Tony Fleiter: Track to Track Article: November Issue 2008
29/10/08

TONY FLEITER

Tony Fleiter is an industry giant. Actually, he?s a giant anywhere. Standing six foot two inches under the old clock and with a nature best described as gregarious, you know when Tony?s in the room. Larger than life.

Perhaps a lot of that has to do with the people you associate with: there?s an old saying in racing that you should keep yourself in the best of company and your horses in the worst.
It?s an axiom that?s worked perfectly for Tony ? the company he?s kept has ensured his company is now the first port of call for the syndication of stallions. And we?re not only just talking about your ?bread and butter? stallions. A good proportion of the stallions that Tony?s business ? Sire Custodians ? deals with are worth many millions of dollars.

A good for instance is Sebring. Winner of this year?s Golden Slipper and Sires? Produce, this $130,000 yearling is now worth, well ? a lot. The kind of stratospheric figure that could bring on a nose bleed. It?s worth noting that standing a stallion in this day and age is not a matter of a few blokes sitting down and having a couple of beers to nut out the details. Due to stringent Australian Securities and Investment Commission guidelines, you need a respected moderator, lawyer and a bloke that knows the industry inside out.

Enter Tony Fleiter. Tony has loved racing since he was a nipper, tagging along with father, Roy, on regular outings to the track. According to Tony, the family owned a few horses but didn?t have much luck. Like most of us mere mortals, Tony got the best view from outside the winners? circle. ?During the mid 70s, my parents and I developed an interest in breeding, which led them to purchase a interest in a filly called Baby Lina, which they owned with a good friend, the late Frank Ford,? Tony recalls. ?She won at Flemington and gave them their first winner ? anywhere. (Baby Lina?s first foal, Plucky Prince, would go on to win16 races). ?We then purchased a filly from an old school mate of mine, Brian Stegley. She was called Royal Mittens and went on to win four races, including wins at Caulfield and Moonee Valley. Successful broodmare too. (Dam of six winners, Royal Mittens would produce Seymour Cup winner Reeperbahn [15 wins] and was granddam of Rosehill Guineas-G1 and Memsie Stakes-G2 winner Tarnpir Lane).

?When I left school I studied law and economics at Monash University, never thinking for a moment I would end up working full time in the thoroughbred industry.
?I was working as a solicitor when I was offered an opportunity to be involved in the liquidation of the then biggest racing and breeding enterprise in Australia: Thoroughbred International, which owned what is now Emirates Park at Murrurundi. ?I was working on that full-time for 12 months and then joined law firm Maddock Lonie & Chisholm (now Maddocks), where I worked from 1982 to 1984, and still maintain strong connections.

?From there I was offered the position as General Manager of Dalgety Bloodstock International, a position which I initially thought would be only short term but ended up spanning nine years.? Dalgety Bloodstock conducted the major yearling sales in Victoria before William Inglis & Son purchased the Oaklands Junction complex in the mid 90s. ?I learnt a lot at Dalgety Bloodstock, however the Victorian industry at that time was a long way short of what it is today. In fact, I think the whole Australian industry has gone from being an isolated entity to truly international in the space of the last 15 years.

?I?m fortunate to have been dealing with some of the people primarily responsible for that progress: people like John Messara. ?I first met John when he was standing Rancher and Prego at Middlebrook Stud. Back then, the stud farms we know today as Arrowfield, Coolmore and Darley simply did not exist and it was prior to the arrival of super sire Danehill. ?John has been totally committed to standing top class stallions at Arrowfield and to syndicating them among Arrowfield?s loyal and committed clientele. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have been dealing with John and Arrowfield during the period he secured Redoute?s Choice. ?It?s noteworthy that there is only one stallion currently standing at Arrowfield (Hussonet) which is not syndicated.

?Elvstroem has also been an amazing journey for Sire Custodians. We acted for his original owners ? Tagg, Meduri and Moffit ? who have retained a significant stake and also given him tremendous support at stud since he retired to Blue Gum Farm in 2005.
?The syndication was completed on the eve of Elvstroem running in and winning the Group One Orr Stakes, and he then went on to win in Dubai ? which was great for the shareholders, and for Blue Gum Farm.

?Redoute?s Choice set a benchmark for the value of an Australian bred syndicated stallion, as subsequently did Elvstroem, God?s Own and now Sebring. ?The fact that two of them (Elvstroem and God?s Own) are located at studs in Victoria is testimony to the current financial strength of the state?s industry.?

?When I first decided to expand Sire Custodians Ltd (SCL), it was primarily to brand the activities of that part of my law firm ? Macquarie Legal Practice ? which focused on providing services to stud masters to assist them in establishing and operating stallion syndicates. ?I started back in the mid 90s with only a small number of syndicates, which has steadily grown over the years to the current position where we currently act as syndicate manager for 45 stallions, of which 35 of those are operated as ASIC registered, managed investment schemes.

?I think the stud masters and shareholders alike appreciate both the style and substance of the services we provide and that they respect the fact that we both preserve confidentiality and are not directly involved in any bloodstock agency activities of our own. And therefore do not influence broodmare owners to any one stud or stallion in preference over another.

?They see us as providing specialist legal and administrative services in the format of a tailored template which now has broad based industry acceptance among stud masters and those breeders who invest in shares in stallion syndicates. ?I?m proud to say that we now have, on the SCL template, the current leading stallions in all eastern states, including Show A Heart and Sequalo (Queensland), Redoute?s Choice and Flying Spur (NSW), Bel Esprit (Victoria) and Bellotto (South Australia).
?Furthermore, we were recently appointed syndicate manager of 2008 Champion 2YO, Sebring, who will commence stud duties at Widden next year.?

But while the name might suggest differently, Sire Custodians is the sum of numerous parts. ?Also, it?s my experience that very few solicitors have a professional understanding of the thoroughbred industry? especially of how emotionally involved clients can become with their horses.?

?Recently Sire Custodians did try its hand at syndicating some Danehill yearling colts, in pursuit of some stallion prospects ? with some success. We were lucky enough to be involved with Gerry Harvey in syndicating and racing three colts, the most successful of which was Bel Danoro. ?The winner of four sprint races, including the Group Three Bobbie Lewis and Listed Aurie?s Star (beating Apache Cat and El Segundo), Bel Danoro is currently standing his second season atVinery Stud.

?We also syndicated and raced Queensland Guineas-G2 and Doomben Classic-G3 winner Saxon. He now stands at Heytesbury Stud and served the biggest book of mares of any stallion standing in Western Australia during his first stud season last year.

?We are also providing our services to leading racehorse syndicator, Dynamic Syndications, and seeing this as a major growth area, especially as syndicated racehorses are currently enjoying unprecedented success winning major Group races.
?A great example of that is the recent success of Denise Martin?s Star Thoroughbreds ? both remarkable and unprecedented.? (The subject of Track To Track?s Owner Profile in our October 2008 issue, Denise Martin?s Star operation quinellaed the recent Epsom Handicap with Theseo and Bank Robber).

?The work generated by SCL and its clients probably represents close to 50% of the business undertaken by me personally within my legal practice. ?While I enjoy the range of other work the practice is involved in, I admit to being passionate about the thoroughbred industry and enjoy the related business that comes with it. ?Also, it?s my experience that very few solicitors have a professional understanding of the thoroughbred industry ? especially of how emotionally involved clients can become with their horses.
?This insight undoubtedly gives our firm a decided advantage and enables us to deliver value for money expertise to our clients.?

Tony Fleiter is respected, experienced, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, legitimate and loves the game in which all of us play. An ideal ?custodian?!

Business tips:
1. If you own broodmares, then consider buying stallion shares. They might just be the best investment you will ever make in horses.
2. If you don?t own broodmares, then Stallion Shares are not for you.
3. If you have never owned a share in a racehorse, then consider doing so, as syndicated racehorses are currently enjoying unprecedented racecourse success, like Sebring and Weekend Hussler to name just two.

This article is reproduced with kind permission from Penny Verco, Publisher, Track to Track: Australasian Racehorse Trading Magazine.

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