ATC Syndicates ... The Future

Des- we are "enjoying" the dregs of Cyclone Debbie in New Zealand at present but the weather has been forecast to improve by Friday so hopefully conditions will be o.k.

Yes- they can all place because Some Change is to be driven by David Butcher, Bettors Pocket by Tony Herlihy and The Faithful has drawn his favourite number 10 ( has won twice from this draw).

Apart from premier class racing his rating of 92 means he should not be meeting the top horses on a regular basis, perhaps occasionally should he win a race or two in the interim.  None of those top horses are in the field this week.

Without wanting to elaborate too much  there is an obvious reason why The Faithful is best placed to race at Alexandra Park.  We frequently read about the success stories but not all the stories have a happy ending.

Which horse is the odd man out in this even race field?  
The Faithful
Hughie Green
No Doctor Needed
Shandale
Risk
Tiger Tara
Little Rascal
Stroke Of Luck
Mossdale Connor

These are horses that have been sold / sent overseas to continue their racing careers. Only one has not.

Here is a list of current greats of the New Zealand / Australian pacing scene and a couple of future stars.

Christen Me
Lazarus
The Orange Agent
Smolda
Heaven Rocks
Have Faith In Me
Waikiki Beach
Dream About Me

The Faithful has had to meet these horses on level terms despite being on a far lower ratings mark.

Can anyone make a case for any of the three syndicate runners filling a place at Auckland this Friday?
Interesting articles on the HRNZ website about Bettor Spirits and Motu Premier reaching their mark and potentially having to race against the top liners so they are off to Australia to make lots of money. The Faithful is a better horse than Bettor Spirits and has already finished midfield against the top horses. I can't understand why members would prefer to see The Faithful run midfield in the flesh rather than winning on TV. If he was for sale he would be snapped up by Australian interests on the basis of his money making potential so why not race him in Australia ourselves? I'm sure that Barry Purdon has the connections to have this occur if the desire is there from ATC2014 members. Time for a new direction or sell him outright before his form drops away with a broken spirit. (No pun intended).
A horse called Ideal Belle is starting in race one at Gloucester Park this evening.

Kitty led all the way in her 3 horse workout this morning. The overall time was 2.49.9 with a 58.8 last half and 29.3 last quarter.
It is very likely that she will now have her first race day start at Cambridge in Friday 17th Match.

Surfie finished 2nd of 3 in his workout after trailling the leader the whole race. His race was run in a quicker 2.44.8 with the last half in 57.5 and last quarter in 29.4.
He will be back at the workouts in Pukekohe next Saturday.

For those wavering between attending the workouts or waiting to watch the video, I was told last night that the video camera team will not be attending today.

Word from the stables last night was that Bet I Can has a temperature and won't be at the workouts today after all. Not sure at this stage what that means for her plans to trial next weekend on the 'Meet your horses' morning.

Not a great deal said about Jack after his race last night. Scott said he was disappointing but that it's tough in that grade as there is no rest during a race like that. Jack appeared to recover well enough back in the stables, so will hopefully be better suited over 2200m next Friday night.

Thank you Conwell and ray the beancounter ... message received.

Yes quite right, Bet I Can's workout is actually at 10:15am tomorrow not 10:45am.

I am planning to go along to the opening of the tenders for Ideal Belle in a couple of hours, so I can post details for those not able to attend.

I am looking forward to the trainers' comments regarding future racing plans after the workouts tomorrow. An interesting sidelight is that trial 5 contains 4 horses each prepared by an ATC syndicate trainer i.e. Reid, Purdon, Small and Dickie. On the subject of drivers, have a look at the collection of drivers in The Faithful's race tonight. Surely there has not been a more decorated / talented group of drivers in one race at Alexandra Park for a long time. Does any member give The Faithful a chance today? There is an obscure connection between The Faithful and todays race meeting in that his dam, Running On Faith, won the Group 1 Northern Oaks in 2007.
Could someone please post a report regarding what happens at the opening of the tenders for Ideal Belle this afternoon. Good luck to everyone concerned.
With the fast approaching blog number 1000 we should reserve that honour for the administrator who set up this site in appreciation of the service that it has provided to those that have contributed or viewed only.

Yes they are 10.15am, 11.00am and 11.30am and for those attending just be aware that they are being held at Alexandra Park tomorrow, not at the more usual venue of Pukekohe.

Conwell wrote:A busy morning at the workouts tomorrow...

Bet I Can at 10:45am
Miss Kitty at 11:00am
Some Change at 11:30am

I'll be going along to watch so will post an update on how they went when I can. (probably not until after Derby Day at Ellerslie on Saturday)

A note of caution- the first 2 or 3 races last week began (from the starting point) 2 to 3 minutes early.

Bet I Can- 10 15 I read.

A busy morning at the workouts tomorrow...

Bet I Can at 10:45am
Miss Kitty at 11:00am
Some Change at 11:30am

I'll be going along to watch so will post an update on how they went when I can. (probably not until after Derby Day at Ellerslie on Saturday)

Des- I believe members are happy for The Faithful to continue to race at Auckland, a track that suits him.  He won't necessarily be racing at premier class meetings on a regular basis and with dwindling numbers up here he should be able to pick up a few wins over the next few months.

Some Change is due at the workouts very shortly and the Geoff Small team look to be hitting their straps after a lean period- two winners at Taranaki today with Delightful Zen quite impressive in particular, for a former ATC Syndicate member who has been breeding from his own mare.
Kiwi Tintin won for a current member as well.

We had a good turnout at Rob Carr's last meeting as manager with numbers up on the average and lots of handshaking and good wishes to Rob and Coralee who has supported him well at various functions over the years.  New manager, Andrew Jamieson intends to carry on the good work and with his school teaching back ground should be able to handle the naughty ones with skill!

We are on the brink of action a plenty with the sale of Ideal Belle (under $100,000 is a bargain) tomorrow, The Faithful is taking on the world champions again (Lazarus / Christen Me / The Orange Agent) ... would members accept an Australian offer of $50,000 for The Faithful so that he can race against inferior horses and make a lot more money? ... Final workout (hopefully ) for Miss Kitty. First workout for Bet I Can so we can see what we have. The return of Some Change to hopefully recapture his early promise. The return of Bettors Pocket to hopefully recapture his race form from last time in. A new syndicate manager to run the show.
Patience is a virtue but it can also be frustrating and expensive.

I am looking forward to the January newsletters as there has been a distinctly quiet period of late. Is Bettors Pocket heading towards Auckland on Thursday or The Kapti Coast on the weekend? He was going to be in the finish of the Country Cups final last year before suffering interference at the top of the straight. No Doctor Needed looped the field from last to win at Menangle yesterday and paid for his travel costs. Who is writing the January newsletters? Has Ideal Belle been advertised? When is the closing date? I hope that Extra Blast has a make or break decision shortly and we don't follow the drawn out Rhubarb Lane scenario. Upcoming trials and workouts for several of our unraced horses will be very welcome as we have been patient to this point. We should encourage more syndicate members to contribute to the blog through the newsletter and hopefully Geejay will continue his involvement after the sale of the last ATC2012 horse. Have a look at Major Star racing last night at Ballarat ... pulled ferociously ... almost uncontrollable. Has anyone got an eye on anything at the yearling sales?

Do I detect a tongue in cheek softening of barryf's previous opinion on this matter? At least being nervous is a feeling and lets you know that you are involved. Selling leaves you with nothing.

Snake bites, forest fires, dodgy bookies, extreme heat, different rules etc.make me very nervous.

Some of our trainers and jockeys have had bad experiences in their trips to the "lucky" country.

But Des is a decent joker who would guard our interests with great scrutiny no doubt.  

Surely if the Box Seat experts think that The Faithful has a future overseas and could attract a substantial offer then the ATC2014 should race The Faithful overseas ourselves. This would keep us fully involved with the horse and not be in conflict with promoting Auckland racing as we sell horses out of Auckland anyway and if sold The Faithful would join them. Many of us still closely follow Major Star in Victoria. The Faithful must now be on a par with a horse like Messini who has done very well overseas. We would also have the option of bringing The Faithful back for next years NZ cups races as well as it being easier for him to race in races such as the Cranbourne Cup, Kilmore Cup and even the Hunter Cup. The Interdominion would not be beyond him if The Bucket List can perform so well. Remember that he was the lowest rated horse in the Auckland Cup by some margin, is by Bettors Delight, has not been over raced, has got better each season and most importantly, we own him and collectively make the decisions.

I don't have high expectations for the ATC 2016 syndicate.

I'll be pleased if Extra Blast manages to make it to the races and very pleased if he ever wins a race.
I liked what I saw of Some Change as a yearling, but he lost the plot after a few promising workout runs early on. I still think he'll be capable of winning races, but probably not many.
Miss Kitty is the best of this bunch in my opinion. She showed promise early on and again at the workouts in her last campaign. The crop of 3YO fillies this year doesn't appear to be that deep, so all going well there's a decent chance that she'll get an opportunity to run in some of the better 3YO fillies races.

The ATC 2017 syndicate has been showing some promise.

I'm picking that Bet I Can will need a bit more time to develop before she shows her best, (like her big sister Miss Kitty) so I'm not too concerned about whether she makes it to the races as a 2YO.
Cha Cha B I'm still unsure of at the moment, as we've received mixed reports so far. It concerns me a little that he's currently having to wear so much gear, but hopefully he'll develop and won't need it long term. It's sounding like he'll be a decent racehorse, but he may also need a bit more time yet.
I really like what I'm hearing about Park Avenue so far and it may be a blessing in disguise that he's had to be tipped out now so that he can come back bigger and stronger as a late 2YO/early 3YO. I'm hopeful that's he's going to be our Derby horse for next season.  

My money's on there not being a 2018 syndicate given that there are still 3 active syndicates (assuming that Belle is going to be retired soon) and that the 2017 syndicate took quite a while to sell through. There are a lot of the same people in the ATC syndicates so it gets expensive to be involved in all of them when there are a lot of active syndicates. There also seem to be more people going in together to buy a share which means we need to get more new people involved to be able to sell all the shares.

I understand that a replacement manager will be announced very shortly but no syndicate is proposed this year which will enable the manager to bed in quietly with the existing syndicates.

The Faithful's run in the Auckland was exceptional for one of his class/rating and in the process became ATC Syndicates' fastest ever 3200 metres performer at 3m56.3 but being unplaced it won't be recognised.  Watching the race at track level highlighted to me how fast he was going in the finishing straight with driver David Butcher urging him forward in the manner of Charleston Heston in the Ben Hur movie! It also reminded me of those cowboy movies where they would speed up the film to give an exhilirating effect.

The Box Seat boys in their Cup preview referred to The Faithful's future being overseas. I am not convinced on that prediction based on his subsequent effort and the likelihood of consistent well staked racing at Alexandra Park in the future but I guess if some healthy 6 figure sums were put on the table full consideration would be given by members.

I can only write about the 2016 syndicate but I am not optimistic as to whether any will pay their way- hope I am wrong.

Hello to everyone. With the rise of the New Year and the fast approaching end of ATC 2012 with earnings of over $300,00 and a Group 1 win and three Group 1 second placings, my mind turns to what may lie ahead. It seems that The Faithful has finally established himself as a top line performer with what appeared to be the fastest final sectionals in a record run Auckland Cup. Bettors Pocket hopefully will follow his syndicate mate into the top races and prove to be just as consistent and competitive. What opinions do my fellow bloggers have regarding the ATC 2016 and 2017 horses? It has been a real stop start stop experience so far. Is there going to be an ATC 2018 syndicate ... who will the trainers be ... who will manage it? I have just bought a share in a Shadow Play 2yo filly here in Perth being trained by Ross Oliveri, one of the top Perth trainers and so I will not join any new syndicate as I now have a share in 7 unraced 2-3 year olds and a wife who only wants to know when the horses win.