Satomi Oka brings a female voice to the FBAA

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

In the last 12 months, the FBAA has welcomed some big industry names into its fold, and this week it will add another, with Sydney-based Japanese agent Satomi Oka jumping in.

"We are delighted that Satomi has joined the FBAA,” said FBAA President Craig Rounsefell.

“She is a highly respected agent who brings a wealth of global knowledge and fresh female perspective to the group; both important areas the FBAA is focused on strengthening.”

For over 20 years, Oka was plied her expert trade between Japan and Australia, doing business with such names as Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm, while since 2001 she has been the Japanese representative for Inglis. She brings to the FBAA a wealth of world experience.

In its current state, the FBAA membership roll is a who’s who of Australasian bloodstock, but, as accomplished as the 29 members are, there isn’t a single woman among them.

“I don’t think I’m technically the first woman,” Oka said, chatting with TDN AusNZ about her news.

“The FBAA was formed a long time ago, and I think before me, Philippa Duncan was a member at one point. For me, I’d begun watching the FBAA when Craig (Rounsefell) became president and introduced a code of ethics, and I started to monitor what it was doing.”

In July last year, bloodstock agent John Foote re-joined the FBAA. Foote had been a founding member of the organisation in 1988, and his return was a bold advertisement, not least for Oka, who describes Foote as her mentor.

“There were quite a few new members last year, and when John Foote went back to the Federation I started thinking that maybe this might be a good thing for me to join because I do believe in ethical practice.”

A good fit

When Rounsefell, of Boomer Bloodstock, was elected president of the FBAA in late 2020, it coincided with a hefty, three-month review of the organisation’s Code of Ethics. The result of this has been many things, but since it, a peak in interest in the FBAA has occurred.

“We've been through a period of rejuvenation over the last 18 months, which has been positively reflected in the quality and growth of our membership,” said Rounsefell. “There’s plenty of energy among the group and we have exciting plans moving forward.

“One of our main areas of future focus will be on education, ranging from developing pathways for future bloodstock agents, providing development opportunities for current FBAA Members and, importantly, providing access to bloodstock information for new bloodstock clients.”

In 2021 alone, six new members were admitted to the FBAA, including Foote, Andrew Williams, Jim Clarke and Peter Twomey of Wattle Bloodstock, among others. With Oka’s inclusion, it brings membership to a round, bumper figure of 30.

Gallery: Some of the recent additions to the FBAA

“I believe what Craig has introduced is the way to go,” Oka said. “It’s all about protecting investors coming in both domestically and internationally. Because of that, I thought it would be great to be associated with the FBAA.”

For Oka, the FBAA’s integrity will fit right into how she already does business. She is the classiest of operators, and transparency and honesty have been critical to her career for a long time.

“I’ve been very careful because I believe that it takes years to build your reputation, but it can be just a day or a minute to destroy everything you’ve built,” she said.

Oka has been very successful in bloodstock, and she’s one of the small number of female agents in the business.

The feminist card isn’t one she plays often, if at all, but it’s inevitable to note that she is heavily outnumbered by men in her chosen field, from Japan to Australia and everywhere in between.

“It does seem like there aren’t many of us in bloodstock, but there are plenty of women working in the industry,” Oka said. “Maybe it’s a case that they’re happy with their own clients and they don’t need to promote themselves publicly, and so therefore we don’t see a lot of their names out there.

“For me, joining the FBAA was about two things. It was about believing in what Craig introduced, but also I thought it was time for me to seek new clients outside of those I already have.”

Broadening the base

Oka’s bread and butter in Australia is assisting clients to purchase horses from Japan in both private negotiations and public auctions. It works in reverse too, and she does a lot of the background work, for example, when it comes to the Yoshida family making high-profile purchases in Australia.

Among her major local clients is Robert M Anderson, who has been a long-time owner of significant note. Anderson has Starelle (More Than Ready {USA}), Bonaria (Redoute's Choice), Paradee (Epaulette) and the gelding Takedown (Stratum).

“A lot of people think that I only look after the Japanese market, and that is a huge part of my business,” Oka said. “But I also look after Australian clients buying horses from Japan, and I thought that being a member of the FBAA might increase that awareness.

“Robert Anderson, for example, has a licence to race horses in Japan, and I help him to purchase his horses there. He has a pretty good strike-rate in Japan from maybe four horses that he’s bought so far, including Beluga, a 2-year-old Group 3 winner.”

The FBAA will certainly help Oka’s exposure in Australia.

She admits that, in part because of COVID, she wants to expand her local client-base. She used to travel to Japan and many other places every few months, but the global pandemic stopped that for two years and she’s had a lot more time to look at things locally.

The formative years

Oka has lived in Sydney for a decade, and these days she’s a married mother of one in Bondi Junction.

Her husband, like a lot of men alongside equestrian women, is devoted but allergic to horses, and her son, Hiroto, spent a lot of time with her during COVID, visiting clients and driving to breeding farms, witnessing the tricks of the trade.

Unlike her son, Oka didn’t come from a horsey background. No one in her family was in the racing industry, so it was something that blossomed in her solo. She was born and raised in Japan, and completed her tertiary-level studies in America.

“After that, I went back to Japan and started working for the Australian Trade Commission, where I met Aushorse, Inglis and Arrowfield,” she said. “That was the time when Arrowfield was starting to shuttle Japanese stallions, and because I loved horses and was riding when I could, when I got involved with Aushorse and John Messara, I was so inspired to work in the industry.”

Those were the years 1999 to 2001, when Messara got involved with Sunday Silence (Jpn). They were important, formative years in the relationship between Australia and Japan.

“I got to know all the major players in Australia at that time,” Oka said. “But I also learned the trade protocols, which still helps me to this day because I do a lot of international buy-and-sell. I need to build relationships with the shipping companies and understand the routes and processes.”

Aside from her private clients, Oka is the Asian representative for the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association, as well as the Hidaka Horse Breeders’ Association. She has a solid relationship with the Japan Racing Association (JRA), and her superb professionalism and quiet excellence has helped her to her remarkable, 20-year tenure with Inglis.

She will bring a lot with her to the FBAA, albeit she’s reluctant to suggest that her presence will contribute a strong, female voice, even if it will.

“I don’t want to focus on gender, but at the same time I’m Asian and I’m female,” she said. “I’m hoping that other female members of the industry might be encouraged to join too, or that younger women might learn that this, being a bloodstock agent, is one of the other jobs within the industry that they might be able to do.”

"We are excited for Satomi to join us as we move forward, and encourage anyone who is looking at investing in bloodstock to engage an FBAA agent for guidance with integrity,” said Rounsefell.