oh yes Frankel and See The Stars

Given that producing sprinters appears to be Marlinka's game I am not sure that I would allow too much pedigree affinity or glamour chasing to send me down the classic route.
No, keep it simple Dark Angel would be the way forward.

Covering speculation aside - as I said down the thread, the accounts say breeding stock is (grossly under) valued at about 600k.  BBC mentions at least 30 'club' horses -  the foals / yearlings are valued at their cover, the mares at in foal are valued at the covering (at very minimum), racehorses can be valued at whatever unless you intend to sell.  Two or three 'top' covers and they've blown their rather interesting stock valuation (and that clearly has profit / tax issues, but clearly so does selling a racehorse valued at nil for 6 mill).  Oh what a prob to have!

To clarify for you Yer Ma and BBC, stock for accounting purposes must be valued at the lower of cost and market value. Cost being nomination, rearing, and any direct costs. It is likely to have been an audited and correct valuation on that basis.

The Club purchased a horse in anticipation of Marsh's sale at Book 1 earlier in the year.

She's a yearling filly SEA THE STARS x SHAMWARI LODGE.  The dam is a Listed/G3 winner by Hawk Wing. She cost G100K

Had a quick look at her page-theres a fair amount of black on there-her 3rd dam was the dam of Pipalong who was a pretty decent sprinter.

The dam has already produced a listed winner of £200K in prize money by ACCLAMATION (I like him) from 3 foals.

The full sister foal apparently made G270K recently and was bought by Shadwell.

There have been more pronouncements of further bloodstock purchases in the next 12 months.  We are also in the position to add both ZEST and ROUBLES to the broodmare band as well.

Im assuming this filly has been bought to race and as a breeding prospect to diversify our gene pool somewhat.

Why such vitriol, Royal Academy? Lots of members of all sorts of clubs feel proprietorial about what happens in them and what is wrong in that?. Elite is a force for good in racing, keeping lots of people in work at studs and stables, and giving huge numbers of people a taste of it all for affordable amounts. I know of many part and whole horse owners now whose first experience of racing was through Elite. The rules of the Club are clear - if you don't like them don't join - but have the decency not to vilify those who do and love the experience so much that they want to share it.

I think a lot of us, especially here in Ireland, find the British thing of having a toff racing manager or toff run syndicate distasteful.

A guy like Harry Herbert for example, I'm not going to ask what he does, but rather what value he has.

I think syndicates are just another way for the already wealthy to rinse the green racing fan, albeit, BBC is aware of what is going on; some guys will expect more.

I've had friends be part of syndicates with Supreme, and DeBromhead, they way they were treated was disgraceful; that is being objective, too.

I know I'm conflating a club and a syndicate here, but I'm sure there is some poor dope waiting on 'his share' of that 6 million.

Royal Academy is an excellent poster, he just has no patience for bullsh!t! So is BBC, if he isn't an ALT from Elite!

I'd have massive respect for trainers and breeders, guys that put their neck on the line. Syndicate managers, the likes of Harry Herbert, bloodstock guys like Tom Malone, the lads ripping off Paul Nicholls & Donald McCain's owners, they'd make me sick and are analogous to parasites.

Given all the opportunity someone like Herbert has had, now I don't know whether the guy is capable or not, but given all the opportunity he has had in his life; the fact that he chooses to spend his time doing a job that is so worthless is actually him thumbing his nose at the less fortunate in society, but then maybe it is all he is capable of.

Apologies for questioning whether you are legitimate BBC. I wish I had your enthusiasm, I'm very cynical; I'm glad you get such enjoyment from the club, it is good value in your case.

Neil D if we are having a bit of a racist generalisation, I would perhaps venture an opinion that the majority of Agents so well versed in the art of ripping off their clients come from your side of the sea!
The thinking of Harry Herbert to front organisations such as Highclere and Al Shaqab is one of an air of respectability and trustworthyness.
You obviously don't buy that but I do suspect that Highclere is run with more integrity than most.
And boy do the members pay for that!
But I think they know what they are getting as it is all perfectly transparently expensive!

potm, I think you are now introducing a new element to the argument, however valid your assertion might be.

In my view BBC demonstrates a shocking level of wide-eyed innocence with pronouncements that he'd love to breed a Classic winner despite the fact that his beloved club has just sold the best opportunity they may ever have of visiting the world's best stallions having decided, instead, to rely on National Lottery aspirations and average sires or unproven Classic stallions.It doesn't ring true to me that one could be so sanguine about this given his stated love of the club and the game. Zero sum game springs to mind.

I think its this innocence from the consumer (racing club member) that neill d is remarking upon rather than any racist dog whistle.

I find BBC's innocence baffling and I don't know if it reflects naievity or something more malign. He expertly manages to keep a number of threads running with a level of simple-mindedness that includes telling us that a modest Sea The Stars purchase will help assuage the concerns over the trousering of £6m, that the sale is liable to tax (how on earth does he know this? and the possible answers are all implausible) and the old adage of all attention being good attention springs to mind. Oh! and guess what? Prescott advised them to sell the mare...well, I never!

It's all good fun though.

P.S. We may come back to the probity of agents soon enough. For now I'll just remind you that all the sales companies in Ireland have expressed the view that such matters only seem to be reflective of skulduggery in the UK ring and there's nothing to see here in Ireland. In a country that demands 4 days notice before a stud farm can be visited for random drug testing I think we can all sleep peacefully.

P.P.S. They was a certain sad irony to the Racing Post carrying the 2018 mating plans of whistleblower Philippa Cooper this week along with the brilliant Chris McGrath's piece on the fall from grace of James Delahooke - a former star that us great unwashed might call a "toff".

RA suggesting that BBC is or is potentially 'innocent' 'Naive' 'Malign' 'simple minded' 'how on earth does he know' 'implausible' 'shocking level of wide eyed innocence'.

That's not all good fun, it's just rude.

It's 99 quid a year and he loves it. What is your problem????

And for heavens sake, what on earth constitutes a toff? Is it based on a type of Tweed, number of chins or a Labrador?

It's subjective at best.

I think there are few sports if any to match racing, especially top flat racing in England in the summer.

Its just the lying that certain syndicate managers in Ireland engage in that I find hard to stomach.

I remember Luca Cumani saying that ownership is a leisure pursuit and that one should expect it to cost money and I agree.

Its just the freezing out of syndicate members (and eventual kicking out for questioning this) that I can't stomach.

I think ownership is best left to a single person or group of friends that can afford it basically is what I mean.

Racing and UK Racing! has some properly brilliant people working within the industry.

Hi Neil, I think the point is if syndicates were run well then many more could afford real ownership. There is far too little being done by the powers that be to promote and govern syndicates. There should be no problem in this day and age having a fixed financial commitment and genuine share of rewards (if there are any). I think there should be a system where syndicates are rated (i.e 1 star, 2 star etc) that represents the type and security of syndicate being offered. For example a 5 star syndicate is a single payment (or agreed payment through the season) for a horse that will run and be sold at the end of the season come what may. At the end of the year syndicates can be rated on how well (financially or otherwise) they did. What is so hard about that? the whole industry is geared around how much money is made (owners, horses, stallions, pinhookers...the list is endless) so why not syndicates. I'll tell you why (an opinion) most people running them are running them for themselves.