By Xavier Libbrecht
Let’s recap. In last month’s editorial column I began this spur-of-the-moment story. But let’s be clear: Since this related to the purchase of a sport horse embryo, it couldn’t be attributed to heat stroke, or even love at first sight!
An exceptional pedigree, a model that had declared itself over the seasons without any particular flaw, raised in the best possible conditions – Génie (yes, this is the name I gave to the foal of my dreams) has become a pretty foal who is just now entering its third year. For the record, I scored by investing the trifling amount of €100,000, to which I had to add the auction company’s commission (which I forgot to mention in my last column, so I thank the reader who reminded me), plus VAT, which brought my total purchase price to €124,000. The commission was only 4% in this case, whereas some auctions charge as much as 11%. And to that I added a further €20,000 for various diverse maintenance and insurance expenses. So, in short, let’s count large and say that my rare bird cast a small €150,000, with the serious items only just about to begin. But I also said from the outset, for this story to resonate: Money is not a problem. Maintaining my dream is the only thing that counts in this narrative.
So, it is now February, in the third year of Génie’s life, and it is not the time to skimp. When I was kindly and generously advised about my purchase, I was assured that he would be approved as a reproducer by the best European studbooks, which would promote him (I mean me!) from the outset, and so would launch the road to profitability. Obviously the owners of the best mares of the old continent would throw themselves on his blessed seed.
So there is no question of arguing about the costs of preparing for these famous ‘expertises’ for stallions. A few thousand additional bank notes allocated for a renowned stallion owner who could best prepare him for his performance (kind of like movie casting!) would guarantee Genie’s qualifications to the chosen studbooks finals. Let’s say, only the tip of the iceberg in order to best serve the purposes of my investment... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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