8 minute read
THE SCORE
from 2022 MMGC Magazine
WRITTEN BY KIRSTEN MANNING
SUMAN HEDGE
Anyone involved with thoroughbreds will tell you that they provide a continuous learning curve and the first to admit that there is always something more to discover is Suman Hedge.
Which is the reasoning behind a change in approach to buying horses. In the past Suman spent considerable time researching a catalogue before heading out to the sales whilst now he just glances at the pages, preferring to have an open mind before seeing the animals in the flesh.
“I had my biases against certain stallions and certain families and because of that I was not going to the sales with an open mind,” he said. “I was more likely to make sweeping observations whereas now I find myself to be more broadminded, looking at every horse as an individual with no preconceptions.”
It is after inspection that Suman now spends the most time on catalogue research, seeing which horses he likes before studying the pedigrees and the statistics.
A recent convert to iPad catalogues, Suman admits that at first he preferred the hard copy. “The first couple of years using the iPad I thought ‘this is just not me’ but then I got used to it and now I see the advantages.”
“In regards to keeping information on spreadsheets and keeping in contact with clients by email it is all a lot easier. Plus I just ran out of space for all the catalogues and I don’t keep any now - all of my notes are recorded and retained on the iPad so that I can go back later and see what my thoughts were.”
Which is a great tool, Suman checking in years later to see what he didn’t like about a horse that exceeded expectations or what he did like about a disappointment; learning from each achievement and from each mistake.
“I like to review my notes, to brush up on things and make the necessary adjustments. Making a mistake can make you feel a bit stupid but it is the nature of the game; at the sales we see the external but not the internal; a horse’s heart, its lung capacity, its brain, its will to win. There are so many unknowns but that’s the beauty of the sport!”
Learning much during his time working with trainer John O’Shea, Suman uses a numerical system to rate the horses he inspects (every horse in the catalogue) with 5 being the average - “the majority of horses.”
“If a horse is 4 or below it means we really didn’t like it, a 6 is buyable and every now and then there is a 7 or an 8, the real stand-outs in the catalogue.”
“But we tend to get blown away in the ring with those horses as everyone likes them, they are the obvious ones. We have had more luck however securing those sort of horses at the weanling sales.”
It is essential, Suman noted, to follow through on the careers of horses he purchases, black-booking each horse to take note of their perfomances. Sometimes there is great pride when things go well, other times disappointment when they do not but “that is the nature of the game.”
JAMIE WALTER
Which is why Jamie so looks forward to the Magic Millions each year, combing through the large offering to look for that diamond in the not so rough whilst remembering something trainer Steve O’Dea once said to him about the sale - “that you would be happy to take half of these home!”
“The quality of the Magic Millions sale has just continued to increase,” Jamie said, “there are just so many nice horses.”
And what it comes down to, at the end of the day for a syndicator, is value.
“It all becomes about what price you put on them, that is the deciding factor.”
Jamie likes to peruse the catalogue when it arrives, getting an idea of which stallions and families are represented, noting that when he sees the horses he likes to ask “what am I seeing? More of mum or more of dad?”
He then starts the inspection process, grateful to Magic Millions for organising Hunter Valley inspections the month before the sales kick off.
“That has several advantages,” he said - “you can have a good first look at the horses and then once they are on site see how they have developed in those few weeks. Plus it gives you valuable time to research the horses you liked.”
More research is conducted during the sales as he inspects though he is more of a note-taker than a pointscorer.
“I know many have a system but I just find that there are too many variables for set ratings.”
Jamie still keeps his records the old-fashioned way, in the many catalogues stored in his study - laughing that “I am still a bit of a dinosaur!”
“For the last five or six years I have been thinking that I should get an I-pad and I can see what they have to offer, having all that information at your finger-tips but in the back of my mind I have been waiting until the technology is so good that I would just have to embrace it.”
“One day I may pay someone to go through my catalogues and digitalize my notes but it would have to be someone who could understand my hieroglyphics!”
Whilst successfully sourcing many winners by himself, Jamie does prefer to include his chosen trainer in the buying process.
“I like to buy in tandem with the person who is going to train that horse,” he said. “It gives them a great involvement, greater attachment,” with the bonus of added confidence in a horse if both Jamie and trainer like what they see.
Unlike agents, Jamie does not have clients he goes to the sales to buy for, rather he buys on spec the sorts of horses he thinks will appeal to potential owners. Such as an Al Maher colt who caught his eye at the 2019 Adelaide Magic Millions Yearling Sale - secured by Jamie with Joseph Pride for $62,500.
A special horse for Jamie as his first Group One winner - this year’s Epsom Handicap hero Private Eye.
PAUL MORONEY
Well not just looking, seeking - the next winner, the next Group One winner, the next champion.
A process which begins with the arrival of the sale catalogue, though that is merely the starting point - “I just flick through it to get an idea of any pedigree updates and to get a general feel for the sale,” he said. So at this no point, no lists, no preconceptions.
Getting to as many studs as possible in the lead-up is where the process really begins, Paul - along with partner Catheryne Bruggeman - attempting to work through as much of the catalogue as they can before the sales actually begin.
It is during that time that they “take off all the obvious horses, those with the defects we can’t live with whilst also taking note of the horses worth a second look.”
And so by the time they get on site there is more time for the horses they want to look at again and to see for the first time those they are yet to inspect.
With the Magic Millions catalogue such an extensive one, Paul considers the Gold Coast sale one of his most challenging tests although the task has been made a little easier with he and Catheryne (“I found someone whose eye I completely trust”) inspecting half the horses each, then comparing lists and culling the types they don’t like before moving on to the next stage.
Which is the second and third looks, during which time he really starts to delve into the pedigrees. During this part of the process Paul does not award horses any points or rankings but he does take extensive notes. And in his mind he has a picture of the ideal horse based on their breeding, what he calls a “genetic map.”
“I want to see in a horse the traits that have been most successful in that individual’s bloodlines; sire line and family. It may not just be the sire and dam, it can be a couple of generations back.”
Paul’s memory for not only the horses he has been involved with but also those he has seen, is a major factor here - he can look at a great grandson of Mill Reef, and see the Mill Reef in him. Or conversely see a lack of the right influences.
Technology has been a big aid for Paul who has been utilizing the benefits of his iPad for the last eight years. “It is so easy to use, it is great for lists and for referencing past notes and sales results.”
And practical for a traveller too, Paul liking to look back on past successes and mistakes to keep the “continuous learning process” going - his notes far easier to access on an iPad than in old catalogues.
Whilst admitting a preference for three-year-old types with the prospect of longevity, Paul does have a variety of clients with different aims and ideas. He provides them with lists tailored to their needs though there are always the surprises... “the twoyear-old type who ends up needing time, the staying type who comes up early!”
At the end of the day however what Paul seeks above all else is a high class horse. He can’t guarantee it but is confident that he fulfils his ambition of “increasing the odds of success for our clients.”
