Breeder

I think a lot of those high priced Aussie stallions have a heap of shareholder nominations so there are not many outside spots available. Therefore they can put these high figures up and may attract a few but it does not really matter to them . Well that is the promotional spin! This is what Newgate said about Deep Field's fee which has been doubled for 2019. “We believe Deep Field has a big future ahead and we want to look after him for the long term,” Newgate Farm general manager Bruce Slade said. “Outside of his shareholder group there will only be a limited number of nominations available in the market for the 2019 season.”

From a strictly "on paper" pedigree point of view I would go with Snitzel from those three. The fact that he is commercially successful , while an important consideration, is a secondary for me.

Fitzy Race performance summary ( and pedigree details ) https://www.pedigreequery.com/roaring+lion2

Berri and MisterED I think you would have talk to Dennis Ryan privately to gauge what the costs of continuing are, before going ahead with anything . It might also mean looking at the costs of various options. My initial thoughts would be the same as MisterEds but I would love to be proved wrong.

It was great to see Zed got 81 mares last season , so still going strong.

A few years ago Caroline Marner ( occasional poster on Race Cafe) and her friends paid $400 for a Lucky Unicorn filly at the Festival Sale which subsequently was named Exquisite Jewe,l who went on to win a Group Race among others. Buoyed by this Caroline looked out for other members of the family (ie. the family that traces to Eight Carat) and ended up buying a Haradasun colt which has been named Grand Prospect. He has yet to race but he is a half brother to yesterday's Group One winner --Verry Elegant. Keep it up Caroline and I hope Grand Prospect does the business for you ( a good trial win should get the agents on the phone)

Who ever they chose the stud should be paying Winx's owners, not the usual charging of a stud fee.

Looks like Novara Park have a good one. Staphanos standing for $7000. http://www.anzbloodstocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Mar-28-final.pdf Scroll down to page 10.

It is also interesting to look at the size of the monthly online Inglis sales. 300 + for the March sale. This has been growing quickly in the last 6 months or so. Australia has several other quite large online sale sites. Much larger horse population but it is clearly becoming an option that both vendors and buyers like.

I agree with your point Nasrullah as it applies to the short term. This sale for years has been seen a bit of a "dumping ground". But if the bottom end of both the mares and weanlings are taken out then maybe it will over time be seen as a better sale and then we might see some genuine trading going on eg. people buying Australia specifically to resell at this sale. DaNn Myers has tried selling all his young stock as weanlings --maybe we will see others doing this on a more limited scale, so a better class on weanling is seen. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that over time the nature of the sale could change with vendors having different reasons to sell at it other than just "dumping" poor or unwanted stock as we have seen in the past. Time will tell

I think NZB own Gavelhouse now. It obviously has some effect but in the medium term it could be good for the May Sale in that it could become a very "Select"/high quality sale.

Poundforpound I hold a similar view of the NZTR that you do. If reducing the number of meetings means a reduction of money to thoroughbred racing via the distribution system then that "formula" needs to be addressed at the same time. I do not pretend to understand the fine details of the funding system but racing is competing for a relatively finite discretionary / entertainment income pool. With a vastly increased number of options for people to spend that money on ( compared to say 30 - 40 years ago) then racing has to make sure it presents as a very good option. I happen to believe it has spread itself too thinly. What is the alternative ? More borrowing to improve stakes.?

I think it is confirmation that there are too many meetings in NZ. Compared to the days when racing was only held on Saturdays and Wednesdays (outside of the Xmas / New Year period) there are probably less horses racing now so does it make sense to have so many meetings?

When they first changed the site the results section was terrible but to their credit they have fixed it and the revamp is good.

Not only Melody Belle yesterday, but Yourdeel also traces to the great family. Just have to pick the right one as it pops up.