Foals

If you are looking to buy foals to race I reccomend the following

Go to Doncaster on Friday (7th Dec)
Look at all the foals in the sale.
Buy the 2 best looking foals there, they will be a bargain as no one will be there after 3 weeks at Newmarket
Send them to Battlefield stud, near Malton, for rearing, they do a good job at a reasonable cost
(Probably around £20/day)

buying foals is very tricky, I would strongly advise using an agent. and in current markets you can get some very decent yearlings for under 20k so unless you are a fairly big player the economics of buying foals is questionable. but it is a lot of fun watching your woolly little 8 month old foal grow up into a racehorse. GL.

Yorkshire and the north I'd say averages at £500 per month plus VAT (all of which you can get back), allow £100 a month for other stuff like farrier, wormer and minor Vet, probably another £500 before into training on registrations.
I wouldn't try to decide yourself what a good foal looks like unless you've seen hundreds - biggest and shiniest doesn't mean much.  Be prepared for the little fkers to hurt themselves / die before they get near to the safety of being in training.

Yer Ma,recovery of VAT uncertain. This isn't a pinhooking business venture, and as a syndicate member the syndicate will be the VAT registered entity with qualifying sponsorship arrangement as prerequisite for the owners scheme, not DR. This is a declared hobby. DR,this is a long and risky wait for a racehorse and a very expensive one paying boarding rates, but if you are set on doing it your syndicate managers may have stud contacts to put you on a safe track. Like others I agree you need a good judge of a foal with you wherever you buy.

Went to the foal sales quite unprepared as I only decided two days before the sales and did not ave any one in place to advise or indeed to take it to a chosen place to be reared.I tried engaging in conversation but felt way out of my depth I don’t think being in a wheelchair helped either.in the sales ring a few took my eye but of course couldn’t bid I was shocked at how many did not attract a bid ,but to be fair othing much caught my eye urged on pedigree.The one foal I did like made around 20 k and was one of the top lots,it was by Pearl Secret if I had been prepared properly I would probably have tried to get him.will try again next year after more investigation.

Sounds like good decision not buying.  I could be wrong but £23k for a Pearl Secret filly sounds about 20k too much so you'd have been done like a kipper if bidding.  A buy back / price set for yearling sale by owners or associates.

DR, Yer Ma is right, and you are set as a lamb to the slaughter the way you are thinking. I know your syndicate has horses with Tim Easterby and he breeds foals at his Easthorpe stud most of which go on to race for his partnerships. I don't know if he'd be willing to do this, but you could approach him to buy one or two of his foals, they could stay with him for raising, and ultimately training. He won't cheat you and you will accomplish what you want in an uncomplicated manner.