With a new year comes new progressions in modern technology. One Hunter Valley stud farm is approaching the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale with a fresh perspective toward information delivery.
Bhima Thoroughbreds, located in Scone NSW, will be the first vendor to utilise technology aimed at improving information access for buyers at yearling sales. Interested parties will have the ability to visit the Bhima website to discover detailed information on each specific yearling in the Bhima draft.
Bhima Thoroughbreds owner Mike Fleming said the idea of improving access to information became highly appealing after he considered the process of the professional yearling buyer.
“When you stand in the shoes of the buyer, it’s easy to see how their experience can be improved,” said Fleming. “They need a lot of information and they often need it very quickly to make a fast decision. By utilising this new technology, Bhima will be making this access to information as simple as possible.”
The technology is accessed through the Bhima website (www.bhima.com.au). Called the Kick Sales Platform, it holds detailed information on each horse in the Bhima draft.
Any person can freely login and access records such as horse owner and breeder, horse history, sire information, x-ray reports provided by two veterinarians, scope reports, progeny records and links to race replays.
“Bloodstock agents and syndicators are more professional in their buying processes than ever – they tick every information box before buying a yearling. This is very time consuming given the sheer volume of horses at a sale like Magic Millions.
“As a vendor I can make the buying process easier by supplying accurate information on an easy-to-use platform.”
The Kick Sales Platform technology hosting and delivering the information into the Bhima website was developed by Kick Collective, a Sydney-based company owned and managed by Vicky Leonard.
Leonard has been a long-time advocate for the thoroughbred industry to utilise the power of technology to make access to information easier. She believes the yearling sales process is an obvious place to start.
“In the modern era, if you invest in the stock market or buy a house, you have easy access to an incredible volume of information to assist your investment decision and give you confidence,” Leonard said.
“Bloodstock agents, syndicators and trainers are under major time pressure during yearling sales. They spend significant time and money researching and accessing information and reports, both before and during a yearling sale, that can be pulled together and provided by the vendor in one clear and organised report for their convenience.”
“The Kick Sales Platform removes the barriers and does all that research and organisation for them, allowing vendors the opportunity to provide buyers with information before, during and after a yearling sale on a timely and convenient basis. This is a huge breakthrough for both buyers and vendors,” Leonard said.
By making this information readily available, Fleming believes the technology has the potential to substantially improve the sales process for professional buyers. Just as importantly, it will be a huge assistance to syndicators and trainers wanting to on-sell yearlings to potential horse owners, as it provides an immediate compliant and professional selling and disclosure package without any effort by the syndicator or trainer.
Currently syndicators have to put together reports and obtain vet certificates, which takes time and money. With the Kick platform the process is seamless and without cost. Vet certificates and reports will already be completed and made available by two of Australia’s leading vets, Dr Dave McKellar and Dr Chris Lawler. This made Fleming’s decision to be the first vendor to use the technology an easy one.
“We will provide each Bhima yearling buyer their webpage of information post-sale, so they can then share it when syndicating the horse. I believe this an important step in improving the perception of the bloodstock market and can help grow our industry.”