When Brett & Rachael Howard’s Glenesk Thoroughbreds decided to progress into the auction sales consignment arena at the 2015 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale they hit the ground running, selling Villa Verde for $1.1 million and finishing as the sale’s second leading vendor on average.
Glenesk Thoroughbreds remained in the top half a dozen vendors at the National Sale for the ensuing four years, however it was 2020 which was to prove a stellar year for the operation. Their achievements included:
Leading Vendor (aggregate) at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale, with a top price of $800,000 obtained for Group 2 winner Noire – sold to Katsumi Yoshida.
Leading Vendor (average) at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, with a top price of $1.3 million obtained for Group 1 winner Invincibella – sold to Coolmore Stud.
100% Clearance Rate at both sales – the only consignor to achieve this.
“In 2021 we will be looking to better our 2020 results at these two prestigious broodmare auctions,” commented Brett Howard. “Obviously, you cannot better a 100% clearance rate, however we will look to continue to upgrade the quality of our consignments, along with the quantity.
“Now that we have the public auction space covered, we want to advance into the online auction space. We want to become the first farm in Australia’s to specialise in online auction consignment,” revealed Howard.
“Owners do not always have the luxury of being able to wait for the next public auction, so an online auction is the most convenient and cost-effective avenue of selling your horse,” Howard explained.
“In many instances a horse will be located on a spelling farm, stud or a racing stable. It is up to the owners or staff at these premises to take good quality photos and videos of the horse so they can post to the horse’s online listing. As many an online buyer would attest, some of the photos and videos uploaded are of a poor standard and fail to show a horse in the best possible light. Also, the sales spiel or pitch in the horse’s listing can be non-existent, ineffectual, inaccurate, or even misleading at times. Plus, the listing might be missing a necessary vet certificate for breeding soundness or an injury report. All of these things go to provide a disincentive to a prospective purchaser to either bid in the first instance and/or bid higher on a horse,” added Howard.
“If owners and trainers want to take the hassle out of arranging all of this and to give themselves the best chance of maximising their online sale price, we want to them to send their horse to us. Once on our farm we will take high quality photos and video, write a well-researched comprehensive and accurate sales spiel, carry out the necessary veterinary inspections and post the certificates online. Plus, if the seller wishes, we can handle all pre-auction calls and emails. If people want to personally inspect the horse before it sells, our farm is perfectly positioned being exactly half-way between Sydney and Scone, making it easily accessible to these two jurisdictions where most of NSW’s racehorse owners and breeders reside. And if someone did want to fly from interstate, we are only forty minutes’ drive from Newcastle Airport.
“By utilising our services both Rachael and I are of the strong belief we will help sellers get a better price for their horse,” Howard asserted.
“As a minimum, if we can squeeze an extra few thousand dollars out of the market, our sellers are going to be financially better off every time. Additionally, our sellers can rest easy with the knowledge that throughout the sales process no stone was left unturned to provide them with the best possible outcome. And our buyers will also be happy because we were able to supply them with all the necessary material for them to make an informed decision on their purchase,” concluded Howard.
For more information, please visit www.randwickbloodstock.com.au or contact Brett Howard on 0403 037 773 or randwickbloodstock@bigpond.com
