Written by Bren O'Brien
With the benefit of 20 years' experience in different aspects of the thoroughbred industry, including the past five working for Sun Stud and Widden Victoria, Ash Richards has seen an opportunity in the bloodstock agency market and has sought to meet it by establishing Intel Bloodstock.
Seeing how much data and intelligence is shaping the wagering side of the thoroughbred industry as well as the broader sporting landscape, Richards believes there is great value in providing a more metric-focussed approach to bloodstock selection.
Thoroughbreds looking on | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Intel Bloodstock will do exactly what its name promises, looking to provide key intelligence to prospective purchasers and breeders, particularly those who don’t have the time or the resources to access such information themselves.
The Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, which starts on Sunday at Oaklands Junction, sees Intel active on the sales grounds for the first time, working with clients, mainly trainers, trying to help them identify prospects for purchase.
"We are all about innovation and trying to create opportunities for the time-poor trainer. This week we have been walking around with smaller trainers who are good horseman, but don't have the time to spend sourcing the information," he told TDN AusNZ.
"We are all about innovation and trying to create opportunities for the time-poor trainer." - Ash Richards
"We want to bridge that gap with them by supplying them with data."
Richards' entry into racing was very much through the 'punting' side, before working in media and form analysis. But it was his work analysing horses from the mounting yard which gave him a full appreciation of the physical qualities required by the best equine athletes.
Along the journey, he has absorbed a wealth of knowledge and sees this understanding as key to what Intel Bloodstock can offer.
"I've always been someone who has had a real appetite for knowledge. Always talked to people, read a lot and was a sponge for information. Over the past two decades, doing various roles across the industry, I have gained the confidence in knowledge," he said.
"I have always had an eye for a horse and love for looking at horses. I remember being fascinated by Victory Vein, and the way she was able turn up every week. She was such a fantastic filly.
"When I was doing form analysis, I'd look at sectional times like everyone else but I’d couple that with their gait, how they walk as an athlete."
"When I was doing form analysis, I'd look at sectional times like everyone else but I’d couple that with their gait, how they walk as an athlete." - Ash Richards
The final piece of the puzzle for Richards was his time working for Sun Stud and Widden, where he was able to witness the physical development of horses from foals through to racehorses at close quarters, as well as make many important bloodstock contacts.
"The last five years I have been with Sun Stud and Widden Victoria and that has given me a real opportunity to work with breeders. That has opened me up to a whole different aspect of the industry," he said.
"I have been lucky to have that experience and I feel in that regard, that I'm a bit bi-lingual."
The importance of information
The physical presentation of a young horse is important, but it is usually something a good horseman can assess relatively quickly. What Richards is looking to do is incorporate key information which can complement that physical impression.
"We are very, very big on data, and making decisions based on data. An example of the data or information we look to access is that there are a lot of first-season sires here. We research them thoroughly, we go back and watch them thoroughly from when they were racing to see if their progeny have inherited that walk, or those other physical qualities," he said.
Other examples include information on vendors' record, where the horse has been raised and key emerging pedigree information.
"It’s all about getting the right intel to make the right decision and executing the plan for trainers," he said.
"It’s all about getting the right intel to make the right decision and executing the plan for trainers." - Ash Richards
It is that focus in which Richards believes makes Intel Bloodstock different from many others in the crowded bloodstock space.
"We want to be innovative, we don't want to go down the same route as everybody else. That all stems back to my own mindset," he said.
"It comes back to the way I manage my own daily life and rituals. I'm massive on gathering intel and data and making decisions based on that."
While based in Victoria, Intel's profile is national with Richards having a particular interest in work in Western Australia as well, where he already had success trading racehorses and broodmares.
Mare and foal | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Intel is also a full-service offering, not restricted to the auction environment.
"We are looking at yearlings, pinhooking, doing stuff online, mare trading, all those aspects. That all comes down to the experience we have," he said.
"It's all driven by passion but it's also driven by that focus on intel and data."
