Advance Attack for sale

Saw this on another forum I frequent. It's troubling to read... but how tough is it for smaller studs to win breeders over the Alabars of this world.

"We are inviting expressions of interest from parties in the Eastern States and New Zealand for the purchase or lease of potential super sire Advance Attack NZ.
From very small crops of just 16 race starters he has produced outstanding 2yo multiple classic winner Cott Beach 1.54.9, classic winner Persistent Threat 1.55.7 and classic placegetters Massive Attack 1.52.2 and The War Nurse 1.57.9. Nine of his 16 starters have raced in classics.
His current 2yo crop of 7 starters are averaging over $27 000 per starter so far this season. Statistically he is head and shoulders above most other 2yo sires in Australia including Bettors Delight and Somebeachsomewhere if comparisons are made with the number of 2yo starters.
He is the younger full brother to champion racehorse and sire Courage Under Fire and went significantly faster than Courage as a 2yo..
Over 30 bookings for forthcoming season already and we have not started the recognised booking period.

This is an extremely reluctant decision but with the centralised downsizing policies being implemented for the harness racing industry in Western Australia it is not practical to try and fulfil his potential here.
For the people who have already booked to the horse, I apologise for any inconvenience but no changes will be made unless your obligations are met."

What are the "centralised downsizing policies being implemented for the harness racing industry in Western Australia" that he refers to?

You beat me to it Kevin. I was wondering the same thing.

They're reducing race meetings at a couple of the smaller tracks in favour of GP and Pinjarra. Means less opportunities for country folk to get a winner. The likes of Bonds and Halls don't have an issue with driving to Albany or Northam so winning is hard as it is. With less meetings at these t4acks, there's less opportunity for small folk to win.. and even less for small folk to breed and win, regardless of the West bred bonuses on offer. Advance Attack is doing great as a sire thus far but with smaller and smaller breeding numbers every year and less opportunities for these WA bred horsea, owners are gonna have more luck over east

Certainly a good strike rate with horses that get to the races but I think the potential super sire comment is a bit early. I am not sure that less country races is the main reason for this. There are quite a few other sires in WA that are not leaving....yet. I would have thought that if the horses are bred & bought in WA and are making money you would leave the sire there. It would probably be tougher in the Eastern states. Bond and Hall snr do have a lot of winners (300) but if you compare those two with say Dixon, Rasmussen and Turpin ( 500) Do you go to QLD? where it is much harder I would think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KTQ

They're reducing race meetings at a couple of the smaller tracks in favour of GP and Pinjarra. Means less opportunities for country folk to get a winner. The likes of Bonds and Halls don't have an issue with driving to Albany or Northam so winning is hard as it is. With less meetings at these t4acks, there's less opportunity for small folk to win.. and even less for small folk to breed and win, regardless of the West bred bonuses on offer. Advance Attack is doing great as a sire thus far but with smaller and smaller breeding numbers every year and less opportunities for these WA bred horsea, owners are gonna have more luck over east

Thanks for the explanation Katie. Anything that disenchants harness's country strongholds would be a big mistake

Quote:

Originally Posted by KTQ

They're reducing race meetings at a couple of the smaller tracks in favour of GP and Pinjarra. Means less opportunities for country folk to get a winner. The likes of Bonds and Halls don't have an issue with driving to Albany or Northam so winning is hard as it is. With less meetings at these t4acks, there's less opportunity for small folk to win.. and even less for small folk to breed and win, regardless of the West bred bonuses on offer. Advance Attack is doing great as a sire thus far but with smaller and smaller breeding numbers every year and less opportunities for these WA bred horsea, owners are gonna have more luck over east

Dear oh dear, NSW and VIC made the same mistake 15 years ago to the demise of the game, have since seen the failure and have been working to re-balance things. This is numbskull accountant lead thinking AND it has been proven wrong already here in the east, hope some sanity prevails.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fan of Jate

Certainly a good strike rate with horses that get to the races but I think the potential super sire comment is a bit early. I am not sure that less country races is the main reason for this. There are quite a few other sires in WA that are not leaving....yet. I would have thought that if the horses are bred & bought in WA and are making money you would leave the sire there. It would probably be tougher in the Eastern states. Bond and Hall snr do have a lot of winners (300) but if you compare those two with say Dixon, Rasmussen and Turpin ( 500) Do you go to QLD? where it is much harder I would think.

I certainly agree the sire competition would be a lot tougher in the East with the number of top horses available. In the reverse situation if the likes of Dixon, Rasmussen and Turpin transferred to WA then the 500 would be reduced considerably. Those three do have a dominance over in Queensland not quite so Bond and Hall Snr over in the west but I would imagine with the calibre of the Bond and Hall stables they would be in a very prominent position over there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danno

Dear oh dear, NSW and VIC made the same mistake 15 years ago to the demise of the game, have since seen the failure and have been working to re-balance things. This is numbskull accountant lead thinking AND it has been proven wrong already here in the east, hope some sanity prevails.

Hi Dan, I doubt sanity will come into, maybe it will BUT why are so , so , many leaving?? (Breeders, owners, trainers, etc).
Mark was talking to a trainer from Vic the other day & he was asked to find out the average age of his owners..........interesting question .......the result in their late 50's to 60's , another guy was asked the same thing & said all his owners are dead!!!

Racing Vic are making a concerted effort as is Racing WA in trying to bring a younger crowd in by that I mean 20-30 year olds via the share system. It basically turns into a group of people who make friends within the horse ownership and then go to the races together and have a good time and hopefully get a winner. I think it is a great idea. It obviously needs ongoing promotion. The days of the odd old codger owning a horse by himself or breeding one are fading fast, that era is over. Jeez where does that leave me...?

Quote:

Originally Posted by trish

Hi Dan, I doubt sanity will come into, maybe it will BUT why are so , so , many leaving?? (Breeders, owners, trainers, etc).
Mark was talking to a trainer from Vic the other day & he was asked to find out the average age of his owners..........interesting question .......the result in their late 50's to 60's , another guy was asked the same thing & said all his owners are dead!!!

G'day Trish, there are many leaving now but for current reasons, many of which were brought about by the "centralisation" garbage....some were simply exacerbated by it....but it remains a fact in any walk of life, if you seek to shrink something.....you WILL succeed when your competitors are seeking to grow. This silly game was grown through everyday people having fun and engaging lots of other everyday people along the way, it's never succeeded at being elitist, it's never succeeded by going to the "dogs" The game is NOT about breeders getting wealthy off their investments...sure there have been a few isolated cases that do not fit that mould, but they are not "the norm" One of the problems this game has at the moment is too many people trying to make a living off it.....that in itself can be a corrupting factor for both participants AND administrators.

Well said Dan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fan of Jate

Racing Vic are making a concerted effort as is Racing WA in trying to bring a younger crowd in by that I mean 20-30 year olds via the share system. It basically turns into a group of people who make friends within the horse ownership and then go to the races together and have a good time and hopefully get a winner. I think it is a great idea. It obviously needs ongoing promotion. The days of the odd old codger owning a horse by himself or breeding one are fading fast, that era is over. Jeez where does that leave me...?

Hi Pat,
You're right, sadly, about the days of the odd old codger owning a horse by himself or breeding one are fading fast, that era is over. And I think that is a big part of the problem; many moons ago I was a young codger nineteen to be exact a regular trot goer not harness racing as called today who got very sick of doing my hard earned at the red hots every week so I thought if I couldn't beat them I'd join them. Applied for an owner/trainer permit, bought myself a cheap, experienced horse and went along for a fantastic ride. Didn't know too much about training a horse but my old mate (horse) taught me a hell of a lot only won a couple of good country races but was regularly placed in the city, paid for his purchase price many times over.
None of that today, racing is regulated to the hilt any new owners want to see their horse yep on a certain day at a certain time don't turn up you will miss out and you soon realize no hands on here it's exactly as you say, make friends within the ownership go to the races have a few drinks together and hope for a winner exciting I don't think so. Honestly, if any new owners knew how much more exciting it was in the bygone era they wouldn't be in the least bit interested today. The concerted effort to attract a younger clientele has been happening for a while now in WA with limited success. The regular race goers are just that regular not a lot of attraction for a younger enthusiast with all the other avenues of entertainment open to them.
I am not an optimist when it comes to future harness racing in some states in Australia particularly when there appears a more concerted push for greyhound racing. Sadly I never thought I'd see the day when greyhounds would displace harness racing for second spot in the racing codes. I just hope administrations and governments can get together with honesty and work out what is best for the industry.

I believe there have been a couple of stallions up for sale in NSW and VIC of late as well. Bonavista Bay, Ifihadyourluck and there may have been one other which was a giveaway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trish

Well said Dan.

+1