Iotapa Joins the Club

Amidst the fireworks at Fasig-Tipton Monday and early in yesterday’s opening session of Keeneland November, the China Horse Club was busy snapping up quality racing and broodmare prospects, and the operation took up the spotlight midway through the session yesterday when snapping up dual Grade I winner and GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff third Iotapa (Afleet Alex) for $2.8 million. Agent Michael Wallace, fresh from a spending spree on behalf of the Club at Goffs Orby, Tattersalls October and the Arqana Arc Sale, signed the ticket while flanked by China Horse Club Chairman Teo Ah Khing and General Manager Eden Harrington. Harrington noted that it was likely Iotapa would race on, but that firm plans would be made for all China Horse Club’s purchases at the end of the week. 

“At the end of this week we’ll sit down and see where everything sits and we’ll make some determinations as to what we have and what’s best suited to go where and do what,” he said. 

The China Horse Club, a lifestyle, business and Thoroughbred racing club with a predominantly Chinese membership, currently races almost 100 horses between China, Australia, Singapore, France and Ireland, and has two horses in training the U.S. It enjoyed its first Australian Group 1 win last month with the exciting 3-year-old filly First Seal (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the G1 Flight S. The China Horse Club also has breeding interests in Ireland and Australia. Harrington noted that the goal of the China Horse Club is “to introduce Chinese owners to elite Thoroughbred racing around the world.” 

“We are looking to showcase some of the best racing around the world and get people the right kind of experiences,” Harrington added. “We bring people around the world as part of the lifestyle experiences, and racing is an entry point to this lifestyle.” 

The China Horse Club hosts events under the China Equine Cultural Festival banner that are aimed at bringing the Chinese to different parts of the world, and bridging cultural gaps. 

“We have events within China and around the world to promote racing,” Harrington said. “We’ve had two in China, and we have our next major event in Singapore in February. Some of the horses we’ll buy this week will end up in Singapore.” 

Harrington said there is a chance Iotapa could land on that list. 

“We’ll determine which ones in due course,” he continued. “A mare of this stature may or may not end up in Singapore. She may be part of our program here in America. The hope is that she’ll race on. She’s an exceptional racemare and a gorgeous mare.” 

Consigned by Lane’s End as hip 106, Iotapa was a $50,000 claim out of her winning career debut at Betfair Hollywood Park in June 2012 by Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler. She finished second to Beholder (Henny Hughes) in the GI Santa Anita Oaks two starts later, and went on to win the GII Santa Maria S., GI Vanity H. and GI Clement L. Hirsch S. this year. She finished third in the GI Zenyatta H. Sept. 27 prior to her Distaff third. 

Despite the noticeable trend of some international buyers leaning away from investing in American stock, Harrington said the China Horse Club is looking to expand its interests in the U.S. 

“We’re trying to have events where our Chinese audience and our members like to go,” he explained. “The U.S. is the second-most popular destination for outbound tourists from China. So we’re trying to provide horse racing opportunities and events in locations where our members like to go, and also where they do business. So it makes sense to try to have high quality [stock] in this part of the world.” 

He added, “We see the benefit of this part of the world. It’s not purely for the horses; we do see the benefits of the horse industry, but it’s more than that. It’s understanding that this is a country that our members like to go to. They come here for business and pleasure. We want to put on racing events and we want to have horses racing in parts of the world they like to go.” 

The China Horse Club has become a frequent player at yearling and horses-in-training sales around the world. Amongst its highlight purchases at auction in recent weeks have been an 875,000gns Galileo (Ire) colt at Tattersalls October; an €850,000 Sea the Stars colt at Goffs Orby and the top three lots at the Arqana Arc sale for an expenditure of €2.12 million. Harrington admitted, however, that the Club’s participation in the breeding stock arena has been more limited, and this is an area in which it is looking to expand. 

“Breeding is certainly part of our operation,” he noted. “We have breeding interests in Australia and Ireland and [the U.S.] is the biggest marketplace there is for breeding.” 

The China Horse Club purchased three racing/broodmare prospects at Fasig-Tipton for $1.4 million, including graded winner Parranda (English Channel) for $800,000, and Harrington noted those three mares would race on. 

At the end of trade yesterday, the Club’s Keeneland haul included six mares for $5.15 million, with a mixture of racing/broodmare prospects and in-foal mares. That expenditure also included the 6-year-old mare Last Full Measure (Empire Maker), the last lot through the ring who was supplemented to the sale as hip 208A. Consigned by Lane’s End, Last Full Measure, a daughter of dual Grade I winner Lazy Slusan (Slewvescent), was sold in foal to War Front for $1.5 million. The GI Madison S. winner produced her first foal, a Tapit colt, this year. 

“This mare will go into our breeding program,” Harrington said. “This was an opportunity to buy a ready-made mare in foal to a high-quality stallion who could be a foundation mare in an operation like this in this part of the world. We know the quality of War Front and we know the record of high-quality mares and the market appeal of mares like this and we knew she wasn’t going to be cheap. But we also know that a mare of this caliber, if she can throw a quality yearling in time to War Front, she is really appealing. That is what we’re hoping for and hopefully she can play an important role in what we are trying to do in the coming years.” 

Harrington said that most of the in-foal mares would likely ship to Ireland to be bred to this year’s dual Derby winner Australia (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who will stand his first season at Coolmore for a fee of €50,000 in 2015. Teo Ah Khing raced Australia in partnership with the Coolmore partners, and Harrington noted that association opened up many doors for the China Horse Club members. 

“We have an interest in him, and that’s been a wonderful journey,” he explained. “Australia’s been a wonderful example of what can be for our members. It’s opened their eyes to what is possible, that Chinese owners can compete on a world stage and be part of something special.” 

Expanding on the membership of the China Horse Club, Harrington explained, “A lot of the information in terms of our membership numbers is exclusive, but the way its based is that we have 2000 premier members. We have a second tier of membership that is based predominantly in the domestic marketplace–more like a syndicate system–in China. But it’s all about trying to expose people to the sport both within China and internationally, and to get the right experiences and build events where they can come and see racing and be a part of it–to sell the best virtues of racing, which are the experience of being an owner, the exhilaration of being out on a great day, the fanfare, the chance to dress up and be a part of something special. All the reasons people go to the great carnivals of the world.” 

The China Horse Club’s interests are not exclusively in Thoroughbreds, however. The operation is also building a ski resort in Switzerland an is developing a farm in Australia. 

“Our facilities are expanding; it is very much a lifestyle club, it isn’t just horses,” Harrington noted. Click here for a TDN Q&A with Eden Harrington from last September. –Kelsey Riley