RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.

jess

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Posts posted by jess

  1. They are pretty addictive watching alright - next best thing if you can't make it there (and safer because you can gesticulate and carry on in the safety of your lounge without risking getting some half million dollar piece of horseflesh knocked down to you ...

    No doubt I will once more grit my teeth when I hear K F-E chattering on about Te Akau like she's an independent expert voice on the matter - and the camera zooming in on hubby as he places his bids by doing his winking buddah thing .. all the while as K F-E fawns over the icon of the NZ bidder's bench .... 

    Sorry to sound churlish folks. Good luck to both of them - they play their parts in the industry.  I just don't like conflicts of interest and wish the gene pool for some of these roles was a little bigger .... 

  2. 17 minutes ago, barryb said:

    Well I hope you are wrong as I am 2/3 of the way there from Hamilton..

    Smoko in Taihape, great cafes here.

    That man deserves a DB!  (not if you're driving of course ...).

    Best of luck Barry - full marks - wish you well on the punt.  

  3. 13 minutes ago, chevy86 said:

    Very true Jess, and an establishment could get a tarnished reputation because one employee had a bad day so need to be very careful about criticism leading to something actionable. In spite of that, perhaps we could share good/excellent experiences when naming Studs, albeit with the risk of bogus "support" postings.

    Cheers Chevy - I agree. I'm not bothered about things being actionable - can't see myself straying into that territory - more concerned about being fair I guess  Do like the idea of sharing experiences though - hopefully most of us who have been around the cafe for a while could distinguish btwn the genuine posters and the "plants" who look to talk up their own operation!

    For the record I have no allegiance / connection to any of the studs - purely a (small-time) client. 

    J.

    PS: thought of setting up a survey with grades for various features (eg. comms, fees, stockmanship etc) for various studs - but ruled it out as I think too easily (and likely to be) corrupted by certain participants ...

     

  4. The pre-formatted emails on service / scanning are standard for the big players I believe.  But I too have dealt with studs where that system was not in place and I had to ring the stud to try to find out what was happening with the mare (turned out she had probably not even been to the barn until she'd been there for weeks and then been served and missed etc).

    I appreciate it when someone who is actually dealing with the mare txts or phones (occasionally) to update me in progress or lack of it.  Yes I know my mare may be one of hundreds - but it's still not that hard to do ...

    J.     

  5. Hi Treat

    agree completely.  I hate it when the only way you can figure out what is happening with your horse is by analysing the vet bills.  That simply is not good enough.

    I am reluctant to publicise any place I wasn't so happy with - simply because it might unfairly malign an operation which is  usually good and perhaps my experience was an aberration. 

    Happy to say however I was very satisfied overall when dealing with Cambridge Stud. 

    You sound like you have had a really bad run Treat - depending on the causes of that I guess it might be you've had all your bad luck in one rotten run and good times ahead - or perhaps you really have had a raw deal from providers ... (am assuming your mares go to stud in good condition etc ....)

    Communication is so easy these days as you say - and actually cheap too.  Many trainers and some studs could certainly increase satisfaction amongst their clients if they lifted their game in this area IMO ... J.  

     

  6. Yes.  I do believe that is the most important fact of all in this.

    If you have very little capacity to make money from breeding a thoroughbred race horse (whether you race it or someone else does) - why keep doing it?

    Yes - like me it might be a passion - but a few more years throwing money into a black hole and I won't be feeling too passionate.   More likely I'll be quitting the game.

    It takes a hell of a good racehorse in NZ to actually turn a profit over its lifetime.  THAT is a problem. 

    I know from experience you can have quite a nice one which regularly weighs in - sometimes wins - and you're still considerably in the red when it retires.  

  7. 11 hours ago, Louise said:

    Good chat - I'm surprised at 900 in private hands....I have one mare and am trying to buy land so I can lose the agistment fees and care for her at home. Not sure how most small breeders make it at least where she is currently I don't get charged for mane pulling...

    Hi Louise. Yes a good thread started by Breeder. I would not be able to justify breeding anything if I paid a stud agistment year round.  

    Charged for mane pulling? OMG! Cld tht not come under the general agistment fee for caring for the horse in a stockmanlike fashion? I worked at a stud where I watched staff  do tht sort of thing while they waited in line with mares at the crush - took no "extra" time and very little effort. In many cases mares enjoyed a little bit of grooming and laxed out prior to their scan. Also grooming is a great way to check over a horse- discover issues or injuries which might go unnoticed from a "paddock look"  

    Now we'e not talking the flash traditional pulling of the mane to show or yearling sales standard mind - but for broodmares I find you can do a perfectly presentable job with an old shearing comb and it is not irritating for those horses who find proper mane pulling painful ...

    Personally I'd not be happy to be charged to pull a broodmare's mane ..

  8. Perhaps if I could balance that tale a little.  Another mare was at a different stud and the service in terms of communication was great - starting with a phone call from the broodmare manager to say she had arrived and had walked off the truck in great nick and he was just about to take her to her paddock.  As a hands-on owner who is actually pretty fond of her horses I appreciated that and it got us off to a great start! 

    Mare (a maiden) was not quickly in foal and I'll never know whether she was down the queue for the sire or really was "springy" for all those weeks - however plenty of mares are like this early in the season and I am inclined to take them at their word.  The stud kept in touch with how she was going (unlike those studs when you hear nothing and the only way you know what's happening with your broodmare is by deciphering the vet bills!).

    Mare was returned in foal and in fine condition.  I have no doubt the stud made a tidy profit from agisting  her for several months but there were no unnecessary items/treatments on the accounts and so I have no complaints there.

    I liked the way that comms were not just with an office manager who had never laid eyes on my mare (some comms were with her and she was perfectly nice and efficient) - but I'd get calls from time to time from the broodmare manager who was actually dealing with my mare.  I realise for owners who only see their TBs on raceday this might not be a big deal.  But I really appreciated it.     

  9. La Zip.  I enjoyed your post - it's very interesting to hear of the experiences of others.  I would love to know the respective studs you dealt with if you were so inclined to PM me.  I patronised 2 studs I've never dealt with before this year and that was interesting too.

    At one establishment,  the mare did not do at all well.  When this became clear, I tried to make suggestions from afar in the bid to help the mare back to better condition - was frustrating as the mare has always done well at pasture. I factor in it was a b###h of a wet winter - but when we got to talking about feeding options and the stud admitted their hay was "crap" - I started feeling a bit p'd off.

    My mares no matter their breeding or quality are well fed and well looked after with me.  As for hay they've never been fed anything but top horse-quality hay.  It was so frustrating to have spent so much money sending her there ($500 odd a one-way trip) and then the agistment and auxiliary fees - to hear she was falling away and they didn't even have decent hay to offer her.      

  10. 6 minutes ago, crustyngrizzly said:

    To me this is a clear sign that over commercialization has not been kind to NZ Racing in general.They don't always work towards whats best for the industry but rather ,whats good for them.

    IMO small breeders get hammered.  A few dollars off a service fee here and there but otherwise no discounts (and at times, inferior service) from the various providers they need to patronise in order to keep and breed horses.  The bills are astronomical even for 1 or 2 mares.  Sometimes it feels like we are subsidising the studs.  And most of us don't have a pretty little 50 acre block on the edge of town to sell off to release some funds ... 

    I acknowledge that the big boys are in it for the money and it's a business for them to run the best they can.  But I wonder if their lack of altruism is contributing to the death of breeding the NZ TB - that if they had a different attitude towards "home" breeders, that things would be in slightly better shape?   

     

  11. Very interesting article Breeder - thanks for that.

    900 mares in "private" hands is a very interesting figure.

    If outfits like The Oaks with their equity, expertise and economies of scale are talking about rationalising then it just reinforces that the likes of small breeders like me are on a very tough road indeed.

     

    Q: Bottom line, what are thoroughbreds bred for? 

    A: To race

    Q: Can you make money out of racing thoroughbreds (in NZ)?

    A: Very rarely (dunno the percentage who turn a true profit but expect it's tiny)

     

    So besids the odd very good horse, or lucky sale to overseas interests - evenutally the TB breeder is going to run out of money / come to their senses.  It really does seem a self-limiting exercise. And add to that a relative dearth of young people entering the arena.  I wish I didn't sound so pessimistic but it simply doesn't bode well.  

     

  12. 6 hours ago, TurnipOrange said:

    As long as they have good condition no problem, Bahnhof Zoo was a wind sucker!

    Good point TurnipO - quite a few owners will report they are hard to keep condition on ... I guess they spend a lot of time hanging off a rail, stable door or trough -  whatever they can find.  And some will suggest the ingestion of all that air reduces appetite ... and that they have a nervous disposition in any case which is tied up with the habit  etc

    I remember someone telling me about a horse which they were trying to prevent windsucking so they eliminated all the surfaces he could use and then saw the horse latchonto his own knee and start gulping!  Have never seen it myself but always remember the tale the odl fella told me ...   

  13. Personally find the things extremely annoying as an owner ... have been good ones however ... had one which won a few races - better than average but no champ.

    Jury's out if a mare - whether it "teaches" its foals to do likewise.  I had a mare who winduscked - none of the foals I bred from her have ever done it but a couple did like a nibble on a wooden rail ... (like plenty of others).

    Of course it is considered a vice - needs to be declared if the horse is sold at any stage - and for many it is an absolute no-no and a deal breaker. 

     

  14. Ah - interesting Breeder.  Thanks.  And of course you can't "deal" as many horses as Sir Patrick over a lifetime and come out of it with a "perfect" record - most would say his judgement has been pretty impressive overall.

    Owners of EJ have since had at least one other mare racing in their colors too -but I can't recall her name or breeding .... 

     

  15. 2 minutes ago, Breeder said:

    The best, recent example I know of where the "experts" got it all wrong was with the lady who bought Exquisite Jewel from the Cambridge Stud draft for $400. The key reason for the price was she was by Lucky Unicorn who by that stage was completely out of fashion. EJ went on to win 4 races races including a group race so is now a valuable broodmare given she is also from the Marquise / Diamond Lover/ Octagonal family 

    Love those stories - not so much the experts getting it wrong side of it - but the canny "amateur" who cottons onto a good thing and goes for it.  I followed that EJ for just that reason knowing the history - smart race record as you say Breeder and 100,00 im stakes to her name - I will be interested to see who they've bred her to as  she hasn't raced since Jan 2017 and I'm guessing has retired to the broodmare paddock ... 

  16. If you are going to start comparing strike-rates of the likes of David Ellis then to be fair you need to start correcting for purchase price - compare like with like if you will  ... because  obviously he spends a truckload of money and massive individual sums for many yearlings ..  if you command domination of the bench at the top end of the market it's a bit tough on the rest to start comparing the success of those horses (often royally bred) with the more modest types other buyers are spending much less on ....,

     

        

  17. 5 hours ago, Mattski said:

    Very interesting thanks.

    Two guys that seem to have done well over the years picking yearlings are Bruce Perry and Paul Moroney. Can these guys beat the stats or have they just had more than there share of luck?

    Could be another interesting bit of analysis there .... 

  18. Thanks for posting Mardy.  The heart must've been well n truly in the mouth when you saw that unfold - bad enough for those with no connection whatsoever to see that happen.

    V pleased to hear both ok - Brett will regain any lost confidence and go on to ride more winners - and plenty of failed race-horses go on to have perfectly lovely lives if their humans take the trouble to arrange it .. just ask the big lazy lummox in my front paddock ... ;)

    All the best, J. 

  19. 2 minutes ago, poundforpound said:

    Read the RIU v. Kevin William Morton.

    This issue was central to the unsuccessful prosecution of Morton.

    At the time certain RIU wouldn’t officiate at Awapuni under certain conditions and Morton went public about it, he was charged after NZTR took offence to him telling the truth, he proved NZTR and the Manawatu club had lied, and they commenced the ( failed ) rebuild soon after.

    Thanks for the response P4P.

    My observation of the world - of racing and beyond:  one word, from which so much flows:

    INTEGRITY.

  20. From NZTR:

    The meeting today could not proceed after the track received  more than 40 ml of rain  in the past 48 hours. The track had been inspected this morning by a Turf specialist and with good drying conditions today and tomorrow we are comfortable with racing on the track tomorrow - Sunday 7 January 

    "Comfortable".  Interesting the club (or it's PR ppl?) are using this word.  Was an old favourite of John Key's - usually when commenting on something the masses were (rightly) freaking out about!  Good old John calmed the rising hysteria by assuring us all he was "comfortable".  Always amused me ...

    My understanding is that the horses galloped this morning were far from "comfortable" around the bend.  

    Anyway - perhaps it will be a case of "what a difference a day makes" ..... here's hoping. 

  21. 48 minutes ago, poundforpound said:

    Mmmm....I remember the head of NZTR saying in an RIU hearing ( before the JCA ) that Awapuni DIDN’T currently, and never have had a problem with their track......

    I wonder if Awapuni, Otaki and Trentham would even exist if horsemen ran Racing ?  ( Before you attack me Liz there’s a good half dozen up this way that shouldn’t be raced on either.)

    Meantime the one track in the region that all experienced horsemen favour, the weather proof and incredibly safe Foxton, lies idle. It’s bizarre.

     

    Just for interest P4P - was that comment made before or after the bend was "re-done" a few years back?