Flash the Cash!

Yes folks its that time of year again, the annual battle of the "newbies" vs "vets" in the Flash the Cash Stakes.

This year there are over 500 (yes FIVE HUNDRED!) horses to choose from but, if its anything like previous years, there will be less than a dozen or so horses who achieve over $1million.

So whats the best strategy to wade into this malestrom with? It doesnt depend so much on how much cash you have (although we admit that helps) but rather how long can you hold out without showing your hand. The more "auction toughened" players can hang on until the last 10 mins before wading in and "gazumping" the rest of the stables. This usually happens on the better breed/raced stock although sometimes it comes down to two stables just trying to outbid each other "because"!!

The newbies dont miss out though - there have been several instances in the past where a good horse has been picked up for less than $50,000 which is most new players budget per horse. It also offers them a better rate of return, so a horse costing less than $50,000 but who wins $500,000 in its career is a far better prospect than a horse costing in excess of $3mill who only returns $4million. (Sounds crazy but its true).

Sometimes you can land the horse you want simply by placing the maximum you are going to as the first bid and thats it - job done. But mostly horses are won by those playing late and fast - the last 10mins of the auction will see the most money flying than the rest of the period!

It must also be remembered that the vetrans will simply have more money than newer players, and that if they seriously want a horse they can afford to bid others out of the race. That doesnt mean its a personal vendetta against the under bidder, simply that the winner can afford to go higher.

But dont let that put you off if you have a small budget. Search around, look back at grandparents in pedigrees, and make a sensible bid. All horses have a minimum price of $10,000 and quite often the majority of older (4+) horses can be purchased for that sum or a fraction more.

So who will be the winners of the Flash the Cash Stakes - everyone because there is a horse out there for everyone, no matter what your budget, aspirations, stable size etc. There should be no reason at the end of the day to say "not fair" - if you cant find one horse in 500 then theres no hope!!