Peter Moran’s Noble Park Stud (Beaudesert, Queensland) has announced the dispersal of its thoroughbred holdings at June's Magic Millions 2005 National Yearling, Weanling and Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast.

Noble Park has bred a number of good horses over the years and is well known as the stud that former top galloper and exciting freshman sire Mossman, and consistent sire Success Express called home. In 2004 Vinery purchased a significant shareholding in both stallions and relocated them to the Hunter Valley.

Magic Millions report that the 29 offerings from Noble Park Stud include the following mares:

* Boulevard - Group Two placed winning mare. Served by Lonhro.
* Cinerama - dual winning dam of multiple Group Two winner Staging, stakes winner Dashing Image and stakes placed Special Effects. Served by Mossman.
* Divine Dash - dual winning dam of Group Two winner and young sire Zariz and Group winner Electrifying - Flying-Flying. Served by Flying Spur.
* Light Snack - unraced half sister to Lady Jakeo who is the dam of seven time winner and Group placed Snack Pak as well as stakes placed Overshadow. Served by Brahms.
* Little Rory - dual winning daughter of outstanding broodmare sire Rory's Jester. Dam of promising Gerald Ryan youngster Mosso.
* Mrs Dee - lightly raced half sister to Group winner Zariz and Electrifying - Flying-Flying. Served by Mossman.
* Orsay - Group Two VRC AV Kewney Stakes winner and Group One Ansett Australia Stakes placegetter.
* Patterns - Group Three VATC Thoroughbred Club Stakes and listed AJC Brian Crowley Stakes winner.
* Silver Robe - multiple winning dam of four winners from four runners including Group winner Patterns and recent stakes placegetter Annbari. Served by Mossman.
* Skytripper - Group performed winner. Served by Mossman.
* Snapshots - stakes winning daughter of Group One victor Hold that Smile. Dam of two city winners. Served by Red Ransom.
* Staging - multiple Group Two winning and Group One placed Success Express mare. Served by Red Ransom.

The nine weanlings catalogued are by sires including Mossman, Show a Heart, Anabaa and Clang. Amongst them is a full brother to Mosso as well as youngsters from black type mares Orsay and Skytripper.

Given we are in the midst of the sales season I thought it timely to reflect on some of the methods used by non-trainers/syndicators/bloodstock agents to market their skills in selecting future racehorses (and thereby attract clients to their business in the same instance).

You have the more traditional pedigree analysts who research the mysterious science of genes/traits and trends. There are also biomechanics, conformation and gait experts, 'dosage' experts ... and all manner of others. We profile just a few global examples that we came across:

Cecil Seaman & Co are a company of 'thoroughbred analysts'. Based in the US, the company offers biomechanical and genetic dominance tree assessment. Cecil's 'measuring' techniques have produced 89 G1 winners. One would have to say that Cecil and his endless string of tape measures which are a common sight at Keeneland in September would therefore appear to be a successful combination.



Another US company that specializes in biomechanics is Equix Biomechanics. EQUIX claims to have defined the science of biomechanics. Their solutions are said to provide owners, breeders, and stallion syndication managers with the analysis they need to make informed racing and breeding decisions. They have an impressive Success Stories page.

Werk is a US company specializing in pedigree research and analysis, providing information products and services to owners and breeders at all levels of participation in the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries. WTC advises clients as to broodmare matings, stallion bookings, and racing and breeding stock purchases. In slightly more than ten years, WTC has become the most widely recognized and successful pedigree research firm in the world. In 2004 there were 150 maiden winners, 29 Stakes Winners (9 of them graded, including 3 G1 winners), and 43 stakes-placed winners (15 of them graded, including 5 G1-placed winners) who were bred on the recommendations Werk made through their Broodmare Compatibility Analysis and personal consultation. The company's greatest success story is the 1998 Kentucky Derby winner REAL QUIET.

Patrick Brain heads Brain International. The company assists breeders to race and breed more successful horses. The company uses the Brain Pedigree Analysis system which is the product of 30 years of research and uses state-of-the-art computer programs with which to analyse pedigrees. The computer extrapolates a mare's pedigree to twelve generations, identifying the genetic strengths in her pedigree. The company provides a number of services including broodmare analysis (presenting the breeder with a list of the top 30 stallions rated in order of compatibility with the mare. A shortlist of 5 stallions is selected from this list including factors other than "compatibility", and reasons are given for each of the 5 selections in order of preference); they assist in the identification of 'superior' broodmares for sale; and also assist in identifying yearlings with a compatible rating. In Australia the representative for Brain is Louis Mihalyka from Laurel Oak bloodstock.

On the Thoroughbred Village site you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about yearling sale dosages. 'Dosage' is a mathematical estimate of the distance at which a horse is likely to perform at its best (many believe it can also predict a horse's stakes winning potential). According to the site, dosage has been around for almost 100 years, and has been used by many people throughout the world to gain insight into thoroughbred racing prowess. It analyses the strengths in a thoroughbred pedigree, based upon the location of certain outstanding sires in the family. These preeminent sires are known as "Chefs". Links to other Dosage-related sites are included on the Thoroughbred Village site and include:

Dosage News: said to be an excellent introduction to dosage from a regional expert.

Progold Thoroughbreds: Dosage analysis and mating plans.

Take 2's web site: Historical analysis of dosage patterns.

Jack's Chatter: New Zealand perspective.

International sites in the Dosage field include:

Chef-de-Race: The definitive international dosage site.

Thoroughbred Champions: Great tutorial and links.

Away from dosages but still on pedigrees, another Australian company that has had considerable success is Jane Henning's Pedigree Dynamics. According to the website, the Pedigree Dynamics Analysis System combines breeding methods and observations. Desirable linebreeding and inbreeding and the formation of other dynamic patterns of genetic dominance are featured, however, consideration is also given to conformation, ability, constitution and the elimination of undesirable characteristics in a mating. Other issues important to the client such as commerciality, desired average winning distance, stud location and service fee are also considered. A feature of all reports is the easy to read Pedigree Dynamics Grading System that quantifies the potential level of genetic compatibility between the parents in a hypothetical or existing pedigree. The company's system has produced a number of stakes performers. The company is also an authorised agent of Tesio Power, the internationally acclaimed thoroughbred bloodline computer programme.



Another Australian company is V12 Pedigrees that is owned and run by successful greyhound [yes, you read that correctly] owner/breeder Darren Leeson.

Another newcomer is Just Genes Thoroughbred Consultancy that specializes in pedigree research and analysis, providing information products and services to owners and breeders at all levels of participation in the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries. JustGenes reportedly advises clients in relation to broodmare matings, stallion bookings, and racing and breeding stock purchases.

There are literally THOUSANDS of lawyers in the thoroughbred game (we have two on staff for example ... and we're not a 'big' company by anyone's estimates) so don't think they are a rare animal in this field - they're (some would say "alas") anything but.

The lawyers will therefore know what I'm talking about when I mention the area of intellectual property law known as 'passing off'.

The law of passing off is basically concerned with an individual or company misleading the public into thinking that they (or their products or services) are associated with the activity of another company (which causes the first company to suffer damage due to loss of business). A simple example would be a hamburger restaurant 'passing itself off' as another well-known hamburger restaurant. Another example would be someone 'passing themselves off' as a famous model/actor etc. When this happens the original company can potentially sue the second business for passing off.

If you wanted to summarise the law of passing off in one sentence you would say it is one business trading off the reputation [product/name] of another.

So let's add a sprinkle of humour to the theory and ask whether the John O'Shea from 'John O'Shea Racing' in the UK has a claim in passing off against the well known younger trainer of the same name in Australia?



[Photo by Quentin Lang]

... 'Our' John will probably need to lose some hair (gain a few pounds and move countries) and of course, the answer to my question is "No" .. but it made me grin anyway!

Ok, a couple of posts for the marketers who read this site (and there appear to be quite a few of you):

If part of your job involves managing your company's web presence then search engines and keywords will be words well familiar to you. In this week's newsletter, HitWise Australia highlighted a relative newcomer to the Australian search engine ranks - but one that is fast proving successful. I therefore thought I'd pass on the details:

The site is AnSearch

Last November they were ranked: 120
December Rank: 37
Positions Jumped: 83

Ansearch is the latest addition to the competitive Australian search industry. Designed around the concept of delivering results based on user behaviour and popularity, the search engine has proved successful since its launch last November. Using MySearch to trial its new search engine technologies and online marketing campaigns prior to launching, Ansearch takes on the view of 'less is more' and incorporates only a small footprint of data so that its search results are more accurate.

Hitwise data shows that Ansearch has gained a solid following since launching last year, and if it continues increasing its market share, it is sure to be the search engine to watch in 2005. Looking at Hitwise data for the Computers and Internet - Search Engines and Directories category, Ansearch debuted as the 120th most popular Australian Search Engine and Directory in November, and then climbed to be the 37th most popular by the end of December.

Recent weekly data shows Ansearch as the 29th most popular Australian site in its category, a commendable effort considering there are over 100 established Australian Search Engines and Directories competing for a spot in the top ten. The site has also recorded an impressive bookmark percentage, with the latest weekly data showing 18.18% of visitors to www.ansearch.com.au have bookmarked the site, demonstrating their intention to return and use the search engine again.

Recent HitWise statistics show that over 60% of Australian Internet users visit local search engines to surf online. The average session duration for the Computers and Internet - Search Engines and Directories category during the week ending 22/01/05 was 8 minutes. This is a decrease of 31 seconds since the same time last year possibly demonstrating that Australian Internet users are increasingly becoming better at searching online - or perhaps search engines are returning better results then one year ago.

If you are marketing to Australia you should therefore be regularly checking to see how your site is performing on the various search engines: MSN, Yahoo! Australia/NZ, Google Australia etc. A comprehensive list of Australian search engines can be located at the Search Engine Colossus site.

(And given the importance of web advertising as part of your marketing mix, if your site isn't ranking well ... maybe you need to get some help from a marketing/web consultant. And don't let them sell you on the idea that it will cost you thousands to list with the major search engines either. There are much simpler (and far more cost effective) ways to achieve the same result.)

Ok, this is another one for the website gurus ... but it's interesting nonetheless. NicheBot is a site that shows you the most popular keywords and search terms that people input when they are searching for a product online. It's not fool proof (and 'thoroughbreds' is not its over-arching strong point ... perhaps not surprisingly?!) but it's quite a useful tool if you are preparing keyword lists for your site (if you wish to submit your site to a search engine for example and want to have the best keyword-tagged sites to attract the interest of the search engines) or you are designing ads for paid search campaigns (Google or Overture for example).

There will be those who will argue that Darley's marketing tactics for the 2004 season were unsuccessful; Coolmore beating them home by more than a short half head when the stallions' final books are analysed.

I'd suggest you take a closer look at the video tape.

In 2003 no stallion at Darley Stud covered more than 100 mares. In 2004 nine stallions at the stud served more than 100 mares.

Rome wasn't built in a day. From a marketing perspective Darley's 2004 results conclusively prove that their 'deals' did in fact have the effect that so many other stud farms feared they would. What will be interesting will be analysing the QUALITY of mares each of their stallions attracted compared to the previous year as, at the end of the day, if you're just focused on sire rankings, huge foal crops do have the useful side effect of potentially producing a large number of early runners .... but they have to be able to run. There are many stallions who have proven that they can upgrade their mares but as a large commercial enterprise you really don't want to have to put yourself in the position where the majority of mares need to be.

The Glenlogan "capped book" policy (120 mares) was put to the test following the unfortunate demise of Shot of Thunder on the first day of the 2004 breeding season. Three stallions on the property - including popular first season sire Show a Heart who averaged $103,750 for the 20 of his progeny sold at the recent Magic Millions Premier sale - saw their final covers come in above the advertised cap.

Final covering statistics for the Stud's heavily promoted colonial stallions are as follows:

Show a Heart 160

King of Danes 150

Falvelon 129

Just one word ... wow!

If you go to the Westbury Stud home page click on the 2005 Yearlings option.

Pedigree, photo, video - and all beautifully synchronised.

What you are seeing will have cost more than the average farm would be in a position to spend I expect but the effect on a prospective client looking at this site will no doubt be very similar to mine.

I could understand the marketing expense for Karaka but I was, I must confess, a little surprised to see such an extravagant use of the online marketing budget for the Adelaide Premier sale draft. Adelaide is a sale that, whilst charging ahead in leaps and bounds in terms of sales gross, media and public attention in recent years, still only supported an average of $39,707 last year and you would be looking for a decent bit more than that for these horses if, in addition to the marketing expenses, you also take into account travel costs from New Zealand and general prep costs.

The owner of the Stud in question is not without a few spare dollars I am reliably informed. Those dollars have no doubt assisted the Stud's approach to promotion (which is certainly cutting edge) but it is also what (internationally based) clients of the (near) future will increasingly come to expect.

In the meantime I'd seriously recommend at least logging on to the site to see how they have collated it. It's fantastic.

Was it just me or did anyone else raise an eyebrow at the size of certain stallion's books for 2004?

Mark Smith had the scoop on AAP Racing & Sports' Breeding Section

In brief the numbers were as follows:

At Coolmore

Encosta de Lago covered 207 mares including 17 stakes winning daughters of Danehill, 21 Group 1 winning mares plus 19 mares that have already produced Group 1 winners.

Fusaichi Pegasus covered a total of 346 mares; 193 in Kentucky and 153 in the Hunter Valley.

Choisir attracted 162 mares in Ireland and 176 in Australia.

Tale Of The Cat served 185 mares in the northern hemisphere and 150 in the southern.

Johannesburg, 175 mares at Ashford and 134 at Coolmore.

First season sire Hold That Tiger covered 199 mares at Ashford Stud (as well as 94 mares in his first southern season at Collingrove).

Danehill Dancer (152 Ire, 140 Aus)

Rock Of Gibraltar (147 Ire, 145 Aus).

Giant's Causeway (130 Kentucky; 145 Australia).

First season sire Hawk Wing (172 Ire, 102 Aus)

Mull Of Kintyre (159 Ire, 100 Aus)

Fasliyev (144 Ire, 113 Aus)

Catcher In The Rye (155 Ire, 101 Aus)

Royal Academy (90 US, 126 Aus)

High Yield (138 US, 77 Aus)

Spinning World(85 Ire, 105 Aus).

Other Coolmore owned stallions:

Willowbend Stud's Monashee Mountain (118 Ireland; 144 Australia)

Blue Gum Farm's Statue Of Liberty (151 Ireland; 103 Aus) and King Charlemagne (89 Aus, 131 Ire).

At Vinery:

More Than Ready served 151 mares in Kentucky and 146 at Scone

Red Ransom covered 128 mares in Australia and 140 mares at Darley Stud in England.

At Darley:

Fantastic Light (140 Aus, 145 GB)
Dubai Destination (139 Aus, 142 GB)
King's Best (138 Aus, 150 Ire)
E Dubai (130 Aus, 143 US)
Noverre (128 Aus, 138 Ire)
Tobougg (129 Aus, 134 Ire)
Street Cry (121 Aus, 129 US)
Xaar (119 Aus, 129 Ire)
Grandera (113 Aus, 76 Jpn)
Lujain 83 (77 GB)
Elusive Quality 87 mares (140 US).
Reset 146 mares

At Arrowfield

Falbrav covered 98 mares (144 Jpn)
Hussonet 144 mares (83 US)
Orientate 58 mares (115 US).

At Widden Stud

King Cugat [Lane's End] (92 Aus, 45 US)
Belong To Me [Lane's End] (64 Aus, 103 US)
Anabaa (101 Aus, 87 FR)
General Nediym 170 mares.

In Victoria

Invincible Spirit (72 Aus, 114 Ire)
Distant Music (102 Aus, 52 Ire)
Grass Wonder (73 Aus, 131 Jpn)
Beckett (104 Aus, 33 Ire)
Black Hawk (51 Aus, 80 Jpn)
Val Royal (48 Aus, 60 Ire)
Century City (26 Aus, 72 US)
Testa Rossa (150 mares Australia; 20 mares France)

A few figures from Queensland as well:

Sequalo 175 mares
Hayil 118
King of Danes 150
Falvelon 129
Show A Heart 160
Clang 78

Whilst a number of these stallions' fees are priced at a level the market can well sustain in terms of average ROI for a breeder, I'm wondering where all the vendors are expected to come from to purchase the progeny of the six-figure service fee sires; particularly when you consider that we are not talking about just a handful of yearlings.

I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Those of you who have any involvement in organising your company's public relations (PR) activities ... the following article from CMO magazine may be of interest:

Close Encounters of the PR Kind

Public relations can offer an out-of-this-world opportunity to tell your story. Follow these guidelines.

The Right Stuff

Push only real news to the press. Make sure the stories you tell are the ones readers want to hear.

The Power of Perseverance

Writing a press release is not enough; you need to follow up continuously with targeted media.

Who's Your Buddy?

Triple your chances of getting mentioned by establishing relationships with target press.

Be Prepared

Always be ready for an interview because the camera never blinks.

It All Counts

Never say anything "off the record." If you said it and somebody heard it, it's on the record!

Juicy Sound Bites

Have quotable quotes that reporters will want to include in their story.

Says Who?

It's not enough to say that you have the best product. Quantify and qualify statements to support claims.

Analyze This!

Industry analysts can be some of your best spokespeople. Establish strong relationships.

Contingency Planning

Don't be caught unprepared. Build a plan for crisis communication before it's too late.

Go Online

Place articles on industry portals and trade association sites, optimizing for search engine pickup.

SOURCE: PARTNERS & SIMONS

Take an attractive blonde female, combine with one of Australia's finest cricketers, mix in another cricketing legend Doug Walters, and carefully blend with a few thoroughbreds.

The result: a seemingly fail-safe method of attracting attention; the result of which has seen Mark Waugh's first syndication offer over subscribed.

The attraction of 'celebrities' is nothing new. Star Thoroughbreds use it to great effect in their syndications - new owners signing the papers in the famous TJ Smith Room and meeting Gai Waterhouse on Sunday mornings at 'Tulloch Lodge'.

Mark Waugh has gone one step further however, combining his public profile courtesy of a successful sporting career with his new business venture. As he states on his website: "By using the expertise of bloodstock agent Robert Roulston and training skills of leading Sydney trainer Kim Moore, I know we can deliver a quality product for the syndication. Kim has a winning strike rate second to none and with four horses to race over the next three years, I'm extremely confident that will continue.

"Aussie cricket legend, Doug Walters, will join the syndication and shareholders will have the chance to mix with Dougie socially and in the winners circle."

It's an interesting approach. It will be even more interesting to see how it progresses.

Last Thursday we asked if anyone was aware of any trends they thought were worth mentioning. Mr P Wilkinson from Sydney emailed almost immediately saying he had noticed the increase in the number of colonial sires represented in the syndicator's stables this year... and not for $3K shares.

A quick glance at (an albeit narrow) cross-section of syndicators proved that there does appear to be a continuing trend towards supporting the 'home grown' stallion:

Star Thoroughbreds currently has five horses listed on their website - all by colonial sires:

SHOW A HEART - MISS KHOZAAM
Rising two year old chestnut colt

MAGIC ALBERT - MEINE TOCHTER
Rising two year old bay filly

MOSSMAN - COLONIAL CHARM
Rising two year old chestnut colt

COMMANDS - CYPHELL (IRE)
Rising two year old bay filly

VISCOUNT - DESERT DREAM
Rising two year old brown filly

John Brown Bloodstock also has 2:

Colt by Scenic from Swift Justice

Filly by Strategic from Young Vic.

When Tim Martin went shopping at the recently concluded Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast, 7 of his 10 purchases were by colonial sires:

Lot 175 - $185,000
On Account of Broadwater Farm (As Agent)
Bay Filly by Viscount-Diamond Jewel (Statoblest)
*************************************************
Lot 234 - $200,000
On Account of Arrowfield Stud (As Agent)
Bay Colt by Danzero-Funster (Rory''s Jester)
*************************************************
Lot 263 - $310,000
On Account of Willow Park Stud (As Agent for Coral View Lodge Stud)
Bay Filly by Danzero-Happen (Zeditave)
*************************************************
Lot 414 - $55,000
On Account of Ironbark Ridge
Grey Filly by Lion Hunter-Mrs. Peron (Kenvain)
*************************************************
Lot 442 - $160,000
On Account of Corumbene Stud
Chestnut Filly by Zeditave-Oh Blue Angel (Semipalatinsk)
*************************************************
Lot 575 - $620,000
On Account of Millbrook (As Agent for Greendale Lodge)
Bay Colt by Encosta De Lago-Social Scene (Grand Lodge)
*************************************************
Lot 642 - $360,000
On Account of Twin Palms Stud
Chestnut Colt by Zeditave-This Era (Catrail)
*************************************************

Slade Bloodstock have a few new horses on offer and 3 of the 4 are by colonial stallions:

Testa Rossa - Youthful Presence colt

Catbird - Bondi Run filly

Redoute's Choice - Little Girl Dance filly

Of my brief research group the only one that bucked the trend was Diamond Thoroughbreds who appear to be hedging their bets with a mixture of (beautifully bred I might add) yearlings by both local and shuttle sires:

Danehill Colt x Lakab(USA)

Spinning World Colt x Bespoken

Zeditave Colt x Sally Lou

Red Ransom (USA) Colt x Humour (IRE)

Lion Hunter Colt x Bellaraabi

Zeditave Colt x Warning Bell

High Yield Filly x Survive

Danasinga Colt x Troche

Secret Savings Colt x Tilly Foster

Intergaze Colt x Dane

King's Best Filly x Hawaiian Chimes

From today's BRISNET Bloodstock Journal

Baze passes Shoemaker with 8,834th win

"Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze captured four races on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields to reach 8,834 in total career wins, passing the late Bill Shoemaker for the second most of all-time by a rider. The 47-year-old native of Vancouver now trails only Laffit Pincay Jr., who retired in 2003 with 9,530 victories.

Baze's accomplishments in Northern California are legendary. He's won nearly every jockey title at Golden Gate and Bay Meadows since the early 1980s and led the nation in wins six times. He also owns nine Isaac Murphy Awards, which is given to the jockey each year with the highest winning percentage in the nation (minimum 500 mounts).

His first victory Saturday came aboard Face Down Dave (In Excess [Ire]) in the 2ND race and he took the 3RD with Tularosa Kid (Dance Floor). Two races later, he guided El Prado's Boy (El Prado [Ire]) to a two-length score. Baze established a new mark in the 7TH, piloting Hollow Memories (Gilded Time) to an easy 4 1/2-length, wire-to-wire decision."

Dr Jack and Sue Woolridge have decided to sell their NSW Southern Highlands stud -Inverness - and will send 44 mares and 20 weanlings to this year's Sydney's Easter weanling and broodmare sale. Stallions Nuclear Freeze (full brother to Danehill) and multiple Group One winner Universal Prince will also be relocated by their syndicates.

Pedigree buffs will know that the crown jewel of Inverness Stud is Songline, dam of Sunline (winner of 32 races including 13 Group Ones). Given the fact that only a small number of mares with these sort of family connections ever go to public auction, her appearance will be a major string to the sale's marketing bow.

Full story on AAP

There are loads of owners out there paying a huge amount of money in monthly agistment, vet, training, transportation (and sundry) fees. Wouldn't it be good therefore to be able to think that the owner was so delighted with the way you managed their horse/s that they couldn't wait to hand over another wallet full of money next year?

Here is a really simple one for you: It's those 'first impressions' when a horse walks off a truck that can make or break that feeling of "let's give them loads more business next year - gee they do a good job!". Yes it takes a bit of time, but something as simple as turning on a hose, picking up a dandy brush and tail comb and ensuring the farrier has provided a good hoof trim (or even going the extra mile and adding a coating of hoof oil and/or a clipper around the fetlocks) to send that horse home after their time with you looking a darn sight smarter than when they walked out of the paddock/box that can make all the difference.

In the world of broodmares there are a few things that the majority of owners appreciate almost as much as that 45 day PPT certificate and that's the sight of a glossy coat on their mare, a dapple or two and some covering across the ribs - particularly if they have been paying huge daily rates for the privilege.

You need to put yourself in the client's shoes for a moment - how would YOU feel if they sent YOUR mare home with a dull coat, and ribs so prominent you've got some serious concerns about the state of health of that developing foal inside her? Would you be in any rush to send the mare back next year considering the other options available to you?

(Sadly perhaps - for you anyway) competition is such that someone will always be waiting at your heels to lunge forward and snatch that client off you.

Can't recall what the sire looks like of the yearling that you are interested in? Fear not - Tattersalls have got it sorted - their February sale yet again features the popular stallion parade.

Online catalogues for the forthcoming sale are now available.

I'm a strong proponent of the belief that "perception is everything". As a result I was somewhat taken aback by the email address adopted by the following farm. It is hardly one that you could call 'inspirational'...

I'd go as far as to say that they may as well burn the money they are spending on advertising.

Do you consider yourself someone who is commercially and marketing-savvy; someone who recognizes a new business idea when they come across one?

Want others to know about it?

We're always on the lookout for creative new business ideas and trend spotting.

Simply email us and we'll put your name in print (unless of course you wish to remain anonymous!) and also happily discuss the idea/trend you wish to alert the rest of the thoroughbred community to.

"Better knowledge = better business"

A new information resource was introduced today by Racing NSW (in conjunction with Racing Information Services Australia Pty Ltd) to help owners, trainers and the general public source information on horses they have an interest in.

The new screen, known as the Horse Information Page, carries details such as owners' names, summary form of the horse, stewards' embargos and last gear change, for the approved gear that the horse races in.

Information is displayed for all horses currently racing, and is updated daily.

RacingNSW state that the page was developed "as a quick-stop information source for industry participants, and will be a handy tool for prospective buyers when making their initial assessments of a horse they are considering for purchase or lease".

To view the Horse Information Page go to the RacingNSW Home Page and click on the fourth box down on the right-hand side which is titled 'Online Horse/Owners Search'. The page that pops up will be familiar to those of you who have ever carried out an online search for an available name. Don't let that put you off. Enter the horse's name you are interested in then click on the name (which will be underlined in blue) - you'll then be taken to the Horse Information Page.

Sounds all a bit complicated but it's quite easy when you have a go at it.

On 2/1/05 I reported that Karaka's sales ring would be on everyone's Watch List this year after the news broke that a very rare filly (by Zabeel out of Diamond Lover) would be one of the star attractions.

Brian Russell reports this evening that Sir Patrick Hogan has now decided to withdraw the filly due to conformational faults in her forelegs. Full story on the Virtual Formguide site.

What, with Zabeel stable-bound courtesy of a paddock accident earlier this month and now this news ... one hopes that Cambridge Stud secures some pleasing results from the Premier sale (that starts the week after next) to cheer them up.

The new BOBS Bonus Fund has attracted widespread (and enthusiastic) comment after it assisted Tas Morton in purchasing a $20,000 yearling at Monday's Inglis Classic Sale for just $4,000!

RacingNSW ran with the following press release:

Great Buy For Trainer - Courtesy BOBS

The sale of Lot 336 during today's Inglis Classic Yearling Sale session represented an exciting new era in RacingNSW's successful BOBS Scheme.

Lot 336 is a bay filly by King Cugat (USA) from Stray Bullet and was offered by Goodwood Farm of Murrurundi.

The buyer of the yearling was trainer Tas Morton of Port Macquarie. Morton trains Yarras which won races at Port Macquarie on Tuesday 4th January (prizemoney of $4,550) and Friday 14th January (prizemoney of $6,500).

Yarras is by the BOBS stallion Beautiful Crown which stands at Alanbridge Stud Aberdeen at a fee of $15,000.

Yarra collected a net BOBS bonus of $4,000 for each of the wins and instead of taking the $8,000 cash, Tas Morton notified Racing NSW that he would take the "double up" bonus ($16,000) as he would be purchasing at the Inglis Sale.

Racing NSW credited Morton's BOBS Buyer account with $16,000 and notified William Inglis & Son Ltd. Morton then bought Lot 336 for $20,000 - with Inglis invoicing Racing NSW for $16,000 and leaving just $4,000 for Morton to outlay.

"This is an unbelievable scheme," said Morton. "I can't wait to win more bonuses and get to the Easter Sales."

Peter V'landys, RacingNSW's Chief Executive, was delighted with the news: "All BOBS Bonus winners are urged to take the "double up" option. This will strengthen our industry at every level.

"Bonus winners can simply notify RacingNSW and we will establish your "BOBS Buyer" account to deposit your bonuses automatically. Account holders can then access that account whenever they wish to purchase a BOBS-eligible yearling at sales conducted by participating Sales Companies William Inglis & Son and Magic Millions."

Noticed in this morning's Breeding & Racing Daily News:

Magic Millions Announces Tasmania Sale

"Tasmania's breeding industry embarks on a new era in 2005 with Magic Millions joining forces with Thoroughbred Breeders Tasmania to produce the Magic Millions Tasmania Select Yearling Sale catalogue (boasting 108 yearlings by Desert Prince, Genuine, General Nediym, Dangerous, King Charlemagne, Portland Pirate, With Class & Distant Music, plus local stallions West Quest, Savoire Vivre, Weasel Clause, Grand Royale & 1st-season sire Steel Heart) at Launceston's Inveresk complex on March 4. And products of the Tasmanian sale will be eligible to nominate for both a Tasmanian Magic Millions 2YO race in 2006 carrying $100,000 prize-money & for the $3.5 million Magic Millions race series held annually on Queensland's Gold Coast & in Perth & Adelaide. Thoroughbred Breeders' Tasmania president Phillip Swinton commented: "We have struck a 5-year contract with Magic Millions, but I'm sure our partnership will extend well beyond that term."

If you're in charge of marketing at your stud/stable (or related company) then you could do a lot worse than read the PDF article titled Marketing Wisdom for 2005 that appears on the MarketingSherpa website. It includes advice from all number of professionals on email marketing, search marketing, site design & conversion tactics, advertising (online and off), direct (postal) mail, general marketing advice, B-to-B marketing, PR & blogging, growing & managing clients ... and so on. It's brilliant.

The pin-up horse of Australian racing - 11 time Group One winner Lonhro (Octagonal-Shadea, by Straight Strike)- retired last year to his NSW birthplace, Woodlands Stud, with the deserved title of "the champion of his generation". He left behind his legion of race fans - fans who had made many a race club smile as they turned out in their thousands to watch Lonhro run. The stallion instead assumed a new burden - the hopes of a multitude of breeders who dreamed of 'next generation' glory thus ensuring the 'book full' status was on display almost before it was opened.

Like Father, like son. Like Octagonal, Lonhro was extraordinarily successful on the track. A Group 3 winning 2YO, every race Lonhro contested as a 3YO, 4YO and 5YO was a stakes race (14 at Group One level). As stated on the Woodlands website "Weight-for-age competition is generally considered to represent racing's highest order, especially when conducted at Group One level. Lonhro demonstrated most emphatically that he was a true weight-for-age champion". Winner of 11 Group One and over $5.78 million in prize money Lonhro was voted champion 3YO Middle Distance horse in 2001/02 after defeating Sunline at Group One level in race record time. He was also voted NSW Horse of the Year and Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year in 2003/4.

A horse of Lonhro's calibre needs little assistance in marketing himself (Peter V'Landy's went as far as saying "Horses like Lonhro only come along once in a 'blue moon'") but nevertheless 'The Black Flash' added another string to his bow overnight by being named the world's equal best Older Miler on turf in 2004 at The World Rankings in London. Lonhro earned a 123 rating when winning the Gr1 George Ryder Stakes (which also placed him joint 9th highest-rated horse in the world last year).

As far as I'm aware they haven't been used in our game yet (probably because the tourist operators have got the monopoly on them) but personally I think there is a definite market for The Little Brochure Company as regards the thoroughbred industry.

Mini brochures are a full colour, 6 panel business card size brochure. Low cost, highly visible, multi purpose, retainable, easy to store in your office or take with you when you are attending sales/races etc ... and they're an Australian owned and operated company.

Just imagine receiving promotional material that you could slide into your sales catalogue (how many people keep every catalogue? How many keep every A4 glossy brochure that gets handed to them?).

Wouldn't it be nice to have something you could carry in your wallet with the dates of the next 6 month's group races (or sale dates) on it?

A client stands at your desk for a few minutes awaiting someone to take him/her on a tour of your stables/stud farm - no pockets big enough for glossy brochures detailing this season's syndications or stallions ... but plenty of pockets (or a wallet or camera case) for little brochures.

... I discovered these gems whilst waiting for my car at the concierge's desk at the Radisson Hotel on the Gold Coast a few weeks back.

I know, I know, I shouldn't pick on journalists (especially considering how much writing I do in my own right).

... Let's be mischievous then and focus instead on the editors who missed the following errors from their staff writers!

The first error (more an amusing oversight really) relates to Alinghi's (if you believe this article) unsurpassed talent. John spotted the error in Robert Windmill article "Oliver to lighten up for Alinghi"

"(17/1/05) Champion jockey Damien Oliver will ride at his lightest weight since winning the Melbourne Cup on Media Puzzle more than two years ago when he partners outstanding filly Alinghi in next month's Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.

Oliver's manager Bruce Clark said Oliver was determined to ride the three-year-old at 52kg in the Group One weight-for-age sprint, a half kilo below Media Puzzle's cup winning weight.

"I can't remember the last time he got down to 52kg," Clark said.

"He rode at 52.5kg in the Melbourne Cup two years ago and that was the lightest he had ridden for some time."

Clark said 53kg was the bottom of Oliver's riding range and that only on special occasions did he go below that weight.

"He's been well aware he's going to have to do it so he is trying to keep himself in pretty tidy shape so it is not going to be as hard the last week or so as it would be normally," Clark said.

"It has been a gradual thing the last month or so."

Alinghi has won 12 OF HER EIGHT STARTSand hasn't raced since her fast-finishing short half head second to Miss Potential when ridden by apprentice Nicholas Ryan in the Nestle Classic (1600m) at Flemington on October 30.

Oliver was unbeaten in four rides on the filly last spring, landing the Quezette Stakes, Ascot Vale Stakes, Edward Manifold Stakes and Thousand Guineas. "

Strike two for AAP comes with Jason Hickson's story on Arrowfield's quinella at Morphetville last weekend. Freestyle - a 2yo bay filly by Snippets ex Stella Artois (by Geiger Counter (USA)) [check the Stud Book if you don't believe me] has suddenly had a sex change according to the author which also makes me then wonder whether the trainer DID use the exact wording in the 'quote' that's provided:

(15/1/05): "It might not have been a big money feature but Arrowfield Stud principal John Messara would be all smiles after he quinellaed today’s Mistral Vision Handicap (1100m) at Morphettville with Freestyle and Yellowstone.

It was merely a barrier trial for Freestyle, won kept HIS unbeaten record intact after winning the Merson Cooper Stakes at HIS first start.

The Snippets COLT led early and skipped away rounding the corner to win by more than four lengths with apprentice Troy Baker in the saddle.

Stablemate Yellowstone settled off the pace and despite looking around in the straight worked home well for second.

Trainer Phillip Stokes said the race achieved the right outcomes for both horses.

“It was a good starting point for Freestyle,” Stokes said in his usual composed manner. “HE'LL go on to the Breeders Stakes then the Magic Millions.

“We wanted to ride Yellowstone quietly and he settled pretty well off the pace and ran on well, so I was happy with the way he went too.”

Freestyle, who is raced by Arrowfield Stud but also lists champion swimmer Grant Hacket among its owners, will now run in the Group 2 Breeders Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville on February 5th before the rich Adelaide Magic Millions Classic at the same track on February 23rd."

Today's post from JOHN BAXTER

A straw poll of buyers at both sales indicated that the quality of the stock on offer was patchy, but the international trends in the yearling markets set in the US and UK/Europe last year continued here. Good horses sold very well - at least in the middle market. The really big money seemed to go missing at the Magic Millions, with comparatively few lots topping the $500,000 mark. Perhaps the stock simply didn't warrant it. We won't know the strength of the top end until Easter.

The common buyers' theme (complaint?) at both sales was that there were plenty of horses that they didn't want, but when a nice horse came up, everyone was over it like a pit-bull on a poodle (courtesy Lt. Bookman, the library cop, Seinfeld). Horses people thought would cost $50,000 went for $100,000, those expected to go for $100,000 made $200,000 and more, and so on.

With the market the way it is, the small breeder has a chance at getting a nice return on his investment, with the likes of Show A Heart, Honours List and Magic Albert selling way above their fighting weight. The small buyer ? Well, maybe he should become a breeder !

And Magic Millions ... your Saturday evening session? You were supposedly hosting Queensland's premier yearling sale yet I certainly haven't seen that many people drunk in such a confined space since my last B&S Ball (and the less said about that, the better). God help you if you wanted to buy a horse, but weren't fortunate enough to be amongst the chosen few seated at tables in the main "auditorium"...

The atmosphere of the Wednesday evening session at Inglis' Easter Sale is sometimes spellbinding, sometimes dramatic, always exciting. In its current format, Saturday night at the Magic Millions is, by comparison, but an extension of schoolies week.

Not a good start for the Classic Sale with the first lot being passed in at $90,000. It's always nice to kick things off with a good sale.

Hang on...what's that you say ?

Lot 1 sold for $80,000 ?

How can that be ? Reg Inglis himself passed it in for $90,000 only a few seconds ago. I heard him say so...

It's auction season.

On a lighter note to start the week: I came across the following whilst I was emptying my spam folder the other day. It's spam (of sorts) so I won't give you the company's URL (having said that - you hardly need to be Einstein to figure it out) but it's worth sharing with you as from a marketing perspective it is a useful example of market segmentation and targeting:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Webmaster,

EquestrianCupid.com Affiliate Program

Thanks to EquestrianCupid.com successful marketing strategy and customer service, EquestrianCupid.com has become the largest and successful dating site serving Equestrian Singles in the world. We ONLY serve Equestrian singles.

[and on it goes]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So there you have it - it's no longer just about dating services - it's about targeting your dating service offering by segmenting your market of single men/women. Now, just think of all those single people out there who like horses as much as you?! (I know, I know - the savvy marketers amongst you will have already said "Ah yes, but what if they like Arabian horses - I only like thoroughbreds???" ... I'll leave the minutiae [and further segmentation] up to you!)

From COOLMORE Newsletter 14 January 2005

"In a majority of cases the nominations achieved final bids in excess of actual service fee and the total contribution has exceeded US$2.2 million. That figure has been boosted to over US$3.5 million through another very generous donation from a friend of Coolmore who wishes to remain anonymous. The auction came to a close on Tuesday evening with a rally of bids for the nomination to Sadler’s Wells. Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms had the final say at 300,000 euros, while underbidders Mr and Mrs Gary Middlebrook kindly donated 50,000 euros to the fund.

Highest prices for the USA-based stallions were achieved, naturally enough, by Fusaichi Pegasus (US$170,000 bid by Stonerside Stable, Ky) and Giant’s Causeway (US$160,000 bid by Moyglare Stud, Ire). Both figures exceeded the US$150,000 fee at which these two super-sires stand.

Most popular of the Irish-based stallions – after Sadler’s Wells, of course – were Rock of Gibraltar (70,000 euros to Sir Robert Ogden, Eng), Montjeu (60,000 euros to Moyglare Stud, Ire) and Danehill Dancer (50,000 euros to Sangster Family). Galileo’s service fee of 37,500 euros was easily exceeded by a winning bid for him of 45,000. And in Australasia, of course, we had a final bid for Encosta de Lago of $140,000 by New Zealand Bloodstock’s Peter and Philip Vela.

Words cannot really properly convey our thanks, not only to the successful bidders, but to all who placed bids, regardless of the winning outcome. Every bid helped to increase the final total and we are moved that breeders worldwide – many of whom also made private donations to various other organizations – have responded so generously in rallying to this very worthy cause."

The feats of Silent Witness and Choisir have ensured the Inglis Classic Sale (where both horses were purchased) has received considerable international exposure in recent years. When you look at the sale statistics (2002 average $29,117 and top price $180,000; 2003 average $29,812 and top price $180,000; 2004 average $34,646 and top price $220,000) you also start to appreciate that in terms of value for money you can't do much better.

Considering the general (and media) interest in the sale, from a marketing perspective it was therefore disappointing to see so few vendors take advantage of the Inglis website in terms of posting photos of their sale lots to complement their horses' catalogue pages. Unfortunately Inglis don't yet offer video streaming of yearlings. Good news however that the sale days will be audio-streamed.



Apart from press releases (Inglis themselves the most prominent in terms of the number of PR pieces distributed recently; newcomer Kulani Park also deserves a mention for their press release [and the number of media outlets who picked it up] during the week), stock-standard magazine ads and some website promotion, there weren't too many studs whose marketing really stood out as offering that all important differentiator which is a shame as in terms of local and overseas interest the Classic Sale has a solid brand in terms of the type of horses it attracts (and the type of buyer as well). If one goes back over the statistics and analyzes the State and country breakdown as well as individual buyers it's apparent that the Classic Sale is one of the easier sales to prepare marketing materials for. Despite this, 'tradition alone' seems to have been the order of the day for Stud advertising and on-site identification (uniforms, banners and caps the standard.) Erinvale had some promotional items that included pens, calendars and little packets of lollies.

A couple of photos from the Inspection Day:

The first is of Peta and Allan Tilden sporting the new uniforms from Manx Park (a property formerly owned by TBA President & proprietor of Boscobel Stud, Richard Turnley). Peta is holding lot 33, a chestnut colt by Vinery's successful young sire More than Ready ex Gay Tudor (who is a half-sister to the G2 winners Hermod and Orsay).



The second photo is of Lot 490 - on account of Highgrove Stud, a bay filly by Desert Prince ex Brilliant Crown (by Chief's Crown). Brilliant Crown is out of the AJC Oaks (G1) winner My Brilliant Star who is the dam of Shot of Thunder (G1 winner) and Celebrity Princess (listed winner).



The third photo is lot 536 - on account of Middlebrook Valley Lodge - a bay or brown filly by Gilded Time ex Cyanic (by Puissance). Cyanic is an unplaced half-sister to Memphis Blues, Palatious and Evasion. This is the family of (amongst others) the well performed Danelagh and Subscribe.



[Photos: JR Baxter]

In a unique marketing twist the 18 jockeys in this month's Wellington Cup (29 January) will create history by wearing silks in colours chosen by paint manufacturer sponsor Dulux - whose company slogan is "Discover a World of Colour". Each of the colours will reportedly be named after a place in New Zealand.

Given the heated (and global) debate over the issue of jockey sponsorship, Wellington Race Club's novel (and significant) gesture to the race sponsor is, it's fair to say, one that will cause its share of debate. One wonders what benefits (if any) the owners receive for NOT seeing their silks aboard their mounts.

Whilst we're on the subject of Wellington Race Club, their website contains some excellent information on race sponsorship options (provides loads of ideas if you want to plan sponsorship activity but aren't sure what sort of package you should be looking at - very useful if you'd like to sound as if you have some idea of your options before you ring the track you are focusing on!).

NSW Racing is committed to keeping 'initiative' as an integral part of its Operation Ownership; the most recent development in relation to a racehorse leasing scheme.

Peter V'Landys stated: "The Racehorse Leasing Forum has been designed to act as a 'broker' through whom lessors & potential lessees can be matched, with the aim to increase the number of owners & horses participating in the industry. Racehorse owners are invited to list their horses on the RacingNSW website, together with the owners' contact details. Potential lessees may then contact the lessor & negotiate a lease with the owner. Racing NSW does not charge for this service."

Further details are available on the Racing NSW site.

The New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association & New Zealand Thoroughbred Marketing offer a similar service, as does Racing Victoria.

News from yesterday's Breeding & Racing's Daily News:

"In New Zealand, in the wake of last week's Danehill bonanza at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale, NZ Bloodstock's Karaka Premier Sale in Auckland (beginning on Monday January 31) now offers buyers their last opportunity to secure a Danehill yearling from his final southern hemisphere crop. Karaka Premier will offer 20 Danehill yearlings (12 fillies & 8 colts) & NZ Bloodstock marketing manager Petrea Vela commented: "The Danehill yearlings offered on the Gold Coast sold very well, but there just weren't enough to go around. We hope those buyers who are still shopping for a Danehill ensure they take up their last opportunity by coming to Karaka." Pencarrow Stud will consign the largest number of Danehills at Karaka, with 9 yearlings in their Premier draft (4 colts & 5 fillies)."

So far so good.

Alas an hour later the following appeared on RaceNet: "Media interest surrounding the final Southern Hemisphere bred yearlings by Danehill (USA) is set to reach a crescendo at the 2005 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale when four yearlings by the legendary sire will be offered for sale.

"Danehill has ruled supreme at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale since his first crop made their debut in 1993 and we feel privileged to catalogue several of his very last Southern Hemisphere bred yearlings," said Inglis Managing Director, Reg Inglis.

The Danehill (USA) phenomenon soared to unprecedented heights at Easter last year when 26 of his stock changed hands at a staggering average of $600,000, highlighted by four slashing colts that broke the million dollar barrier.

The big Danehill (USA) four for Easter 2005 are fillies from Gazette (GB) (Widden Stud as agent), Gypsy Princess (IRE) (Coolmore Australia as agent), Passing Hope (IRE) (Reavill Farm) and a lone colt out of Star Jewel (IRE) (Coolmore Australia as agent). From the Zafonic mare Gazette (GB), comes the three-quarter sister-in-blood to last season's top class American turf mare Light Jig, winner of the Belmont Yellow Ribbon Stakes Gr 1. This exciting bay filly is the second foal of her dam, a placed daughter of outstanding racemare Nashmeel, a Group Two winner in France. Our next Danehill (USA) filly is the first foal of Gypsy Princess (IRE), a half-sister by Sadler's Wells to Group One winning juvenile Sunspangled. Gypsy Princess (IRE) is also a sister to stakes-winner French Ballerina and a daughter of German star Filia Ardross. The third filly is the first foal of the Sadler's Wells mare Passing Hope (IRE), a three-quarter sister to American Group Two winners Panama City and Morgana. Foaled on August 12th, she is everything a Danehill (USA) filly should be. Regally bred Zafonic mare Star Jewel (IRE) features as the dam of the Danehill (USA) colt, which is her very first foal. She is a daughter of stakes-winner Strawberry Roan, a full sister to Epsom Oaks winner Imagine and a half-sister to champion racehorse and successful sire Generous, winner of such classics as the English Derby and Irish Derby. On pedigree and type these four young thoroughbreds are unmatched, providing a fitting Easter finale for one of the finest stallions the world has ever seen."

It seems that everyone is intent on messing with Karaka's 2005 differentiator (the sale having been branded "KARAKA 2005: The Danehill Factor" after all). Maybe they should be over emphasizing the fact that they have the MOST Danehills ... as everyone else seems to be pulling one (or four) out of their pockets as well.

The Dubai International Racing Carnival commences at Nad Al Sheba next Thursday. Details of the race calendar, prizemoney breakdown and incentives can be viewed in the PDF brochure titled (perhaps not surprisingly) "Dubai International Racing Carnival" which can be downloaded from the ERA site.

The first race to keep an eye out for is the US$200,000 G3 Al Maktoum Challenge Rd I on Thursday January 20. Prize-money for that evening's race card is US$690,000. The jewel is of course the Dubai World Cup on Saturday March 26 (where prize money totals US$15 million for the 4 G1 and 2 G2 races on offer).

This month's Trendwatching.com has some useful tips for marketing to the generation that has grown up with computers and information at their finger tips (the 20 -35's group) - the group who want to know everything yesterday. They're a demanding bunch but to ensure you're appealing to them (and let's face it - a lot of them are young executives and may be buying off you now or in the next few years) so you need to know how to market to them - especially if the first few have started appearing on your books.

And a quiet warning - if you're not comfortable with technology the following two suggestions are going to make you feel distinctly UNcomfortable!

READY-TO-KNOW and advertising

British Hypertag specializes in poster advertising campaigns that talk directly to your consumers' mobile phones, without the need for connecting to a wireless network. READY-TO-KNOW enthusiasts enable the infra-red port on their mobile phone or PDA and point it at a Hypertag enabled billboard. Within seconds, a piece of content is downloaded to their phones. Think words and numbers, a prompt to remind them of an important event, a picture, a ringtone or a game. Hypertag currently focuses on two applications: the visitor attraction market and the outdoor advertising market, and has plans to develop more applications in the future.

Just imagine - buyers walking past your sales billboards at Inglis, Karaka or Magic Millions and being prompted via a mobile signal to download updated pedigree news, sales stats, stallion information or how to get in contact with you. It's advertising that is available on request, not shoved down consumer's throats, and offers useful solutions, too.

READY-TO-KNOW and story-telling

Chicago based Orange restaurant is going the extra mile to please its curious READY-TO-KNOW guests: its menu is an actual 21 page full-color glossy magazine, with the actual menu on the first pages; the rest of the 'menuzine' consists of editorials (written by the staff) and local ads. Credits list the entire staff, from management to bussers, and the editorials include recipes, interviews with the chefs, where to find exotic ingredients in Chicago, where to go out in the hood, etc. Not only is the Orange menuzine a great conversation piece, it adds to the story of the restaurant, and gives READY-TO-KNOW customers all the possible info and story elements they'll ever need. So much for information overload: the restaurant frequently finds its magazines out of stock

Coolmore adopted a similar approach in a recent stallion brochure and it was extremely effective. I have seen a law firm use this same tool to great effect recently as well. I can see a good market for this for a medium sized thoroughbred stud as well. The option to include advertising from people you partner with or who appreciate the extra profile (and be willing to pay for it) is also useful in terms of reducing your production costs. Remember though - if your content isn't tailored to your audience and well written then your target market won't be that interested in it.

We saw it last week with Telstra not coming to the Magic Millions rescue over a cable fault that affected the video streaming of the sale; Equine United's planned online foal auction being rescheduled "to another year", we have experienced it with our own website when things go inexplicably wrong with servers crashing or the spammers circumventing yet another purpose built firewall; last week we even stumbled across it when visiting a rural town that still supported 56k dial-up modems rather than the high speed wireless access I have come to accept as 'normal'!

The 'joys' of technology were probably best summed up by Scott McAlpine from Eureka Stud in Qld in August late last year. He had just taken me to inspect some broodmares and foals when his phone signal suddenly dropped out. "PHONES!" he muttered "We can put a man on the moon yet we can't even get a lousy signal in a back paddock!"

As frustrating as technology can be at times we can also often forget how far we have come in recent decades. Who would ever have thought that specialist web portals would drive more traffic (some charging the same advertising rates) than TV and magazines? Who would have imagined that you could take a photo of a yearling at a sale with your mobile phone and send it to a friend half a world away? Who would have imagined using a hand held computer to surf the Internet/pay bills/scan the headlines of 17 newspapers from as many countries (all in the space of 5 minutes?). We can now download videos of horses breezing at a '2yo in Training' sale, access SireCam's yearling and stallion videos or analyse interactive pedigrees and sales catalogues on a whole host of sites.

It is therefore disappointing to see the news that a cutting edge company with a grasp of the latest technology (plus a unique business plan, funding and strong support from some of the industry's bigger players) has found that the world never quite managed to catch up with it.

Yesterday's Bloodhorse.com reported that "EquineCommerce.com, an Internet selling venture for Thoroughbreds, shut down Jan. 1. The company was only in business for a little over a year even though it was backed by Keeneland and a number of high-powered consignors and buyers.

"Personally, I was very disappointed," said EquineCommerce.com's founder and chief executive officer, Barry Weisbord. "We had a group of people that tried real hard to execute this concept. I think the rules were good. I think that the Web site was good, but it lacked product. At the point where some group is willing to ensure product, I think the concept would work. I think there will be a future for electronic trade in the horse business. I may take another swing at it."

Weisbord announced the plans for EquineCommerce.com in November of 2003, and the company began selling horses the following month. Equity partners in EquineCommerce.com were Keeneland, Coolmore, Eaton Sales, Lane's End, Taylor Made Farm, Thoroughbred Daily News (published by Weisbord), Three Chimneys Farm, and Vinery. The company had a stock exchange-type structure with members buying seats. Only members could buy and sell horses through EquineCommerce.com."

Selling horses online is certainly a proven concept (as Cyberhorse and MMSalesRing ably demonstrate) but in many ways I see the concept as somewhat similar to the e-learning phenomenon. When e-learning courses (ones that are run wholly over the Internet) were first introduced they were deemed "THE" next thing in training.

A lot of people became very disillusioned as a result.

A decade on it's been proven that whilst it is certainly a very effective education tool e-learning cannot (and probably never will) displace classroom training. The more we understand the product, the audience, and also the technology that join the two we are seeing a hybrid product develop - online modules supported by face-to-face tuition.

Online selling of horses is somewhat similar: the concept needs to blend what has always worked well in face-to-face selling with the changing demands of a global marketplace and audience. Technology therefore has to find the perfect way to meet a buyer's need to assess a horse "live" (as it were) plus allow people in 70 countries to do so simultaneously. We are seeing the first phase of this with some of the tools the auction houses are currently adopting (online photos/video/interactive pedigrees with search functions) that combine well with the agents/trainers on the ground fielding mobile phones and email to clients after they have physically inspected a horse.

It's an amazing time to be in business with technology continuing to develop at such a stratospheric pace. The opportunities to be at the forefront of new developments and maximise company differentiators by using what DOES work is allowing certain companies to literally bolt ahead of their competitors.

I also predict (with some confidence) that technological advances in the next 5 years will probably revolutionize the way we currently buy/sell horses. No doubt at that point we will look back on The EquineCommerce.com example as a company well ahead of its time.

Today's post from JOHN BAXTER

Now tell the truth. Do your clients really look forward to receiving your bills every month ? No matter how good a job you do, I think it’s fair to say that clients tend to open bills with trepidation at best, and fear and loathing at worst.

Taylor Made Farm and Sales Agency, the famous Kentucky based operation which recently topped the $1 billion mark in bloodstock sales, includes a photograph of the foal with its monthly statement to mare owners. I don’t know any mare owner who can ever get enough photographs of his or her foals, and so the Taylor Made approach might go some way toward changing that trepidation to mixed feelings, or even anticipation !

$475,357 Danehill (14 sold)
$230,455 Encosta de Lago (22 sold)
$192,273 Redoute's Choice (22 sold)
$182,000 Zabeel (5 sold)
$175,625 Giant's Causeway (12 sold)
$168,333 More Than Ready (6 sold)
$154,891 Danzero (23 sold)
$134,000 Grand Lodge (5 sold)
$129,000 Agnes World (5 sold)
$124,375 Stravinsky (8 sold)
$124,286 Testa Rossa (14 sold)
$122,500 Fantastic Light (11 sold)
$120,658 Dehere (19 sold)
$120,000 Flying Spur (17 sold)
$117,222 Fusaichi Pegasus (9 sold)
$111,875 Red Ransom (8 sold)
$109,286 Catbird (21 lots)
$108,333 Spinning World (6 sold)
$103,750 Show A Heart (20 sold)
$102,500 General Nediym (10 sold)
$102,000 Zeditave (9 sold)
$101,000 Carnegie (10 sold)
$97,500 Mossman (6 sold)
$96,786 Galileo (7 sold)
$92,361 Viscount (18 sold)
$89,286 Quest For Fame (7 sold)
$88,289 Royal Academy (19 sold)
$85,625 Scenic (8 sold)
$85,313 Danehill Dancer (8 sold)
$85,000 Desert Prince (5 sold)

Magic Millions Press Release

I came across a rather disturbing example of marketing being relied on to hype a company name and gloss-over some pretty major product flaws when I was in Australia last week. Whilst the example wasn't directly thoroughbred related it's certainly given me pause for thought. It's probably therefore worth pointing out to some people (and apologies for stating the obvious to those whose business models are entirely above board) that marketing should not (and hopefully will not) assist you in selling a horse with poor conformation or a very average pedigree -with utterly no additional redeeming features - for a six figure sum.

In simple terms, what a coordinated marketing campaign will do is raise public awareness of your business and product/service. It will notify people who may never have even heard of you what your company does and how it can meet their needs.

Marketing gives clients the opportunity to learn more about you and keeps you in their mind when they think of a product category. If your name is the one they start to think of ('brand awareness') they are more likely to also sample or purchase your offering or recommend you to others as "the" company in a particular sector. If they are pleased with the service/product at the time of purchase (and afterwards) then you're also on the way to building a longer term business relationship with that individual as well.

PLEASE don't consider the role of marketing as a tool to promote something that you wouldn't buy yourself - or would be disappointed with if you had paid the sort of money you wish to trick someone else out of.

People are a bit like elephants - they have long memories.

Marketing is not an inexpensive business. It requires an in-depth knowledge of the market as well an innate understanding of the competition and the product/service being sold. It requires focused business planning, endless amounts of time, carefully managed relationships with suppliers as well as existing and potential clients, and expertise in managing complex budgets and ensuring every dollar matches the strategic intent of the company. Nowadays companies adopt marketing strategies and budgets because they are in for the long haul and want to ensure they can maximise growth and opportunities and minimise the risks in a rapidly tightening market.

Just remember - people won't buy from you again if your product is flawed or they feel they've been misled.

So, moral of this story - if you own a yak with 3 legs then you shouldn't expect (or indeed rely on) marketing to assist you in getting a six figure sum for it - unless of course the market dictates that:

- there is a market for yaks with an odd number of legs

- 3-legged yaks are your market differentiator; and

- there are a group of clients out there who can't wait to see your latest offering as they loved your 1.5 legged yaks and want to upgrade to the faster model.

An entire Industry stands to be affected by the European Union Commission's recent findings on Ireland's tax exemptions for stallion service fees. Ireland has enjoyed more than three decades of industry prosperity courtesy of the exemptions. Certain studs and individuals may, in fact, have prospered more than others.

Whilst a recently commissioned report on the economic contribution of the bloodstock and horse racing industry in Ireland and an evaluation of the costs and benefits of the current tax treatment of stallion fee income may have recommended that the current system remain unchanged, it seems that Ireland's 'protected' status may be set to change. Such a situation would potentially signal a major shift in investment (and global buying power) as investors worldwide reassess the competitiveness of the Irish market compared to others, most notably the United States.

The stud that would potentially sustain the biggest blow in terms of profitability is one that has revolutionized the commercial breeding market in countries far beyond Ireland - Coolmore. And for those that think that the removal of Irish tax exemptions would have a marginal effect on Australian bloodstock prices and competition generally ... you may wish to read on.

The full article can be read at the following link

The following tip from Kevin Nunley in the US.

"Retail stores of every kind use hundreds, thousands, MILLIONS of plastic bags.

"Large chains have bags with their logo printed on them, but most smaller stores have plain generic bags they buy from suppliers. Find out how you can get your ad printed on those generic bags.

"Many small stores may be happy to include your ad on their bag if you pay for printing and include the store's logo as well. Consider having your own plastic and paper bags printed, then offer them to stores at a discount.

"In a very short time your ad can be all over town. When I come home from the store, I often pull out the item and leave the bag on the kitchen table, then come back later to store the bag for future use. That's a lot of repeated "views" for your ad by any number of people who may see the bag today or in the future.

Ask local stores where they get their bags from. Contact the supplier to find out how you can get your own bag ad campaign started."

In September 1990 Harry Lawton told well-known turf writer Les Carlyon that he "had had a hard year; but not impossible. Tell you what, though: I think I'm going to be around for awhile."

14 years later Harry may well have felt the need to repeat those words following an article that appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 5 May 2004. The article reported that an administrator has been appointed to Lawton Thoroughbred Racing (LTR) following a feud between Harry and company chairman, American businessman, Ben Woodhouse. (Harry had sold his business in April 2002 but the company continued to carry his name when it was re-launched as Lawton Thoroughbred Racing under Woodhouse's guidance). Mr Lawton remained involved with LTR as a consultant, salesman and purchaser of horses until February 2004.

Harry's been noticeably quiet ever since - the man who has provided 11 individual Group One winners for his syndicates (which mainly comprise first-time racehorse owners) including success stories such as Melbourne Cup winner Kensei, AJC Derby winner Fairway and former top-liner Carnegie Express - was perhaps taking that long awaited holiday that he had told me had been on hold for 15 years.

Last month I was flicking through a racing magazine, and there it was - a full page advertisement with a picture of those familiar red, black and white silks and an even more familiar name.

Harry was back.

The man with more than 31 years of syndication experience also achieved a syndication milestone yesterday when he purchased his 1,000th horse for syndication (his third so far at the MM sale): Lot 349, a $165,000 bay colt by Redoute's Choice out of listed winner Lilting (ex Twig Moss); the colt a half-brother to three winners including the G3 winning/G1 placed Honour The Name (by Royal Academy).

Welcome back Harry.

Arrowfield's glamour stallion Redoute's Choice had the crowds talking well before five of his progeny lined up for today's million dollar 2 YO Classic race.

Australian buyers like their early 2yo's who can churn blistering sectionals. The progeny of this stallion have ensured that buyers have received exactly that. As a result the stallion has also fast become a darling of the auction ring, the results of the first two days of the Magic Millions Premier sale a case in point. 18 of the stallion's yearlings have been offered and have supported an average of $196,000 for the 17 sold. The irony of the possible 'heir apparent' to Danehill being one of his G1 performing sons - owned and managed by none other than the man who introduced the mighty Danehill to Australia so many years ago - Arrowfield proprietor John Messara, could hardly be lost on anyone. But with today's result there for all to see - the stallion siring the winner and two of the minor place getters of the 15-strong field (3rd being a dead heat), Redoute's Choice (who with just 2 crops of racing age has produced a host of stakes winners including G1 winner Lotteria, Tahni Girl, Fullazz, Snitzel and Not a Single Doubt) looks as if he may indeed be destined to wear the crown in future years.

It was the impeccably bred BRADBURY'S LUCK [sold for $225K at the 2004 MM sale], a 2YO grey colt by Redoute's Choice out of the multiple G1 winning mare Skating (by At Talaq), trained by Graeme Rogerson and ridden by J Bowman, who would dictate race terms on the turn and hold on to win by the barest of margins from Emit Time (Gilded Time (USA) - My Millennium (by Success Express (USA)). Race favorite Snitzel (Redoute's Choice - Snippets' Lass (by Snippets)) and another Graeme Rogerson trained 2 YO - Al Samer (Redoute's Choice - My Lady's Key (USA) (by Key To The Mint (USA)) who races in the red, dark blue white colours of His Excellency Nasser Abdullah Hussain Lootah would dead heat for third, with Sprung (Redoute's Choice - Unexpectedly (by Geiger Counter (USA)) officially fifth; all ensuring Redoute's Choice could offer the impressive result of having sired 4 of the top 5 runners.

It was a phenomenal result for the stallion and the Stud that stands him.

I received a very nice email from Val Hayward (Assistant to the Managing Director at Magic Millions Sales Pty Ltd) this morning. Val agreed that yesterday's web streaming issues were "embarrassing ... and incredibly disappointing and frustrating for our clients and ourselves" but was keen to reassure the general public that Magic Millions thoroughly tested their IT connections in the lead up to the sale due to the importance of the technology to the company's clients.

In such a case one can only imagine the stricken expressions on Thursday morning when staff arrived at the Complex only to discover they had no internet connectivity whatsoever!

Val states that Telstra were not able to attend to the problem until Friday afternoon at 2pm and "no amount of begging would persuade them to come to our complex any earlier".

It has been a frustrating few days for the Sales Company who managed to only get "intermittent connectivity throughout Thursday, none at all yesterday morning, apart from a rather dodgy stand alone connection for the live broadcast. We could not update our sale results at all yesterday."

Telstra eventually isolated the problem - a broken cable mid-afternoon yesterday (which actually supports Athlone's IT manager's belief that a cable can be buried however many metres deep and someone will always sink a drill through it at the most inopportune time!) and the problem was fixed "until about 20 minutes prior to the end of the sale, when problems re-occurred."

MM (and a few clients!) have their fingers crossed that all systems will be performing at 100% this evening.

The Kentucky Equine Education Project has officially approved plans for "a marketing & education blitz for the Bluegrass state this year, & also hired a high-powered lobbying firm to help it achieve its legislative goals," reported bloodhorse.com. KEEP will spend US$1.345 million on a "4-phase awareness campaign that includes billboards, radio & television advertisements, & advocacy".

Source: Breeding & Racing Daily Bulletin (January 7, 2004)

It's what makes the Industry so fascinating and ensures that the "Sport of Kings" is played by more than just the blue bloods:

In Australia it is stallions such as Iglesia, Testa Rossa, Mossman and Show a Heart (as well as Encosta de Lago whose service fee the year his current yearling crop were conceived was nowhere near the level it is nowadays) generating sales averages to appease the fussiest investor whilst one or two of the more extravagantly priced sires struggle to maintain an average much above their service fee.

Half a world away it is the news that Successful Appeal has topped the 2004 US Freshman Sire list. He achieved this feat with a crop of just 37 foals, 22 of whom raced (59%), 15 wining (41%), 6 at stakes level. Overall only Storm Cat's 2YOs fared better in earnings (and remember that Storm Cat stands at a fee of US$500,000).

Breeding & Racing's Daily News cites The Bloodhorse.com when reporting that the next 2 stallions on the US freshman list raced with considerably more foals at their disposal: Yes It's True (Successful Appeal's closest competitor) sired a 1st crop of 64 foals with 16 (25%) winners from his 42 (66%) to race; & Fusaichi Pegasus (whose 2001 service fee was US$150,000) was represented by 82 2YOs, with 16 (20%) winners from 34 (41%) to race.

A son of Valid Appeal, Successful Appeal stands for a fee of US$25,000 live foal (not a lot of money in Bluegrass terms) at Walmac Farm (having spent his first 3 seasons at Walmac South in Florida before his success saw an August shift to a Kentucky base).

It's great to have the technology ... it's even better when it works.

First of all the sales results from yesterday weren't updated. Next the streaming video was offline until 22 minutes into the sale. Once online, it dropped out almost immediately with some sort of server problem. The following notice then appeared:

"Welcome to the 2005 Magic Millions Yearling Sale Broadcast.

Streaming Delays

Due to the unprecedented number of users from all over the globe viewing the Online Live Video Streaming of the Magic Millions Sales, our servers/network experienced difficulty handling the load.

As a result users would have experienced delays and/or slow streaming speeds.

Telstra and our technicians are currently working on the problem which should be rectified shortly.

We apologise for any inconvenience."

Inconvenient indeed. A muttered comment from one of our staff: "You would think that, after last year's problems, MM would make doubly sure that everything was in place for the smooth internet broadcast of this year's big sale. I can't remember this happening with Keeneland's web broadcast, which I would think had a much bigger audience."

Damned if you do and damned if you don't really: have technology - people then demand that it work; don't have it - and everyone says you are 'behind the times'.

Alas, in a final hit the online streaming dropped out yet again when bidding reached $600,000 on the Danehill - Marigot Bay colt (current sale topper), and came back on after he had left the ring after having been sold to Graeme Rogerson for $700,000!

Sorry - but it has to be said: today's coverage was diabolical.

From a marketing perspective it was also useful to hear what Rodney Jackson, the buyer of Lot 129 (Honour's List ex Cinnamon Splendor colt) said of Widden's after sale service.

"Within minutes of me having signed for the horse Antony Thompson somehow found me amongst that crowd and introduced himself and presented me with a beautiful framed photo of the horse - it's a really lovely photo - then invited me back to their marque for drinks. It was unexpected and great service."

An honourable result for first season sire HONOUR'S LIST today when his first yearling to be sold at public auction (and one of only two who qualified for the Premier section of the MM sale) attracted a final bid of $110,000 from Cairns businessman RODNEY JACKSON.

The bay colt ex Cinnamon Splendor (by Trempolino) is the seventh foal of the dam and half-brother to four winners. Cinnamon Splendor is out of the listed winner Northeastern who in turn is out of the G1 winner Miss Toshiba. Today's colt has been the most lucrative in terms of return on investment for vendors Iskander Racing who purchased his dam for $45,000 at the Inglis Easter Broodmare Sale in 2002. Today's price represents a return for Iskander of almost 15 times Honour's List's service fee! Not a bad result by anyone's standards!

A 16hh bay son of Danehill, Honour's List was a G3 winner in Ireland and G1 placed in France. He commenced stud duties at Baerami Thoroughbreds in NSW in 2002; his service fee $8,250 ($7,500 + GST).

Putting today's sale into perspective: the dam has had four other yearlings sold at auction - their combined sales prices less than half the price of today's colt; equally Honour's List had 8 weanlings sold in 2004 for an average price of $7,106.

Mr Jackson who has a number of horses in training with John O'Shea (Sydney) and Greg Kennedy (Caloundra) described the colt as a "very nice, loose limbed, good walking colt". He has yet to decide whether the BOBS qualified colt will remain in Australia to race or will be sent overseas.

Other first season sires to cause a stir today were GIANTS CAUSEWAY (2004 advertised fee $77,500) who sold 6 yearlings on Day 1 for the top price of $320,000; MAGIC ALBERT (2004 advertised fee $11,000) whose son out of Devil's Zephyr (making him the half-brother to Falvelon) was knocked down for $220,000; SHOW A HEART (service fee of $12,500 + GST) whose first yearling to step into the ring sold for $165,000 to the bid of Graeme Rogerson; GALILEO (2004 advertised fee $35,750 plus GST) who sold 2 yearlings today for $125,000 and $130,000 respectively; KING CUGAT (advertised fee $9,900) who had just one offering today that sold for $55K; BLACK MINNALOUSHE who similarly had a sole offering today - a brown colt out of the Centaine mare Boganvillia who collared a final bid of $95,000 - a good return off the stallion's NZ$20,000 service fee; and VISCOUNT whose $25,000 advertised fee returned a handy profit to quite a few breeders today when their yearlings sold for $100,000, $110,000 and $65,000 respectively.

Today's top price of $500,000 was paid by Tim Stakemire on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum for the bay filly by champion sire Danehill out of the impeccably bred mare Eljazzi (by Artaius). A record price was also achieved for an Encosta de Lago colt ($400,000) and a Testa Rossa yearling ($275,000).

The sale continues tomorrow.

He was suddenly walking alongside me; I confess I hadn't noticed him until then given my preoccupation with the heat and the perspiration making a mockery of my linen shirt.

He was well dressed; more so than the usual shorts/baseball cap/T-shirt dress code that dominates the approach to fashion for one wishing to inspect yearlings in the lead-in to the sale.

He was an older man. In his late 50's I guess. He glanced at the sheet of scrawled notes in my right hand and the camera resting on my hip.

"There are 6 champions out there somewhere," he stated matter-of-factly, gesturing to the surrounding barns that appeared mirage-like through the shimmering heat. "Any idea where they might be?"

"Nope, but if you find them be sure to let me know - it's what keeps us coming back each year," I responded lightly, unable to resist the smile as if we were, in that moment, branded as partners in crime.

Meanwhile, whilst you comb the catalogue or stand in the heat squinting (suffering?!) against the glare as you observe the endless parade of immaculately presented horses and quietly dream of 2006 Magic Millions glory -a few photos from Monday to distract you. There were 1145 other yearlings that weren't photographed (a matter of time [or more to the point a distinct lack thereof rather than a lack of desire to take them]) and you'll no doubt see many better photos over the coming days as the 'professionals' get to work.

But the question remains the same: Are these the champions of the future?

Possibly.

Possibly not.

They were nice all the same.

The biggest surprise from the first season sires were the Magic Albert yearlings. I can't say I had marked them out to look at and I have never even been a particular fan of the stallion. Having seen a few - I have to say, I am a convert. Let's hope they run to type.

Bes