Importing Foreign Horses

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Easy Goer Otis

Working in a project and was wondering if I could tap into this community's vast reservoir of knowledge, for those that follow international racing closely:

1) Inspired by Aussie turf sprinter import Power Alert at SA last weekend, what TYPES of international horses do you think would do well over here on the California, Florida, or NE circuit (esp PA and ON)? Milers from France? Routers from Germany.

I haven't tried to answer any of this, Otis, as I feel others are far more qualified to.

I just want to say that I have no clue.

It has been desperately disappointing when such GREAT horses like Habibi - an absolute superstar in her native NZ (and who is running today at SA), and Scenic Blast, who was Horse of the Year in Australia (I just woke up and my brain refuses to remind me how well or terribly Crossing the Line did here and I am far too lazy to look it up right now ) come over here and are just okaaaay.

Hopefully by bumping this up someone educated in such matters will roll their eyes at my response and provide you with a better one!

I think the milers and sprinters from HK would generally do well here in SoCal but alas... I have always had a soft spot for the old geldings over there (lucky you having been to HV. I hope you were lucky enough to go to Sha Tin as well?).

Good luck with your project AND with Catching Fireflies.

Hoping for a better answer in three..... two..... one...

[Easy Goer Otis]

Thanks, MMSC! Great starting points, which is where I'm at.

My partner has had some success with foreign stock, mostly through Team Valor (i.e. Animal Kingdom is by a Brazilian sire and was largely sold to Australian breeding interests, and Euro Charline runs over in Europe/UAE). He gets quite a few offers to bring horses over here. And exchange rates are ideal right now.

I want to plan a few road trips and see if we can establish win-win relationships with reliable/up and coming racing operations abroad. Optimally, perhaps develop exclusive feeder programs to keep us stocked with promising fillies (which is what are focusing on), while burnishing their international reputations by getting black type over here.

We'll see if he can make any useful connections over in Dubai next weekend.

Should be a fun project while I take some time off from the corporate grind for the spring/summer. My visit to Happy Valley was definitely inspiring!

Thanks again for your help and feel free to list any under-the-radar trainers or horses that you notice on the international simulcasts. Any leads are good leads in this case!

Cheers,

Otis

[Easy Goer Otis]

Very interesting article about why Aussie horses excel in shorter races, but have trouble developing world class stayers.

http://www.thoroughbrednews.com.au/s...age=1&keyword=

Cheers,

Otis