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Travel restrictions not likely to quash international activity at December Mare Sale
Despite the travel restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australasian buyers are expected to come to play at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale, which gets underway in Newmarket on Monday.
Australasian buyers were active during the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and Horses-In-Training Sale last month and Jimmy George, head of marketing at Tattersalls, said he expects international activity to continue into the mares sale.
“The Australian and New Zealand participation in this COVID hit year has been remarkable and it is a real tribute to them down in that part of the world for preserving and exploring every avenue possible to buy at Tattersalls this year,” said George to Racing & Sports Bloodstock.
“It was good to see them active in the Horses-In-Training Sale and they were almost as prolific at all books of the yearling sales as they have been in recent years and from what we have seen so far definitely gives cause for optimism that despite all the travel restrictions they will be able to play an active and significant role in the December Breeding Stock Sale as usual.”
The December Mare Sale has been a permanent fixture in the calendars of many prolific Australian and New Zealand breeders and George said it continues to be a successful playground for the southern hemisphere.
“It is a sale that has had an extraordinary influence in Australia and New Zealand for a very, very long time so it is an obvious target for breeders from that part of the world,” he said.
“Two of the last four Melbourne Cup winners have been out of mares purchased at this sale, with Twilight Payment and Rekindling and arguably the most influential broodmare of the last 50 years in Eight Carat, she was purchased at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale for 9,400gns in 1979.
“It is a hugely influential sale in so many ways and we are so pleased that people all over the world can participate even under these difficult circumstances.”
The global sale circuit has been battling the restrictions put in place during the pandemic all year, forcing sales companies to explore other ways of selling their stock, and Tattersalls is no different, with the auction house introducing new technology for those buyers unable to physically make it to Park Paddocks.
George said the new live bidding platform has been well-received and believes it will be a permanent fixture at Tattersalls Sales.
“The live internet bidding we introduced 12 years ago being inspired by what was going on in Australia, which is where it is pioneered in the thoroughbred auction world particularly by Inglis,” said George. “So we introduced it off the back of that and it was slightly ahead of its time and wasn’t particularly widely embraced.
“The activity from international buyers is a combination of people exploring every available avenue they are comfortable with to participate, as well as the live internet bidding, there is also the option of telephone bidding through Tattersalls agents and of course making use of contacts on the ground. That is one of the great things about this business is that it is so global and people have built up their relationships with their counterparts all around the world and when faced with difficulties like this that comes into play."
Australians and New Zealanders were no strangers to online bidding pre-COVID and George believes their familiarity with the format this has helped keeping buyers from that part of the world active at Tattersalls Sales this year.
“For Australians and New Zealanders it has been something they have been using for years and so it has been easy for them to adopt it for Tattersalls and we have a lot to thank our New Zealand and Australian counterparts for in that respect - it’s great,” said George.
“People can participate almost as normal and feel part of the sale. Australasian breeders have had unbelievable success from this sale, so they want to get involved in the sale.”
