Wattle Bloodstock’s Peter Twomey’s clients are spread out across Australasia and his list of successful graduates is equally long and widespread. The Wagga Wagga-based bloodstock agent has been a fan of Ready To Race Sales and has been a prominent buyer for the past few years.
Twomey speaks to The Impact about his racing successes and plans for the upcoming 2YO Ready To Race Sales.
Q: Please tell us about some of your biggest successes from 2YO Sales, particularly from this event in the past.
A: RELENTLESS and CELAVI are two current exciting gallopers in Singapore that I sourced from 2YO Sales. Relentless was bought from the Inglis Ready2Race Sale for just A$30,000, has won three times and was Group placed in the Singapore 3YO Classic earlier this year. He’s on a path towards the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup later this year than next year’s Singapore Derby.
Celavi has given us a few worries since buying her for A$100,000 as a 2YO, but she’s putting it all together now. The mare has won 6 of 10 starts and over S$240,000. The Group 3 Merlion Trophy at the end of November is her current aim.
Closer to home I selected a horse called from the Ready2Race Sale that has provided his owner Peter Colley with plenty of thrills here in New South Wales. He’s won five times, qualified for the NSW Country Championship Final twice (3rd in 2020 and 6th in 2020), earned nearly A$300,000 and is aiming up at the Kosciuszko this spring.
Q: As a leading buyer, who are your key clients and where are they based? Have you missed being able to travel over the last couple of years, either for business or pleasure?
A: For the 2YO Sales my main clients are owners and trainers based in both Hong Kong and Singapore. It has been a difficult past two years not being able to travel to those countries to see the clients and discuss their plans face to face. We utilize email, WhatsApp, phone calls and Zoom to stay in touch, but it doesn’t beat seeing people in person and getting to know everything that is going on in and around their stables and businesses.
Conversely, they would love to be down here to look at the horses prior to the auction and now that falls squarely on my shoulders. Information from vendors has improved a lot in the last two years and I hope that level of transparency becomes the new normal even when travel restrictions are lifted.
Q: What goes into your selection process when you are choosing 2YO, as opposed to unproven yearlings?
A: The bonus you get at the 2YO Sales is being able to see how the horse has broken in, adapted (or not) to training and how they gallop. Being the fastest breeze up doesn’t guarantee success on the racecourse, but it certainly does help in shortening the list down of potential prospects.
I can be more forgiving on pedigree and conformation at the 2YO Sales compared to unproven yearlings if the horse has a galloping action and attitude we like to target.
The successes I’ve had from these sales haven’t necessarily been horses that were 2YO types, but ones that have shown a good action and willingness to be a racehorse. With time they’ve matured into proper stakes quality gallopers.
Q: Will you be inspecting horses of interest in advance, or would you prefer to sight them during the sale?
A: Ideally, I’d like to get along to the breeze up days to see all the horses and how they handle the experience, but logistically that seems impossible with today’s travel restrictions across three states. Getting along to inspect them in the week prior to the auction will have to be my priority in 2021.
Q: Having been born into the industry you have probably seen some extraordinary racing from a fairly young age and have probably been privy to many interesting insights. What is your earliest racing memory? Also, please tell us about your favourite racehorse, racetrack and stallion and why are they your favourites?
A: My earliest racing memories are mainly around the Cootamundra Turf Club which my father was Treasurer when I was growing up. My brother, sisters and I used to sit on the steps of the official’s tower to watch the races, as it was the best seat in the house right on the finish line. When I got a bit older, I was also given the privilege of cutting the inside meter of the course on a sit-on-mower, as the council slasher couldn’t get too close to the running rail.
My favourite racehorse was Shogun Lodge as he had tremendous longevity and a booming finish. Watching him run at Royal Randwick was a great thrill and really captured my imagination. He fostered my passion of horse racing and helped me transition from just a watcher of racehorses into someone who wanted to work in the industry full-time.
Danehill was my screen saver on my first ever computer when doing the HSC. He has had and continues to have, such a profound impact on the breeding industry in Australia and our addiction to precocious speed. We have some wonderful champion stallions standing at stud down under these days, but even their statistics can look unexceptional alongside those of Danehill; 347 black-type winners including 83 individual Group 1 winner from 2,485 foals, giving him a Stakes Winners to Foals of 14% and Group 1 Winners to Foals of 3.3%.
Q: Is there a stallion that you consider to be under the radar and why? Which first crop sire do you feel will climb high? And why?
A: Hallowed Crown is a stallion I feel the Australian market took a stance against early on at the sales for whatever reason, but he’s been great to me and my clients in Singapore. Shamus Award was another that was under the radar earlier on and I was stoked to buy a nice moving colt for just A$20,000 in May, but his progeny had a great winter and probably won’t slip through anymore. Both those stallions don’t necessarily get early going horses, but they produce racehorses that improve and improve, which is what I want in my racing stock heading to Asia.
I thought the Hellbent’s were a great even group of horses at the yearling sales but couldn’t get close to them in the sale ring. I was equally taken by a number of yearlings by Russian Revolution, was underbidder on one at Classic then finally landed a star colt at the Easter Sale from Tempting Delight..
He’s impressed all the people around him early on and has the professional nature I look for, so I’ll be hoping he can be a good advertisement for his sire in the coming years.
Q: As the sale is being held during Everest week, do you have plans to watch The Everest live? If you were one of the Everest slot holders, which horse would you pick?
A: Yes, if we are allowed back on track I’d love to be on course to watch The Everest. I remember fondly being at Randwick for the first running of The Everest and the huge cheer from the crowd when the gates opened. It took me back to the days of Shogun Lodge and co when huge crowds flocked to Royal Randwick. The Everest has garnered a younger audience and it’s terrific to see them on course.
Trainer Cliff Brown has been a good client and friend for several years, so I’d love to see his horse THE INFERNO line up in The Everest. Inferno was a beast in Singapore spanking the opposition thereby many lengths and was impressive winning at Group 2 level early in September in Melbourne. There may be more favoured runners in the market like NATURE STRIP, but if I were one of the slot holders I know the ride with Cliff, Glenn, Chris, and their team would be one I couldn’t go past.