Stuart Boman has been appointed the Hong Kong Jockey Club's contracted agent in the Northern Hemisphere. The position will see the Blandford Bloodstock agent assist with selection and preparation of horses for the Hong Kong International Sale.
Boman said: "It's a great opportunity. Danny Rolston, the head of the HKIS, approached me and we've been in discussions for a little while. I'm delighted to accept the role and looking forward to getting started as of the Arqana August Sale.
"One of my first jobs in racing was for John Moore back when I was based in Australia. I did a similar job there helping select his yearlings and being involved in preparing them before sending them up to Hong Kong. That was some years ago but this still feels like a familiar position, albeit an exciting one at the same time."
Boman succeeds Mick Kinane, who spent six years as the Hong Kong Jockey Club's contracted agent in the Northern Hemisphere. The highlight of the iconic rider's tenure was unearthing Romantic Warrior, winner of 10 group/grade 1 races and more than £21.7 million in prize money. The son of Acclamation was bought for 300,000 guineas from co-breeder Corduff Stud at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2019.
Kinane signed for seven European yearlings on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2024, with three youngsters recruited at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale at a cost of 950,000 guineas, while €1.19 million was invested on four buys at the Goffs Orby Sale. The priciest signing was a 400,000 guineas Havana Grey colt sourced in Newmarket. Those juveniles will be offered at next year's HKIS.
Boman has been in the headlines recently after his £16,000 yearling buy Docklands recorded a memorable victory in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot. His purchasing roll of honor also includes the likes of four-time Australian group 1 winner Zaaki and fellow top-flight scorers Crackerjack King, Euro Charline, and Top Rank.
With the start of the European yearling sale season only weeks away, Boman said he is looking forward to tackling his latest challenge.
"We'll work every sale, and Danny will come up for most of them," he said. "We work every sale anyway and assess every horse, so we'll take it from there. We'd like to be active at as many sales and as many regions in Europe as possible.
"There's a lot of criteria these horses have to hit (for Hong Kong) so we'll just go through the process. There's a big team involved and I'll just do my job in assessing the horses. It's an honor to be a part of. Hopefully we can build on the good work of the past and produce some nice horses that will suit Hong Kong."
