A strong supporter of the New Zealand thoroughbred industry, the Sydney-based Holt secured a share in the Rich Hill Stud stallion for an auction-topping A$265,000 when it was offered at the Inglis Digital March (Early) Sale.
“I’m not really a horse man in the sense of conformation and all the rest of it, I’m a data guy and watch very closely all the trends with stallions,” he said.
“I try and work out which are the emerging ones and managed to spot Per Incanto a few years ago and was lucky enough to buy Lost And Running as a result of seeing the stallion’s numbers.
“I have been following Proisir on the same basis and wanted to jump on board.”
Three-time Group One winner Zaaki, multiple Group winner Lost And Running and the Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) runner-up Benaud feature among Holt’s current racing interests.
“I also bought four of Proisir’s yearlings at Karaka this year so hopefully one or all of those will be okay and when the stallion share came up for grabs I thought that was the direct way to play,” he said.
“I think he could be the successor to Savabeel in New Zealand, given what he’s doing at the moment.
“I have been involved in a couple of stallion syndicates in the past, in particular Snitzel and was lucky enough to get involved in him and that’s obviously been a very lucrative journey for me.
“I’m familiar with what the upside can be if the stallion continues to kick goals. Proisir has multiple Group One winners and was surprised I got the share for the price I did, based on my valuation.”
Holt doesn’t currently have any broodmares in his equine portfolio, but it’s a situation that is soon to change.
“I used to breed a lot of horses and bred the Golden Slipper winner (Phelan Ready) in 2009 and later got out of the breeding game, I just love racing horses and get a lot of enjoyment out of it,” he said.
“I’ve got some fillies that will probably finish their racing careers in the next few months and will put them on a short list of potential mares to send over to Proisir.”
Holt formerly worked in the financial industry in London and Australia has been home since 2005.
“I retired 15 years ago and been very lucky to have had a share in Snitzel, which has been a goldmine and funded a lot of my mistakes,” he said.
“Zaaki has won nearly $10 million on the track and Lost And Running won over $4 million so that all helps.
Rich Hill’s John Thompson welcomed Holt’s involvement in Proisir, whose profile continues on an upward trend.
“This result is great for the shareholders, it values the stallion at $12.5 million and it’s a big step up from where he was earlier in his career, that’s for sure,” he said.
“Obviously, Legarto did it in Melbourne at the weekend and Prowess is heading to Sydney for the Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m) in a fortnight so if she can come out and win that too, then Carl would have got himself a bargain.”