Australia’s leading conditioner, Ciaron Maher, who has recently joined the ranks of the six elite trainers whose horses have won Group 1 Tancred Stakes and the Cox Plate speaks to The Impact about everything that goes into consideration when buying quality yearlings at the biggest sales of the year. He discusses their 2021 yearling purchases, his top stable stars, as well as their buying direction into weanling purchases.
Q: You were the leading buyer at this year’s yearling sales you bought 93 horses for A$25.5 million during the overall yearling sales season (from Magic Millions’ Gold Coast sale in Jan to Inglis’ Easter sale:. Has this been a consistent buying trend and spend over the last few years or did you find a jump due to the strong industry performance we are seeing currently? Do you anticipate any more private yearling purchases this year?
A: We buy the majority of our horses at the yearling sales, so we consistently tend to come away with a good selection of horses each year. We have been lucky enough to have a very successful past 12 months and as a result, we have had more interest in our investments than ever before.
There has been a strong appetite from a lot of clients this year across yearlings and weanlings and we are grateful for the support that we have received.
My Bloodstock Manager, Will Bourne and I are always on the lookout for horses both locally and internationally. I have had a lot of success with prior international purchases and would love to do more in this area.
Q: Similarly, you were one of the leading buyers at the Weanling Sales when you purchased 3 horses for A$1.76 million. Again, is this spend consistent with your annual Weanling purchases?
A: The team and I thought we would think a touch differently this year and as a result, we invested heavily in the weanling sales. This was due to the buoyant nature of the yearling market. Our thought process was that if our main competitors are pinhookers, we could acquire high-quality horses at discounted prices to benefit our clients.
Q: What was special about the I Am Invincible x Ocean Jewel weanling you purchased and what are your plans for him?
A: He was a gorgeous animal and had everything that I looked for in a horse. He was purchased from Gilgai Farm at Nagambie who are world-class breeders that have bred such champions as Black Caviar, All Too Hard, Jameka, Ole Kirk and Masked Crusader. I have had a lot of success with the farm and as a result, I love to buy from them.
Rick Jamieson and Kelly Skillecorn were kind enough to take the horse back to Gilgai Farm and from there he will grow out over the next few months and be broken in in January.
Q: Similarly, what are your plans for your top yearling purchases at the Gold Coast and at Easter. Where do you see them racing and for what sort of distances?
A:We have some incredible plans for all these horses.
Q: This year you purchased quite a few I Am Invincibles this year. Is he your favourite sire? If yes, what is special about the horses sired by I Am Invincible? If not, who are your key sires and why?
A: I am Invincible is a hard stallion not to like and the more we have of him in the stable, the better.
Another couple of stallions we were lucky enough to identify early are the likes of Capitalist and Extreme Choice. We purchased 4 Extreme Choice’s and 8 Capitalist’s last season and upon reflection, they were purchased at a great value.
Q: Do you work with any specific bloodstock agents? What is your purchase process when buying at sales?
A: My Bloodstock Manager is Will Bourne. We are always looking at opportunities both domestically and internationally.
Before purchasing at the sales, we put a lot of time and resources into looking at horses of all price points. We like to get out to the farms prior to the sales so that we are on the front foot come auction day. Will and myself get around to most farms in August to look at these yearlings in the paddock and build a profile on them.
Will Bourne and the team do a lot of research prior to the sale in relation to broodmare sire, sire’s, farm statistics and crosses.
Q: When it comes to buying racehorses do you find that yearlings are your best bet or do you also like to review the horses at the ready-to-race sales across NZ and Australia later in the year as well? And if yes, how different is your research and selection methodology compared to yearling purchases? Do such things as fashionable sires come into the picture or are race-track results of siblings and half-siblings and breeze times more significant criteria for your purchases?
A: I mainly buy at yearling sales but have also had a bit of luck with NZ ready-to-race sales. I always enjoy getting over to New Zealand and have great respect for the way their horses and raised and prepared.
It's great to see how they handle themselves under saddle and it helps narrow down what you like when watching the breeze up videos.
Q: Your stable is full of Australian stars. Who are your top 3 stable stars currently and why? And where were they purchased from and for what price?
A: Our top 3 stable stars currently would have to be Sir Dragonet, Explosive Jack and Away Game.
Sir Dragonet: Sir Dragonet was purchased from Coolmore in the U.K by Ozzie Kheir and a great group of owners. We were very lucky to have the opportunity to be able to train him and since arriving he has become a multiple Group 1 winner through victories in the Cox Plate and Tancred Stakes. He has amassed around $4.9 million worth of prizemoney and we just love to have him in the stable.
Away Game: Away Game was purchased from the Magic Million Yearling sales in 2019 for $425,000. She impressed us straight away with her professionalism and dazzling turn of foot. She went on to win the Magic Millions 2yo Classic as an early 2yo and has continued to excel with impressive wins in the Widden Stakes, Percy Sykes Stakes and runner up in the Golden Slipper.
Explosive Jack: Explosive Jack was purchased from the New Zealand Karaka Sales for $100,000. Since coming into the stable he has become a stable favourite and the winner of three consecutive Derby’s in the Tasmanian Derby, ATC Australian Derby and the South Australian Derby.