Australia’s public racehorse syndication operators believe they have unlocked enough value out of the first yearling sale of the year to help offset the broader challenges of trading in an uncertain economic climate.
While the top end of the recent Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale remained strong with 13 lots changing hands for seven-figure amounts, a subdued middle to lower tier of the market emerged as a talking point.
And if a softer buying bench in this range may have led to vendor disappointment, syndicators contacted by The Straight say it created opportunities that didn’t exist in previous years.
“Everyone knows that the high-end was pretty solid, and the upper middle was pretty solid too,” Proven Thoroughbreds principal Jamie Walter said.
“But I think that the middle-to-lower part of the middle market was pretty soft and as a result we did a lot of shopping in that area.
“I suppose I'm like everyone else in trying to buy value. And I just thought there was more value in that lower middle, lower end of the market.”
Walter was among the busiest syndicators on the Gold Coast, purchasing 11 yearlings varying in cost from $220,000 to $18,000 for a total of $1.188 million. Last year, buying 11 yearlings on the Gold Coast cost Proven Thoroughbreds $1.39 million.
“I suppose I'm like everyone else in trying to buy value. And I just thought there was more value in that lower middle, lower end of the market," - Jamie Walter
On the scale of affordability, Walter was satisfied with a cross-section of purchases that included a $220,000 Toronado colt and a $200,000 filly by Kia Ora Stud’s first-season sire Captivant.
Walter said the dominance of established names such as I Am Invincible, Snitzel, Zoustar and Written Tycoon continued despite “an incredible number of first-season sires” represented on the Gold Coast.
“Magic Millions is the showcase sale for first-season sires, being the first cab off the rank each year,” he said.
“And they love being the first to present stock of first-season sires.
“But it's a funny landscape at the moment, because our four top stallions are all old men.
“But underneath that, there's a bit of a gaping hole. There's not much of a middle but buying progeny of first-season sires, I think, is a part of the game.
“Particularly as we're struggling to find a really viable middle of the market at the moment.”
Tim Rowe
Dynamic Syndications’ Adam Watt agrees that the middle market has softened, providing syndicators with unexpected room to manoeuvre in the Gold Coast sales ring.
“We were pleasantly surprised how well we were able to shop up there,” he said.
“It was probably the best buying that we’ve seen in the last five years and we felt in that mid-market, if you did enough homework, you were able to get what you wanted.”
Dynamic purchased 12 yearlings in the expectation prize money returns in Australia will continue to drive investment.
In an overall spend of more than $1.8 million, a Too Darn Hot colt topped Dynamic’s buying sheet at $320,000.
“We've been lucky that we've had a wonderful run of success on the track over the last 12 months and we had clients that were keen to get involved again this year,” Watt said.
“But there is no doubt that it is tough with discretionary spending at all-time lows … the need for a share in a racehorse has waned.
“But at the same time, we're in a very good place in our industry in that we do have record levels of prize money to help those that do want to be in the game still be able to afford to be a part of it.
“The need for a share in a racehorse? I’d say no one needs to have a share in a racehorse at the moment is where we realise the market is at.
“But we still feel that there are enough people out there that want high-quality bloodstock.”
Top five Australian-registered syndicators by spend at Magic Millions
Nathan Bennett stuck to a tried-and-tested modus operandi that delivered his eponymous syndication company a windfall in 2024 after the sale of two-time Group 1 winner Southport Tycoon to Widden Stud.
Bennett purchased Southport Tycoon for $300,000 at the 2022 Gold Coast sale, and he was active in that price area again - with one exception.
In a reward for patience, Bennett paid $600,000 for a Zoustar colt towards the end of the sale.
While the average for a Zoustar colt dropped from $595,000 to $450,000, Bennett said he was prepared to go to his limit after “saving ammunition”.
“He was our pick of the whole sale out of the colts on the ground, so we didn't want to leave without him,” Bennett said.
A number of owners associated with Bennett Racing’s Southport Tycoon syndicate were behind the purchase.
“At the sale we targeted specific colts with big pedigrees and he was one of those that fitted that criteria,” Bennett said.
“The majority of the horse was pretty much sold before we purchased him as such.”
“It's more probably part of our process that lowers the risk for everyone when you buy a horse by a proven stallion." - Nathan Bennett
Bennett also targeted the progeny of Arrowfield Stud’s champion sire Snitzel, purchasing two colts for $400,000 and $350,000, respectively.
Snitzel colts were once again highly sought-after this year, averaging $783,000 compared to $612,000 in 2024 as Bennett said he found progeny of stallions in the upper echelons of commercial sustainability easier to market than first-season offerings.
“It's more probably part of our process that lowers the risk for everyone when you buy a horse by a proven stallion,” he said.
“I’m not saying we won't buy a first-season sire - we've certainly been on a few - but I find they're actually easier to buy the second season.
“We bought a Farnan (yearling) this year and we couldn't get near them last year, so we didn't have to pay through the roof to get him.”
Bren O’Brien
As the round of Australasian yearling sales moves to New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka sale next week, Tricolours Racing and Syndications owner James Moss believes it’s best not to assess the state of the Australian bloodstock industry on the first auction of the year.
“It’s really hard to gauge the strength of the market off the Magic Millions sale because that sale is usually - or unusually strong - compared to other sales,” he said.
“And obviously you're getting people taking a horse there to sell as an early two- year-old type or a precocious type.
“We try to point ourselves at the value end of the market. And that means we miss out on more than we want to take away from Magic Millions.
Warwick Barr
Tricolours made two Magic Millions purchases.
“From my point of view it's a very tough sale to get a gauge on the overall market.
“I guess the proof will be in the pudding when we go to New Zealand and what unfolds at the Classic Sale (in Sydney).
“But in terms of the Magic Millions sale itself, I thought it was really strong, which is probably indicative of where the landscape is for racing in Australia.
“It's a tremendous place to race horses.”
