By Daithi Harvey
They say if you want something done ask a busy person, so for that reason I was confident Joe Foley would spare 10 minutes out of his hectic schedule to give us his views on the wider bloodstock industry. Having just got back to Ireland from a pre-Christmas family trip to Lapland, the Ballyhane man was in festive spirit as he looked back on a year that saw him wear many caps from stallion owner to pinhooker, yearling buyer, quasi-racing manager and all-round industry evangelist who is no stranger to committees and steering groups whose aims are to better Ireland's racing and breeding industry. As a man so entrenched in various levels of the sport, Foley is in a unique position to assess the health of the industry and while it is obvious that certain sectors have never been stronger, the trickle-down effect seems slow to engage.
“It's a strange sales market at the moment,” he says. “It's getting stronger and stronger at the top. As we saw at the recent breeding stock sales there is a serious appetite among the major players to purchase those elite mares and the same applies to the yearling sale market, but is it filtering the whole way down? Probably not.”
Auction results such as Marsha (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) fetching 6-million guineas may have elevated racing's news into the mainstream media, but it doesn't paint a wholly accurate picture of the state of play, as Foley points out. He says, “While it's phenomenally strong at the top, the market may be giving some misleading signals to the outside world as to the strength of the sales and it is certainly not quite as buoyant down through the various levels. However, it's great to see a lot of big players getting into the game trying to buy elite racehorses and producers. That's what we've been hoping for for years and now it is happening. It's so encouraging that so many wealthy people from all parts of the world want to buy good racehorses as it means they want to compete on the world stage and if you are lucky to own a racehorse that is on the up and looks like it could compete in the top races, then that horse is an extremely valuable commodity and it could result in a life-changing sale for someone.”
Foley has transformed his family's former cattle farm into a thriving commercial stallion, breeding and pre-training facility, and he acknowledges that while the free spending of new investors is a boon to the industry it makes his job of identifying and acquiring stallion prospects an increasingly tricky task.
“It's possibly even more difficult now to buy stallion prospects than it was in the past and it was even difficult a number of years ago,” he admits. “It goes back to what I said earlier in that there is a growing number of high-net-worth individuals willing to give significant sums of money to buy these high-class racehorses and these horses are often the future stallion prospects.”
Ireland continues to house some of the world's most sought-after sires and it is a sector of the industry that has flourished ever since the then-Minister for Finance Charlie Haughey introduced a stallion tax exemption in 1969. That exemption was lifted in 2008 and while Ireland still occupies a lofty position in Europe, there are definite signs that the country's dominance is being gradually eroded.
“I was chairman of the ITBA when the stallion tax exemption was rescinded by the government in 2008 and we predicted then, quite vociferously, to politicians and the wider industry, that Ireland would eventually lose its then dominant status within Europe,” Foley says. “I think it's fair to say a lot of people didn't take us seriously, including parts of the media who thought we were just thinking the worst, but now less than 10 years later you can already see the difference. The proliferation and quality of new stallions retiring to France this year is stark evidence. When the tax exemption was lifted I think the highest-priced stallion standing in France was Elusive City for €15,000 and he was an ex-Irish stallion. When you see the quality in France now, the difference is staggering. I'm not saying that difference is completely down to the loss of the Irish stallion tax exemption, however it is a significant factor. Some of the horses who have retired to France in recent years would definitely have retired to Ireland under the old system.”
Foley also sees Ireland's nearest neighbour upping its stallion offering in recent years and adds, “It's not just France, Britain likewise, maybe not quantity but the quality of stallion there compared to 2008 has significantly increased. So in my opinion the loss of the stallion tax exemption in Ireland has had a very quick negative effect on the industry.”
He continued, “We said it back then; the stallions are the inner cog of a large wheel. The economic spinoff is widespread, from boarding farms taking visiting overseas mares, to vets, to farriers, even to the sales companies. The opposite is now happening in Ireland where you have an increased number of Irish breeders boarding their mares in France and selling their progeny in Arqana. So it's a complete reversal in less than 10 years. These are the facts and the Irish Government needs to pay attention to what is a very successful global industry and not take it for granted. The stallion tax exemption was deemed to be state aid but there are examples of advantages that French breeders have over others in the form of premiums, could that be considered state aid?”
With that off his chest, Foley was back in his usual upbeat form when talking about his own stallions and why wouldn't he be? Dandy Man (Ire) (Mozart {Ire}) is making steady inroads and has built up a favourable international profile, especially in Hong Kong, where a number of his progeny have been quite successful.
“Dandy Man had a great year at the sales again and had plenty of 2-year-old winners. A lot of his better progeny are now based in Hong Kong so we don't get to see them very often. His yearlings this year are his best crop so we are hoping for a big year for him in 2018,” he says.
Foley also has young stallions like Elzaam (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) and Red Jazz (Johannesburg) on his roster and is quite bullish about their prospects in what is a very unforgiving market. “Elzaam is a stallion I have a lot of faith in and I believe his stock is very much on the up. I bought a lot of foals and yearlings by him this year and I think he is going to take a significant rise up the rankings in years to come, and we were delighted with Red Jazz's first crop that hit the track this year.”
Foley was a prominent buyer at the yearling sales during the autumn with the majority purchased on behalf of his good friend Steve Parkin of Clipper Logistics. The duo topped the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale when giving £270,000 for a colt by Bated Breath (GB), though in the main the purchases were fillies with an eye on their post-racing career. He explains, “We bought some gorgeous yearlings for Steve this year and they look a really exciting bunch. While in previous years we sort of bought under the market, this year we really latched on to the ones we loved and made a big effort to go and buy them, so we have a lot to look forward to next spring.”
Clipper Logistics has been an emerging force in recent years and with north of 60 horses in training for 2018, Foley will have his work cut out to keep tabs on the burgeoning string.
“Steve loves the sport of racing but he's also very interested in the business attached to it, hence his purchase a few years ago of a farm in Yorkshire,” says Foley. “That is coming together nicely now and he is keen to develop a quality broodmare band. It's a two-pronged enjoyment for him. He wants to see these fillies race then retire and become successful broodmares back at the farm. We are really excited about 2018, we have a great roster of trainers in Britain and in Ireland and we will hopefully have Danny Tudhope riding the majority of the string in England next year.”
Parkin has enjoyed Group 1 success in the past with Rosdhu Queen (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and he again struck at the top level this year when Suedois (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), who he part owns, won the GI Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland in October. Foley is hopeful that more Group 1 horses can emerge from the current crop of soon-to-be 2-year-olds, a string he gets to see on a regular basis.
“All the yearlings that we bought are in pre-training at Ballyhane. My wife Jane runs that part of it and it's exciting for Jane and her team to be involved with such a quality bunch of youngsters,” he says. “We have cut down on the number of breeze-up horses to focus on the growing number of juveniles for Steve and he will come over shortly and we'll begin allocating them to all the different trainers. Some of the sharper ones will go after Christmas. We also have a few of the older horses here for a break–fillies like Fashion Queen (GB) (Aqlaam {GB}) and Gorane (Ire) (Dream Ahead), who both did well last year, will go back to their respective trainers in the New Year.”
Foley's energy is infectious but he'll need to conserve every ounce of it to get through what looks like being a busy and fascinating 2018.
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