‘We’re looking at buying 100 horses this year’ – Pardi’s plan for Equine Growth Fund

The Equine Growth Fund’s plans to secure up to 100 horses through the Australian sales in 2026 are taking shape with the purchase of two yearlings on day one of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, including the first-ever yearling sold by champion Anamoe.

Pardi secured the honour of buying the first yearling to be offered by the one-time Australian Racehorse Of The Year Anamoe with a bid of $525,000.

Nine-time Group 1 winner Anamoe has his first yearling crop at this year’s sales and after his first catalogued lot was withdrawn and his second passed in, it was Lot 114, the colt out of Blue Sky Baby offered by Newgate on behalf of Ridgmont that secured the honour being the first sold at public auction.

Stefan Pardi, who operates under the SP Bloodstock banner, partnered with Blueblood Thoroughbreds and Ciaron Maher Bloodstock on the colt, as well as on an Ole Kirk colt, Lot 10, which he paid $400,000 earlier for in the day.       

“They have been purchased under the Equine Growth Fund, which is basically the second fund we’re doing. We did one last year. And we’re going to do a bit of colts and fillies, stuff that we think that we can make into broodmares or make into stallions in the future,” Pardi said.

“We’ll be active in all the sales. We’re looking at buying about 100 horses this year, and that’s anything from weanlings, broodmares, colts, fillies, whatever. So the whole spectrum of all racehorses and breeding horses.”

Pardi made an impression at last year’s weanling sales, securing several foals primarily for pinhooking purposes. But he has expanded the Equine Growth Fund in 2026.

“The Equine Growth Fund’s a wholesale fund, licensed funds manager, and brings in investors. We’ve got about 80 per cent of our investors from overseas. The US, London, Singapore,” he said.

“There’s only about 20 per cent of them local, and there’s hardly any racing people in it.”

“SP Bloodstock, who we got knocked down to, is the asset manager of Equine Growth Fund. So I buy and sell horses, basically.”

A total of 100 horses would make the Equine Growth Fund the most active buyer on the Australian sales scene in 2026.

The Anamoe purchase was also significant given it is the first time in a decade the first crop of an Australian Racehorse Of The Year has been available at a yearling sale. That was Dissident, while before that you have to go back to Lonhro.

Pardi has been impressed by Anamoe’s progeny, albeit he said they are hard to pin down.  

“It looks like he’s going to get sprinters. It looks like he’s going to get middle distance. Even horses like Oaks and Guineas horses,” he said.

“They’re some really nice types, and I think this will be cheap once we look at day three and day four because there’s some nicer ones coming through in the sense of pedigree-wise.”

Pardi said he and Maher, who will train the horse, both valued the colt at around $600,000, so he felt he had got some value.

“When we buy horses the first thing we do is we want an athlete. We want something that’s athletic, something with a good temperament,” he said.

“He ticked all those boxes. Good size, good dance, good pedigree page. So, yeah, it’s a good horse.”