lots Sold: 239 (292)  

Lots Passed In: 107 (92) 

Lots Withdrawn: (69) (71)  

Sale Gross: $9,630,500 ($14,333,500)  

Average Price: $40,295 ($49,087)  

Top Price: $200,000 ($350,000)  

Median Price: $30,000 ($32,500)  

Clearance: (69) (76)