Last month I spent most of my time in Melbourne.  It's like a second home for me, with many of my best friends there, and also of course the vast majority of my family.  If it weren't for my Mum being in Sydney, and my brother and his kids being in Canberra, and my kids in a very good school here in Canberra, I would move to Melbourne yesterday.  One of the things I've often sighed about, over the course of the past 10 years, since the kids were born and photographing at the track became a little bit more problematic, was the difficulty in getting to things like trackwork, or down the beach, or just to the stables, like I used to before they were born.  My son being a Type 1 Diabetic since 18 months old didn't help this at all, and there were many times I yearned for the days of being at the track all the time, or just popping down to Flemington in the afternoon to catch horses having a pick (ie - a walk and a graze), and/or having a swim in the pool. I have to ...

The concept of shuttle stallions is now well and truly established in the Thoroughbred Industry.  Global operations like Darley and Coolmore have multiple farms in America, Ireland/England, Australia, and in Darley's case, Japan.  John Messara, of Arrowfield Stud, can arguably lay claim to being the man behind the whole shuttle stallion concept in Australia, and it's overwhelming success, because of his selection and subsequent half share purchase in the mighty stallion Danehill.  Messara's stallion roster is now actually 100% Australian bred, but his stallion All American (Red Ransom - Milva) was I think the first Australian bred stallion to shuttle to an American farm.  Previously stallions have shuttled from Australia to the northern hemisphere, but their destinations have largely been to Europe, with Octagonal, Fastnet Rock, Choisir, Starspangledbanner, Encosta de Lago and Exceed and Excel all serving in the northern hemisphere. This year however, an absolut...