Expatriate Australian Stuart Boman is the Hong Kong Jockey’s new contracted agent for the northern hemisphere.
A partner in the UK-based Blandford Bloodstock, Boman replaces Mick Kinane who acted as the Jockey Club’s European agent for six years, a term which included the yearling purchase of global champion Romantic Warrior.
The change of hierarchy comes after Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges promised a “holistic review” following a below par International Sale conducted in March.
Six of the 21 three-year-olds catalogued were withdrawn from the sale for veterinary reasons and another 11 lots had already been ruled out for other reasons.
“The market has changed and when the market changes, you have to see if what you do is still the right thing to do and you have to think how you put a value proposition there,” Engelbrecht-Breges told the South China Morning Post at the time.
“So, it’s one thing when you get the withdrawal of horses, which definitely makes it not very sustainable, but the other one is to step back and say how the market has changed. You need to make an analysis and see what you do.”
Boman, who is credited with buying OTI Racing’s recent Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes winner Docklands and Group 1 winner Zaaki, is also a regular at the Australasian sales, most recently assisting New Zealand syndicator Go Racing.
Overseeing yearling selection and preparation of European horses for the HKIS, Boman will answer to executive manager of the International Sale and Owners Advisory Services Danny Rolston, who joined the Jockey Club from New Zealand Bloodstock in 2022.
Boomer Bloodstock’s Craig Rounsefell is the Jockey Club’s southern hemisphere contracted agent.
