Straight Up – A New year, a new idea
In this edition:
- From sales ring foes to partners – Fung joins forces with colts syndicate supremo Harron
- Front and centre – Gerard Daffy’s role in the evolution of sports betting
- Taking stock – how publicly listed wagering companies fared around the globe in 2024
- French rider Curatolo to link with Munce for three-month Queensland stint
- Blue Diamond winner Hayasugi remembered for ‘fighting spirit’
The dawn of a new year often brings with it changes in plans, and in the case of the thoroughbred industry, new alliances.
The ticking over of the calendar is a natural inflection point for the bloodstock industry, with it also marking the start of a new yearling sales season.
Walking the sales grounds at the Gold Coast over the next few days ahead of the Magic Millions Yearling Sale will give you plenty of insight into who is working with who, and who is no longer in partnership.
People-watching is almost as much of a sport as inspecting the 1400-odd yearlings, particularly which bloodstock agents are working with which trainers.
Four years ago, at the start of 2021, Bruce Slade of Kestrel Thoroughbreds confirmed he was re-uniting with his former boss Gai Waterhouse and her training partner Adrian Bott. Since that point, according to our data, the trio have combined to buy 195 yearlings worth $65.5 million.
In the time since, other agent/trainer partnerships have come and gone. Some last a season, other barely one sale. The competitive heat of the auction sales ring does tend to test priorities.
This week it was confirmed two of the biggest players in the top end of the yearling market over the past few years were joining forces.
James Harron has built a well-earned reputation as a buyer of premium colts and fillies and the Fung family’s TFI operation has been busy at the top end as well, either in its own name or in partnership with the likes of Kia Ora.
Harron told The Straight’s Tim Rowe that aligning on their top prospects, rather than competing, made sense.
Gerard Daffy was there at the very birth of the Australian corporate wagering industry. Seconded to Alice Springs in the early 1990s to run Centrebet, he immediately saw the potential of what has now become a multi-billion-dollar industry.
In perhaps a window to the future, Daffy was among the first to recognise the power of media coverage when it came to promotion, especially when it came to avoiding advertising bans.
He is one of the great survivors in an industry that looks nothing like the one he started out in more than three decades ago.
The past 12 months have seen more changes in the Australian wagering industry. The Straight has examined the stock market fortunes of the three publicly listed wagering providers in Australia as well as the two big internationally listed players throughout 2024.
Frenchman Ryan Curatolo has over 500 winners in the saddle across eight countries and is keen to add Australia to the list after joining forces with Chris and Corey Munce.
He told Tim Rowe that he has an option of heading back to Japan in April, but wanted to see if he can make a go of it in Brisbane.
In sad news, last year’s Blue Diamond Stakes winner Hayasugi has died, after a long battle following surgery in October.
The daughter of Royal Meeting was trained by Clinton McDonald in an eight-start career for a syndicate which included bloodstock agent Shane McGrath.
ICYMI this week:
- ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ for Kalgoorlie racing industry over water issue
- ‘The fastest horse in racing has always been self-interest’ – The roadblock to club rationalisation
- Run The Numbers – Australia’s top sires are the oldest in the world
- Rowe on Monday: Kneebone enters Blue Diamond fray with Field Of Play, Stewart takes ownership of Australian pedigree company
The Straight will be up on the Gold Coast providing all the latest and most important news from the Magic Millions over the next week and a bit. Make sure you also subscribe to our Straight Talk podcast for our daily updates on You Tube, Apple, Spotify or Podbean.
Happy New Year!
Bren O’Brien
Managing Editor and Founder
The Straight
Author
