Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
With all the experience of his 44 years in the bloodstock game, Vivian conducted the auction like an orchestra. He knew it was a moment of significance, not only because the colt would become just the second yearling sold for $1 million in Victoria, but because it may be the last time he would have the pleasure of being centre stage.
After a slow build, bidding intensified from several quarters, and Vivian expertly guided the price ever higher until James Harron landed the killer blow at $1.1 million.
It is one of those moments that Vivian, who retires as Victorian Bloodstock Manager for Inglis after April's Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, will have time to reflect upon in the coming months.
He describes his career as an 'evolution' which carried him from a naive 19-year-old with a passion for racing to become one of the sales industry's most-respected professionals.
"It’s been 44 years and it’s been an amazing evolution for me, starting off in the pedigree department at Coles Brothers back in Adelaide in 1977. Since then it has been a real journey. I've been really lucky, the people I have got to meet have been fantastic," he told TDN AusNZ ahead of his final Premier Yearling Sale.
"I often say that with this industry, you do get to meet people in other walks of life you wouldn't normally get the chance to cross paths with. You get some remarkable characters, as well as some phenomenal business people. That has been terrific and I have enjoyed every minute of it."
Selling the stars
It is the champion horses which have passed through the ring over the years, of which he hopes Lot 70 can join, which stick in Vivian's mind when reflecting on his career.
"When you are an auctioneer, you always remember selling certain horses, because of the surprise that comes with it. I remember selling Don Eduardo in New Zealand for NZ$3.6 million. That will stay with me forever. It probably would for anyone who was in the auditorium that day. There was an expectation that he would make NZ$1 million, but to make NZ$3.6 million at a time when a million dollars for a horse was an absolute benchmark, was extraordinary," he said.
"There was an expectation that he (Don Eduardo) would make NZ$1 million, but to make NZ$3.6 million at a time when a million dollars for a horse was an absolute benchmark, was extraordinary." - Simon Vivian
"I remember selling a yearling at Easter for $3 million not long after I started at Inglis and it was bought by Charles Laird for Markus Jooste in South Africa. That was an extraordinary bidding dual that seemed to go on for a long, long time. You tend to remember those types of things."
Vivian wasn't the one to conduct the Sale when Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) went through the Oaklands Junction sales ring in 2008, that honour fell to Peter Heagney, but he does recall the impact a star graduate like the unbeaten superstar was able to have on the Sale.
"You think about a horse like Black Caviar, because you are always looking for a new promotional tool for your own sale. I'm very proud of Inglis, but I'm very proud of Inglis Victoria and the Victorian marketplace," Vivian said.
"When Black Caviar emerged, we embraced her like she was one of our own kids. Every time she raced, it felt like I had the same nerves as her owners did, the same as everyone here at Inglis. She was pretty special.
"When you can watch horses like Ole Kirk, Gytrash and September Run and all those great graduates, you look back and feel proud that we were actually able to get those horses into our catalogue and get them sold. That's pretty important."
Black Caviar when racing
From the very start of his bloodstock career, it was those great horses, be they on the track or in the breeding barn, that captivated Vivian.
"When I started, we were in a pedigree department and we used to sit down and research and handwrite the pedigrees. You would have the studbooks and turf registers and do it a very long-handed way. In a day you might write five of six pedigrees only," he said.
"I can remember early days, my focus on a horse like Without Fear was a real switch on for me. He came out and set world records (as a stallion), but he was just a magnificent horse who left magnificent stock on the ground.
"That became as much as anything else the focus and that helped me into the other phase of evolving through the industry."
The mentors
Vivian sees the industry as one built on people as much as it is on horses, and along the way, there have been some significant influences on his own development.
"My early days are very important to me, so unquestionably, David Coles, my first boss, was the man who taught me work ethic, because he would never ask anybody to do something he wouldn't do himself," he said.
"David Coles, my first boss, was the man who taught me work ethic, because he would never ask anybody to do something he wouldn't do himself." - Simon Vivian
"That came down to menial tasks. When we moved from Coles Brothers to Australian Breeders Co-Op or ABCOS, the three boys in the pedigree department, Tony Riordan, Neil Bowden and myself, we planted the lawn that is still there now. David Coles would be there with us.
"When we were sitting back doing pedigrees of a night, David Coles would come back and sit and do the race form for us at nine and 10 o'clock at night. He was the one most significant influence on me early on.
"My immediate boss of the pedigree department was a wonderful man called Dennis Roberts, who is still a great friend of mine and he still lives in Adelaide. He spent a lot of time in the industry and Dennis was a wonderful mentor to me.
"My time spent with Peter Heagney was terrific as well. There have been so many, it's probably unfair to try and identify a broader scope of people than that, because I’d fear leaving someone out."
Simon Vivian and Peter Heagney
Changing times
Vivian said the two major changes that have occurred during his 44 years in the industry have been the digitisation of pedigrees and information, and the evolution of the online marketplace.
"As an apprenticeship to get our teeth into the market, the pedigree work was a great start. Now, with the computers, you just punch a name into he computer and you could run off 500 pedigrees in a day without trying. That's probably been one of the biggest things," he said.
"The concept of online auctions has been massive and is only enhanced by what has happened during COVID-19. When they started that, those of us that were used to standing on a rostrum felt very challenged by the fact that all of the sudden there was a new marketplace which was taking over from what we loved and wanted to do, but clearly there is a spot for both of them.
"During COVID, it was great to have an alternate option to live auctions and live crowds. All credit to Mark Webster in the attention he put into building the platform that Inglis use. I think it’s unsurpassed, there is no question about that."
Leaving a legacy
As he prepares for spending a lot more time with his wife, Carleen, as well as his children and grandchildren, Vivian sees the role of sales companies as more important than ever to the industry. He hopes he has played some small part in that goring influence.
"Sales companies are the bankers of the industry. We are blessed in this country with the way that our sales companies are able to operate on credit. If it was a case where someone was forced to buy a horse and pay on the day, the entire industry would struggle," he said.
"We are blessed in this country with the way that our sales companies are able to operate on credit. If it was a case where someone was forced to buy a horse and pay on the day, the entire industry would struggle." - Simon Vivian
"What we do as sales companies is that we work with the client base to help them buy horses, so that the people who are breeding them get a chance to sell them well.
"I think they play an important role in the whole tapestry of the industry."
Vivian has his role as primarily a people person, playing the role of conduit between buyers, vendors and the market. He feels the relationships he has built through this are probably his greatest legacy.
"I'd like to think that there has been some impact there. This industry is about people, with horses being the common denominator. For me, it's so much about relationships," he said.
"If I speak specifically about me being in Victoria, the relationship that the Victorian office has with the Victorian breeders is very good and very healthy. That's an important legacy from my point of view.
"The breeders and the sales companies have a close relationship and that's something I feel like I have been able to contribute."
Simon Vivian at the old Inglis Randwick complex
The other legacy for Vivian is the role he has played in helping develop Oaklands Junction into one of the best sales facilities in the world.
"Inglis bought this complex several years ago, but it was starting to get a bit old and tired, and I think the renovations that we did to the whole complex, but specifically to the sales auditorium has been a pretty important thing," he said.
"The board were very kind in allowing me to spend a bit of money in doing that auditorium up. I'm personally very proud with how that auditorium has come along."
Faith in the next generation
Vivian feels he leaves his job in good hands with James Price set to step into his shoes when he retires, part of a new generation to carry the famous sales company into the next era.
"We have certainly got fantastic young staff. It’s extremely important that we keep having young people coming through," he said.
James Price | Image courtesy of Inglis
"The initiative of the Inglis internship is very important. For a lot of people it’s a throw at the stumps to investigate what this business was about. We were very blessed with the interns we were able to take on, starting with James Price and people like Peter Twomey, James Mitchell and Morgan Thomas, who have all stayed in the industry in one way or another.
"It is really important that you try and lead these people. Teach them the work ethic that is important and I am so lucky with the people I have working with me. No job is too hard for them to take on.
"When you are working with young people, people like Brett Gilding, and now with someone like Britt Hussey, they are always asking you questions about what are you looking for when you are looking at a horse. You are trying to help them in that way."
