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The famously successful Australian bloodstock agent Brett Howard chats to The Impact on how delighted he and Rachael were when two of the horses in their consignment ended up being sales toppers at the Gold Coast broodmare sale, dispense key advice about being pragmatic when selling horses, and outlines their plan to make Glenesk a specialist farm.
Q: Congrats on the amazing sales result at the Gold Coast Broodmare Sale. As you know Glenesk sold 11 horses for A$4.21 million. Additionally, Bella Vella and Fiesta sold for A$1.9 and A$1.35 million, respectively. Were these the numbers you were hoping for?
A: We had been hoping both mares would sell well, but until the hammer falls, no one knows what the outcome will be. Everyone was happy with those results.
Q: This year the market has been brutal for buyers.
A: Yes. If you were at the Magic Millions trying to buy, then there is no doubt it was brutal. That was not the case from the vendor’s perspective. The vendors had some big smiles on their faces.
Q: What is your long-term plan for Glenesk? And how does it work with Randwick Bloodstock which you also own?
A: In terms of selling fillies and mares for clients, we can either test the private sales market, or we can offer them for sale via a public auction or an online auction. For the last sale type, we can have the horse on our farm, prepare the online write-up, take high quality photos and video and post online, plus give people an opportunity to visit the farm and view the horse due to our great location.
Q: How do you know Sydney’s leading syndicator – Star Thoroughbreds, the syndicators of one of Glenesk’s draft heroines, Fiesta?
A: It started with us helping Denise Martin, Star Thoroughbreds’ principal with their yearling selections. Luckily, they have had some fantastic results with some of these selections. Eventually, we also got involved with selling their fillies and mares. Selling Fiesta this year for $1.35 million, and last year Invincibella for $1.3 million were tremendous outcomes for Denise and her owners.
Q: And finally, what are your plans now?
A: Australia presently has a lot of online auctions. Both Rachael and I would like Glenesk to become a farm specialising in the marketing of horses for these online auctions. The goal to achieve a better selling price for every horse’s owners. This is one area of our operation which we want to try and drive in the next six months and see how that goes.