Royal Ascot

[scotlass]

I do love that Wesley Ward brings horses over every year and fully embraces the Royal Ascot traditions - granted he sees it as a novelty but he does enjoy it. He has had 2 2nds today, one pipped on the post which is the worst place to be!

Was it only me who wanted Wesley Ward's buckskin that ponied Kimari down to the start?

 

[bonny]

Was it only me who wanted Wesley Ward's buckskin that ponied Kimari down to the start?

I’m sure a lot of us felt the same !

 

[splashgirl45]

Was it only me who wanted Wesley Ward's buckskin that ponied Kimari down to the start?

sorry, too late, i had said i liked him earlier so i'm first in the queue

 

[scotlass]

sorry, too late, i had said i liked him earlier so i'm first in the queue

Can we share? I'm happy to have custody every 2nd weekend

 

[tristar]

i thought the pony was lovely, nice trot

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

The American horses are running well this week which is always a good thing, it encourages them to come back. I haven't noticed any European runners though but I haven't particularly been looking.

Frankie - as much as I am not a huge fan of his, he is giving it all he's got regardless of the fact that he has no crowd to play up to.

A lot of these horses are a lot more chilled for not having the atmosphere as well so some are running better for it.

I've just heard they are giving £300 Best Turned Out ... I'm in the wrong side of racing! At the last meeting I went to it was Newcastles St Paddys day meeting on a Saturday and got a whole £20!

Watching Pinatubo canter down to the start - my god he can't move! Absolutely no stride to him what so ever! Good job the legs move fast enough to account for it!

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

OH has just raised an interesting point they're saying how one of the horses cost 350,000 while Sceptical was not more than 2k. He said how could they expect to make their money back as the race prize money is unlikely to reach that?

Also is it me or does Aiden O'Brien tend to "sacrifice" horses? Using them for tactics without trying to set them up to try and win the race only using them to set it up for the favourite? Then what happens to them after as presumably no chance for stud as no race record. Just wondering as they had a nice looking horse in the last one and just used him tactically. Godolphin have their rehoming program but what happens to all these Ballydoyle horses?

Must say the coverage has been really professional by ITV and I hope they keep showing horses and not drunk idiots/ fashion when the spectators return, especially as their pundits are so knowledgeable

 

[bonny]

OH has just raised an interesting point they're saying how one of the horses cost 350,000 while Sceptical was not more than 2k. He said how could they expect to make their money back as the race prize money is unlikely to reach that?

Also is it me or does Aiden O'Brien tend to "sacrifice" horses? Using them for tactics without trying to set them up to try and win the race only using them to set it up for the favourite? Then what happens to them after as presumably no chance for stud as no race record. Just wondering as they had a nice looking horse in the last one and just used him tactically. Godolphin have their rehoming program but what happens to all these Ballydoyle horses?

Must say the coverage has been really professional by ITV and I hope they keep showing horses and not drunk idiots/ fashion when the spectators return, especially as their pundits are so knowledgeable

The horses that cost a fortune as yearlings are the ones that might, and it’s a big might, be worth millions if they go to stud. Not many of them really make it but the ones that do can make an absolute fortune.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

The horses that cost a fortune as yearlings are the ones that might, and it’s a big might, be worth millions if they go to stud. Not many of them really make it but the ones that do can make an absolute fortune.

Ah ok thanks did wonder if it was linked to stud fee etc.
So if I was ever a billionaire and bought an extremely expensive horse and it won some good races and went to stud, would I tend to sell the horse to the stud or would I be able to stand the horse at say Coolmore and get the stud fees paid to me direct or they have a share and I retain a share?

Obviously all not going to happen as I'm not a billionaire but just wondering how the "smaller" owners who tend to end up with a good one do it? Obviously the big owners like Godolphin have their own studs but what about the smaller ones who end up with a good horse?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Some sell the breeding rights, others strike deals with studs so split the profits, others sell the horse entirely. Most owners don't have the facilities to stand a stallion at stud hence deals are struck.

As to Ballydoyle cast offs - a contingent go to the sales every year. Some females may be kept to use as foster mares or teaser mares if they need to top up their stock. Some of the males go to countries such as Africa, India, Singapore etc to stand at stud, as do some of the females of good lines but not worth keeping in their system. Best not ask about the rest.

Price tags generally only mean a horse is good on paper. Especially when buying a foal or yearling. Crossing 2 very good horses only increases your chance of getting a good one, it doesn't guarantee it. Look at Ouija Board - her first foal was by Kingmambo, she went out to America to him. The foal was called Our Voodoo Prince, didn't run til a gelded 3yo and it was naff, ended up racing in South Africa. Yes she has since produced a Derby winner in Australia but it just shows they don't always breed as good as they are, some breed better, some breed nothing of note.

If you have a good one at stud then you will reap far more rewards than they could ever win racing. Galileo stands at private, invite only stud for (reportedly) £250k. He can cover 120-150 mares a year. That's where the money is.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

Some sell the breeding rights, others strike deals with studs so split the profits, others sell the horse entirely. Most owners don't have the facilities to stand a stallion at stud hence deals are struck.

As to Ballydoyle cast offs - a contingent go to the sales every year. Some females may be kept to use as foster mares or teaser mares if they need to top up their stock. Some of the males go to countries such as Africa, India, Singapore etc to stand at stud, as do some of the females of good lines but not worth keeping in their system. Best not ask about the rest.

Price tags generally only mean a horse is good on paper. Especially when buying a foal or yearling. Crossing 2 very good horses only increases your chance of getting a good one, it doesn't guarantee it. Look at Ouija Board - her first foal was by Kingmambo, she went out to America to him. The foal was called Our Voodoo Prince, didn't run til a gelded 3yo and it was naff, ended up racing in South Africa. Yes she has since produced a Derby winner in Australia but it just shows they don't always breed as good as they are, some breed better, some breed nothing of note.

If you have a good one at stud then you will reap far more rewards than they could ever win racing. Galileo stands at private, invite only stud for (reportedly) £250k. He can cover 120-150 mares a year. That's where the money is.

Thank you that's a really interesting reply, imagine having one like Galileo, I've always seen him listed on their website as "private" must be nice to be so choosy about who is privileged enough to be able to be selected to use him
But like you say it needs them to be good as a stallion and breed good stock and not be infertile etc. I'm surprised they dont test them prior to purchase for fertility imagine spending all that money getting them to stud and they be infertile
Feel sorry for the Ballydoyle cast offs know they arent the only ones but at least Godolphin have their rehoming program and the smaller owned horses have a bit more chance of being secured by private homes. Love seeing all the posts on racehorses where are they now on Facebook. Maybe more big owners should be made to have "aftercare " retraining programs like Darley rehoming etc to set a better image? Obviously there will be ones with temperaments that arent suitable but where possible they perhaps should try and secure them a 2nd career.

As an aside Kevin Stott is very easy on the eye

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

There have been a few good colts go to stud to prove infertile - George Washington was a famous one for Ballydoyle. He only ever had 1 foal, he had a full book of mares his first season and as soon as they realised he was firing blanks they pulled his closest relative out of training to cover the mares instead, most owners agreed, others swopped to another stallion of equal value. So that's why Holy Roman Emporer's racing career was cut short and instantly.

There have been a few other high profile horses who have been firing blanks and went back into training. One ran the other day for Godolphin - Barney Roy.

 

[splashgirl45]

thanks EKW , its so good to have someone on here who is in the racing industry, please keep posting,its very interesting for those of us who dont know much about racing...

 

[Brummyrat]

I'm late to this but have to agree with you all, I really enjoyed Royal Ascot last week, more than usual (I'm NH all day long). It was lovely to just concentrate on the horses and racing and not having to watch Gok et al fawn over people just out for a p*ss up. Cried at Stradivarius, what a beast of a horse, I felt so emotional hearing the few people there cheering as he passed the line. Loved Frankie playing to the empty stands, good on him, he's on fire and at 49 you have to applaud him.

Had no idea about Ollie and Francesca though, Im a bit sad about that.