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

bazach

Members
  • Posts

    167
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by bazach

  1. thanks for that Ohoka. I sometimes use it for indigestion, but didn't realize it gave me more stamina. I must tell my wife!
  2. Including the stallion Rios. I guess a number of people have thought about the cost of entry, preparation and transport to the May sale and have decided on the cheaper option. Interesting that Waikato and Windsor Park are selling a number of in foal mares (some with foals at foot) for no reserve, - it's good to see they are meeting the market. It would be interesting to hear some feedback from those who have bought horses through the Gavelhouse auction. How did the process work for you etc?
  3. There is talk of banning glyphosate (Roundup) as it could be cancer causing. The EU was going to ban it but backed down late last year, as the cancer causing properties are disputed.
  4. Agree Ohoka, there are overpaid fat cats in all businesses these days. Interestingly a lot are public servants, ie paid for by the tax payer or rate payer. Although private companies can pay what they like (but maybe risk rebellion by shareholders), in my view no public servant should be paid more than the Prime Minister of the day.
  5. The farmers have voted over the decades to become a mega co-op, so can't complain that they have lost personal contact and don't have much 'real' say in the company. Interesting that Tatua stayed small, ie just over 100 suppliers and consistently pays more to their suppliers than Fonterra.
  6. What was the reason given skoozi?
  7. It was Rick Williams from the Oaks stud who recently said that once you took out all the mares owned by the studs there were less than 1,000 left to be served by over 100 stallions. So all is not rosy on the NZ breeding front. Interesting to see in the current Gavelhouse auction both Waikato and Windsor Park offering mares in foal with foals at foot with no reserves. I agree with BruceL that moderately bred mares who are often Unraced or unplaced are going to be loss making for those breeding from them. It’s never been any different of course, but what has exacerbated the issue greatly is the cost benefit analysis, ie costs have risen far more sharply than returns.
  8. ...........So bureaucrats can be paid their generous salaries! it's the same fronting up to councils to get minor work done requiring a consent. eg, "Oh, that will be $2,000 if you want to build your garage closer to the boundary". It's a black hole!
  9. He has served a good number of mares the last two years, so hopefully will produce some top liners for Luigi and the team.
  10. One of the best looking stallions with a great female line. They will be gutted. It will be like losing a member of your family.
  11. This is the conundrum which owners face Optical, especially here in NZ with the costs to train v stakes ratio very poor. Generally the skeleton of a horse stops growing when they are six. Although thoroughbreds bred to be 'early' may muscle up to race well at two, how many horses who raced a number of times as two year olds, are still racing successfully at five or six? - Not many, although there are always exceptions of course (March Legend comes to mind from years gone by). I do lament the lack of time and patience given to many thoroughbreds to allow them to mature, but at the same time, it's hard to criticize those who are forking out big dollars in training fees and want to see the outcome (the chance of a return) sooner rather than later.
  12. Just wonder whether a Jakkalberry mating with your mare would result in a too dour offspring and a sire with more precocity should be used. No reflection on Jakkalberry who is a lovely type.
  13. Echoes of Heaven, Ekraar. I see it doesn't look like Tony Mudgway is the Manager there anymore.
  14. Even Winny can't ignore the Worksafe Legislation. Health and Safety is important, but has gone overboard in my opinion, to the point where 'risk' is deemed a bad thing by the legislators. I guess it has been good for some businesses - have you seen the millions of road cones out these days!
  15. Thanks Tauhei, these are very interesting, but not surprizing results. I remember on Race Café some years ago, someone produced a similar table of race earning results for all the yearlings Te Akau had bought over the years, and it was sobering reading!
  16. What has changed that has caused many more meetings to be cancelled than in previous decades, is (in my view), 'Worksafe' legislation, ie The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. In effect, even volunteer 'officers' of a racing club are potentially liable to be prosecuted following a death or serious injury. In previous decades (before Health and Safety legislation became such a big issue) was it not mainly jockeys who decided whether they would continue to ride or not? Although H&S is very important, it's not difficult to see numerous examples of H&S going overboard and the 'nanny' state prevailing. It's not therefore surprizing to see race day officials having little option but to call off meetings at the first sign of a horse slipping. We can't change the legislation, so the big question is, how to make the tracks we are going to retain for the future, safer?
  17. It’s good that many country clubs want to keep going and are supported by the local community. However the debacle over cancelled race days - caused by health and safety concerns over unsatisfactory surfaces, and the previous valid points raised by ‘race’ concerning the reason for the decline in other rural communities facilities, means we have to face up to the fact we have far too many race courses in these changed times. To minimise cancellations we need to rationalise the number of race day tracks where the travelling time between current tracks is ( because of better roads and better cars) no more than an hour. As has been previously proposed on this forum, establishing several new state of the art track venues in strategic locations (eg Waikato) which replace current tracks within 60 minutes drive of the new facility would have little negative effect on ‘locals’ and be of great benefit in encouraging the current and next generation of people to attend and become interested. To me it looks like those who can’t see this is necessary will have to accept that it will be forced upon them, not by the racing hierarchy, but by the Work Safe NZ legislation which is highlighting how deficient many of our tracks are. Climate change is going to exacerbate the issue.
  18. Just received the latest North and South magazine, and there is a very good article on Cambridge Stud, its history, and its recent sale.
  19. Going back this far in time you aren't that many generations removed from the origin of the thoroughbred (which was the early 1700s), therefore there is less gene pool and more chance you will have multiple duplications of the same horse going back 5 or 6 generations. I am interested to know what your association with this horse is?
  20. when I saw the race my immediate first thought was that Zabeel was inbred close up. Of course looking at the pedigree this isn't the case. It's also interesting that there are no other stallion double ups in the first four generations.
  21. A general comment - the thing that's hard to guage with all the sires (from the breeder's seat) is temperament - once there are a lot of progeny around there is more to go on as far as what the trainers, breakers and owners say. Parades can give at least a glimpse of the stallion's nature. Most of of us only have 1 or 2 of a given sire so it's not fair to judge on that sample size. And of course not many stud masters are going to tell you their horse is a fiery type! Sir Tristram was a fiery type Jess, but didn't turn out too bad! If you are a small breeder though, temperament is important. And of course you have a 50% chance of offspring inheriting their dam's temperament. Having a mare with a bad temperament (kicked, bit, stubborn) has previously dented my confidence and enthusiasm, so always good to have a quiet mare!.
  22. Just wondering if cafers of old knew of this weighty tomb (hard cover 800 pages). I found one in a second hand bookshop. It contains over 550 pages in the thoroughbred section and has full details of every race held in the 1968/69 season, together with a table of the breeding, owner and trainer of every placed horse. The preface to the book says "we present the very first edition.....". I wonder if it was also the only edition as I was involved in thoroughbreds from the early 1970s but never knew this publication existed. It's certainly a great store of information about stakes, race times, and people and horses involved at that time.
  23. It's great to see that the small breeder still has a place to play in the NZ breeding industry. The first three home were sired respectively by: Shinko King (deceased), service fee while at stud 5k (from memory). Remind, current service fee 2k. ElHermano, current service fee 4k.
  24. Hi Fitzy, Thanks for your reply. It doesn't really matter what studs pay for their stallions, as with anything, the consumer will in the end decide whether it is worth the money. There is a reason (well probably a number of reasons) why the number of thoroughbred mares served has gone down from over 8,500 in the mid 1990s to (as I understand it) somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 currently. Most people are not in the 'game' to make a dollar, but because they love horses and are passionate about them. But small time breeders have deserted like rats from a sinking ship. Stud fees are not the only reason, but overall costs, including silly amounts being charged by studs for daily agistment, certainly helped kill my enthusiasm. PS. I liked your response Jess.
  25. Hi Jess, good comment. There is a reason why the big Waikato Studs each own about 1,000 acres of prime Waikato Land. Small breeders are very much at the bottom of the food chain, as are race horse owners. I agree that most stud fees are far too much, especially for unproven sires. I guess you have to be passionate or mad to be involved! I was passionate, but have since realized I was mad to be involved in breeding thoroughbreds!.