JAPAN'S SHADAI FARM ACQUIRES HARBINGER

Harbinger
(Photo : Racing International)

JAPAN SWOOPS : THE REST WALLOW

We all know it, the Japanese brought us Toyota, Nissan and Sony, and Shadai Farm gave us Sunday Silence. We’re more interested in horses though, and the Sunday Silence story is a compelling one. As good as he was in earning himself the status of America’s Horse Of The Year, when it came to his retirement to stud, Sunday Silence was blacklisted by American breeders.

It was said that he was too slight, too light of bone, it was said he was crooked in the knees and trailed his hocks. In fact, he was condemned for every possible reason, despite the fact that he was the best horse, by far, of his generation. Frustrated by the lack of appreciation his colleagues exhibited for the horse, Arthur Hancock III took the next best option: he sold the horse to Japan’s most famous breeder, Zenya Yoshida of Shadai Farm. The Japanese have an appreciation for a horse with the stamina to go 2400m, and the ability to beat all-comers, whatever his make or shape.

History tells us this was one of breeding’s most successful gambles, and Sunday Silence went on to wow the rest of the world with a succession of exceptional performers. They ran at two, they ran short and long, they ran on the turf and the dirt, and they excelled at home and abroad. There were simply no limits for the Sunday Silences, and those of us who have them, should cherish the moment. Summerhill’s acquisition of Admire Main in a venture with Shadai Farm is an expression of its appreciation of this great stallion’s legacy. Admire Main’s record may be uniquely Japanese, but the Sunday Silence story is universal.

This week’s announcement of the acquisition of the world’s highest-rated racehorse, once again highlighted the Japanese propensity for a good deal, as well as their appetite for risk, as Shadai Farm outpointed the world in acquiring Harbinger. After suffering a career ending injury following his emphatic win in Ascot’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Gr1), has been sold to stand in Japan.

According to Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s website, the deal to sell the four-year-old to the Shadai Group “values the horse as one of the highest-priced transactions in recent times”. Director John Warren explained, “There were a number of top stud farms from both home and abroad involved in the negotiations, and there was a very strong bid to keep the horse in England. Unfortunately for the British bloodstock industry, the final bid from the famous Shadai Group, where Sunday Silence stood, was far too strong to be able to compete.” Harbinger is currently in recovery following the condylar fracture he sustained to his near-fore cannon bone at the start of last month when being prepared for York’s Juddmonte International (Gr1).

ARTHUR HANCOCK III : Horseracing's Rudderless Ship

Eight Belles (nbc)

The collapse and euthanasia of Kentucky Derby runner-up EIGHT BELLES, shortly after her epic run in America’s most celebrated race, has focused attention once again on the USA’s medication laws, which many horsemen claim is compromising the soundness of the breed. In a manner of speaking, their “heads-in-the-sand” approach recalls the words of Winston Churchill:

“Who is in charge of the clattering train,
The carriages creak and couplets strain.
And the pace is fast and points are near,
But sleep has deadened the driver’s ear.
And the whistle shrieks through the night in vain,
For death is in charge of the clattering train”.

In his condemnation of America’s drugs policies, Arthur Hancock III, descended from the famous Claiborne dynasty, had this to say :

“The real problem with the horse industry is that nobody is in charge. We are a rudderless ship and the way we are going, we will end up on the rocks. Our ship has many captains, and they all have a different agenda.

I have come to the conclusion that we cannot regulate and govern ourselves no matter how much we wish we could. We are too fragmented and too diverse. We are composed of too many “fiefdoms” and each one is led by a nero-like chieftain who had rather do things his way than help the cause as a whole.

How many fiefdoms are there? You can start with each and every state which has its own racing commission and its own chairman. Then you have the Jockey Club, the N.T.R.A., the Jockeys Guild, the H.B.P.A., the T.O.B.A., the Breeders’ Cup, the American Horse Council, the A.V.M.A., the A.A.E.P., KEEP, the K.T.A., the T.R.A., and on it goes. There are dozens of organizations in addition to the states, and getting them all to work toward the same end is like trying to steer a herd of stampeding buffaloes. It is impossible and cannot be done except in one way - and one way alone.

The Horse Racing Act of 1978 is the vehicle through which we may succeed. Each state can be controlled because the federal government has the right to pull the signal if the states do not conform to the regulations. For instance, if there is a ban on steroids and in the future a state will not abide by the rule, that state could not broadcast its signal.

I have said for years that we must remove drugs and thugs from our game. In 1960, horses made 11.3 starts per year and in 2007 they made 6.31 starts per year. This is a dramatic drop of 44 percent and is a startling statistic which shows that the breed is becoming softer and weaker. This leads one to the inescapable conclusion that there will be more frequent and more severe catastrophic injuries which will do us irreparable harm.It is a vicious cycle. Drugs must be banned if we are going to survive as an industry and if Thoroughbreds will survive as a robust breed.

Why don’t we create a level playing field and do away with drugs? We must remember that drugs are money for veterinarians. They convince the trainers who convince the owners. Once I told a vet not to treat my horses and he responded, “Well, Arthur, you want to win races, don’t you?”

If anyone cares where our ship will end up they would be wise to embrace the philosophy of federal guidelines for excellence and support a movement to clean up this mess through federal legislation. Barring this control and guidance, our ship will most assuredly be wrecked or dry docked. Without a rudder, we are lost.”

Arthur Hancock III’s Stone Farm bred the Kentucky Derby winners Gato Del Sol (1982), Sunday Silence (1989) and Fusaichi Pegasus (2000). He is the eldest son of A.B. (Bull) Hancock and grandson of A.B. Hancock Sr., who owned Ellerslie Stud in Virginia before transferring most of his operation to the present-day Claiborne.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News