TRACK TALK – Cadet

 

TRACK TALK | cadet

20/03/2014 by PHAR LAP from THE BLACK TYPE BUGLER

 

 

 

Today is ISSUE 13 of TRACK TALK. We will spend some time with one of the top trainers in our great game Derby Fever. The powerful cadet stable. Breeder and trainer of the great DEPUTY CADET.

 

 

DEPUTY CADET (Two time United Nations Grade 1 winner of $2.34 million in earnings, my first ever G1 winner. He was also my first “legit” Breeders Bowl horse)

The first UN win, I was at a non-horse racing friend’s house over the 4th of July weekend… I was quietly watching my races on his couch when I started jumping up and down. You can imagine the comments from my “buddies”. Since he only won by a fast fleeing nose I actually thought he lost as they passed the wire. After I got over my disappointment (I shut the viewer down before it could post the result page). I checked the speed figure by clicking the horse in my barn (This is before badges) and was SHOCKED to find out I had actually won. Of course I instantly re-watched the race with renewed vigour and upon further review he won with the utmost authority.     

       

                 SIRE   BELONG TO ME                     DAM SIRE JADE HUNTER                DDS DEPUTY MINISTER                  

           

 

Deputy Cadet is an interesting sim study as he was horrible as a youngster (much like his mom), but thanks to real life and personal interests changing, he got a couple extended rests early in life. Before really turning into something good as a 4 and 5 year old, again much like mom. I think his light racing up into that later development age really helped him push the needle into being a grade 1 winner.

 

 

Stables Winning strike rate    17.4 %              ITM   45.1 %

Member of the Empire State Racing residency

Member of the South Africa Racing Association residency

 

PHAR LAP:  Hi Robby, thanks for taking the time for this interview.

Robby:  My pleasure Phar Lap! Your interviews are always entertaining and give some great insight into the minds of what makes this game so great. 

 

PHAR LAP: Where do you come from Robby?

Robby:  I grew up in Nebraska and went to school in Arizona. Currently I have recently just moved to New York and have been a track rat all along the way.

 

PHAR LAP: Have you a racing background and can you give us an insight on how you got involved in this great game.

Robby:  When I was five my dad would take me to Santa Anita and Hollywood in the early 80’s on the weekends. I would always want to go play on the playground, not interested much in the horses. My father was clever enough to realize if I had a betting interest in the race I wouldn’t worry about the playground as much. The day that got me hooked for life was when we were living in Nebraska, I would get $2 a race to bet and if I was winning I had to fund the betting. I hit a couple short prices (I just always picked names) and was up a few bucks. My brother had a friend named “Sam” and a horse in the upcoming race was named “Again Sam”. He was 65-1. I had to argue with my pops to get him to bet, eventually telling him that I was up and it was my money so go bet! Well $134.40 later I was hooked. I eventually taught myself how to read the racing form. I always watched and followed the big races on T.V. and started to grow an interest in owning horses. A lifelong dream I just recently acted on two years ago when I purchased a few shares with Team Valor. I currently own parts of three horses (3 yr old here in the states and a weanling and mare in Australia). As far as THIS great game, the thanks goes to yahoo! After moving to Arizona for college my pops had this amazing thing called “the internet”. I quickly realized I could get some pretty cool horse racing games. I played Sport of Kings on my PC all the time and loved it. After a little bit of research I found a game called “Hooves of Thunder” and ordered it on-line… it took a week to arrive. During that week I was searching to get my “fix” when I stumbled across simulatedsports.com. Quick look around, some help from Iago and a weekend of trolling claimers I was hooked! I made some great friends early on in cricker, ace, desperado, kate, lezybaybe, dixiedotco, and zgreat.

 

PHAR LAP: Could you tell us how long you have been breeding and training in Derby Fever.

Robby:  I’ve been playing since week 397. Week 404 first races, and had my first winner (in a listed stakes as a maiden) in week 411… yes I ran right back with a maiden in a listed event-lol. I was very active week in and week out for the first 3 years or so, never missing entry, but then I took a few years off, ran randomly, and get back into it pretty seriously in 2010. I remember thinking breeding was never going to happen when I first started. I thought of Breeding Points as “pie in the sky” and never really cared much about them, but to my pleasant surprise breeding went live (early 2000?). I was a horrible breeder, never wanting to spend so much for Storm Cat or Mr. Prospector. I focused on value as much as I could… had my share of luck with stakes winners, but nothing that creates much value for me now as a mares.

 

PHAR LAP: What is your greatest training accomplishment to-date?

Robby: Back in 2002, the now debunked ASR RESIDENCY had a sim wide contest called the Team Trophy. Teams consisted of three members and they competed against each other in an Equinics like event. Each team member had to enter so many races. I got super lucky and was asked by Dixiedotco and Zgreat (two of the guys that defined what it was to be a powerhouse). I was able to provide a bit of help, but with their strength we won the only Team Trophy… I think Zgreat took it with him and pawned it to fund his new “farming” experiment out in Northern California, never to be heard of again. 

 

PHAR LAP:  DEPUTY CADET is your best horse so far, correct me if I am wrong, can you tell us about other past stars.

Robby: Yeah, there a few I would like to show you

MOTHER DEPUTY(dam of Deputy Cadet and my first winner of multiple Graded races)

             SIRE JADE HUNTER                    DAM SIRE DEPUTY MINISTER           DDS   MAJESTIC PRINCE    

                                                  

I was able to get Mother Deputy at auction early in her 3 year old season. This is back in 2002 so the details are a bit fuzzy, but when she won her back to back G3’s I had forgot that she won a G3 just the race before… As jazzed as a I get now over graded victories I have no idea how that could have happened, but after that second win I made it my mission to get her a “B” rating for breeding. This was before rating points for mares in the new game so we just had classifications and winning three graded races would move her to class “B”. She fell on some hard times soon after posting her lifetime best of a 116 speed figure in a G3 (but finished second) including back to back races with a 16 speed figure and a 61… NOTE TO ROOKIES… don’t bring your injured horses back in a G1. Two years after her first graded score she was able to tackle the Sheephearder’s Bay (not a race named after Davarto surprisingly enough). Soon after that I went on a couple simcations never really getting serious about the game again until 2010. So I really don’t remember what finally pushed me to retire and breed her, but I’m sure it was related to old age and 70+ races. Interestingly enough it was her second foal, sired by Belong to Me off a chat room suggestion (I wish I could remember who) Deputy Cadet that helped get me back into the game with his success. Frankster and Jetman were also very helpful getting me back into the swing of things in the chat room.                 

 

PHAR LAP:  Breeding and training are passions of yours Robby, have you any horses that are getting you excited?

Robby:  Horses that I’m excited about for the future

 

CADETARIAT (3 year old. Love his name, forgot who suggested it to me, but I think it’s pretty clever. A little disappointing with his turf efforts, but is showing a lot of class winning with easy on the dirt. Think with some creative placing I might be able to get this guy on the derby trail.) 

            SIRE   SEA THE STARS                DAM SIRE   SADLER’S WELLS                DAM’S DS  SECRETARIAT    

                                              

 

CAPE CADET ((3 year old. 2 for 2 off track specialist, who has some very speedy siblings, I’ve had a lot of luck with this family, but trying to break thru and get a graded winner. He might be my best shot at it.)

               SIRE   CAPE CROSS                    DAM SIRE   GIANT’S CAUSEWAY              DAM’S DS  MR PROSPECTOR 

                                             
            

JAQUEN CADET ((3 year old. Taking Given’s lead I named this one after my favorite Game of Thrones character Jaquen (faceless man) I got a bit excited early and threw him in over his head in third start, but will take some time with him and think added ground will be of benefit.)

 

      SIRE   HENRYTHENAVIGATOR                         DAM SIRE   KRIS. S                        DDS BLUSHING GROOM

   

           

             

CADET MOUNTAIN ( 4 year old.With Mother Deputy, I’m convinced, based on Deputy Cadet and Cadet’s Mother, foals are late developing turf routers. So I’m taking it very, very easy on her foals early.

 

                   SIRE   MONTJEU                             DAM SIRE JADE HUNTER                  DDS DEPUTY MINISTER  

                                                                                                                                         
           

MOON CADET (5 year old.2011 was a key sim year for me. I started purchasing credits to help fund my breeding (first time I had really done that) and with this funding I hit up some open mares that were much nicer than what I had around the barn. One of these foals was Moon Cadet. This was before I got serious about learning breeding and pedigree’s. I had always had a vague understanding of inbreeding and that a little was okay, but to avoid too much of it. So my reasoning at the time was Malibu Moon bred to a mare named Cadillac Moon how perfect !. Not knowing much about the mare or sire it took me awhile to figure her out. I was not happy with her early on. Found a very light turf stakes and got her a SW badge, then with the switch back to dirt I think she might be one of the best distaff mares in the game right now. Equinics will tell that tale. 4^th Equinics – SIM Historians)

             SIRE   MALIBU MOON                DAM SIRE UNBRIDLED’S SONG                        DDS  KRIS.S      

              

 

CADET CAT (5 year old.Just recently became my first grade 1 winning mare and will be representing ESR in the Equinics against a BEASTLY group of boys in the 16f dirt race.)

 

               SIRE   BERNARDINI                             DAM SIRE STORM CAT                                  DDS KRIS.S  

             

 

RECONDITE CADET (4 year old.Became my first bluegrass derby runner, been playing since 1999)

 

            SIRE   DYNAFORMER                      DAM SIRE DEPUTY MINISTER            DDS SEEKING THE GOLD 

                                                                                                                                        
          

PHAR LAP: Breeding is one of the most exciting aspects of the game in my opinion. Have you any secrets you would like to share with us; we all would like a horse of Deputy Cadet’s class and quality.

Robby: Inbreeding to Northern Dancer seems to work really well. I would suggest to avoid close inbreeding to Mr. Prospector (I did a lot of this accidentally early on and it wasn’t successful). I try to get a little bit of inbreeding, but avoiding a colorful rainbow. I haven’t proved it to myself yet, but currently I’m a fan of trying to inbreed to mares. Danehill is the best example of this in real life.

 

PHAR LAP: Without giving away all your secrets, have you any favorites as Sire, Dams Sire and Dams Dam Sire?

Robby:  I LOVE WAR FRONT! (that isn’t giving away any secret of mine). I love El Prado, Dubai Millennium, and Chester House as under used DS. And for DDS you can find almost anything at a decent value. I try to avoid younger type sires in this slot, but have had some luck when I’ve done it. I also try to stock up on shares so if I want to breed something I don’t have to worry about cost as hopefully I’ll already have a share stashed away at a good price.

PHAR LAP:Do you prefer scratch breeding or breeding to your good retired race mares? Do you like using he mares?

Robby: I prefer to breed to graded winning retired race mares… I have very few of them myself so I beg, borrow and steal mares from other players along with some wheeling and dealing. I like using mares because you have a good idea what the horse might be from the start, where as you can scratch breed a dirt crack sprinter, and end up with a 12f turf horse… if that happens it takes a long time to figure out usually. With that being said if you want a true super star I think you have to go scratch and try and get lucky. Scratch breeding is the only way to upgrade your sim stock as well.

 

PHAR LAP: Ok Robby, we all know breeding is only one aspect of the game, once you get a good horse and get your maiden out of the way, the skill of the trainer then comes into play. Do you have any training preferences you would like to share with us? I am sure there are fellow trainers out there that would appreciate some advice from a trainer of your standing.

Robby:  Well I don’t do it much anymore but Cadet Cat was one that after her first race I scaled back the effort to save her for later. Didn’t think much of it till you asked the question, but obviously it paid off. So I guess something has to be said about taking your time and not asking your horse for a top effort until you have figured them out and really want them to fire! Don’t be afraid to try new things, sometimes just switching surfaces with a horse, and then back again, proves to be a real wake up call.

 

PHAR LAP:If you could pass on one piece of advice, what would that be?

Robby:  Figure out what brings you joy and go for it. Currently I enjoy graded runners, but I also have a few 10 point sires that have produced good runners for me so I like trying to get them black type. The claiming game can be the most rewarding if you really find a gem, or you just can squeeze a few wins out of a horse. As far as new players I would suggest investing in mares early on, save up and get a few very well bred mares and breed them as 3 yr olds, pay for them to be females. They might not make the best runners, but you can always use them to breed year after year, so you will get a return on your investment overtime.

 

PHAR LAP:Here we go Robby, jockeys!!!  Great people, but they can be a real pain in the backside sometimes. Do you call the shots or let them ride their own race?

Robby:  My feeling is if you are a good judge of pace you can make a slight difference if you select the best riding style for the race. My first grade 1 win I tinkered with the speed setting since three speed horses where signed up in a small field. I wanted to be near the lead, but have enough kick to hold on. I have also done really well in chat room hot races with adjusting speed setting. But in most cases I just try to get the best jockeys and let them do their thing. If it’s a big race I might take a look and tinker a bit.

 

PHAR LAP:Do you pay big incentives to get the best jockeys?

Robby:  Not really…. If it’s a big race I don’t mind tinkering with the settings if need be.

 

PHAR LAP:Do you have a favorite Jockey?

Robby:  Q Oliver (NJ) and L Synder (CA)

 

PHAR LAP:All right Robby, let’s look to the future, have you any big goals you have set yourself?

Robby: Beat Given in the Equinics Distaff… nothing is more rewarding than seeing a grown man cry. Beside that I just I just aim at taking down some of the Sim’s big prizes. I would love to have a $5 million earner at some point. I’d also like to win the ESR resident standing this year, ran second last year and feel that would really be a feather in the cap.

 

PHAR LAP:Have you any big races to win on your bucket list?

Robby:  Breeder’s Bowl and Derby. I’m a fan of the Dubai racing carnival so I will point to that as well.

PHAR LAP:If I was new to the game or had a problem horse that had me stumped or needed some help, where would you recommend I go?

Robby:  Without a doubt, go to the chat room. Always a great sounding board of ideas.

 

PHAR LAP:Can you recommend any Horse Racing Movies or Documentaries?

 

Robby:  I really liked reading Seabiscuit… the book had much more depth from a horseman’s perspective.

 

PHAR LAP : Are any there things in the game you would like changed or improved on?

 

Robby:  The next big thing I’m waiting for is Silks in the viewer. But as far as a game goes, Mike has earned my trust over the years that he knows how to operate this beast. It just gets better and better.  

 

PHAR LAP:Well Robby, it has been a pleasure to have a chat. I really enjoy hearing your opinions on breeding in the chat room also, I recommend all newcomers drop and take part. You are one of the toughest competitors out there and many more big successes are guaranteed due to your skill, knowledge and professionalism. I am sure our community will enjoy your thoughts and learn something from your experiences. Phar Lap and the Black Type Bugler thank you for your time and we hope success continues to ride with you.

 

 GIDDEY UP from PHAR LAP (gcliffo)