Monday, 12 October 2009: Australian breeders have established an important foothold in China with the successful conclusion of the first ever Australian Thoroughbred sale in Beijing at the weekend.
 | Peter McGauran
Photo by Racing and Sports | |
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In Beijing for the landmark horse auction, Chief Executive of breeders' company Aushorse Marketing, Peter McGauran, said that the sale has raised the profile of Australian horses and provided a platform for further expansion into the market.
"There is growing interest in racing and breeding in China and Aussie breds are leading the way. Although there is no legalized gambling on horse racing yet in China, there are signs of growth in Thoroughbred racing as a sport. Even with the limitations a ban on betting has on the development of a racing industry, China is progressing towards a valuable niche market for Australian breeders." McGauran said.
The sale, conducted on the outskirts of Beijing at the private training track of the Chinese vendor offered 80 unraced Australian breds at auction with published reserve prices.
The horses were supplied by Magic Millions (MM) and sourced from across Australia. They were quarantined in the Hunter Valley before being transported to Beijing where they were broken in and prepared for the sale by former Hong Kong trainer and MM agent Mr Stephen Leung.
Mostly two-year-olds, horses were breezed up the day before the sale on the property to potential buyers. MM assisted in the promotion and marketing of the sale and General Manager David Chester travelled to China to assist in final preparations and on the day of the auction itself.
Being the first of its kind, the sale attracted significant interest and was well attended by Government and Equestrian officials as well as horse enthusiasts.
"The horses were in excellent condition and paraded exceptionally well and presented a great image for Australian breds" McGauran said.
"The auction was professionally conducted and despite the reserves being published in the catalogue, achieved a 50% clearance rate with several sold post sale."
Those that did sell at auction brought high prices. The sale topper was a four-year-old son of Octagonal out of From the Cellar for A$195,000 closely followed by a three-year-old colt by Octagonal from Constitute for A$190,000.
Other top prices included:
Consolidator/Miss Dashwood (2yo colt) - A$133,000
Viscount/Sign Language (4yo mare) - A$123,000
Octagonal/Dipping (3yo colt) - A$116,000
Testa Rossa/Nordicia (4yo mare) - A$80,000
Keep The Faith/Paris Perfume (2yo colt) - A$102,000
McGauran believes another sale of this kind in China will follow in the near future.
"These are entirely commercial matters between the vendor and MM, but a significant buying bench has been identified in China which holds potential for the future. Of particular interest were the sizable number of horses bought by Mongolian buyers for racing and breeding purposes" he said.
McGauran will meet with Australian and Chinese Government officials during his visit to Beijing to push the opening up of the trade in Thoroughbreds which is beset by complex and expensive bio-security and Quarantine protocols between the two countries.
- Aushorse Release
