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When your kids want an expensive holiday, it's always good to say, if ABC happens, then we can go. Subsequently, most parents try hard to steer away from any and all mention of ABC. Oliver Koolman promised his children a Ski Trip if Funstar sold for A$2 million, he thought it was a safe gamble. He was very wrong.
The man who lives, breathes and sleeps racing, Oliver Koolman of Waratah Thoroughbreds, speaks to The Impact about the sale of his mare that broke multiple world records.
Q: Please tell us about your history with Funstar?
A: Funstar was purchased by my wife (Karen) and me for 80k at the 2018 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. We had a good opinion of her then 3yo ¾ sister Youngstar who was at that point a 3-start maiden filly. Stable reports of Youngstar from her trainer Chris Waller and a sale eve phone call I put through to champion jockey Kerrin McEvoy who had recently ridden Youngtsar in trackwork and under race conditions backed up our own thoughts that Youngstar was a little above average, so we took the punt and met the asking price of the vendor and racing partners John and Karen Sheather for the ¾ sister by first season sire Adelaide. The rest is history, 6 days later Youngstar broke her maiden, soon followed a Class 1 provincial victory which convinced all connected to raise the bar and tackle pattern races over the rapidly approaching Queensland Winter carnival. Two weeks later she took out the G2 Doomben Roses and a further two weeks on she took out the GR.1 Queensland Oaks before backing up a fortnight later to run a highly creditable and luckless third in the Queensland Derby. While celebrating the Derby performance and Oak’s victory Karen and I asked if any of the Youngstar owners wished to join us to race the little sister (later known as Funstar). As we expected, the opportunity to race the ¾ sister to a now GR.1 winner was well received, particularly as we were willing to offer her around at her conservative purchase price of 80K while her real value had increased because of the recent success. All of the Youngstar owners and a sprinkling of family and close friends formed the Funstar ownership.
Q: Who were the main shareholders in the ownership
A: Without a doubt, this gathering of very fortunate owners of “the sisters” could not have been formed without the support of the Inglis Deputy Chairman, Arthur Inglis. Arthur often finds time in his schedule to hit the pavements and inspect horses of all shapes and sizes, Arthur would hit the parades on day one of the inspections with or without me. Arthur’s comradery alone shortens what can be a very long tiring day in often unpleasant weather conditions looking at hundreds of horses leading up to any number of Inglis select sales. It’s only fair to say that every partner played an integral role in the ownership of “the sisters”. From John and Karen Sheather who bred both “the girls”, through to first-time racehorse owner Romeo Atra and everyone in between.
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Q: Which of her race wins was your favourite and why?
A: I would have to say her Flight Stakes win was the pinnacle for me, Karen and I had our children Riaan (then 11) and Kian (then 8) with us at the races and we enjoyed our first ever Group 1 together as owners. While being lucky enough to be involved at the elite level on a number of occasions prior to this, this one felt like it belonged to us and we celebrated accordingly.
Q: As one of the few successful racehorses from the Galileo line in the Southern Hemisphere, what did you feel when heard of his passing?
A: Galileo will obviously be sadly missed, particularly by the Coolmore Group and our Northern Hemisphere industry colleges. He will always be best appreciated North of the equator, however, his influence in Australia, particularly through his daughters at stud is well recognized. My own experience with his Granddaughters Youngstar and Funstar plus our own involvement in one of his better grandsons The Autumn Sun created an obvious personal soft spot for Galileo as his influence has been particularly good to us.
Q: As Australian borders are closed; the buyers were not able to sight the horse before the purchase. Yet the purchase broke a world record. In such unique circumstances please tell us more about the purchase process.
A: The inspection process was very simple, we had only 8 individual physical inspections, many of which were agents representing both domestic and international buyers. Obvious Covid movement restrictions made it difficult for some but essentially, anyone in Australia who wanted to see her in person could get here and proved to do so. Interstate travellers used Canberra Airport and anyone from Sydney or the Hunter Valley simply rocked up as they normally would and operated under the strict guidelines that were clearly outlined.
Q: Did you expect the sale to get so exciting, so international and for the price to go up so high?
A: All week we were prepared for the bidding to extend beyond the suggested 4:30 mark as many buyers prefer to play the long game, but not at any stage did we think we were going to spend 90 minutes in “extra time”. I put a call through to Sebastian Hutch at Inglis to congratulate his digital team on achieving a world record digital sale at 1.3M and we opened a bottle as bidding approached her sister’s sale price of 1.4M at an Inglis Chairman’s sale. At this point, we were all extremely satisfied with the outcome but at the same time, we had no trouble sitting in front of a screen and doing the maths. Earlier in the week, the kids asked if there is a price Funstar could sell for that would allow for a Ski Trip? I thought my answer was very safe at $2M but never have I been so happy to be wrong. We were all well prepared to see her go overseas as her sister did and it’s an internationally recognized page.
Q: What do you feel about the digital revolution in buying Thoroughbreds that sweeping the world?
A: My thought of the Digital platform is that it's here to stay so we all had best get very familiar with it, there will soon be buyers and vendors who prefer to use the digital platform over the traditional public auction system.
Q: Was this your first experience?
A: This is my very first experience with a Digital Auction and I must thank the Inglis team for answering all my stupid questions. The format is very simple, it’s about providing as much information and footage possible for the buyers to make the judgement and again the marketing team at Inglis directed a well-executed campaign.
Q: Have you purchased any horses digitally? And if yes, please tell us about your favorite purchase.
A: N/A
Q: Which stallion, ever, do you think was the best type?
A: No comment
Q: Who has been the greatest influence on your life? And why?
A: Without a shadow of a doubt, by farther Anton Koolman has been the most influential person in my life. Dad took me to the annual Wrightson Bloodstock Waikato yearling sale in Hamilton New Zealand when I was only 8 years old. An 8-hour drive north from our hometown of Otaki I was soon to learn that this was not a family holiday. Dad was selling yearlings as a consigning vendor as well as looking at large numbers of cheaper horses for the Singapore/Malaysia market. From then on, he made sure I gained a general knowledge of every aspect of the thoroughbred industry by working in all sectors. My schooling got in the way of things for a short while but on my 16th birthday I cleared that hurdle and my parents made sure the learning curve took a steeper path. Mum and Dad made sure I felt the full effects of an industry participant which allows me to appreciate every component and all individuals input toward a final outcome. I was very fortunate to have worked for some incredible horse people throughout the world over the years and to this day I constantly pinch myself for being so privileged for the offering of knowledge of so many people, I even pinched a few tricks from those who didn’t see me looking.
Q: What would you like to see the change in the industry?
A: There are two very simple changes required in our sport in my mind and both are currently hindered by stubbornness and ignorance. Training hours must change, and the dominant states need to develop a race program that avoids splitting the talent pool and headline acts.
Q: What book are you currently reading? / What film have you immensely enjoyed watching, recently?
A: Sorry can't help here, I only read sale catalogues and watch racing