The laws of Economics for Australian Bloodstock

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

Last Saturday at Rosehill, 3-year-old Economics (Capitalist) pulled off a masterclass in the Listed Heritage S., a race that boasts past winners like Home Affairs, Wild Ruler, Lonhro and General Nediym.

With the length of the straight still to race, the chestnut colt had things by the scruff of the neck and, in the end, he posted a 1.65l victory under Chad Schofield. He accounted for placegetters Opal Ridge (Rubick) and Hawaii Five Oh (I Am Invincible), the latter a sister to Libertini.

For onlookers, it was a dazzling performance by the son of Capitalist, one that has planted him firmly into contention for the G1 Coolmore Stud S. at Flemington on October 29.

It’s a path previously trod by Home Affairs, that colt winning the Heritage on his way to his 2021 Coolmore victory and, ultimately, a booth on the Coolmore roster.

“You never want to get too ahead of yourself, but I’ve been thinking, ever since he crossed the line at Scone, that he was a Coolmore Stud S. horse,” trainer Annabel Neasham told TDN AusNZ last weekend. “He is very fast and I think the race will suit him.”

For Jamie Lovett, one of the two directors at Australian Bloodstock, the Heritage S. was a triumph of a different kind. Lovett, alongside fellow director Luke Murrell, bred Economics in 2019 from a small, private portfolio of broodmares in the Australian Bloodstock name.

Currently, the portfolio numbers around 20 mares, give or take, but it includes the dam of Economics, the 15-year-old Anabaa’s Legacy (NZ) (Anabaa {USA}).

“The syndication side of our business is where you see the horses racing in our colours, and the imported horses obviously form a big part of our team,” said Lovett, chatting with TDN AusNZ. “But Luke and I personally would breed 20-odd mares a year in our business, some mares in partnership and others outright, and this is where Anabaa’s Legacy falls.”

It’s the lesser-known of Australian Bloodstock’s deep and successful business. At 20-odd, the mare numbers are small but they include the likes of Anabaa’s Legacy, and also Tuesday Special (Snitzel).

The latter is a daughter of the John Singleton-bred Tuesday Joy (NZ) (Carnegie {Ire}), this family boasting one of the best bloodlines in the Australian Stud Book. Tuesday Special was picked up by Lovett and Murrell under the Australian Bloodstock banner for $300,000, sold by Strawberry Hill Stud at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2019.

“We keep the mares totally separate in the portfolio,” Lovett said. “The yearlings that we buy at public auction obviously come with an AFS (Australian financial services) licence, and they’ve got to be offered with a PDS (personal disclosure statement).

“For us, it would be too messy to be valuing horses that you’re breeding yourself, so we buy them out of the sale ring and do it that way, and the imported horses are the same sort of thing. Whereas the other side of the business (the mares) is set up commercially under a different entity to try and make money, selling at arm’s length.”

Simple Economics

The small band of Australian Bloodstock mares are dotted around various farms in New South Wales.

“We’ve actually got a farm ourselves at Yarramalong on the Central Coast (Salomina Lodge), but we’ve just purchased another at Lower Belford (in the Singleton district), so we’re in the process of transitioning from one to the other right now,” Lovett said.

“We keep only about a dozen mares at our place, and the more commercial mares, or the mares in partnership, will be at Yarraman Park with Harry and Arthur Mitchell, and we’ve also got some at Attunga Stud.

“Come to think of it, we’ve got mares at numerous farms, including Edinglassie, Hilldale and Lustre Lodge, so they’re all about the place.”

Along with Tuesday Special, Anabaa’s Legacy is one of the more commercial broodmares in this part of the Australian Bloodstock business.

However, unlike the daughter of Tuesday Joy, she arrived with a fraction of the price tag, Lovett and Murrell picking her up in 2019 at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $75,000. She was part of the Newgate Consignment that year and she was carrying her Capitalist colt, Economics.

On paper, she was a daughter of Anabaa (USA) from a Fasliyev (USA) mare who was a half-sister to the dual Group 1 winner in New Zealand, Ball Park (NZ). It wasn’t an overly obvious pedigree, but the Group 2 winner Danabaa (Anabaa {USA}) was there, as was Victorem (I Am Invincible), the winner of the Country Championships Final at Randwick in 2014.

“We bought her in foal with Economics, and the irony of it is that that colt proved a bit backwards,” Lovett recalls. “We weren’t overly happy with him, and I held him back deliberately from showing him to the sales companies for that reason.”

Economics was born on October 18, 2019. He was nothing special, according to Lovett, but he improved enough to be finally entered into the 2021 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale, the last yearling point of the calendar.

“He’d turned a corner a little bit but he was always a bit behind,” Lovett said. “We decided to give him a little sale prep at home and, when he finally picked up, Lustre Lodge took him over for us and did a great job getting there.

“But to be fair, his coat still wasn’t good at the sale. He was still improving and, given another month, he would have been a cracking colt.”

Economics nevertheless realised a very good price on the Gold Coast. Richly chestnut and well-developed, he made $260,000 when selling to Tony Fung Investments, in whose colours he now races.

“Aquis and Shane McGrath landed on him at the time and fair play to them,” Lovett said. “He looks like he could be very good.”

In fact, Lovett thinks Economics could be more than very good. The figures out of last weekend’s Heritage S. read brilliantly.

“Talking to Annabel about him, the raps on him are huge, and looking at his rating from Saturday, he was pretty impressive,” Lovett said. “The sky could be the limit with him given he’s had only three starts.”

Skin in the game

Economics was the first foal that Australian Bloodstock got from Anabaa’s Legacy. In a nutshell, she paid herself off three-and-a-half times over at her first offering.

The star colt was her fourth foal overall, Anabaa’s Legacy going to Foxwedge and Wandjina in the first four years of her stud life, and then Capitalist for that stallion’s second year on duty.

After Economics, she foaled a So You Think (NZ) colt that also proved a glittering success from humble beginnings. This year at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, he sold for $350,000 when offered as part of Brian Nutt’s Attunga Stud draft and was bought by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott with The Osher Group.

Last spring, Anabaa’s Legacy dropped a Shalaa (Ire) colt that will appear in a yearling sale in 2023, and she has a very late cover to Hellbent right now. As such, Lovett confirmed that the mare will have a season off after foaling the Hellbent, which will give he and Murrell time to consider which sire to use next year.

“Who knows, if Economics ends up a special colt, then that will be something to look forward to when it comes to mating her next season,” he said.

For Australian Bloodstock, the highs and lows of racing are well-learned over many years now. As a syndication business, it has won 13 Group 1 races and 54 total Group races.

Some of the best of its horses have been the likes of Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist (Ger) and G1 TJ Smith S. winner Master Of Design a son of Redoute’s Choice, along with All-Star Mile winner Mugatoo (Ire) (Henrythenavigator {USA}) and the pair of Group 1 winners Brave Smash and Tosen Stardom.

However, as good as the racing is, Lovett is also personally invested in the highs and lows of breeding his own stock.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s always nice to see them (the foals) growing out, and if you get things right from a mating perspective, you can be well-paid in the sale ring. If you get it wrong, like a lot of us do, it’s hard because it can be quite speculative.

Gallery: Some of Australian Bloodstock's best horses, images courtesy of Sportpix

“It’s not for everyone, but it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and I enjoy it as much as everything else. If you get that big result in the sale ring, it is very rewarding.”