Martin Buick | Horse Racing Free Tips

In the Hot Seat: Martin Buick

He may not be able to dance but Martin Buick, bloodstock consultant for De Burgh Equine, is not afraid to face the TDN question master.

What was your proudest moment of 2023?

The first horse I signed for, ADMIRAL DE VEGA, won the G3 Stockholm's Stora Pris, one of Scandinavia's most prestigious races. He beat a Dubai Carnival winner and Archie Watson's Brave Emperor who went on to win Group races in France, Italy and Germany.

Give us one horse to follow and why…

Prime Art (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) who is now with Jean-Claude Rouget in France. She was purchased privately by Hubie [de Burgh] after she won the G3 Firth of Clyde Stakes. She won with plenty in hand and should continue to improve.

And a young person in the industry to keep an eye on…

My younger brother Andrew who joined New Zealand Bloodstock last summer. He is thriving down there and I get a kick out of seeing him do well.

Who do you think will be champion first-season sire this year?

Pinatubo (Ire) was an outstanding two-year-old and his yearlings looked sharp, so he gets my vote. With his profile and 109 two-year-olds to run for him he should take a lot of beating.

And the best value stallion in Europe?

Proven value is hard to find so I'll go with Churchill at €30,000. Some might disagree that he's a value play at that price but he has had two champions from his first two crops in Vadeni (Ire) and Blue Rose Cen (Ire) and that fee could look cheap down the line. He is still a young stallion that I suspect we'll hear plenty more about in the years to come.

What's the one horse you wish you'd bought in 2023?

A yearling filly by Sea The Moon (Ger) out of Jazzi Top (GB) at Tattersalls October Book 1. She was a lovely filly from Meon Valley's famous Reprocolor (GB) family and was bought by Shadwell for 575,000gns. Her looks matched her great pedigree which can be rare.

Biggest regret?

In business I don't have too many yet but there's plenty of time to change that! On a personal level I wish I had learnt to dance. There have been occasions where I'm the awkward guy hovering around the bar, envious of fellas that can spin their partners around on the dance floor.

Biggest influence on your career?

I've spent most of my career in this industry with Hubie de Burgh and Alan Cooper, so they have definitely had the biggest influence. This really is a people's business and the way Hubie maintains and builds new relationships is an attribute that has enabled him to stay at the top of the game for decades. Aside from his astuteness as a judge of a horse I admire this quality about him and I'm trying to soak up as much of it as I can.

During my time as assistant racing manager with Alan and the Niarchos family we had nine individual Group 1 winners over six years which was unbelievable and something that I'll never forget. Being afforded the opportunity by Alan to represent the family on the biggest of stages, amongst other responsibilities, gives me immense pride to this day.

If you could sit down for dinner with three people (dead or alive) who would the be and why?

The first would be Vincent O'Brien. I never had the chance to meet him and would love to talk to him about his life in racing, amongst other things. I married his granddaughter, Tara, so it could also be an opportunity to introduce myself! Well-known raconteur Sean Connery would be my second choice, he IS Mr Bond and his stories would keep us going well into the night. We would finish off with a private gig with my third guest, Stevie Nicks.

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Bloodstock Agent Martin Buick Up And Running With Group 3 Win In Sweden

Everyone needs that flagship horse. Be it a trainer, jockey or an owner, the common goal is to find a horse capable of competing on the big stage. Well, bloodstock agents are no different, and Martin Buick can now count Admiral De Vega (GB) as his first big-name acquisition.

Buick has been based with renowned bloodstock agent Hubie de Burgh for almost two years now and in Admiral De Vega, winner of the G3 Stockholms Stora Pris in Sweden last weekend, he has his first headline horse.

The success is made extra special for Buick, the son of former champion Scandinavian rider Walter and brother to the reigning Champion jockey William, given the success was achieved in a part of the world that means so much to the Norwegian native.

Buick said, “It is where we grew up and was a part of our life for a long time so, from that perspective, there's an element of proudness that comes with it. I am very lucky in that the first horse I have bought is now a Group winner so the only way from here is downhill, I guess!”

Admiral De Vega is trained by Annike Bye Hansen, a close family friend who is based at Øveroll racecourse in Norway. The gelding was sourced by Buick at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale in October 2021 for 47,000gns after fitting exactly the brief his owner Hans Sköld was looking for.

Buick explained, “The owner had enjoyed success with Lope De Vega (GB) before with General De Vega (Fr), a good sprinter who is also trained by Annike Bye Hansen, so the brief was to keep a look out to see if there were any by the sire that we liked. As soon as I sent videos across of Admiral De Vega, Hans and Annike really liked him.

“He was a raw horse and he was big but there was just something about him. He had lovely size and substance and looked like a nice, honest horse. He came well-recommended by Angus Gold, who Hubie is very close with from his previous employment with Sheikh Hamdan, so we had a bit of an inside track in that respect.”

Buick added, “He had been in training with Owen Burrows, who liked the horse but couldn't do too much with him because he was immature. We had good information and a good pedigree to work with. The cross between Lope De Vega and Dansili (GB) mares, which he is from, is a very good one. There's nearly 18% stakes winners to runners on that line, which is very impressive, and all these things feed into the selection process.”

Formerly the assistant racing manager to the Niarchos family, Buick has quickly established himself on the sale circuit and shared hopes of growing the list of clients in the coming months and years.

He said, “I've been with Hubie since August 2021, so it's coming up towards two years now. It's been great and I have been learning every day. With this horse now and a couple of others, I am finally getting a bit of a track record, which is important. It takes a while to establish yourself and get up and running so it's good to finally have that big winner.

“I'm employed by Hubie and help out with his clients, from horse management, breeding, acquisitions privately and publicly, so it's widespread. When I joined Hubie, the aim was to bring some new business to the agency, which is slowly but surely gaining some traction.”

Admiral De Vega's stablemate Hard One To Please (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}), who was sourced by Walter Buick, has been something of a revelation in Scandinavia by winning the Swedish Derby, Norwegian Derby and Stockholm Cup treble for the same owner.

On that connection, Buick commented, “It's obviously very cool to have a shared interest with Dad and he still works very hard in the industry as a race reader. He watches thousands of races for work and I consult with him for his opinion on a horse and ask him what he thought about any given performance. We've combined on two horses this year at the breeze-ups. We bought a Sioux Nation colt at the breeze-ups at Doncaster on behalf of a Swedish client and then we bought a Summer Front colt at Arqana for Hans Sköld. It's nice to combine, for sure.”

It's safe to say the apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree and, judging by the big-race riches the young bloodstock agent has already enjoyed back home in Scandinavia, it's safe to assume that it's only a matter of time before he secures a flagship winner in Britain or Ireland.

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Martin Buick Joins de Burgh Equine

Martin Buick will join Hubie de Burgh's De Burgh Equine in mid-August in advance of the upcoming Arqana yearling sale Aug. 14-16. Buick joins de Burgh after 5 ½ years assisting Alan Cooper at the Niarchos Family's Racing Office.

“Hubie approached me recently to see if I would consider joining forces with him,” said Buick. “It was a very tough decision to leave the Niarchos Family racing office, but I am really looking forward to the new chapter and challenge ahead. I cannot thank Maria Niarchos-Gouaze & Electra Niarchos and my boss Alan Cooper enough for the journey over the last five years. My time working for the Niarchos family has given me invaluable experience on an international level and I count myself lucky to have been part of their distinguished organisation.”

A former student of the Irish National Stud Management Course and BHA Graduate Scheme, Buick's involvement in the industry is a brother to leading jockey William, and son of eight-time Scandinavian champion jockey, Walter. Buick also served stints with Irish Thoroughbred Marketing in Ireland and Archie Alexander Racing and Arrowfield Stud in Australia.

De Burgh added, “I'm looking forward to welcoming Martin onto the team at De Burgh Equine. The Niarchos Family are one of the world's most successful and respected owner breeders in modern times and Martin's experience gained with them can only be an asset to us.”

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