A colt might make it through two trails but a top class mare will survive the full 20 years at stud and that's normally 4 or 5 trials. I run trials normally after 4 or 5 seasons. Pendil who was in my jumps team last year has proved to be even better at stud but he might be the only one I've had in 7. The flat stallions last even less, they soon get moved on.

Just had a look and in my 2mile to 2m4 jumps game I've have this horse called Rig Steel who has just finished his 20th and last season and he's been breed 184 times . I think he's had about 30 odd raced horses. I like to have 50 or 60 mares in my breeding shed, thats probably smaller than most.

That’s your approach though, don’t get me wrong if I can better the station and preserve the bar I may move on, or just have two and throw more mares at them if I did move on I would sell it too the game if had trial form.

My best colts often die in the barn.

426 mares in my NH save, 300 plus in my UK flat and over 200 in my US flat. It’s scale and reducing the number of seasons played in my model, plus I likely add 50-70 more each year class.

Much of league breeding is finding an approach that works for you.

Those numbers would blow my mind, I had 150 at the start and I couldn't cope

It's goes to show newbies u must learn a system that suits u.

No definite way to tell, as people have said, what I usually do is below

1. I start a new game on easy in every slot available
2. Check the slots one by one an look in the Breeding Barn, this is the bit where skipping 5-10 seasons helps me as they all have proper form an ratings an just as importantly Breeding history
3. Don't look at ratings, staying horses are way too favoured here. Look at win ratios so a sprinter with 8-10 or 15 from 18 fro example. Rank them by group wins
4. On the UK side of the breeding barn, the more group wins the better, if there aren't 2 over about 15 I tend to think that sides poor
5. On the foreign side I go by their breeding of Gp1 winners, rank them by this by just clicking on it, same as the UK horses, just click on the GP wins an rank them highest to lowest
6. The foreign horses you need to be looking at producing 6-,70,80 Plus group winners from breeding
7. If a game doesn't look great from that side of the barn, delete it an move on to the next slots save
8. work your way through, an use the best one, in those 15 or so, you'll definitely get one you like the look of, likely 2 or 3, so just decide which one to use. If it fails pretty quickly i.e after you breed all the mares to every stallion you dont get the stats. Go to the other ones you had in 2nd or 3rd choice. You'll definitely get a start

I find the Stallions are important for retaining the ability an stats within the game. Mass producing lots of very talented horses. It's almost always a Mare that propels my lines an abilitys though. You get one that just excels in trials, an has better stats. Then you have to use her right in breeding barn to get as many colts from her for breeding as possible, this holds the higher line shes produced, an gives you a lot more material art that level. Then repeat, you'll be breeding looking for that special horse again, an mine is almost always a mre again. an Repeat

Could just be the way I do it, but from all my games, the real standouts in propelling lines an Juju are mares. The stallions tend to just be for producing numbers at that level.

Stupid question: Is the cruising burst fully developed from birth, or is it like stamina, it develops later?

Can’t remember the last time I saw cruise develop in a horse. But I recall having seen it in the past. Could be a SO6 thing, something patched or user error. For me right now my top cruise is my top cruise.

It only goes up from 2 to 3 in all horses. U are right Josh, after one patch certain horses would go up a bit.

So you cant see the real cb bar before they turn three?

Thanks again to all who commented. i think i know where I am going with a quickfire new start now BUT...

After a lot of fiddling around yesterday and some encouragement and help from Stu I actually managed to port my saved games over to the new machine and got rid of the conflicting licence issue.

This means i will be able to continue with my half decent NH lines and start a new flat only game using all the tips you all provided.

Cheers

No, they all go up the same. I think it's either 4 bars or 5.

Interesting discussion. So, when you have found the horses and the stats, you restart the save and work from there?

I never skip any season, and when I know alot of them thats when I start. Over jumps I'll give up some good stat horses if they are totally hold up horses. I'll bred to what I think are the best front runners. On the flat I really want to start with a fast 5 furlong horse, in heaven if they are front runner as well. Even when u know the stallion stats u never know if they are game stallions or league stallions. I always save every season for probably the first 6 or 7 just in case u find out later on u bred to the wrong one and missed a good one. If I think I found a great overseas horse in the barn I'll try to force him to stay in the barn as many seasons as u can.

Have u bred u best mare Annie Golden