tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30525374.post8268449601056722304..comments2024-03-19T09:19:39.519+00:00Comments on Stable Life: The One Great SorcererJohn Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02266884652423059813noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30525374.post-3486968040923449992016-01-30T13:09:40.318+00:002016-01-30T13:09:40.318+00:00Ah, it must be the onset of old age, because your ...Ah, it must be the onset of old age, because your latest blog seems to me to be a metaphor for current society. In other words , instant gratification. See it, want it and NOW !. John you are so right [ maybe you are looking through the wrong end of the telescope of life as well ?] Just to bore you to death I have a simile.<br /> My very Victorian minded father was fair but harsh and made it plain that without work and effort nothing would be forthcoming for free from him. My allowance as a boy was miniscule, it might just buy the odd sherbet dab or a quarter of aniseed twist from the jar, so apart from birthday and Christmas presents no other gifts were forthcoming during the year. So, when I wanted a face mask for snorkelling or a new pair of rugger boots, I had to get weekend jobs to save for them. But after weeks of my nose pressed against the window of the local sports outfitters in expectation [ yes, not "shop" but outfitters.] I would enter the premises shaking with excitement and a little silver in my pocket to buy the object of my endeavours. My, was I proud as I walked down the street and rode the bus home with the trophy tucked under my arm !!. Nothing extends a better feeling of self worth.<br />Now, we expect to see something that engages with the acquisitive side of our minds and purchase it whether we have the funds or not. It's either the credit card or a bank loan. Then once the short lived thrill has passed we move on to the next "must have".<br />And so it's the same with racing. In the seventies and eighties, at least in my experience, it was far more Corinthian and my owner colleagues, and I thought of them as such, would be as pleased as me when I won [on just a few occasions] and the reverse was true. Ready to buy a drink in the bar and celebrate a common victory. Of course, there were the big battalions then, but somehow it was more seemly and sporting. I, regrettably, never had the opportunity to breed a horse myself but I can imagine the thrill and contentment stemming from producing with the trainer, firstly a runner, then just possibly a place position in even a auction maiden. <br />Just the same feeling my new rugger boots gave me.David J Winter.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11475841930227369913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30525374.post-88663788483557967222016-01-30T12:42:44.708+00:002016-01-30T12:42:44.708+00:00Hi John,
Interesting blog piece, but Trevor Hemmin...Hi John,<br />Interesting blog piece, but Trevor Hemmings isn't the beau ideal you suggest. Of his 3 Cheltenham 2016 entries, 2 of those were bought by Trevor after they'd won for previous owners. And didn't he buy Afsoun for £250k after running in the Triumph Hurdle, and remember Lyvius - with winning form on the flat in Germany - whom we tried to buy and he outbid us? My reckoning is up to a third of the horses he has owned were bought broken or possessed previous form. So he behaves much like a Premiership football club - homegrown talent, but adding where there are gaps in the squad. Your football analogy has a glaring hole in it given you neglected to mention the thriving transfer market, which, as with racing, provides a mechanism for smaller clubs/owners to cash in if they so wish and often results in good players, expensively bought, sitting on the bench.<br /><br />Regarding the idea that the pleasure of a home-bred winning tops that of a recently bought horse, how about considering that each contributor to a horse reaching the track - breeder, stallion owner, mare owner, trainer, owner, sales company etc etc, derives some quantum of pleasure from a horse winning, and whilst the home-bred owner sums a number of those quanta, the total pleasure derived is the same, it's just shared out amongst more people. You could even argue the total pleasure derived is even greater for horses that changed hands, and better for racing as a result, and that is before considering the financial benefit from sales along the way that enables many of those contributors to remain viable.<br />Regards,<br />Jason<br /><br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01188750834859205778noreply@blogger.com