New Zealand agents face uphill battle to make live July bloodstock sales
Travel exemption applications knocked back so far by Australian government
New Zealand-based bloodstock agents face the prospect of being unable to attend the upcoming sales series in Australia, denying the cohort significant earnings potential, as government authorities continue to enforce stringent Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The current stance by the Australian government’s Department of Home Affairs is likely to impact the depth of the buying benches at the four Inglis auctions in Sydney and Melbourne next month, and the Magic Millions National Sale on the Gold Coast.
The Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale Round 2, the Australian Weanling, Great Southern and Melbourne Gold Yearling Sales as well as the National Sale comprising weanlings, breeding stock and yearlings, are set to be the first live auctions conducted since March.
Between the two sales companies there are more than 2,500 lots catalogued, horses that normally would have already been offered to the market in the previous three months, but were held back for the postponed auctions.
Young agent Bevan Smith, believed to be one of about 15 New Zealand-based bloodstock professionals who have expressed a desire to travel to Australia for the sales, revealed that his application to enter the country had been denied by the Department of Home Affairs.
“Obviously there’s a lot of sales coming up next month in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast, but as it looks right now, I’m definitely not going to be able to get there,” Smith said.
“I’ve just been through a process of applying for a travel exemption, which I found out (on Monday) they didn’t accept. Inglis and Magic Millions have both been really good and Thoroughbred Breeders Australia has also been following up with government officials about why my application was rejected and they are trying to get some sort of exemption, not just for me but for other agents in my position as well.
“If I was allowed, I’d be on the plane tomorrow and do my two weeks of quarantine, that’s not a concern, and it’s an essential part of being able to get there.”
It is understood that Thoroughbred Breeders Australia met with Immigration Minister Alan Tudge’s office last week, and has also had a number of calls with representatives from the office of Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton relating to incoming travel exemptions.
Discussions remain ongoing in the hope of reaching a resolution, but if they are forthcoming it will still be too late for the agents to attend Inglis’ Sydney sales due to the 14-day quarantine requirements.
The likes of Smith, Dean Hawthorne, Guy Mulcaster and Bruce Perry are among those set to be impacted by the international border closure.
Hawthorne acts for GSA Bloodstock, with the prominent agent instrumental in putting together an elite broodmare band and collection of high-class race fillies for Victorian businessman Jonathan Munz.
Perry plays a key role in managing the extensive bloodstock interests of leading New Zealand thoroughbred investor Lib Petagna, who races horses on both sides of The Tasman.
New Zealand agent Paul Willetts is another affected by the current ban and he indicated that he would happily complete a two-week quarantine stint in order to attend the sales if he was given the green light to travel to Australia.
“It is what it is. It is a little bit out of our hands and I can understand it, but it just seems a bit hypocritical that some sports people can go to Australia to play and be employed whereas we’ve been denied access that would allow us to keep our livelihood going,” he said.
Willetts advises a number of Australian and New Zealand clients and has plans to be active again at the sales if he and his peers receive a last-minute exemption.
“I’d probably buy ten to 15 weanlings (each year) and, funnily enough, I had a few more orders this year for weanlings than I did last year,” he said.
“With mares, we probably buy fewer, but we’re spending quite a bit more money. At the Chairman’s sale (in May) we spent almost a million dollars and last year we spent over a million dollars at the sale, so we’re not scared to have a lash.
“It just makes it a little bit more difficult when you’re not there.”
Smith, meanwhile, planned to remain in Australia for an extended period if he was granted an exemption which would enable him to inspect horses in the lead-up to the respective Inglis and Magic Millions juvenile sales later in the year.
“For certainty, I would probably look to stay over in Australia until the end of the two-year-old sales, which is another big market for me. I like to attend the breeze-ups as well prior to the sales and they are in September,” he said.
“Having to quarantine (in Australia and New Zealand when heading home) wouldn’t really deter me from getting there. It’s important for my business to be there.”
Smith added: “While we are all adapting to online sales, there’s nothing quite like seeing a horse in the flesh and making a judgment on them, particularly weanlings when you are assessing how they are going to grow and go forward.
“I think it’s vital to see them.”