Reg Inglis: a titan of the bloodstock world

Almost eight months after being struck down by a near-fatal stroke, Reg Inglis musters to meet for a coffee down at one of his favourite Double Bay haunts.

Walking into the cafe it’s hard to know what to expect. Punctual and looking dapper as always, he’s seated in the corner waiting patiently. Already one coffee down, he welcomes me with his famous charm.

Whilst nothing appears to have changed too much in his character, there’s evidence of paralysis down one side of his upper body. He tells me he cannot remember the five weeks of his life after the stroke that was spent lying flat on his back in a hospital.

“The doctors thought I would be a vegetable,” said Reg.

Through extraordinary determination, top medical assistance and the support of a tight and loyal network of friends and family, he’s defying that grim prognosis.

Daily speech therapy lessons have enabled him to regain his ability to communicate and next month he will take his biggest step yet on the journey towards recovery and embark on a trip to the US to visit his great friend Jon Kelly and attend the Breeders’ Cup.

“I have always been a positive person and continue to be that way. I never look back. Back’s history and forward is the future. I don’t dwell on things. I’m lucky.”

Reg has been a towering figure in Australian bloodstock for decades. In 1971 he first began working at his family’s sales company, William Inglis, and by 1989 he was appointed Managing Director.

“When I was about five or six years-old I used to notice Dad going to the yearling sales and I thought how wonderful it would be. It’s always been my great passion.

“I think the actual auctioneering and the theatre of it is what I love and seeing one fine thoroughbred after another going through the ring.”

The drama of auction

Reg got his auctioneering start selling calves at Camden.

“Dad said to me, OK you are having a go today, and I thought to myself well here goes.”

And, so began a journey that would see him take centre stage of the major sales rings. For many years his distinctive voice could be heard echoing through the auditoriums at Newmarket and Oaklands where he brought down the gavel on some of the best horseflesh in Australia.

“I was lucky enough to have a good voice. You can’t make an auctioneer.”

He says the support and encouragement of his late father Dick during that early period of his life and career had a significant impact.

“He was a marvellous man. He let me be myself. He always advised me of what I had done wrong but his greatest advice was to be fair.”

Reg took that sage advice on board and there was no greater test of exercising fairness than in 1989 when the late Bart Cummings and two accounting firms, Coopers & Lybrand and Peat Marwick, designed a horse syndication scheme based around a tax break for investment in racehorses that existed at the time.

Urged on by the success of a $6 million syndicate in 1988, Bart bought $22 million worth of yearlings at sales in the space of just a few months. At the Inglis Easter sales alone, he spent $13.6 million on 43 yearlings, including $1.5 million on a single horse.

Units in the syndicates were then offered at $49,446, plus $10,284 for the first year's running expenses – for an estimated tax saving of $7,462.

Prospectus documents for the scheme weren't ready until late June and Bart needed to settle with Inglis by June 30.

He overestimated how well the economy was breaking back from the 1987 Stockmarket crash and selling the units in the horses was not as easy as he’d hoped. With soaring interest rates the money had dried up everywhere.

Subsequently, Bart didn't get close to selling the 160 units he needed to, however, Inglis, which had extended credit to him, still had to pay the vendors of the yearlings.

“He got himself into a hole. We had the option to pursue bankruptcy and we didn’t. We didn't get the credit due to us. They (journalists) kept siding with Bart.

“He got let off with a five-year payment scheme to us. No more than $500,000 was paid back and he owed us $15 million. So, we had to bear a debt of close to $15 million and that was a bit in those days.”

Reg openly admits the biggest disappointment was Bart’s lack of gratitude after the whole saga.

“He never acknowledged us. Had he come to me and said, Reg, I’m sorry, I would have forgiven him but he never did.”

Impressionable men

At the time Reg had a number of very impressionable young men working in his team including Jonathan D’Arcy who is currently Inglis’ General Manager of Bloodstock Operations.

Jonathan vividly recalls what was a highly stressful period for Inglis.

“Reg showed a great deal of common sense. He had to find alternative banking arrangements and that solidified our position in the industry. A lot of people had no idea what was going on behind their backs and it’s made the company as strong as it is today.

“Some people are aware of how much he (Bart) paid us back and it was not very many cents in the dollar. Whilst the company has done well over the years, back then every dollar was important.

“To find money to pay out to breeders and not get that money back was a burden to the company and shareholders over the years,” said Jonathan.

Godolphin Managing Director, Vin Cox, who was also working closely with Reg at the time, speaks highly of his ability to navigate through challenging times.

“There were a number of crises over the years, none more so than the collapse of the market in the late 80s and the Botulism outbreak at the 1993 Easter Yearling sale.

“Not only did Reg lead Inglis through these delicate times, but the business flourished enormously afterwards,” said Vin.

The leadership shown by Reg through the Botulism outbreak also made a huge impression on Jonathan D’Arcy.

“The telling point was that Reg pulled everyone together the afternoon of the outbreak," recalled Jonathan. "All the breeders had attended the meeting and lots of people said the sale had to be stopped and cancelled."

“He was a very strong voice and said we have all the buyers from around the world we need breeders to stand behind their product. If a horse falls ill after it’s sold, they must agree to take it back at no risk to the purchaser. Many of the horses here are 100 per cent sound and healthy and we are not going to get these buyers back in two weeks-time or a month to re-run this sale."

“The only chance of the sale being a success is to keep going.

“It was an incredible show of leadership in what was a high-pressure situation. I always look back at how Reg took control when there were a lot of loud voices in the room that wanted to choose the more conservative route.

“The path he chose was very much the right path for everyone. The buyers stood up and the sale was strong and successful,” said Jonathan.

A mentor

Vin and Jonathan are just two shining examples of key people in the Australian racing and breeding industry today that have been mentored by Reg. Others include Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch, Sky Racing’s Richard Haynes and highly respected bloodstock advisor Trevor Lobb.

“That was one of my goals, to mentor people. I told them to own up to your mistakes and be honest. That’s the main thing.

“I was very lucky to have the staff around me that wanted to work hard and play hard. Work hard and play hard and don’t get them mixed up,” said Reg.

He’s proud of his proteges and what they have gone on to do since the days back at Inglis.

“Vin was always someone that stuck out. It was his manner. He could get on so well with people. He is a genuinely good guy and he’s not corruptible.”

Of Jonathan he says;

“He’s a remarkable bloke. Honesty seems to come up a lot in this but he’s absolutely honest and a great judge. He’s the driving force of William Inglis in my opinion. A person of the highest quality.”

After 36 years, including 18 as Managing Director, Reg was forced to resign from Inglis in 2006 following a change in shareholding control between different members of his family.

“That was very traumatic,” he summarises.

He explained how valiantly he tried to keep the business with the moral and financial support of his US friend and businessman Jon Kelly.

“He rang me and said I’m coming to help you. I said there’s little you can do and he said I’m on a plane tomorrow. I picked him up and he said have you considered this and considered that.

“I offered $110 million for the business and they knocked it back.”

With takeovers and serious health problems including a bout of cancer to contend with, it hasn’t been an easy 10 years for Reg but his spirit is as strong as ever.

“The Reg today is the same person I met years ago. Respect, integrity and honesty are the things he values in people and if you show him that he will return it in spades,” said Jonathan.

Vin Cox will be forever thankful for the influence he had on his career.

“Reg has a sixth sense around judging character, whether it be giving a new client some leeway or selecting staff, he rarely got it wrong.

“That served him enormously well over the years, where you will find many careers or businesses were started because Reg gave them a go, not least my own career,” said Vin.

Whilst still keeping in touch with and a close eye on the progress of the likes of Vin and Jonathan, Reg is now mainly focused on rebuilding his own physical health.

“It's been a battle. The plan is I am going to wait until after Christmas to determine what I want to do. I’m here to get better,” he said, with positivity and that trademark glint of excitement in his eye.