With no Rock n Roll Hanover and no Somebeachsomewhere on our shores this year there will be a lot of people looking for new options. What's all the mail on what's coming to our shores? Appears light on for new blood this year.
Printable View
With no Rock n Roll Hanover and no Somebeachsomewhere on our shores this year there will be a lot of people looking for new options. What's all the mail on what's coming to our shores? Appears light on for new blood this year.
Captaintreacherous who is a son of SBSW just won the NA cup going 1:48.3
Is sbsw not coming down under again this season?
The whisper is that SBSW's management want Mega Bucks to send him down this season and its looking very unlikely that he will come. It will be very interesting to see what David James brings out to replace Rocknroll Hanover.
disappointing...was considering sending one to him this season...
I believe there will be frozen semen available to SBSW
Must be very disappointing for David James, he's worked very hard to get these high quality stallions down here and with the Sad demise of Rocknroll Hanover and the situation with Somebeachsomewhere, you have to be feeling for him. On the other hand, Artistic Fella and Four Starzzz Shark are starting to show some real promise. What I have noticed is that Empire have had Someardensomewhere up on their site, so maybe there's still a slim chance of the Beach coming.
I'm certain Peppertree must be licking their lips right now. Any new stallions going to be stepping onto our shores? Is it true there is now a rule preventing US 3yos from retiring to stud now?
There is a 2 year trial taking place in which progeny of stallions 4YO and younger at the time of service are ineligible for stakes races at some of the major tracks (including Meadowlands and Woodbine).
This is an attempt to encourage the top 3YO's to stay at the track for another year.
Ahhh ok thanks Trevor. Knew something was in just wasn't sure on the specifics. Interesting move.
Being a son of Mach Three, does anyone think Auckland Reactor will attract much patronage in Australia.???
With champion status via racetrack performance in NZ but IMO very much below par in Australia and USA campaigns will this be against him in the minds of Australian breeders???
In his price bracket I'd much prefer Artistic Fella. His numerous failed campaigns stain my mind. I'd also rather breed to the horse that beat him in the interdom in Mr Feelgood. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is not his first attempt at becoming a sire either. No doubt, like his racetrack career, there was excuses there.
I spoke with David James from Empire this morning. He confirmed that unfortunately SBSW wil NOT be returning in the flesh to Aust this season. However, he was happy to report that there will be frozen semen available.
[VVV] G'day Tony. I'd be very surpised if he served many mares here & by that I mean that if he exceeds 20 for mine he's doing well.
The reasons why the horse got his arse handed to him during the QLD ID and then got it handed to him again when he went to the US aside....I think it all comes down to the fact that if his connections had instead left Mark Purdon alone and allowed him to manage the horse's career...they'd have ended up with a much better result over the longer term.
Added to that....for crying out loud...the excuse machine that followed his every step, breath & crap. JESUS WEPT! If anyone set out to get the people to start shouting BULLSHIT! from the grandstands no better road map for achieving that could've possibly been produced.
Grant makes a very good point above.
Artistic Fella has made an excellent debut here and they give every indication to me that they will go on as 3yos & beyond.
Racehorse wise, no contest. Artistic Fella was the real deal, a 3-headed Gorilla. Auckland Reactor wouldn't have known which way he went. No contest there.
One thing though. Although all we have to judge a potential sire on when he heads to stud is of course his racetrack career, in the end they all become Non-Winners again in the Breeding Barn.
A truly great sire will overcome all, small books of mixed quality mares, a lack of opportunity for their progeny, the lot.
Consider Christian Cullen & Elsu as examples. Both terrific racehorses. Christian Cullen's initial opportunities were by no means luxurious but he overcame. Elsu's initial opportunities were far better in terms of overall mare quality and numbers but he did little or one nothing. They've either got it or they haven't.
Anyone seen any MISTER BIG progeny?...any thoughts on BIG JIM?...2 sires that havent had much of a mention around here
When AR first went to stud wasn't there a fertility problem with him?
[VVV] Thumbs up for both...I thought a lot of Mister Big's yearlings looked really good on their videos from the US Sales late last year...much better looking than him if the truth be known..and Big Jim was a ball tearing 2yo, IMO. Big, strong, long striding & deceptively fast.
I have found it interesting (and will continue to) watching the fortunes of sires like Artistic Fella, Four Starzz and Mr Big who made there names as monster free for allers. So often you here their siring credentials potted as being a free for aller. I really think this current group will go a long way to dispelling any of these concerns. I loved watching Mr Big and Artistic Fella race. We are going to get a lot more free for allers as the sires out here now. We will see comes to mind as one that looks like venturing out this year.
. Artistic Fella a 3-headed gorilla- you are joking. Can't be the same Artistic Fella I saw in the flesh in the Breeders Crown elim and final. Beaten and well beaten both times. A lovely racehorse but having seen both in the flesh I don't know how you can honestly say he was that much better than Auckland Reactor. And at best he has made a promising start to his siring career. From 80+ foals, he has 2 really nice fillies and bugger all else. In Nz he was that highly regarded he served 9 mares. There is a prevailing mood these days in both Nz +Aust to judge horses on how they perform in your own back yard. I am as guilty of it as any one else. My opinion of Artistic Fella was based on what I saw in the flesh. Mr Feelgood is another who suffers from not performing to the same level everywhere he raced. Outstanding in both the Usa+Aust but an 11 start non winner in Nz. For what ever reason Mr Feelgood just didnt race anywhere near his true ability in Nz. Do you write him off as a sire prospect in Nz?. No but it does play a part when assessing potential sires for the coming season. Auckland Reactor draws exactly the same reaction from Australians as Mr Feelgood does from Kiwis. What they saw in their backyard was not at the same level as he performed in Nz or to the level they expected. So they rate him accordingly. I saw him race in Nz numerous times and have no doubt that Auckland Reactor during his 3+4yr old campaigns in Nz was very very special. As good as anything to race here in my lifetime. And that will be reflected in the number of mares he serves this year in Nz. I have no doubt he will serve a 200+ book in Nz. Pricing him at $3000 was an invitation most Nz breeders will struggle to refuse. And in Aust - At that price he will serve more than 20 but no where near what he will serve on this side of the Tasman. The one thing I had a query about was his fertility but when I spoke to Alabar they assured me that a part of the reason for pricing him at $3000 was they were very confident that he would handle a large book with ease. The one thing i would completely agree with Jamie is that stallions have either got it or they havn't.
Viv I'm pretty sure Artistic Fella is still at Empire... Also, AR failed sensationally at two out of three places he went to. Mr FG failed at one out of three, and hardly as disgustingly as AR did he when he had heat applied. These things stick in Aussies minds. I thought 20 mares at best in Aus and NZ!
Well Grant , i love to have a gamble. You name the amount and i'm in. How many mares will Auckland Reactor serve in NZ+Aust. I'm picking 250+ and your picking 40. Closest to the right figure takes the money. And Grant , Mr Feelgood was an 11 start maiden in Nz. Auckland Reactor had 11 starts in Aust. Difference is he won 5 of his 11 starts. So if winning 5 of 11 is a "sensational failure" what does that make Mr Feelgood.
Viv my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek with that statement. I am well aware of the blind faith of kiwis!! That alone should see him serve 20. But here in Aus we tend to remember the horrific fails in all group 1s he contested on this side of he ditch and the lowly graded races he got licked in the us. Auckland Reactor is individually responsible for setting back the general consensus of the quality of Australian racing in the US around 50years. Him solely costing Blackie no 5 will see an entire state of Queensland avoid him like the Black Plague. I've labelled kiwis blindly faithful, queenslanders are worse! The timing of his fails leads one to believe he was a horse with not the best of constitutions. His interdom efforts were appalling.
Feelgood may be a sensational failure in nz but he has been more than a sensational success in two other countries rather than dominating age class racing and some ffas as a 4yo in the north island of nz. Needless to say, my mares won't meet him!
Come on Grant . Put your money up. I know no Australian rates a kiwi horse. If you listen to any Australian , our racing is weak, our horses overated, ect, ect. Maybe it was a poor lot AR was beating. Depends how you rate ITMQ, Changeover, Monkey King. All the same our poor kiwi breds will just keep winning those Australian classics every week. There is an old saying in Nz with regards to Australians and racing horses there; You never win their respect ,just their money.
You guys are getting a bit precious Tony. I thought the Macular Degeneration and Glaucoma aspects where pretty funny and introduced to underline a point. As I said to you in the PM, anyone who thinks that Artistic Fella and Auckland Reactor are comparable physically/type wise needs their eyes examined. It's like standing Hulk Hogan next to a Pipe Cleaner.
Auckland Reactor is and was a machine. He'll make it. Well priced at 3k
[QUOTE=Triple V;27350]Hey Viv,
Mate, if you're going to take a swing...at least try to keep your eye on the ball eh? :rolleyes:
Hey Jamie,
Just need to correct some of less than accurate comments in your last post. Lets start with Artistic Fella
Artistic Fella -- I saw him race in North America but not at his base in New Jersey but at the Breeders Crown at Woodbine as a 3yr old. He had his three headed gorilla suit on finishing a great 5th in his heat and an outstanding 6th in the final. In fact he only raced outside New Jersey 3 times as a 3yr old and missed the winners circle 3 times. One thing that has always intrigued me about Artistic Fella is why in his whole 52 start career he never started on a 1/2 mile track. Sure there was a good reason. I have seen both Artistic Fella and Auckland Reactor in the flesh up close and struggle bigtime to see the enormous difference you profess to see. I am just tracking down a recent photo I saw of Auckland Reactor and will post it alongside one of Artistic Fella so the readers can make their own mind up. As for his stud record, to produce one quality filly from 80 foals with the 2yr old racing structure you have in Australia is way short of "Not Bad".
Mr Feelgood--I read in your post that when he first arrived in Australia from Nz he looked terrible and his feet were a disgrace. His feet must have just hung together long enough and his condition improved just enough on that first trip because in those 7 starts he won a Hunter Cup and an Inter- Dominion for the Butt brothers. Twice in your post you mention Mr Feelgood was in terrible condition when moved to Luke MCarthy. Why you felt it necessary to blacken the name of two of the most respected and professional horsemen in the world is beyond me but I think it is a sad relection on the writer rather than Tim or Ants. And the fact still remains that even under Luke MCarthy, Mr Feelgood is still a non winner in Nz.
Sires-- I see that you have decided that Nz is becoming irrelevant because we haven't brought any new stallions straight off the track recently. I presume you mean Southern Hemisphere breeding rights as all the horses you mention are shuttles. It is simply a matter of the size of the market. We will be lucky to serve 3000 mares in Nz this season and you could not make an economic case for bringing sires such as Artistic Fella, Sportswriter or Shadow Play to Nz. They just wouldn't get the mares to make it worth while. As an example Shadow Play has been available to Nz breeders for the last 3 years but has served just over 60 mares in total in that time. Now I think he is a real chance of making it as a sire but until he has serious runs on the board he won't get large numbers in Nz. Sires such as SBSW and RNRH will always attract breeders regardless of where they stand. 75Nz breeders used SBSW last year. What makes it tough for new sires in Nz is we have Bettors Delight, Mach Three and Christian Cullen already established . Not only do they dominate the Nz sire scene but they hold 3 of the top 4 positions on the Australian sires list. Throw in up and comers such as American Ideal and Jeremes Jet and newcomers such as Big Jim, Changeover and Auckland Reactor and we are travelling just fine on this side of the Tasman. If I was an Australian breeder I would be really concerned that Nz based sires dominate your sires list and that 13 of the top 20 stake earners in Australia have that irrelevant tag of Nz beside their name.
Hi Viv, I heard that there are 150 NZ breeders on the waiting list for SBSW'S frozen semen and there will only be 75 frozen straws available to them now that he's not coming, Which stallion or stallions do you think the disappointed breeders will jump ship to??? It will be the same situation in Australia.
http://media.live.harnesslink.com/im...1371978709.jpghttp://media.live.harnesslink.com/im...1176260742.jpgNot even a good attempt Jamie. Trying to compare an airbrushed promo photo after he's finished racing and furnished into a sire and one of Auckland Reactor as a 4yr old 20 minutes after he has won an Inter -Dominion heat at the Gold Coast is misleading even for you. Here's a photo of what he looked like when he was a 3yr old and AR when he was a 3yr old. The other photo I was referring to is one taken when he was retired. It is not a stud promo photo just one of him in a paddock. Have it for you tomorrow.
considering AF has 2 grp 1 winners and 9 indivdual winners from just the 15 starters to date is not a bad effort IMO, considering some of the other top rank sires have sired 2 or 3 times more and sit around the same mark is a good start and at a reasonable fee, should see him cover a decent book of mares this season.
Another nice gelding over here that has won 2 of his 3 is kimba bay, won well again saturday night beating the pearl winner swagga..
Mindarrie Priddy won again last night and looks a cut above a very good batch of 2 yr old fillies. The picture that VVV posted is exactly what Artistic Fella looks like in the Flesh. Kimba bay also went super at Bunbury last week, so it's all looking very promising for AF. Allamerican Ingot is also doing a very good job over in the West.
It's still early days, but Shadow Play has really started his siring career with a big bang. His progeny won 2 out of the 3 70K Ontario Sires stakes overnight. A Mach Three colt won the other heat
Real good selection of quality racehorses as potential stallions. Shadow Play was awesome winning The Little Brown Jug and this was after splitting his hoof quite badly in the 1st heat.
We have a Shadow Play colt, first foal of Demi Plie, a Shark Gesture daughter of Talilia.
Type wise, he is outstanding.
For the record, his sire is the best looking Standardbred that I've ever seen. Absolute cracker.
Another 3 heats of the Ontario sires stakes today, this time for 2yo fillies. In heat 1, a Santanna Blue Chip filly wins with Shadow Plays running 2nd and 3rd. In heat 2, Shadow Plays ran 1st and 2nd with a Major in Art filly 3rd. In heat, 3 a Shadow Play filly called Book Babe was ultra impressive winning by 6 lengths.
I think im going to be sending quite a few mares to Shadow Play this year!!!