International buying bench provides diversity at Magic Millions National Yearling Sale

Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

Of the 129 horses who found new homes on day one, 44 (34 per cent) were purchased by buyers from Asia. They were a mix of different nations, from the well-known buyers based in Hong Kong, through to emerging markets in Philippines, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea.

Local sales representatives is the key to building markets

Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch thanked his team for their hard work in building relationships to help maintain traditional markets and grow new ones. Buyers from Hong Kong and Philippines have usually bought in solid numbers from this sale, however buyers from both locations have already achieved a similar number to last year's full sale with another day of selling still to come.

“We’ve worked hard on getting a strong group of Asian buyers here, particularly to this sale which has fewer domestic buyers traditionally. It gives our vendors a good chance to sell their stock, and we’ve had buyers from China, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand,” said Bowditch.

“I’m really pleased with the Hong Kong figures. They’ve already bought one more horse than last year with another day to come, and it’s thanks to our representative Thomas Yeung starting for us. Today has been a strong start for Thomas.

“David Chester has been building strong contacts across the board in Asia and it’s great for Magic Millions to have a presence in all their different markets. We have Amy Feng in China, Ancy Palma in Philippines, and Yoo Jae-Hyong in South Korea.”

With the loss of Singapore and Macau, it’s great to see the sales companies working to expand the market for Australian yearlings, and the figures from day 1 of the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale highlight the value in building these relationships.

Table: Day 1 of Magic Millions National Yearling Sale Buyer Location by nation

Stronger than expected for exports

Equine International Airfreight (EIA)’s Managing Director Cameron Croucher said the sale was particularly strong from Asian buyers and felt the increase is a combination of two key factors; the relationship building being done by Magic Millions and EIA, and the weaker Australian dollar at the moment.

“Normally the National Sale does attract an international buying bench, but today we are seeing a lot more activity with the market affected by the weak Australian dollar," said Croucher. "Today we’ve seen buyers from South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, China, and New Zealand all actively purchasing yearlings, and over the weanling and broodmare sale, we saw a number or horses purchased for Thailand.

“The weanlings were very strong to New Zealand last week. EIA is affiliated with Magic Millions and from this sale across the whole two weeks, we expect to export more than 100 horses, which is significantly more than we’ve done before.

“It’s a combination of the weaker dollar, and the work that has gone into growing the different markets. David Chester and myself have spent a fair bit of time in Asia promoting the sale and the business. He focuses on getting buyers, and I offer the after-sale service to get horses there.”

What about the impact of the loss of Singapore and Macau on the Asian buying bench?

“There are a couple of nations trying to reinvigorate their industry. The Philippines is building a new track, and Thailand has two tracks under construction. Malaysia has been picking up since Singapore closed and they are working to rebuild their scene too.”

But it’s not just about knowing where the markets are changing and growing, the business of racehorses has always been a business about people and relationships.

“We focus on building relationships, so that when people come here to the sales, they might be in a foreign country with customs they aren’t used to, but they can deal with familiar faces, which helps them to be active in the purchasing of horses.

“The (wide variety) of languages can be an issue, but I find that most people in Asia speak good English. It’s more about understanding their culture compared to ours, and learning that is often best done on their home turf where they feel comfortable.”

With the number of horses being purchased by Asian-based buyers being larger than expected, the logistics of exporting so many horses takes a bit of planning.

“Most horses heading to New Zealand will leave within 10 to 12 days of the sale and we’re doing a big contingent of weanlings from last week’s sale to there. Many of the more expensive ones, bought by Hong Kong and China, will stay here. Others will need to head into quarantine before setting off, so the majority of horses flying out to Asia will go in the next few months.

“We are sending our largest ever consignment to the Philippines on July 7 with 81 horses booked, which is a full 747 on a direct flight.”

With such a diverse buying bench and Australian horses flying to a multitude of different places, racing fans are fortunate that we have the internet to follow them as they progress through their racing careers.

Table: Day 1 of Magic Millions National Yearling Sale Buyer Location by State