COVID challenge may still see the best of South Australia stay home

As COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the eastern states with world record-setting lockdown periods and tough restrictions, South Australian breeders and buyers in the most part say they have been able to breeze along with minimal impact.

With South Australia recording less than 1000 infections and just four deaths since COVID first struck in March 2020, and having endured just a handful of days in lockdown, it seems of most concern for the bloodstock industry was a slight 'trigger finger' approach in Adelaide when it came to shutting down borders at the first sign of COVID escalation interstate.

However, the COVID situation is far from resolved with the emergence of the Omicron strain in the past few days, raising the spectre of border closures once again, on the eve of the yearling sales season.

The pandemic has already taken its toll on Mill Park Stud, on the Limestone Coast and wedged between Adelaide, suggested to be one of the safest places in the world when it comes to the COVID impact, and Melbourne, which had the longest lockdown of anywhere at 262 days.

Mill Park Director Chris Watson says staffing a major stud during a global pandemic has been an epic challenge, and he’s hopeful the lifting of border restrictions and return of overseas workers will soon bring welcome relief to his dedicated, but exhausted, staff.

"We are lucky to have an exceptional and hard-working core staff here at Mill Park,’’ Watson said.

“But when we hit our breeding and sales season, our staff numbers double.

“It’s been hard to keep that high standard of care of the horses that we are known for. We’ve been able to do that but the toll on the staff… you can see it, they are desperate for a holiday having worked so hard to keep meeting that high standard.’’

Not only has COVID put the clamps on overseas workers landing at Mill Park for nearing two years, staff from interstate they would normally draw on had also been fewer in number due to tough border restrictions and quarantine requirements making it less appealing.

With the majority of Mill Park yearlings going to Magic Millions Gold Coast, the Inglis Australian Easter Sale in Sydney and the Inglis Premier Sale, Melbourne, Watson said just trying to get staff to sales interstate had been a challenge.

“With the way this COVID environment is, it is ever-evolving. Plans you had made six months in advance have had to be reworked in the space of 24 hours,’’ he said.

“It has impacted quite heavily with sales results because we’ve had to make decisions on the placement of yearlings not always based on where they are best sold, but because (of border restrictions) we’ve had to pull numbers back because of logistics.

“Getting the horses to the sales hasn’t been the problem… having the right horse at the right sales with our full sales team has been the issue. Moving staff through three states with three different border restrictions has been the challenge.’’

Mill Park is in the middle of its preparation for Magic Millions Gold Coast and while border restrictions have been lifted, Watson is only cautiously confident of it being easier to do business in the coming sales series.

“With this new variant (of COVID) coming in, who knows what is going to happen? We might be planning on the fly once again.’’

Shopping at home

Domestically, though, if results from the 2021 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale at the end of March, and anticipation for the coming Magic Millions sale there is a measuring stick, the pandemic has proved absolutely no handicap to South Australia.

In fact, the strongest-ever Magic Millions Adelaide Sale, and a promise that the best is yet to come, points to the COVID-19 restrictions even being something of a boost to the bloodstock business within SA.

Adelaide-based Magic Millions bloodstock consultant and agent Adrian Hancock says he’s done the same amount of travelling this year to view yearlings as he would usually.

“I did a total trip of 6500km this year to look at yearlings for the SA sale,” Hancock says.

And they’ve been very worthy travels, he promises.

“The (2022) Adelaide Magic Millions will be up in number and up in quality,’’ he says.

“There will be a different looking Adelaide catalogue soon to land. Jeff Gordon (of J.J. Gordon Bloodstock) sent us some really good horses last Sale and with record prices for Adelaide, that’s been like moths to a light.

“With the likes of Yarraman Park and Arrowfield, and of course great support from our local South Australians, there’s plenty to get excited about for this coming Sale.’’

Hancock said there’s no doubt COVID and the restrictions put in place to manage the impact on South Australia, 'to great effect' is seen mostly at the track.

“Business wise, the impact of COVID has affected racing. The opportunity to network with people at the races has been affected,’’ he said.

“Trainers have gone to the track for a minimum time. There’s been no going into the mounting yard. Horses are in and out and it has been very much a straight-line approach even in the facilities at tracks.

“That’s where it affects me as an agent, with trainers staying away. Where there’s been no carte blanche at the races.

“The old days where you’d do a bit of cold selling… that’s taken a hit. So being able to get back to that networking will be great.’’

All in at Adelaide

Cornerstone Stud in the Barossa is all in for the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale in March… literally.

“We are totally invested in Adelaide and will have a draft of about 30 horses at the Adelaide Magic Millions,’’ says Cornerstone Stud's bloodstock manager Sam Pritchard-Gordon.

Pritchard-Gordon says about the only impact of COVID in SA has had for Cornerstone has been a fall away in the sale of foals straight from the paddock to interstate buyers but that was well covered with a resurgence in SA Racing and strong local support shown at the 2021 Adelaide Magic Millions.

“Through the Adelaide Magic Millions Sale this year, we were able to host our buyers without hindrance.

“What COVID and the restrictions put in place around the country have meant is that we have been much more conscious of our video captures and online presentation of yearlings.

“We have a very good cameraman who works closely with us and does the editing to make sure we are putting up the angles buyers want to be seeing, giving them the elements they want to see and making sure the videos are long enough for them to see what they need but also not too long.

“It’s a side of the business that has refined itself pretty quickly. That’s been the main thing that has changed for us.

While as it stands, South Australian borders should be open for interstate buyers in February, Pritchard-Gordon is confident in the strength of the local buying bench.

“We feel there is a real resurgence in SA and in the Adelaide Magic Millions and that was evident in this year’s Sale with around 40 per cent of all lots purchased by the SA-based buying bench.

“To have sold a horse at $425,000 at the Sale, for us, that shows great strength in the Sale. We are now aligning our synergies with SA wholly.

“It is easier to house our staff, to get and reduce the costs of selling and attending sales so it makes for a better bottom line. And there is a groundswell of support for SA-bred horses.’’

The 2021 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale saw 130 of 318 lots sold going to South Australian buyers for $5.17 million of the gross sale value of $15.14 million.

That was 34.1 per cent of the overall spend, up from 30.6 per cent in 2020, and about the same level as 2019.