By Bren O'Brien
Phoenix Thoroughbreds has re-iterated its commitment to the Australian racing and bloodstock industries, having withdrawn from racing in the United Kingdom earlier this week.
Phoenix, which has enjoyed substantial success in Australia with the likes of Group 1 winners Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible) and Farnan (Not A Single Doubt), was not active under its own name during this season's yearling sales, but has revealed it has purchased yearlings in partnership to go into training and did buy four broodmares at the recent Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Its international operations have been under significant scrutiny since serious fraud and money laundering allegations were made against founder and CEO Amer Abdulaziz Salman in a US court hearing last November. Abdulaziz Salman has refuted the allegations, which were made by the founder of cryptocurrency firm OneCoin, Konstantin Ignatov, during hearings in New York.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed Tom Ludt had departed as Phoenix Thoroughbreds Head of US operations, while on Tuesday it was announced that the Dubai-based thoroughbred investment fund was withdrawing from its racing interests in the UK.
Tom Ludt (centre) with Amer Abdulaziz Salman (right)
But in a statement released on Wednesday, Phoenix has confirmed it will continue to operate its breeding, bloodstock and racing interests in Australia.
"For any ownership group like ours, especially with breeding ambitions, having horses in Australia is a must. With its world-leading facilities, top-class trainers and levels of prizemoney, the market is a cornerstone of our business," Abdulaziz Salman said.
"The likes of Loving Gaby, Prague, homebred Farnan and others have given us plenty of reasons to smile over the past few years and we can't wait to see how they progress this season. We also have some exciting youngsters that we hope can follow in their hoofprints.
"This coming breeding season we will be welcoming a record number of Phoenix Thoroughbreds-bred foals, all by top stallions such as I Am Invincible, Zoustar, Invader and The Autumn Sun, to name just a few.
"This coming breeding season we will be welcoming a record number of Phoenix Thoroughbreds-bred foals, all by top stallions." - Phoenix Thoroughbreds statement
"Couple this with the fact we still retain shares in Coolmore winner and new stallion Exceedance, the future looks very bright as we look to build a legacy of success on the farm, in the sales ring and on the track.
"We enjoy strong relations with our partners, who hold similar ambitions to ourselves while the whole industry has been very supportive. We look forward to a long and prosperous future in Australia.”
The statement confirmed that Phoenix was actively finalising breeding plans for its select broodmare band of around 30 in Australia, while it remained active purchasing horses through the private market.
"We also like to take this moment to thank the Racing authorities, State governments, our trainers and their staff for working so hard to keep the sport on the road during these challenging times. All done without sacrificing the world-class product Australia has," the statement said.
Phoenix has been a major investor over the past three years in Australia, spending over $20 million on bloodstock at yearling and breeding sales.
