On the eve on the Adelaide Yearling Sale we caught up with one of the best judges in country when it comes to horse flesh, South Australia’s leading bloodstock agent Adrian Hancock of Magic Millions.
Born and bred in SA growing up on a farming property near Clare, Hancock’s family has a rich history in the harness racing industry which nurtured his love of pedigrees and ultimately led him into thoroughbred racing.
Tell us when the process of selection yearling for the sale starts?
We start looking at some of next year’s yearlings which are only foals now pretty early on, but officially we start looking at the yearlings in around September and October. We might look at some horses three or four times in the months leading up to the sale.
How many horses do you have to select from when sorting the Adelaide catalogue?
We get well over 1000 entries. A lot of horses are entered for other sales around Australia, but we try and pick the best catalogue we can get.
How does that process work?
I do all the South Australian horses, but we have Magic Millions staff in Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland who go everywhere. Ben Culham comes down with me and has a look through the SA horses. It’s good to have a second pair of eyes go over them.
And how hard is it selecting the right horse?
It’s an exhausting process, you're dealing with emotional vendors trying to get their horses in the sale.
How have you seen the dynamic change in recent years?
Such is the demand these days you have to have the right article, buyers won’t tolerate horses with major faults and problems. Syndicates and trainers are looking for horses that are sexy and horses they can then sell to owners.
Once the catalogue is set, what is the final piece of the puzzle?
Magic Millions work very hard to get buyers to attend the sale here in Adelaide. We fly a lot of buyers in and we accommodate the local buyers with credit opportunities.