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Growing up in the picturesque New South Wales, Peter Twomey was born in a family involved in Thoroughbred racing. Peter finished his education and went on to work various jobs and internships before joining Inglis over 12 years ago. Working his way up the ladder and helping them grow their business, Peter eventually broke away to set up Wattle Bloodstock.
Coming in back with an intense amount of experience and education it is no surprise that Peter and Wattle Bloodstock have already carved a name out for themselves. We are looking to understand his thoughts now after the conclusion the Inglis Ready to Race sales. Here they spoke to us about this year's sales, their best horses and their plans for the remainder of 2020.
Q: You bought some amazing horses at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale a few weeks ago. Could you tell us more about these purchases such as who were they bought for, where are they headed and what races will they be targeted at? What made these horses special - pedigree nicks, confirmation, or something else?
A: The Star Turn x In the Moment colt (Lot 23) and Rich Enuff x Neon Bel colt (Lot 64) were purchased for Hong Kong trainer Caspar Fownes. They’ll head down to Enver Jusufovic at Cranbourne to be prepared for Hong Kong. I’d seen the Star Turn as a yearling earlier this year and he really impressed me with how much he had improved and matured into a racehorse the last eight months. His breeze was very professional and attitude was the relaxed nature I look for when buying for Hong Kong. The Rich Enuff was one that grabbed Caspar’s attention on the breeze up videos and was the powerful masculine type he is after.
My third purchase was the Hallowed Crown x Posh Chic colt (Lot 80) from Baystone Farm. His preparer Mick Gibson had only six weeks from buying the colt, breaking him into the breeze up in September, so I think the horse did a tremendous job. He had the athleticism, attitude, and vetted out well, exactly what I was after for Singapore trainer Tim Fitzsimmons. I’ve had a bit of luck buying the progeny of Hallowed Crown in Bluestone (10:4-2-1) and Relentless (2:1-0-0), so I hope it continues.
Q: What has your past experience been with this sale? What did you think of the catalog quality this year?
A: I was part of the Inglis team that got the Ready2Race Sale off the ground back in 2013 and worked hard to build the sale. Now I’m on the other side of the fence looking from a buyers perspective I am very impressed with how the sale is growing in quality and depth. This year was certainly the best group of 2YOs assembled, as well as the quality of vendors like Blake Ryan, Matthew Vella, Ohukia Lodge, Valiant Stud, Hanover Lodge, etc
Q: Historically who were some of your top graduates from this sale? (Or any other Ready2Race sale)
A: Plonka (by Epaulette) is doing a great job for his owner Peter Colley of Greenhaven Park Stud. He originally passed-in through the ring at the Ready2Race Sale and on my advice, Peter was able to buy Plonka for $85,000. Peter loves his country racing and Plonka was able to win the Northern Rivers Qualifier on his way to third place in the $500,000 Country Championship Final at Randwick in April. He’ll be aimed up at the same series in 2021.
Last year I bought a Hallowed Crown colt from Blake Ryan’s draft for $30,000 on behalf of Singapore trainer Tim Fitzsimmons. Now named Relentless the horse won his second start with a barnstorming finish and is now being aimed at the Singapore Gr.3 Golden Horseshoe on the 5th of December. Relentless is certainly one to follow.
Q: Will you be attending any other sales in 2020? If yes, which ones?
A: I’m hoping to attend the Magic Millions 2YOs in Training Sale if the Queensland border opens up prior to the sale. My travel is all in place and I’ve been through the catalogue and breeze ups. Just crossing fingers and toes I can physically get there, as attitude and Physical conformation are crucial to my selection criteria when buying for clients.
Q: And finally, where do you see innovation and growth within the Thoroughbred industry?
A: In regards to the 2YO market I was glad to see extra parade videos, photos as well as heights and weights for all the horses provided at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale. Vendors such as Ohukia Lodge set a very high standard and I hope others follow their lead with the quality of videos they produced pre-Sale.
One area in which I’d like to see more innovation is the breeze up videos. They are way too short in my opinion and some of the tight tracks with obstructed views of the gallops fall way below the standard required if vendors want to showcase higher quality horses at the upper end of the market more regularly.