International buyers choose Australia as Easter investment rockets

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Established and new entrants from overseas welcomed by industry after accounting for 15 per cent of the market at banner Inglis sale

Yulong may have dominated the headlines at this week’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale as its biggest single buyer, but the emergence of other prominent international investors points to Australian racing remaining as a global focal point.

Seventy-eight of the 353 yearlings sold over the two days were purchased by buyers from overseas, although when you take into account Australian entities with international owners such as Yulong (25 yearlings), Godolphin (three) and Coolmore (four) the collective contribution is significantly higher.

Gandharvi Racing’s US-based Kuldeep Singh Rajput, the founder of digital therapeutics company Biofourmis, gave rise to his interest in Australian industry when he outlaid $1.1 million for stakes-winning juvenile filly Nomothaj (Snitzel) at last year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

He had shares in horses with Ciaron Maher and David Eustace and Michael Freedman earlier than that, but the Easter sale appeared to be another step forward for Gandharvi, which is being overseen by expat Kiwi Michael Wallace who had a long association with China Horse Club.

Rosemont Stud’s Anthony Mithen, whose colts alliance partnered with Gandharvi Racing on a $1.1 million son of Russian Revolution (Snitzel), welcomed the investment in the Australian industry by the international players.

“I met Kuldeep a couple of times through the sale and he seems to be a pretty cruisy guy who acknowledges the strength of the Australian market,” Mithen said. 

“He is a smart businessman and smart businessmen don’t make irrational decisions when it comes to investing money, so he’s done his numbers and worked out that Australia’s the place to play and we’re excited to partner with him and long may it continue.”

Gandharvi signed for five yearlings all up: the $1.75 million Pierro (Lonhro) half-sister to Learning To Fly (Justify); a filly by Savabeel (Zabeel) ($450,000); a filly by Astern (Medaglia D’Oro) ($260,000) and colts by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) ($450,000) and the Russian Revolution colt with Rosemont. 

Auction houses and industry bodies, in Australia’s case Aushorse, are constantly attempting to identify and assist new international investors keen to buy Down Under.

Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch believes Rajput’s Gandharvi Racing, which also has horses in the US and Singapore, could prove to be a beacon for other like-minded individuals with the wealth and inclination to participate in the world thoroughbred industry.

“Kuldeep Singh is someone who has been one of the significant new entrants into the market internationally in the last three years. He’s dipped his toe in the Australian market but this week it feels like he’s really dived in head first,” Hutch said.

“It was fantastic to have had him here with Michael Wallace and to have them participate to the extent that they did. 

“You’re hoping that purchases here can be the springboard to success for his investment in Australia and hopefully that’s something that will continue to grow. Young people like him who are prepared to invest to the extent that he has are hugely important not just to a sale but an industry as a whole because I think what they do is they set a precedent for other such people who might want to get involved.

“He’s associated himself with top-class people and that generally tends to be a positive recipe for success and, hopefully, in years to come we’re going to see Gandharvi associated with top-class racehorses, not just in Australia, but internationally.” 

Singaporean Chua Song Ru, who owns horses under his Aramco Racing banner, is one international buyer whose thoroughbred interests are now exclusively in Australia.

This week, he bought a Written Tycoon (Iglesia) colt out of Group 1-winning mare Shoals (Fastnet Rock) for $1 million.

Yulong’s Zhang Yuesheng approached Chua soon after to buy into the Arrowfield and Jonathan Munz-bred colt who will be trained by Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr, Aramco’s chosen stable.

Aramco Racing also paid $1 million for a colt by Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) at Magic Millions in January.

In 2021, Chua sold two horses to Hong Kong – the stakes-placed Tiz Magic (Tavistock), now racing as Running Ahead, and Sandown Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) winner Blue Army (Savabeel), now racing as Romantic Charm – but trading stock to Asia may be a thing of the past for Aramco.

“I want to race in Australia more because I love the vibe and the racing environment here, which is perfect,” Chua said.

“At first, when I came here, one of the plans was to sell to Hong Kong but as time went by we realised that actually the stake money (in Australia) is much better than selling them to Hong Kong.

“That is why I told Mick Price that we will stay (keep the horses) here in future.”

Chua had been a significant owner in Singapore but for now he does not have any horses in training in his home country, instead lured by the riches available overseas while Singapore has gone through somewhat of a demise. 

He said: “Of course, being a Singaporean, I really wish they will rise again and I firmly believe that the new person who is in charge now (Dayle Brown) will make it happen.”

Japan, too, was a significant investor at the Easter sale, accounting for 11 yearlings at a cost of $4.56 million, with four different parties, including Northern Farm’s Katsumi Yoshida, all buying yearlings.

As a fellow Victorian studmaster, Mithen also welcomed Yulong’s continued investment in the Australian industry “100 per cent”.

“God bless Mr Zhang for stepping into our market so strongly and into Victoria and making our industry better,” Mithen said.

“How could anyone deny that he hasn’t swung a very large bat and hit some balls out of the park and made sure our industry continues to go forward. 

“There would be plenty of vendors who are ecstatic for his support. He was hard to beat from a buying point of view, but that’s competition and that’s the health of the micro-economy that we live in, in the racing world.

“We seem to be immune from world events at times and it’s great that blokes like Mr Zhang are there to support it and acknowledge how good an industry it is and how healthy it is here in Australia.”

Hutch said Zhang’s global approach to racing and breeding, not dissimilar to the way Japan invigorated its industry decades ago through sourcing the best available horses from around the world, could only help the Australian Stud Book.

“In the case of Mr Zhang, he’s the single biggest investor in bloodstock internationally in the last four or five years,” Hutch said. 

“He’s a participant in all the major breeding stock sales and the yearling sales in Europe, the US and Australia. 

“He’s invested in Japan and I think from anybody who has been fortunate enough to spend time in his company or people who are part of his team, his passion and enthusiasm for the sport extends beyond just a financial investment.

“The guy is emotionally invested in the sport. His knowledge for what decisions they’re making, what stock they have, what they’re doing, how the racehorses are going. He was engaged in the sale from the first lot to the last today and that’s fantastic for us.

“You want to see those people do very well and we’re very grateful to the contribution he’s made to the success of the sale and almost certainly his investment here will reap dividends in years to come, whether it’s on the racetrack or the breeding barn.”