The China Horse Club has achieved quite a bit in its 10 years of existence. They lobbied for a Triple Crown winner, a stubborn champion and a host of other Class I winners. In addition, they have bred a number of black type winners, including top level scorer Kimari (Munnings) and Validity (Tapit), and sold many seven individuals. And that’s only in the United States. Teo Ah Khing’s organization is equally successful in Australia and Europe and is constantly growing.
Due to its rapid growth and many achievements, the organization has been restructured to better suit the needs of the board of directors, members and partners. Instead of a single COO, a position previously held by US-based Michael Wallace, the China Horse Club now has key representatives in each of its three main regions. The heads of Australasia, Michael Smith and Europe, Matt Holdsworth, have been promoted from within the company, but their US representative is a new hire, Fabricio Buffolo.
“Over the past two years, the world has been hit hard by the pandemic and we have, quite smoothly, moved our management team around the world,” said Eden Harrington, Vice President of the Central Horse Club Quoc said. “One thing we’ve realized in the post-Covid world we’re in is that we realize how important it is to have dedicated people in each region to support our members and partners. I am there, as well as addressing and adapting to regional opportunities and problems. We changed our structure a bit so we have that focus.”
He continued, “The other component is that with the addition of Mr. Fabricio Buffolo, we are really expanding our focus from just the US to all of the Americas because of his background and connections. in the Caribbean, Latin America, Central and South America.”
Buffolo started her career in America with Godolphin. He later served as General Manager of Besilu Stables and most recently as CEO of Don Alberto Corporation.
“We reached out to a number of key partners and people with whom we respect opinions and Fabricio has been widely promoted,” said Harrington. “The respect he has held in the industry is very important. Having someone we can reach out to is not only important to running our operations, but also to maintaining relationships with our partners and members. To have someone as brilliant as Fabricio not only understand the different markets but also be able to handle high-level relationships is paramount to what we do. Having someone who understands the rich history of Latin America and has relationships there is also very important.”
Buffolo will be responsible for managing the horse portfolio of the China Horse Club, including selecting new herds, working with trainers on race planning, breeding, stock access should be sold at the time of sales and management of the growing stallion. He will also be tasked with maintaining and developing relationships with the organization’s members, partners and suppliers.
“Racing and breeding weapons have evolved and it requires having some people out there that are extremely talented and cautious and we certainly believe we have someone who meets our requirements. to the end,” Harrington said. “We also need someone who will access new opportunities. We always want to look outside and stay ahead of the curve. ”
Buffolo will represent the China Horse Club for the first time at this weekend’s GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, where GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt winners Life is good (Into Mischief) is set to take on the Horse of the Year which is likely Knicks Go (Payer).
Harrington, who will be joining Buffolo at Gulfstream, said: “Life is Good is going to be in China Horse Club silks this weekend, which is fantastic. “We expect him to show his best and if that allows him to win then that is beyond great. The current plan is for him to proceed [G1] Dubai World Cup if he comes out in good condition. One of our companies Teo Ah Khing Design Consultants designed and built the Meydan stand. So to have a leading athlete compete in the Dubai World Cup at a facility that our team has designed and built makes a lot of sense. ”
Harrington also provides an update on one of the other key athletes of the China Horse Club Americanrevolution (Organization). The flashy Chestnut ended a stellar 2021 with a win in the GI Cigar Mile and is currently getting some R&R ahead of its 2022 campaign.
“Americanrevolution has gone from a girly winner to a Class I winner at the end of the year, so that’s special,” Harrington said. “Going forward, we would love to have two runners-up on Breeders’ Cup in 2022 with Life is Good and Americanrevolution. There is a lot more work to be done between now and then, but we believe they are two horses worthy of those aspirations.”
