76 Irish thoroughbreds flown from Shannon to China

Record number of 76 Irish thoroughbreds flown from Shannon to China



Horse auction at Goffs, Co Kildare. The animals transported in the recent €3 million airlift have all been purchased by Chinese businessman Zhang Yuesheng

    The horses were bought from Irish breeders on behalf of Mr Yuesheng by Kildare-based bloodstock agency BBA Ireland.

    They were flown in a Boeing 747 cargo plane from Shannon airport with a team of professional flying grooms and a vet. On arrival, the horses were transported to stables where they will go into training before debuting in Chinese races.

    BBA Ireland worked in conjunction with Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, the not-for-profit, Government-backed company that promotes Ireland as a leading source of quality thoroughbreds worldwide.

    "This is really good business for the Irish equine industry, not least for small breeders from whom most of these horses were purchased," Declan Murray, managing director at BBA Ireland, said.

    Seventy-six thoroughbred horses have been flown from Shannon to Beijing in the largest ever single export of Irish racing bloodstock to China.

    The animals transported in the €3 million airlift have all been purchased by Chinese businessman Zhangyuesheng The transaction has been hailed as a major leap into the lucrative Chinese market. To date, more than 90 per cent of thoroughbreds imported into China are sourced from Australia and New Zealand.

The horses were bought from Irish breeders on behalf of Mr Yuesheng by Kildare-based bloodstock agency BBA Ireland.

     They were flown in a Boeing 747 cargo plane from Shannon Airport. They travelled with a team of professional flying grooms and a vet, with 30 handlers on the ground involved in the three-hour process of loading the animals at Shannon.

Training

    On arrival the horses were transported to stables where they will go into training in China before debuting in Chinese races.

    BBA Ireland worked in conjunction with the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, the not-for-profit, Government-backed company that promotes Ireland as a leading source for the production and sale of quality thoroughbreds worldwide.

    Declan Murray, managing director at BBA Ireland, said: “This is really good business for the Irish equine industry, not least for small breeders from whom most of these horses were purchased.

    “Many of these horses might not have met the high standards of the Irish and European market but they are still of a higher standard than the average horse currently racing in China.

    “So Irish breeders get a good price for horses they might not otherwise have got, the industry here further develops the emerging Chinese market and China gets a higher quality race horse. Everyone wins with this.”

    Andrew Murphy, the chief commercial officer for Shannon Group , which operates Shannon Airport, said: “We are well used to ‘firsts’ at Shannon but having a record airlift of Irish horses to China from here was very exciting for all concerned. BBA Ireland are experts in this market and we are delighted to be working with them. We also have          considerable experience and expertise over the years in handling this type of precious cargo through sizeable equine lifts for some of the Irish larger stud farms that have horses going to the United States, Middle East and on to Australia.”

via.the irish times.thanks

所有的马匹都被一位名为张月胜的中国买主购入，他得到了来自爱尔兰BBA公司的Mick Donohoe帮助。Donohoe谈到这笔交易说：“大部分的马匹都快接近2岁了，但是这次都是按照1岁马的价格来销售。同飞机抵达的还有10—15匹竞赛马匹，这些马匹购自受训马拍卖会。

　　承担马匹运输的飞机是一架波音747货机，只有4个月的机龄。从爱尔兰的香农出发，于星期四深夜抵达北京首都机场。之后，76匹赛马将于本周末运抵山西马房。

　　价值300万欧元的成交额，创造了爱尔兰纯血马出口中国的单笔最高纪录，超过之前最高交易额的2倍。

　　Donohoe希望这次的贸易可以为他在中国带来名气，从而吸引更多的中国买家，从遥远的东方来爱尔兰买纯血马。他说：“一直以来，中国进口的纯血马90%来自澳大利亚，但是爱尔兰产的赛马这些年来在中国表现很好，对于爱尔兰的育马事业来说，这是个很好的机会。”据悉，一些澳大利亚市场营销机构和销售公司，正在竭力吸引来自中国的买家。

　　“中国大陆速度赛马的比赛正在逐渐增多，越来越多的新赛场即将开放。” Donohoe说：“张月胜先生在山西拥有玉龙赛马场，新的赛季将在2017年5月开始。他斥巨资买入爱尔兰的赛马，希望这些马能在赛场上表现优异，因为他们都拥有很好的血统。”

　　Donohoe解释道，现在中国大部分赛马比赛的结果，都可以被国际上所认可。张月胜旗下的骑手绿色和白色相间的彩衣，看上去和爱尔兰赛场上的很相似。他上赛季取得的成绩有Michael Halford系列赛的冠军和小组第三，那匹马的名字叫“玉龙宝贝”。当年在Goffs拍卖行上，张月胜花费1万3千欧，买入了这匹一岁马。

　　2012年，张月胜第一次在Goffs拍卖行购买周岁马，对塔特萨尔的销售市场造成了不小的震动。今年年初他买入的这批良种母马，本来计划要去南半球的，这些马拥有“伽利略”、“雷文”等名马的血统。

　　BBA爱尔兰的市场经理Declan Murray说：“这对于爱尔兰马业来说真是一件好事，至少对那些小的、个人的育马者来说。许多马可能不能达到爱尔兰，或者欧洲市场那样高的标准。但是对于正处于发展中的中国赛马来说，这些马拥有巨大的市场。”所以，爱尔兰的育马者把马卖出了一个好价钱，使得整个行业获利。中国拥有了高水准的赛马，从而催生市场不断发展。这是一个双赢的局面。

　　BBA爱尔兰的航运主管Ann Munnelly说：“自从这笔贸易达成，我们已经为此工作了3个月。许多有经验的人手加入其中，这是我们最具雄心的项目之一，能够完成它非常激动。对于中国和爱尔兰的马匹贸易是如此，对于我们的交付能力也是一次重大考验。整个飞行运输团队包括配备有专业的马夫和兽医，地面三小时的马匹装运工程，超过30名马工参与其中。