As the current Hong Kong season draws to a close, the action is still very much alive and well in the Hong Kong sales market with another two Australian horses being snapped up by Hong Kong buyers this week.
And the search for suitable horses covers all corners of Australia, in this case from the Sunshine Coast to Bendigo as the Sunshine Coast based trainer Stuart Kendrick and trainer Rod Symons, who trains out of Bendigo, are the latest two trainers to confirm sales to Hong Kong.
Kendrick, who is well acquainted with the Hong Kong sale procedures and benefits having done business in that market before, has sold the two-year-old gelding I’ve Bean There for $900 000. The fact that I’ve Bean there was originally a $13 000 and has already won $135 700 in prize-money underlines the huge financial benefits on offer when a keen Hong Kong buyer appears on the scene.
And this offer was for a horse that is only a one-time winner from five starts although, to be fair, he did run fourth behind Captivant in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes at Randwick in his last start. Also, Converge, who only finished just ahead of I’ve Bean There (by 0.20 lengths in third place) on that occasion, did go on to frank that form by taking out the Group 1 J J Atkins during the Queensland Winter carnival.
The enormous amounts of money and the gamble these buyers are prepared to take makes it hard to turn down such an offer, even if you are reluctant to do so.
Ask Rod Symons.
In a recent report Symonds roundly acknowledged his feelings of sadness when saying goodbye to Chuckanev when the three-year-old gelding left his yard, also on route to Hong Kong.
The lightly raced son of Moshe had won two out of his three starts for Symons when the offers started rolling in.
Symons has had Chuckanev from day one having purchased the broodmare Gloray (Chuckanev’s dam) in foal for only $2500 … and Chuckanev had earned $63 000 in prize-money prior to his sale.
No sales figure has been disclosed, as yet, in this case, but ‘big money’ is sure to be an apt description … just as it is certain that Kendrick and Symons will not be the last to trainers to get an offer that is simply too good to refuse.
