The bull market that has spread in the United States from stocks to junk bonds to real estate has now made its way into a more obscure corner of the financial world: thoroughbreds.
“The horse business in general, while it is a business, there’s an element of luxury goods to it as well, especially in the upper echelon of the market,” said Doug Cauthen, a bloodstock agent based in Lexington.
“So it has to be the people that have wealth feeling like they can go out and spend it.”
The return to the market this month of some of the big buyers of yesteryear who had backed off during the crisis - including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai - suggests the rally isn’t over, Mr Cauthen said.
“It’ll continue, bar an economic downturn.”
Read more:
Godolphin not horsing around with 2018 equestrian scholarship launch
In the Keeneland auction ring in Lexington, Kentucky, demand was so robust this month for the most blue-blooded of young colts and fillies that the half-million-dollar price mark was tripped again and again.
Forty-seven hit that benchmark level in the first day alone, including one filly that went for US$2.7 million to a group of Irish breeders. And by the time the final gavel fell on the two-week auction, that number had climbed to a decade-high of 119. In total, 2,555 horses were sold for more than $300m, setting an average price record of $120,487.
It has been a slow climb back for the thoroughbred market since it collapsed amid the panic of the global financial crisis. (Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy right in the middle of the 2008 edition of the Keeneland sale.)
Half-million-dollar purchases sank to a post-crisis low of just 28 in 2010 before rebounding to 60 by 2013 and 93 last year.
“The horse business in general, while it is a business, there’s an element of luxury goods to it as well, especially in the upper echelon of the market,” said Doug Cauthen, a bloodstock agent based in Lexington. “So it has to be the people that have wealth feeling like they can go out and spend it.”
The return to the market this month of some of the big buyers of yesteryear who had backed off during the crisis -- including Dubai Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum -- suggests the rally isn’t over, Cauthen said. “It’ll continue, bar an economic downturn.”
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Company%20Profile
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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
More on animal trafficking
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
