13 minute read
New Horizons
Tattersalls’ long-term marketing director Jimmy George is looking forward to new challenges as he moves from a role he has held for 23 years, writes James Thomas
THE DECEMBER MARES SALE will signal the end of an era at Tattersalls with the company’s long-serving marketing director Jimmy George moving on to pastures new.
George has become something of the public face of the world-renowned auction house, taking on regular media duties as well as his behind-the-scenes marketing responsibilities. It has been quite the journey, particularly considering he came into the industry from a standing start.
After studying history and politics at Exeter University – “a profoundly useless degree” – George had his first spell with Tattersalls in 1986.
When asked what his roles and responsibilities included in that time, he laughs and says, “Anything I was told! I was very much the lowest of the low, and quite rightly as I’m not sure I’d have employed me.
“I was fortunate I was leaving university in 1986 rather than ‘85 or ‘87 because it coincided with a time when they actually needed somebody in the bloodstock room.
“If it had been a year earlier or a year later, there wouldn’t have been a job there.”
The move proved a formative experience for the “unbelievably gormless 22-year-old” George.
“I didn’t grow up in a racing background, but I just loved the sport,” he continues. “I applied for a job at Tattersalls on leaving Exeter, largely based on the fact that I wanted to get involved in the racing and bloodstock industry but didn’t have any practical experience.
“Because Tattersalls was on the more clerical side of things it was one of the only spots where I felt I could go and start at the bottom and learn as much as I possibly could.”
He evidently learned plenty along the way. A brief spell at Pacemaker magazine followed, including as editor in 1993, before he returned to Tattersalls as marketing manager in 1994. He has served on the board as marketing director since 2001.
In that time George has overseen a period of almost exponential growth at Tattersalls.
In 2001 the company turned over 124,855,150gns, a figure that has exceeded 300 million guineas in all bar the Covid year since 2016. In 2022, spending hit a record 413,198,735gns.
This growth reflects the significant expansion of the sales calendar, with an increase in the number of auctions meaning an increase in the volume of horses brought to market.
“When I started in 1986, there wasn’t a sale here at Tattersalls in Newmarket from the end of the December Sale until the July Sale the following year,” he says. “Now, that didn’t mean that everyone downed tools on January 1, but it was definitely a gentler sales scene in those days. We’re literally offering double the number of horses than we were in the mid to late 80s.
“In the boardroom we get the catalogue for every single sale sent off to be bound in leather as a record of each sale. I looked the other day and in 1986 there were eight leather bound volumes, which encompassed that year’s sales. The last three or four years will probably be made up of 16 such volumes, and that doesn’t account for Cheltenham, the online sales, and Tattersalls Ireland, which have become significant and important parts of what we do.
“Tatts Ireland was already very much an integral part of the firm way back when, but everything has just expanded and multiplied massively in the period I’ve been involved.”
It is not just Tattersalls that has witnessed this boom in trade.
The increasing commercialisation – and internationalisation – of the bloodstock industry has made for a more competitive marketplace, a development that has been keenly felt in auction house marketing departments around the world.
“The focus is much sharper nowadays and the competition is much greater,” George says of the bloodstock landscape.
“Competition is good for everyone, but we’re very conscious that it’s a competitive scene out there. There are lots of other highly regarded sales companies throughout Europe and the rest of the world, and we’re competing with all of them for our share of the market.
“Sourcing the horses is absolutely vital and key to the success of Tattersalls, but equally you have to be hungry when it comes to going out and finding the buyers from every corner of the world, as well as that domestic support.”
While Tattersalls has long since occupied a market-leading position, particularly so far as Europe is concerned, George stresses that he nor the team have ever taken that as a given.
“I don’t think there’s a person at Tattersalls that takes that status, perceived or otherwise, for granted,” he says. “And the day you do is a very dangerous one. This is a company with a history of more than 250 years and the company is a custodian of that history and legacy.
“It’s vital that the company continues to try and preserve Tattersalls as the preeminent sales company in Europe, to live up to that history and to take it forward.”
Professionally, George cites the sale of the Caerleon colt foal out of Doff The Derby for a record-breaking 2.5 million guineas in 1997 as a most memorable moment; it was a wide-margin world record for a foal and is still an unchallenged European record to this day.
Personally, George’s best day was the sale of a pinhooked daughter of Diktat – bought as foal in 2005 for 26,000gns, she was sold a year later for 340,000gns, despite being the first lot in on the last day of Book 1 (Lot 494).
By that evening, unbeknown to George, partner Patrick Cooper of BBA Ireland had spent 60,000gns of the profit on a Sadler’s Wells yearling colt.
He went on to be called Curtain Call, won the Beresford Stakes (G2) the following year and the Mooresbridge Stakes (G3) as a four-year-old. He also ran in the Derby (as below, and, above, George being interviewed before the Classic by Clare Balding) and five further Group 1 races finishing a best-placed fourth in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
ANOTHER CHANGE has been the advent of social media, with the various platforms now a key battleground for the competing sales companies. Although George may not be an entirely active participant on this front, he is no less competitive about Tattersalls’ performance in this sphere.
“I think I’m regarded as something of a figure of fun when it comes to social media!” he laughs. “But I like to think I recognise its importance and significance, and the fact that I’m not really a regular user is neither here nor there. The great thing is, we have a team around us who is fully versed in the realms of social media because it’s a vital business tool, as everyone knows.
“Some people might think that as the oldest firm of its type in the world Tattersalls might not be the most progressive.
“But it’s a source of pride, and I think it’s a great reflection on Tattersalls, that we’ve got more followers on the various social media platforms than any other sales company, except Keeneland, which has a racetrack as well and attracts a different demographic of followers.
“That reflects the importance we place on it, and the fact we’re constantly looking at ways to develop that as something to complement and enhance what we do.”
The fact that this funny outpost in Suffolk becomes the focal point of a global business for significant parts of every year is wonderful
George highlights the variety within his role, from international travel to harnessing technological innovations, as being central to keeping the job so rewarding for so long.
“No two days are the same and it is very varied,” he says. “Once the sales season hits full flow, sometimes it’s hard to come up for air. This autumn period from the beginning of September to the beginning of October, we’re cramming an enormous amount in.
“There is no quiet time of year and at every point there are defined roles and defined aims, a lot of which involve overseas travel and regular contact with clients domestically and overseas. There’s a huge amount of ground covered by the marketing team, which involves maintaining and increasing that buying base.
“We’ll visit pretty well every continent in the world every year and 20 to 30 different countries.”
George may describe himself as an “incurable optimist” but, when asked for his proudest achievement in his time at Tattersalls, he says he is not prone to indulging in self reflection. He does, however, highlight the various connections he has made – with both colleagues and clients – as being particularly important.
“I’m just proud to have worked here for as long as I have,” he says. “It’s a great company and it always will be. It’s admired throughout the world, and admired for all the right reasons. There have been so many fantastic people who have worked here over the years, not least Edmond Mahony, who’s been the chairman for as long as I’ve been back here. He’s led the firm with extraordinary vision. I’m just proud to have been a small part of it.”
He adds, “One of the things that makes working at Tattersalls so wonderful is that everyone professionally involved in the sport of horseracing and the world of breeding thoroughbreds, certainly withing Europe, will at some point or another beat a path to our door.
“To see so many different people coming to Tattersalls on such a regular basis has always been a huge pleasure. The fact that this funny outpost in Suffolk becomes the focal point of a global business for significant parts of every year is wonderful. It’s a tribute not just to Tattersalls but to the wider British and European thoroughbred breeding industry.”
Although George turns 61 at the end of the year, he is not quite ready to reach for the pipe and slippers. Instead he will take up the role of managing director at the International Racing Bureau.
The move will not prove much of a leap in physical terms - "the officeI'm moving to is only about 75 yards down the hill" - and the scope of his new role means there will be plenty of opportunities for crossover with his former employer.
“I’m not completely losing my association with Tattersalls and I’ll continue to do my best to play a part for the company in the overseas market,” he says.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to leave a company I still absolutely love working for to move on to another company that I have a long association with, and which I’m equally looking forward to doing my best for in a slightly different role.
“I was very fortunate to get a job at Tattersalls when I was an unbelievably gormless 22-year-old, and somebody else is still prepared to take a chance on me now I’m in my early 60s – that can’t be bad!”
Associate director and marketing manager Jason Singh is to head up the marketing team.
“Jason will step readily into the role,” says George. “I’ve worked with him for 20-plus years now and he’s already a very well-established and well-known figure in the bloodstock and wider racing world. It’s his time.”
It is probably self-evident that a role in marketing would not suit a natural born cynic, and George says he has always possessed a positive disposition. This, perhaps at least in part, explains his enduring success in his role with Tattersalls.
“I quite often preface my conversations with Edmond by saying, ‘I know I’m a pathetic optimist but…’,” he says.
“Sadly being a pathetic optimist can sometimes lead to bitter disappointment, but equally sometimes that pathetic optimism can be realised.”
Georges’s time in the industry has plainly not dimmed his enthusiasm for the sport. Although he acknowledges that racing could, on occasion, supply its audience with better messaging, he highlights the enduring appeal of meetings such as the Breeders’ Cup, the Melbourne Cup and Royal Ascot as a clear sign that the global racing industry is doing so much right.
I’ve always been someone that prefers to accentuate the positive rather than the negative
“There’s an awful lot going for this sport and for the thoroughbred breeding industry in Britain, Ireland and throughout Europe and further afield,” he says.
“Society is changing and the sport and the business needs to change to reflect that, and reflect our place in the world. But I think everyone is acutely aware of that, and we can all only do our best to make our sport as relevant as we possibly can and as enjoyable as we possibly can.
“Now, that’s easier said than done, but I’ve always been someone who prefers to accentuate the positive rather than the negative, and there are times when I don’t think we’re very good at that collectively in horseracing.
“It’s important that we recognise the issues and the challenges and the things that could be improved, but equally there are an awful lot of great things achieved by some very capable, hard-working and dedicated people in this industry.
“Those are stories that need to be told and need to be emphasised, not just in Britain but throughout the world.”
The December Mares Sale is set to be George’s last hurrah, and he will be taking in the sale both as marketing director for the final time and as a vendor.
He is a part-owner of Village Voice along with BBA Ireland’s Patrick Cooper and the journalist Bill Oppenheim.
Although George says he won’t be topping his final sale with the company, the four-year-old daughter of Zarak has surely enhanced her value beyond the 38,000gns she cost at the 2022 Guineas Sale having won the Group 3 Prix de Flore as well as Listed races at Navan and Saint-Cloud.
“We’ve been very fortunate over the years and owned some wonderful horses in partnership,” he says.
“Village Voice is coming to Sceptre Session as part of my swansong. She’s a lovely filly and I’m very fond of her.”
For all George’s trademark optimism, he concedes his final auction as Tattersalls’ marketing director will be an unusual experience.
“It will be strange,” he says. “This job has been two-thirds of my life. But to leave something when you’re still deriving pleasure from it is probably a luxury in itself, as is having another challenge to take on to replace that.
“We all have our time though and I’ll be 61 at the end of this year, so it wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when I would go. I’ve got a lot of reminiscences to take with me and a lot of fond memories.”
