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New Zealand-born Bruce Slade first charmed his clients and employers a little more than a decade ago when he began as a Bloodstock manager for the first lady of Australian racing, Gai Waterhouse. After leadership role at Newgate Farm, Slade has returned to Tulloch Farm, forming a partnership with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott through his bloodstock consultancy business, Kestrel Thoroughbreds to deliver a better service to their clients and realise greater success for the stable.
Slade’s journey in the bloodstock industry has set him on the path to being lauded as one of the finest Bloodstock agents of his generation. The man with the legendary air of assured self-confidence chats with The Impact about his 2021 yearling purchases, the plans for his most high-value purchases and much more:
Q: What are your plans for the A$400,000 Snitzel filly and the A$480,000 Not a Single Doubt colt purchased by you at Easter? Where do you see them racing as 2YOs and for what sort of distances? Furthermore, what was special about the A$750,000 Not a Single Doubt (AUS)/ Rhodamine (AUS) filly purchased by you earlier this year at the Gold Coast? Where is she now and what are your plans for her?
A: These are all precocious types who were broken in immediately. They will come into our stable and learn our processes over the coming months with a view to gauging whether the 2YO races pre-Xmas are achievable goals for them. The 2YOs who can show class pre-Xmas inevitably include the Golden Slipper winner, the most important race in Australia from a commercial perspective and a race that Gai and Adrian between them have won 7 times in the last 20 runnings. It is our aim to win this race again in 2022.
Q: At the Easter Yearling Sale, you purchased 13 horses for A$3.51 million together with Mrs. Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Furthermore, you have purchased 48 horses thus far this year, spending A$13.17 million during the overall yearling sales season with the same partners. Is this a typical spend for you? All the horses were under the A$500,000 mark, so is there a trend or a system to this approach? Secondly, what was the reason behind your strong buying trend this season? Do you anticipate any more private yearling or ready-to-race horse purchases later this year?
A: This spend is in line with what Adrian and Gai spend annually for stables clients. Plan A is to win the major races, but we still want some trade upside if we need to navigate our way to plan B, hence a majority of our purchases are below A$500,000.
We have bid beyond this a number of times this season, but the market has been exceptionally buoyant, so we have probably played under-bidder on as many horses as we have landed. There are only a few smaller yearling sales left in Australia this year so our attention will turn to selling down horses we still have shares in, and scouting for tried horses internationally.
Q: How different is your research and selection methodology for yearling purchases compared to when you buy broodmares or ready-to-race horses? Do such things as fashionable sires come into the picture?
A: I like to see proven performance when assessing bloodstock. Where a sire has not had the chance to prove himself yet then I believe past race performance is the best predictor of future race performance in the next generation - be that sire or dam.
Q: With the Chairman's sale and the broodmare and weanlings' sale just around the corner, what are your plans and your typical buying trends for the season? Also, it would be great if you could shed some light on your broodmare portfolio management service and what’s involved in the process?
A: Our portfolio management side of the business involves overseeing commercial decisions related to a breeder's broodmare band with a view to increasing their returns on investment. This is a small part of my business at the moment, but I do intend to be active at these sales.
Q: And finally, who do you think are the top 3 sprinters in Australia currently and why?
A: Based on time data they are NATURE STRIP and EDUARDO, while STAY INSIDE is the young horse coming through that could test the two older campaigners next preparation.