Australian horse trainer Mick Kent has voiced concern over a trend in Australian yearling sales, the alarming rise in practices to make young horses bigger an appear more developed to appeal to buyers but are detrimental to the horse.
Breeding to sell is now big business, 2021 Australian Easter Yearling Sale generated $134,665,000 in sales, 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale set a record $199,118,000.
The cycle is driven by Vendors seeking a return and the many buyers that are buying to resell, a saleable looking product is important to both, but it is not producing better racehorses.
Taking Bart’s advice and having some patience is by far the best bet, pick a mare, pick a Stallion and breed your own, it’s still a risk, but producing your own horses, controlling what happens to them and when gives you a great deal of satisfaction and saves you a fortune.
There is not denying many champions have come through these sales, but the trend is clear and makes being very selective of what you buy, who you buy it from and knowing the history of the horse are all factors to be carefully considered before your purchase.
Australia’s 2yo fetish is something unique to the country, 2yo racing is not as important anywhere else in the world, but when it comes to Australian yearling sales 2yo form is King, 2yo sprinters is what everyone seems to want, they may not be the best thing for the future of the Australian bloodlines.
