Zhang Yuesheng plans to raise the profile of thoroughbred racing in his home country of China by increasing the prize money to as much as RMB10 million for Yulong’s feature meeting in 2026.
The initiative by Zhang to boost the pot to the equivalent of A$2.14 million next year is in the works after the Yulong founder recently held a successful race day at the lavish sales and racing precinct in Shanxi Province in northern China.
Inglis’ Victorian bloodstock manager James Price says Zhang is “leading the charge” for racing in China and his investment is already encouraging new owners to go along for the ride.
“Obviously there's the language barrier that many Chinese people struggle with in terms of trying to get into the industry,” Price told the Straight Talk podcast after returning from a trip around Asia which took in mainland China.
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“When you fly into Hohhot, (you can see that) there's these statues of horses just on the corners of streets. They've obviously got a passion for the horse, but it's just (about) holding their hands and guiding them to the industry.
“Mr Zhang really sees himself as a flag bearer for racing and also the horse itself in mainland China. So I think the more we can get around Mr. Zhang, he'll lead us to these new owners, which is fantastic.”
Yulong conducted an exclusive sale in mainland China earlier this month which was attended by Price and Inglis international business development manager Nicky Wong.
“The sale in the past has been horses that were not just owned by Mr Zhang, but this year’s sale, there were 60 thoroughbreds, which were all owned by Mr Zhang,” Price said.
“They were mainly racehorses and young horses and, interestingly, he had a horse that actually passed in, an Alabama Express.
“It was a horse that was two from two in China and it was favourite for the 3 million RMB race the next day, which the horse actually won.
“So, he knew his form. He was willing to put 2.5 million reserve on it and managed to win the race next year. We're talking about a 3 million RMB race, which is equivalent to about $650,000 in prize money.
“So, it's a significant investment.”
This month, Inglis appointed China Horse Owners Alliance (CHOA) as the company’s new China representative and members of that organisation are embracing racing in their home country.
“A case in point, the new alliance we have with the Chinese Race Horse Association, (members) see Mr Zhang as a real sort of pinnacle of the industry,” Price said.
“And so they just want to follow him and support him and there were people in Hong Kong at that Yulong race day who are looking for a horse to race in China next year just to support Mr. Zhang and what he's doing for racing.
“It's quite extraordinary.”
That interest is likely to encourage new investment at the two-year-old sales in the next two months across Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s going to bring real focus to the breeze up sale for those mainland owners to come and participate in the sale and hopefully have a runner in the race next year,” Price said.
The Inglis Victorian bloodstock manager said the Yulong race day - minus the gambling element; a few side bets between friends excluded - was similar to what one would experience in Hong Kong or Australia.
“I would say it's a sort of an oval 1600 metre track. The majority of the races were 1200 metres down the back straight and around the home turn,” he said.
“We had six races, very much similar to Hong Kong, half an hour in between, and the horses looked terrific.
“They were incredibly well cared for.”
