🔒 🔒 Hong Kong investors staying the course despite losing out on The Oaks Stud

A Hong Kong consortium whose bid for The Oaks Stud was foiled by a Kiwi breeder’s shock purchase of the renowned farm has vowed to continue its investment in the New Zealand breeding industry.

Bloodstock agent Alan Fu, who manages the group’s bloodstock interests, revealed that the partners had not been put off by Tony Rider, who last month trumped the organisation’s offer to buy the Dick Karreman-owned The Oaks Stud.

Settlement on the Cambridge Stud-based stallion farm will occur next July with Rider adding The Oaks Stud to his neighbouring Milan Park holding.

The Hong Kong investors had been quietly purchasing mares at live and online auctions this year, with the assistance of agents Paul Moroney and Catheryne Bruggeman. 

“The team are big fans of Classic races, and they want to breed Classic horses. And naturally they turned to New Zealand, especially with the success they’ve witnessed in Hong Kong Classic races,” Fu told The Straight. 

“It is unfortunate that the deal didn’t proceed, but I’m very glad it is in Milan Park’s capable hands. We’ve had mares with them before, they are well looked after by Grant (Bennett, Milan Park stud manager) and I know Tony loves his walk around the farm. 

“The horses that grow up there are very friendly to humans and easy to deal with.”

At last week’s Tattersalls July Sale in the UK, the Hong Kong entity added to its broodmare portfolio with the 15,000gns (AU$30,245) purchase of Subvent, an unraced daughter of Ulysses.

“This is some power-packed pedigree developed for five generations now by Juddmonte Farm who bought high-class race filly Sookera (by Roberto) from Robert Sangster in the late 1970s to become one of the leviathan stud’s foundation broodmares,” Moroney posted on social media after landing the mare who is from the same family as The Metropolitan winner Mirage Dancer and Northerly Stakes runner-up Ironclad.

Fu said the mare would arrive in New Zealand in time to be served during the spring, joining 11 other mares already acquired by the group..

“It is uncertain with a property plan, but the breeding investment will continue and the Tattersall’s horse may fly back before breeding season to visit a New Zealand stallion,” he said.

Other broodmare purchases made by Moroney and Bruggeman for the Hong Kong consortium include Group 2 winner Snitty Kitty ($160,000), Lope De Vega mare Junebug ($115,000), Meseika ($160,000), Sentimental Flame ($80,000), You Are Correct ($50,000) and Diplomacy ($32,500).

In early June, The Oaks Stud general manager Rick Williams and Rider announced an agreement had been reached for the sale of the property, which had been under Karreman’s ownership since the early 2000s.

Rider told The Straight last month that he had been considering the proposition for at least a year and didn’t want to be left with regrets about not making the move.

“When things are going well, it’s a lot harder to get in and I suppose that (current New Zealand industry sentiment) was good from my point of view,” he said. 

“The industry (has) some challenges here in New Zealand, so for me it’s probably the right time to get in.

“Over a 15-year project, the (Milan Park) farm will be split up into housing, so it also made me think about where I’m heading.

“It’s either make a move or get out and, like most of us that are in the industry, we’ve got so much love and passion for the industry. We’re a small country and we all need to work together and if we all work together, we’ll get through it (the challenges).”