The Arrowfield 2005 stud brochure is, quite simply, superb. It incorporates a unique interplay of contemporary and traditional images, black and white as well as colour photographs, and the design company who had the brief - Boheem Design - has certainly laid out the text in an eye catching manner (probably not as cleanly as I would prefer - but there are a lot of stallions and only so many pages so I understand the dilemma). A few photographs blend into the Darley 'aesthetic' category but that can hardly be a criticism as I love that approach to capturing the essence of these magnificent animals.

There is one problem however. The Forward states (inter alia):

“You may have noted that given the fierce competition from the foreign-owned farms in 2004, we have had to abandon our limited stallion books policy on some stallions. While we regarded our previous limit of 120 mares per stallion to be in the best interests of our clients and of the industry, this view is not shared by our competitors. This has forced us to reassess this policy at this time. Having said that, we continue to believe that a more disciplined approach to stallion book sizes would be a desirable objective for our industry”.

Since when did the interests of the competition override the best interests of clients and the Industry? Redoute's Choice also served a record number of mares in Australia last year. To say that this was a case of "a hand being forced" strikes me as a dubious claim at best.

You make history by being able to differentiate yourself not by being a sheep. As Chairman of Aushorse, owning one of Australia's leading studs, standing the country's most sought after (and expensive) stallion, and just in the power he wields generally, Messara is the perfect person to stand up and say “we won't do it”.

Alas we live in commercial times dictated by growth targets - rather than ones where our mothers used to sternly say "If your friend jumped off that bridge would YOU do it?" [and we would hastily say "NO!"].

The magic word is “profit”.

I was somewhat amused to read the comment: “while the shuttle concept has given us the incomparable Danehill, not many other shuttlers have emerged that have been superior to the local contingent. I believe that the very future of the shuttle rests on the success of Fusaichi Pegasus et al and should they fail to reach the top of the leader boards in this country, Australian breeders will revert in droves back to the proven local formula.”

It's a non too subtle dig at the competition (nothing like some performance anxiety for the Fu Peg followers!) but a potentially shifty surface given relative performances of Fuji Kiseki and End Sweep (and I own a rising 3yo End Sweep filly so am well acquainted with shuttle sires not living up to expectations) and now Hussonet, Falbrav, Orientate and French Deputy being on the roster.

Ultimately however, I do not see the connection between what Darley and Coolmore (and co.) may be doing on the one hand and what Arrowfield wants to do on the other. So what if the other studs are serving big books? If a stud master genuinely believes that limited books are better for the stallions and the industry, what is stopping him from adhering to that belief? His clients would (no doubt) prefer smaller books. The prices of his stallions' stock should rise in accordance with ordinary economic principles of supply and demand.

Despite that, the rest of the brochure is well worth the read...