European tried-horse market ‘off its head’ – leading syndicator keeps powder dry

Australian Bloodstock’s Jamie Lovett expects to have at least two Europeans in Victoria for the spring carnival, but the Melbourne Cup-winning syndicator feels he may be left with too few bullets to fire later this year.

The Joseph O’Brien-trained pair Al Riffa and recent recruit Perisher are likely to spearhead Australian Bloodstock’s Caulfield and Melbourne Cup team but other European horses targeted by Lovett and his business partner Luke Murrell appear to be out of reach. 

Even in such a scenario, when A Boy Named Susie hit the headlines last week because of a proposed high-priced sale to Australia, Lovett was glad he wasn’t involved.

Trainer Donnacha O’Brien, the brother of Joseph who prepares the colt for their sister Ana, hit out at the media after speculation reached fever pitch that Ciaron Maher had negotiated a deal to buy the son of Starspangledbanner for more than $5 million.

Under normal circumstances, as the European Flat season closes in on Goodwood and August’s York Festival, Lovett would have purchased multiple middle-distance and staying horses to target the Australian spring.

“Normally by now, I would have bought four or five, but (the market’s) just off its head,” Lovett told The Straight. 

“If you look at what they’re paying for them, a lot of those of course are going into Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and those sorts of places. 

“They have no budget, so for us to try and compete, even that horse the other day (A Boy Named Susie), asking upwards of €3 million, it’s just all out of whack, so for us it’s not viable to pay that and get them down here.” 

And therein lies the increasingly challenging European market for syndicators such as Australian Bloodstock and OTI Racing who are regularly overshadowed by Middle Eastern entities such as Wathnan Racing (managed by Australian Olly Tait) and the Australian connections of Ozzie Kheir, John O’Neill and their cashed-up syndicate.

As it is, Australian Bloodstock has acquired just one new horse so far this year: potential Caulfield Cup hope Perisher.

The lightly raced three-year-old gelding ran third in the 2000m Golden Gates Stakes on the final day of the Royal Ascot meeting in June, his first start for his new owners and just his seventh overall.

Following his placing at the Royal meeting, he was transferred to Newmarket en route to Maher for a spring campaign.

“We thought he’s done a good job and that we’d turn him out, but Ciaron has been over there and had him at Newmarket,” Lovett said. 

“The horse bounced out of that run and Ciaron had one look at him and said, ‘we’ll keep him ticked over’ because you don’t want those northern hemisphere horses out of training for too long because they get used to it.

“He’s currently with Harry Eustace at Newmarket, so we’re just weighing up a couple of options, he may come down and look at a race to qualify him for Caulfield Cup, or he might have another run over in the northern hemisphere before sending him out.”

Perisher was bought from O’Brien and the Atlantic Thoroughbreds syndicate, a group of investors who on-sell the horses by the time they turn four.

“That’s why I like buying them, because their model is that they have got to be sold at the end of their three-year-old season, so they’re good to buy off,” Lovett said. 

“You know they’re not selling them because there’s a problem, it’s just that their model is to trade out and we’re able to get a pretty good handle on them.”

The trading groups have also tapped into the growing demand from international buyers, leading to increased competition.

“There’s certainly more players in that space. The quality is the same, but there’s just more buyers for the same horse,” he said.

Lovett’s market observations come after Australian Bloodstock last year put up more than $4 million to buy the O’Brien-trained Al Riffa, who ran seventh in the 2025 Melbourne Cup.

He has since had four starts, including three this season, with his latest third in the Group 2 Curragh Cup in Ireland at the weekend.

He also ran fourth in the Ascot Gold Cup, putting a second chance at the Melbourne Cup on the table.

“Initially, when I left London (after Royal Ascot), we left everything up in the air … but Joseph was really close to the horse and he said he probably needs to go around again if we’re going to keep the Melbourne Cup as an option,” Lovett said. 

“We were happy with his run the other night, he’s come down a few points, so he’ll be in the nominations, and depending on what weight he gets, we’d really be keen to get him back down for the Melbourne Cup.”