'I'm just doing what I love': gripping week for Boman

Cover image courtesy of Tattersalls

Stuart Boman was an inaugural graduate of the prestigious Godolphin Flying Start program in 2005. In 2010, Boman joined the Newmarket, United Kingdom-based Blandford Bloodstock and has specialised in sourcing Northern Hemisphere thoroughbreds for a vast range of Australian clients.

Boman has found immense success in this field, often with inexpensive horses ranging from yearling purchases to the tried-horse markets in the Northern Hemisphere.

Last week, two Boman graduates found the winner’s circle, the hugely talented Floating Artist (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and the progressive Warnie (Ire) (Highland Reel {Ire}).

The 7-year-old Floating Artist, trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, reminded everybody of his ability on Saturday at Moonee Valley, Australia, when second-up he surged to victory over 2040 metres, carrying the colours of Seymour Bloodstock.

It was an emotional victory for those connected to the son of Nathaniel (Ire), as he had been on the sidelines for an extended period after a paddock accident.

Floating Artist had shown a high level of ability in his first Australian preparation when he ran a courageous fourth in the G1 Melbourne Cup behind the star gallopers Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) and Incentivise (Shamus Award); he could find himself in the famous race again in 2023 when connections outlined it would be a dream to try again.

“He was off the track for a very long time, and they (the owners) have done a really fantastic job to be patient and give full credit to the horse; he's incredibly tough. It's just great to win another race with him,” Eustace said.

“Whether he sort of stays at that trip or we go up in grade, I think he'll be running in Cups - which ones they are, we'll see. We'll look after him, make sure he's not racing on ground that is too firm; what races they are, he'll tell us as we gradually go up in trip and grade.”

Value buys

Boman sourced Floating Artist at the 2020 Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale, paying 95,000gns (AU$195,200) with Ciaron Maher Racing.

Earlier in the week, the Boman-sourced and Joseph O’Brien-trained Warnie stamped himself as a horse to follow when he was successful in the Listed Churchill S. at Tipperary, Ireland.

Warnie carries the colours of the Australian-based Bennett Racing, which is becoming more active in the international market.

Boman, alongside Bennett Racing, secured the son of Highland Reel (Ire) from the 2023 Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale for 65,000gns (AU$133,500).

Boman shared with TTR AusNZ his approach to sourcing thoroughbreds and his latest stars.

“There are no real hard and fast rules; I suppose I’m always just trying to find good value for my clients,” he said.

“We bought Warnie from the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale. I have been trying to convince clients in Australia that the European breeze-up sales is a good opportunity and probably the last frontier, they need to delve into, and they’re starting to.

“Annabel Neasham has bought a few from the breeze-up sale this year, and Nathan (Bennett) backed me on the idea, he had a couple of horses running at the Royal Ascot meeting this year, and I said, ‘Well, let’s add to the team’, and we were knocked out on earlier prospects which profiled as speedier five to six furlong 2-year-olds,” Boman told TTR AusNZ.

“We switched targets and started looking for horses that could get a mile. As there’s an interesting race at Royal Ascot called the Chesham S., which is restricted to progeny of either sire or dam that has won over 10 furlongs or further.

“So, it’s trying to promote the breeding of stayers, and so we switched to targeting Chesham-qualified pedigrees, and we went through pages, the times, stride data and the conformation, and we came up with Warnie.”

As Warnie is an Australian-owned horse, we may see Warnie competing on our shores one day. However, Boman indicated the plans for Warnie remain open, with several options and paths.

“Look, he will probably end up in Australia at some point, with the prizemoney being as it is. There has been interest from Hong Kong for Warnie, but I don’t think Bennett Racing will sell the horse; I think he will remain with Joseph (O’Brien),” Boman told TTR AusNZ.

“It’s a very good crop of 2-year-olds in Europe this year, and we’re not getting carried away with where we stand in the pecking order, but he’s obviously a very progressive horse.

“We have a few things in mind for him internationally and in Europe this year; we hope and dream that he progresses to a Guineas horse next year and then bring him down to Australia, with races like the Golden Eagle as options.

“It’s just a matter of how he progresses from now.”

Other star graduates

Warnie and Flying Artist are not the only stars Boman has sourced for the Australians.

The Neasham stable has benefitted from Boman’s expert eye hugely, with the acquisition of My Oberon (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), a Group 2 winner who was a private purchase.

The recently retired Top Ranked (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) who claimed a thrilling edition of the G1 Epsom H. was also a private purchase.

Last but not least! The incredible Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), who will return to action on Saturday in the G1 Winx S.

Gallery: Some of the stars Stuart Boman has sourced for Australians, images courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Boman sourced Zaaki from the 2020 Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale with Annabel Neasham Racing for 150,000gns (AU$308,000). The 9-year-old has won over $10 million in prizemoney for his connections.

“It’s a matter of identifying value and the opportunities that come along. In a variety of ways, but I do feel generally, at public auction, you do get the best value for your clients; I do source horses privately, but Floating Artist, Warnie and Zaaki were purchased from Tattersalls at auction,” Boman explained to TTR AusNZ.

“Private horses make up a large percentage of horses that I send to Australia with good success. Generally speaking, those private purchases are horses with a specific target, like buying a Melbourne Cup horse or a Golden Eagle horse or meeting a specific deadline, with a shipment going to Australia.”

Countless hours

Boman has made finding these ‘diamonds in the rough’ almost look easy. However, Boman and his team spend countless hours compiling data and assessing race performances and pedigree.

“I suppose that’s a point of difference for me is I probably do more research and more due diligence than others may, and it is watching a lot of races and putting systems in place to help streamline or, at least better organise the information that needs to be assessed,” Boman said.

“So we’ve developed a database, with the help of some third-party contractors and taking on some extra people to help get through everything.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s not a real job. I’m doing what I love, so it's quite easy and enjoyable.”

Boman explained how he approaches buying from different sales, whether they are breeze-up sales or tried-horse sales, the areas he zones in on.

“I think pedigree is foremost, in every assessment I make. In saying that, I’m probably most flexible regarding the stallion. I find the mare is probably the most important aspect or dynamic in determining whether a horse will be a good horse or not,” Boman explained.

“The stallion generally affects how much you will pay for them. I’ve always been willing to compromise on the sire, and in Warnie’s case, Highland Reel was a horse that I always admired as a racehorse.

“Highland Reel as a son of Galileo, but a bit of an Australian pedigree being out of an Australian-bred mare (Hveger), he was the most extraordinary racehorse, and we are very quick to condemn these horses if they don’t perform with their first 2-year-old crop.

“Ottoman Emperor was another, by Excelebration, who wasn’t extremely fashionable as a sire, and we purchased him two years ago for OTI, and he turned out a decent horse.

“There are plenty of other examples. I bought a Decorated Knight, these are fashionable stallions, but the pedigree of the female side stacks up and excels, and I do focus a lot on pedigree. But we’ll be flexible when it comes to sires and buy sires that may not be perceived as being fashionable.”

Boman explained his approach to tried sales is slightly different; although the emphasis is still put on the pedigree of the subject, it isn’t the most critical factor.

“When you’re buying from a tried sale or private purchase, you’re buying the proven article, Floating Artist and Zaaki; they had the runs on the board,” he said.

“So, what influences your decision-making shifts a bit. I’d focus more on their race record and then analyse their stride and times over the pedigree.

“I still have pedigree in the mix, but the horse is fairly exposed, and I use pedigree analysis more at the breeze-up sales as you’ve got less information at your hands to assess their level of ability,” Boman explained to TTR AusNZ.

“It’s a bit of a matrix, and you just tweak it according to how much information you’ve got about that horse’s level of ability.”

Prizemoney driving appetite

With Australian prizemoney at an all-time high and numerous million-dollar pop-up races appearing around the country, demand for international gallopers is at an all-time high.

With 14 years of experience in this role, Boman marked the mass change that has happened in just the last five years since the rise of prizemoney levels and the new pop-up races.

“These pop-up races like Five Diamonds, the Golden Eagle and so on, are driving business,” Boman told TTR AusNZ.

“They are driving massive amounts of business.

“People five years ago wouldn’t have even really thought too much about it. But now people call to see if a horse is suitable for the Cox Plate or a Golden Eagle, trying almost to position the horse to sell, with races in mind in Australia.”

Looking ahead

Looking ahead, Boman outlined some gallopers he sourced that look to have promising careers.

Among them is Fawkner Park (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), trained by Neasham and racing in the Bennett Racing silks. The now 5-year-old won his first four starts in Australia before losing nothing in defeat when running second at Randwick last start.

Another galloper is Jimi Hendrix (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who Neasham will also train.

“Fawkner Park is leading the team among the newer ones. He’s obviously a horse that has run several times in Australia already,” Boman shared.

“We have another horse called Jimi Hendrix; he’s coming down for The Five Diamonds, in particular. He will be staying in Australia.

“He’s shown to be a talented horse; he ran a good race at Royal Ascot. We are working on a couple of others; buying privately has been competitive, and we’ve lost a few on vettings, this year which has been unfortunate.”

On an endnote, Boman added, “I’ve been with Blandford for 14 years, and we have a great team that I’ve worked with, and I’ve learned a huge amount from them. I think they really set the standard in professionalism and the outcomes we achieve with them.”