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Last year we had a yearling that we did not want to send to the sales, we wanted to keep her and she had been wrapped in cotton wool:) I called the sales company and requested a non sales entry form and asked how much it would cost.
The reply was, non sale entries and late entries are welcome, the fee payable is equal to the prize money of the series final.
She was not entered.
The sale wasn't too successful from our point of view - $20k for a Jeremes Jet colt (easily the best colt we've bred - I'm confident he'll make it on the track) and $9k for an Art Major filly (who had a few conformation flaws).
It seems the best recipe for success this year was to have a monstrous Art Major colt. The $100k colt was one of the biggest yearlings I've ever seen. If he continues growing at that rate, he'll be over 18hh by the time he's done.
If I was buying a yearling, I think I would have had a great time. There were a few yearling I liked a lot that didn't bring top dollar - and some of the high-priced ones I didn't like at all. To me, it felt like a lot of the top-end buyers were 'trend' driven (paying big money for one because it was popular), rather than doing their own homework.
I spoke to a top trainer (very high-profile) who told me he bought one on Friday night because it had a white snip on its nose!!! I guess that's why he has never developed a good young horse in his life. I still find it pretty amazing that one newcomer to the owning ranks has chosen him as his trainer. Talk about a recipe for failure. But that's what we're dealing with sometimes.
I'm just glad we weren't breeders who paid top dollar for a Christian Culllen service when these yearlings were bred. I'm not 100% sure but I reckon his fee may have been $25k that year ... and some of his yearlings struggled past $10k. Now that's painful.
I do believe we pay too much for stud fees - greedy stallion owners cashing in while they can. I guess it's all about demand, though ... and plenty of breeders are willing to pay $15k to go to Art Major this season - even though a lot of his yearlings will struggle to fetch that at a yearling sale in a couple of years.
If you go through a yearling catalogue and compare the average sales price with the average earnings of the entries, it doesn't take long to realise there are plenty of buyers who have no chance of a return.
It's a tough game ... and very few have a recipe for success.
i agree ben, some of the higher end lots i had no idea why they were bringing so much
and many good cullens, mach threes and bettors delight (all as good or better sires than art major) who couldnt get their service fee back
I'm heading to NZ for their sales ... might keep an eye out for a quality Cullen filly. Reckon there will be some real bargains because all the Kiwi trainers will be absolutely red-hot on Bettors Delight.
Hi Love of Courage,
The stud farms can agree to any payment arrangment that they are willing to, I do not think they would refuse any reasonable breeding terms if it helps get them a return. $
A horse called On The Road Again had something like what you have suggested later in his stud career in Canada. His fillies being better
than his colts, thats coming from a memory that is not that great:)
Hi Ben,
Do you think that many broomares will all of a sudden appear for sale after the result of the sales.
It is the time to buy.
Despite the overall increase in sales averages and clearance rates across the weekend, the Premium Gold Sale suffered a decline in average, mainly due to the additional 14 lots that went through the ring in 2011.
I don't think so.
I think that there are plenty of opportunities for Fillies and Mares in Victoria atleast. That is why I race my fillies there. Have a look at last seasons Breeders Crown 2yo Fillies winner - Passions Promise. Hardly had to ever go up against the colts as a 2yo. Can stick to fillies company as a 3yo and still plenty of good mares races for her when she reaches 4. Led Suitcase the previous Breeders Crown 2yo fillies winner is the same. Rarely has to race against the male horses until she gets to open class. Make Mine Cullen too even though she is now in Open Class still regularly has Mares FFA races that she can race in and has had plenty of races against her own sex for her to race in along the way. The problem is that other owners of Fillies and Mares do not always want to support these races an go up against the likes of Make Mine Cullen.Quote:
Originally Posted by triplev123
[QUOTE=buster;2779]they can actually now screen the semen somehow to increase the chances, could be up to 80-90%, it started off as being used in the dairy industry as steers are worthless to them
Triple says...That's quite correct Buster. Equine semen can indeed be sorted but in their wisdom(?) I am certain that HRA have recently moved to make said process against the rules. I don't know that I agree with it though, I think it is more than just a bit hypocritical actually, because they're quite happy for the Industry to use every other assisted breeding technique known to man.
I'm sure there will be some people who decide it's financially unviable (which it is for most people).Quote:
Originally Posted by justdoit
We breed and race horses because we love it ... not because we want to get rich. You know that old joke ... "how do you earn a million dollars from harness racing? Start with two million".
Having said that, I guess we also don't want to lose money hand over fist. As I said in an earlier post, I think one of the biggest issues is the stud fees. If you bred to Art Major this season, you'd need to get at least $25k for that foal to break even. It's a tough ask.
Does anyone one reckon there would be any merit in trying to get a Ready To Run sale going here in Australia, i mean Aussie's by from that sale over in n.z and i reckon if run properly at a track like shepparton which isn't to far off the highway it could work. Recently Ross Pike held a sale where yearlings were only broke in and you could drive them and buy and i've been told only 2 didn't sell. I know a person who purchased 2 from that sale and one was a filly that he said on paper he wouldn't of purchased it but after driving her he signed the cheque and home she went. I think this could be another option for horses that don't make there reserve at the yearling sale's, and i do understand it might go the other way where a yearling hits it's knee etc. Just wondering what people's thoughts on this would be.