Remember Gimcrack its not the cover that makes the mare,your mare if she has a good enough page then you should get a healthy return providing she gets nice sorts.Seemingly far to many on here send their mares to stallions thinking they will get more when then sell if they just pay that bit more than they need to,when in fact all they will achieve is even more of a loss as most likely the mares end up being in the lower section of those sires books. But then it takes all sorts as they say,you see it happening year in year out they never seem to understand the meaning of commercialism.10k and under sires will inevitably get mares that may not really be that good and their sale results prove this but as I said above if you do have a half decent mare you should get a good result using the 10k and under stallion.We have had very good returns using this sort of sire but we are lucky enough to have a pretty good bunch of mares witch does help of course.

They've purchased Luckin At Lucky aswell there on a mad spending spree

I was just wondering could we see Lookin At Lucky standing in Irelnad next year. Coolmore have a serious lack of Mr Prospector and LAL could provide this to the majority of there Irish mares i'm sure there not going to send that many mares from Ireland over to him.They have used Smart Strike on a few good mares so i'm sure theyll do the same with LAL. With this purchase Coolmore are heading in the right way as to have a stallion that can be used on an awful lot of mares in Ireland and the UK, Danzig is far enough back in him , what are the chances of them doing so.

With Ripvan being the only stallion retiring this year of his type and 'bracket' Coolmore have once again got lucky like they did last year with Mastercraftsman.
If that's where you want your mare to be, then that's where you've got to go.

I'm afraid it's not coming easy this year Ripvan (like it ever does!) as I am struggling to make ends meet and wondering whether to gamble on the value of unborn foals is not something that comes easy!

I can continue ok if I keep it cheap and cheerful which doesn't always appeal. However I am also mindful of an agent friend this year who said this year that I must upgrade. Whilst I know that you have been able to do so this year, and I envy you, I am also VERY aware that the bottom of the market is readily available to us all whatever level we play.

So I am listening to Prima Donna more than the 'know all/no thought' agent as with my mare numbers I think over stretching right now would be madness, so I shall have to find some cheap value and decide how much to stick my neck out on the best mare only.

PP,Dandy Man is a super looking sire if you liked Baltic King you will like Dandy Man more,a good sire who I rate I'd take a chance if I were you,a similar profile to Acclamation.

I agree with you Kodiac to me looks a touch top heavy look at his 'real'median you will see what I mean,good luck mind Dandy Man a great choice.

Thanks Ripvan. I thought that there wasn't much movement at Cheveley as I gather that Kyllachy is nearly full and Medicean doesn't move. I am sure that there may be flexibility with Virtual - and for a very good reason I think - but he's not for me.

I would consider a foal share but the Darley smart types are full so I haven't bothered to approach them on that front. The Coolmore smart types are perhaps too smart for me so I haven't given it much thought but I might have to pluck up courage!

I'm trying to stop making 'these mistakes' too! So any suggestions. . .

Rip Van,have you seen Zamindar?Doubt he could ever be referred to as small.Over in the UK stallions at a price who are worth taking a chance with are few and far between.One who is very well priced when you consider how well he's done is Monsieur Bond,he does have small crops for him over the next 2 years but I know he has over 100 booked so far they are taking 120 to him I can't see much wrong with him he's not really proven but he is showing he is very capable of getting good sorts that also sell well.And just to add to that how many sires in his fee range get the backing of his owner?It all helps when you walk into the sale ring,we all need some of that from time to time.

Well I'm glad you lads are having problems with my matings!! Nice to know I'm not alone

I think Ripvan was referring to Zamindar being a little bit pricey Prima, not a little bit little! Well I hope so anyway as outside Lucarno they don't get any bigger do they.

I've given Monsieur Bond a bit of thought - and believe me that's a sentence I thought would ever pass my lips! I can see many positives, but I'm still not sure, not least 8% winners/runners and an A.E.I of 0.25 according to the Racing Post!

Anyone seen Vale Of York yet? I don't think he was that good was he, and a staying son of Invincible Spirit wouldn't be my idea of a possible starting point. However if they look the part the Breeders Cup cachet would propel them higher than they should perhaps go in the ring maybe.

Pot' M Monsieur Bond has done well considering the opportunities offered to him. Other breeders have cottoned on to this and the upshot is that he had more than 90 mares booked before Xmas.( and yes, one of them is ours [;)]) Usually I am sure the phone would be quiet until at least the end of Jan!  His owner is looking to be very supportive of the stock in the ring and there are some very good deals to be had for the right mares.

Another sire that we are taking the chance of a big 'mistake' on is Misu Bond. We were so impressed by the foal we had by him last year, that we are going back. All of the stock I have seen by him are out of the same mould and look just like their sire. I know you are not keen on such cheap horses Pot M but gambles at this level can be taken. Esp when you take into account that the owner has again supported the horse with the mares that got Monsieur off the ground and with stakes horses to boot. The owner has several in training and will support in the ring. As we all know, a good looker is half the battle and this stallion gets good lookers!

Zamindar is a decent sire and I think 12k is fair enough really, but he did need the drop. Sorry Rip Van I mis-read your post!

Vale Of York will hold appeal because of his sire, but he is in direct competition wit Tally Ho's Zebedee. Zebedee looks like a good type to get early fast 2yos and at that stud he will get help to get them. Can the same be said for V of Y? IMO Zebedee is a prime choice for using 2nd season. He will be way over-subscribed this year and the value of your nom will suffer as a result. 2nd time up his first mares will be off to the next new horse and his runners should hopefully be flying by the time you come to sell.

From what I can see you English spend too much time fiddling about with your AEI's and your other stats. Over here, we look at the stallion, look at it's sire, see if they are hot/early and then use them!

Well Pot M have you ever seen Misu Bond?He is pure Danehill and that stallions knees never stopped him becoming a great stallion.The mare that was sent to M Bond did not have the best knees but her foal/yearling along with all his others that I've seen are superb,so I'm not at all nervous of him conformationally.His trainer has told me he rated him above the other Bond horse that's mentioned above.


While we are on the subject of Racial stereotypes! Does the English 'fiddling' necessarily bring lesser results than the Irish gung ho?

Yes as imo too much time researching this sort of tripe ends up with breeders convincing themselves to use
stallions like Notnowcato,Tiger Hill and now Mawatheeq,and Shirocco,can you think of any commercial IRISH breeders who would use such sires?

Vale of York Pot M I've not seen but as you can guess holds no appeal to us!

Being commercial breeders we all have to remain fluid with our plans and go with what the markets want,a couple of those names have surprised most,doubt the last four will mind you............you might agree,if you think I'm being low-down,dirty, double-crossing then hard luck!!!

should have read .."Amadeus Wolf by Mozart"...less haste.

**semen**(s p u n k)