REG INGLIS
The Banjo Club has employed the services of VCB on three occasions to buy them a racing prospect. In 2005 they were handsomely rewarded when Jymcarew won the Group One Canterbury Guineas. The highly regarded, Reg Inglis, is a member of the Banjo Club and he explains the experience the Banjo Club has had with Vin Cox Bloodstock:
“The Banjo Club uses Vin Cox Bloodstock because we find Vin to be very straight forward and absolutely honest and he is a very good judge of a horse. We don’t have time to see all the yearlings at a sale but Vin does and he looks at every yearling there and comes back to us with a list of horses to buy. He’s a professional and he often sees these yearlings two or three times before they go to sale so he can give you a good idea of what the horse will look like in time.
There’s no doubt that racing Jymcarew was one of the great highlights of my time in this sport, he’s the only group one winner I’ve been involved with.
I’m a great believer in using agents because they’re professionals and Vin has bought [the Banjo Club] three horses. The first was Jymcarew who the Canterbury Guineas. The second won some good races but was just below stakes class and we have just bought another one from the Classic Sale this year.
I think more people should use agents to buy horses for them because this is an area they specialize in. A lot of people use trainers who might be good trainers but might not be able to pick out a good horse. I think the little bit of commission you pay to get Vin’s lifetime association with horses, his understanding of pedigrees, his knowledge of which farms produce good horses is a very cheap price to pay.”
MARK GOLD
Mark Gold has been a client of VCB since 2002. He races horses with friends for enjoyment. Mark used VCB to advise him on his purchases and wider industry matters. Mark appreciates both the independence of VCB and the company’s belief in building long term relationships.
“I think Vin has bought 10 horses for me, seven of them are winners and six have either won or placed in town. We have a great association and I wouldn’t put my hand up for a thoroughbred without his approval. Vin bought Kick ‘n Chase from the Melbourne Premier Sale for me and then we used his services to buy the full-sister Kiss ‘n Chase privately. It’s a winning formula and one that I won’t be changing.
If you have any idea about bloodlines, sires and dams you will be able to pick out a well bred horse. But the one thing Vin is very big on is value. If he tells you ‘this is an $80,000 horse’ he won’t be saying bid again at $150,000. He manages to seek out value and that’s very important because when you pay more you have to win more back.
Working with Vin is a long term business partnership it isn’t just about the purchase of the horse. It starts at the sale, and we have a lot of fun at the sale, but he is very keen on explaining things to you and he keeps you informed about things all the time. I will often seek his opinion on a lot of things, in placing a horse, where to spell a horse, what a horse’s limitations may or may not be. It’s a real partnership.
Vin will often come and cheer the horse on with you. He doesn’t have to do that but he does. He’s like one of the owners, he takes service to the next level. He gets as much joy out of it as we do. For example, before Kiss ‘n Chase won at Randwick he rang me to wish me all the best.
You can take Vin into your confidence and that is very important. He’s a real independent resource and will tell it like it is. He knows all the players and knows the game inside and out and he’s there working for you.”
DEAN FLEMING
Dean Fleming of Tyreel Stud engaged Vin Cox Bloodstock when he was looking to expand his broodmare band. The first mare VCB secured for Dean was Sydney’s Dream who, at the time, had a weanling at foot that was later to become the group one winner and now prominent stallion Charge Forward. Dean is impressed by the integrity and professionalism of VCB and continues to use its services to both advise on potential purchases and to actively secure commercial breeding stock both privately and at public auction.
“I knew of Vin’s presence in the industry and was at the beginning of increasing my broodmare band. If you are going to be a serious breeder you have to secure stock privately. I was looking for top shelf mares that were either group one winners or had thrown group one winners. Sydney’s Dream was a group one winner in South Africa and she met the criteria I had set in my mind and Vin had the mare on his books.
The reason I used Vin and still use him today, is for his integrity and honesty with me. Agents are a very important cog in the industry and Vin is one of the leading agents in NSW and Australia and has expanded his business to be involved with Keeneland and they can obviously see the benefit of using him.
To be able to procure the right bloodlines and the right horse is very important and Vin is one person I use regularly. The experience Vin has is invaluable. He has been a bloodstock agent for some time now and he worked for Inglis for a long time before that.
His dealings with me then and his dealings with me now haven’t really changed. He understands his clients very well and he knows that we know what we’re talking about and isn’t out there to play games with the buyers or sellers. He knows how to be professional and knows how to complete a task in a time frame and there’s no mucking around. In this business you need people to finish off deals and to get deals done. He understands the delicacy of handling these matters because the buyers and sellers are not always on the same page.
I used Vin a few years ago to buy Pace Invader for me at an auction and she’s a mare I have done very well with. Vin was also a very important ingredient in purchasing a mare in America called Diamond Necklace who was very expensive. Vin didn’t purchase the mare but he gave me his understanding of her qualities.
Vin’s demeanour is such that he can talk in fairly straight language to people who are at any level of the industry and he works closely with a number of trainers. Quite often I’ve used him to view a horse or to tell me about weanlings, foals or mares. He has done many inspections for me and he’s nice and balanced in his appraisal and his demeanour is very professional. He will only do a deal if it is proper. He doesn’t try and get a deal done for a deal’s sake.
Vin hasn’t stuffed up in 15 years and that’s why I’m happy to use him and look forward to doing business with him in the future. I appreciate his advice and his experience and he is a very important part of our operation.”
BILL BETAR
Bill Betar turned to VCB after 20 years of failing to make a profit in the thoroughbred market. In the ensuing seven years Bill has followed some astute advice and made some significant returns with broodmares, yearlings and weanling purchases. Bill now uses VCB to advise on all of his thoroughbred matters both locally and internationally.
“What’s my involvement with Vin Cox Bloodstock? Vin’s made me a lot of money. He’s given me advice on everything from which stallion to send a mare to, to which mares to keep and to which sales to sell my horses at.
I knew Vin when he was still at Inglis. When he went out by himself I had a decision to make. I had to decide whether I stayed with Inglis, who had been very good, or whether I went with Vin. I decided to go with Vin because he always treated me with respect and he always gave me great advice.
He advised me to buy a mare. He advised me to send her to Redoute’s Choice when he stood at $30,000 and I sold the yearling for $2.3 million. He advised me to buy two weanlings and we paid $300,000 for them and got $800,000 back a year later. That’s just a couple of examples, there have been many others.
Everything has been good with Vin so every time I meet someone who is like me, who doesn’t know everything [about the industry], I recommend Vin to them. Vin isn’t only a good judge, he’s also a good friend and I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
JACK & LUCY HORSEMAN
Jack and Lucy Horseman wanted to start a small breeding operation a few years ago. They turned to VCB after attempting to purchase mares themselves and are delighted with the professionalism and service they receive. VCB has helped build a business plan to meet their goals; provides guidance with matings and is a sounding board for when to buy and when not to buy. It is early days for Jack and Lucy but they have already bred the highly promising Songspur.
“We have known Vin for longer than we care to remember. When we started breeding we bought some mares in conjunction with a friend and very quickly learnt that we didn’t have the knowledge to do it right so we turned to Vin. When you’re going to write some significant cheques you don’t want to be making too many mistakes.
Vin’s reputation proceeded him and everyone who has dealt with him only has good things to say about him and we’re no different. We wanted to work with someone we could trust explicitly and Vin has more than met that criteria. So many people who are in the dealing side of this business are eager for a sale. With Vin there’s no conflicting agenda. He’s not trying to push a horse on us at the bequest of a vendor. He has helped us with sales both here and overseas. He has also told us to walk away from a sale for different reasons and he has highlighted opportunities.
He is very fortunate to have both Garry and Anna as well. Garry is so passionate about his horses and I think he would walk over broken glass for Vin. And Anna is exceptional in keeping everything so organized, has a great attention to detail and is very good at assessing a horse’s form.
The other thing we have done is sit down with Vin and get a business plan together. He often reminds us of it whenever we stray. He has bought us a nice selection of young, middle range mares that meet our needs. He knows what we think. He knows our budget. When we sit down to look at the matings he’s a critical part of that process. Not just because he matches the mares and stallions physically but he gives us an understanding of where the flow of the market is going to be in the future.
If someone came to me and said they liked what we’d done and wanted to get involved in this industry I would tell them to give Vin Cox a call.”
