March 30, 2007	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1428

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LAHORE, March 29: The horse breeding industry was surrounded by the recessionary climate with breeders desperately on the look out for buyers to get rid of their charges. This trend was visible during the March auction sale and at other sale points of the two and three-year-old colts and fillies here.

The steep fall in demand of the new bloodstock have led to lower production and lower prices. The price range showed at least 25 per cent downward slide and reduced catalogue as compared to the last year's sales and purchases.

However, a better but limited choice was offered to intending buyers of high pedigree bloodstock during the early March auction and later out of auction sales, according to figures available from the Jockey Club Of Pakistan (JCP).

The new sires show case in respect of bloodstock, consisted entirely of off springs from first and second crop. The number of animals catalogued was down significantly from the last year reflecting market slithering conditions. But intending buyers were lucky to be offered progenies of different sires and a couple of new sires, such as, Tripple Eight from the bloodline of Mr Prospector, Fransesco Guardi from the lineage of Hail To Reason, Dubai Edition from Bloodline of Native Dancer and a few others.

Some of the colts and fillies, bred at a newly stud farm near Lahore, who were offered high prices out of auction but were not sold, when put to auction could fail to bring as much offers. The result was that they had to be sold at far less prices, the LRC sources told Dawn Wednesday.

A couple of stud farms having services of sires from the internationally recognized as well as high reputed bloodlines were not represented during auction and out of auction sales. Perhaps their breeders, who are race horse owners as well, may have decided to keep them and race them in their own colours. When they will race well their brothers and sisters will be in bigger demand. But at the moment may not get high prices in view of the recessionary trend, which is a prevailing and discouraging phenomenon. They are hoping against hope that at last the market will pick up sooner or later.

According to the catalogue and the list of those sold gathered from the Jockey Club Of Pakistan, the colts and fillies prices ranged from rupees one lack seventy thousand to rupees four lac per piece at the best.

Strangely enough, the lowest and the highest price offered belong to progenies of the same sire, the Dubai Edition. The highest was offered for a filly and the lowest for a colt.

Some owners made bids but remained unsuccessful, some struck deals at the auction and the others out of auction and some were seen negotiating with vendors, sources said.

The LRC had made open offer to intending buyers to advance loan worth rupees one lac per person. This was subject to condition that he will run the animal in Lahore races till the full recovery of the loan.