AS the 2023/24 racing season hits the final four months, ADR currently sits at 38 winners.
With ADR targeting 50 winners by season’s end, three winners in the past two weeks sees the training operation sit at 38 with a healthy winning percentage of 11%, along with a 36% place rate.
Andrew Dale’s hopeful the stable can get to 50 by August 1.
“We always aim to train 50 winners for the year and we haven’t got there yet, I think our best season has been 46,” Dale said.
“We’re currently at 38 so hopefully we can get there this year and we think there’ll be a few opportunities to get closer over the coming weeks.
“It’s been a quiet couple of weeks but we’ll head to Avoca this Saturday and then there are meetings at Kyneton (April 11), Holbrook for their cup day (April 13) and Albury on the 15th.”
But while to most it would look like 38 winners would produce financial gains, Dale said there’s much more to training in today’s industry.
“Sometimes you have to go far and wide to try and get a winner and the cost that comes with that can be taxing; so you have to weigh up whether it’s worth taking horses to those meetings,” he said.
“Winners don’t always correlate to financial performance by the time you factor in things like fuel for the truck, wages, horse feed etc.
“Like all businesses you have to get the balance right and even though we’re on track to have our best season the costs of running a business increases daily.”
This weekend at Avoca, Chairman’s Choice will run second-up in race six’s benchmark 64 (1200m) from gate one off the back of a first-up win at Towong, while Hells Son will attack race eight’s 0-58 (1300m) from barrier eight.
PHOTO: Hells Son will run at Avoca tomorrow.
