Originally Posted by
Triple V
VVV- To put some perspective on your assertion that $2,750 is too high a debut fee for an unproven sire, how about going through the current AUS 2yo, 3yo and Aged sires lists...noting the debut fees of each? They were virtually all unproven sires prior to becoming available here. It will be an interesting exercise/reality check.
As for marketing...I'm yet to see anything relating to CB that isn't right on the mark. I was at the Melbourne APG the day Rob/Andy/Alan chanced their arm and purchased him for 70k I think it was. He had sireline, he had depth of family and believe it or not he was purchased with the intention of a stud career should he prove to be a good enough. They said exactly that at the time. He was a lovely yearling colt and grew into a terrific type. As a racehorse he had great gait, speed, toughness and attitude...everything you'd look for in a potential sire. He has raced and beaten the best of his era here, taking a fast mark under AUS conditions and earning over $1mil in the process...no mean feat in this part of the world.
The single best thing that could happen for the Australian Standardbred Breeding Industry is for it to take a leaf out of our TB cousins play book by way of changing the focus/mindset and breeding and then breeding to our own home grown locally performed colts. Christian Cullen, Courage Under Fire etc got it done and both made their debut at considerably more than $2,750. As I said Dan, reality check.