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SOPHIA HEATH |
Weblog: A newcomer's take on the breeding world
A fortnight in bloodstock broadens the mind
WHEN I first arrived at the Racing Post for work-experience a couple of weeks ago my knowledge of racing bloodstock was undeveloped. Although I have spent allmy life involved with horses my experience has been in eventing and polo rather than racing. I was fortunate enough to work for West Kington Stud when I was 18, which ignited my interest in bloodstock.
My knowledge must have increasedtenfold during my time working for the bloodstock team but there are a couple of areas which have left an imprint on my mind.
Galileo: a new breeding legend
PICTURE: Edward WhitakerThe first thing that has amazed me is how resilient the bloodstock market has been in the recession. The majority of horses are bought as luxury items with disposable incomes. As a result of this it is not surprising that in most other areas of equestrian sport the value of a large proportion of horses has dropped significantly.
This does not seem to have been the case for the racing world. DBS sales figures, which were released yesterday, show that they have held their annual turnover despite selling 400 fewer horses. Tatersalls figures have also been impressive this year. At Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale the average price increased by 32per cent from 107,445gns to 141,852gns.
I have heard several arguments from industry professionals over the past couple of weeks as to why this might be. Agent Matt Coleman and DBS managing director Henry Beeby both put forward the argument that, with so much uncertainty surrounding in the financial markets, people with some disposable income are looking to bloodstock as a more enjoyable market to invest in.
Roisin Close of Bucklands Stud and Farm suggested a slightly different perspective arguing that racing always has the lure of hopes and dreams: in other words there is always a chance you might make it big. Whatever the reason is for bloodstock's resilience it is something to be admired.
The second thing which took me by surprise was the outstanding success of Galileo as a sire. I was aware that he had produced successful progeny but it was not until I began to speak to people in the game that I started to understand his prominence.
Over the past couple of weeks I have collated opinions from many industry experts about their views on bloodstock in the past year. Without fail they have all described Galileo as the best sire of their lifetime. It is suchan exciting time for racing bloodstock to be on the verge of a new breeding legend.
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