PROMISING Riverina pacer Whereyabinboppin headlines a group of the region's most talented horses that have all left the area in the past fortnight.
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A drop in prizemoney levels and a lack of confidence in the industry in NSW are just some of the reasons behind the departure of the Riverina's brightest talents.
Bruce Harpley's Rubies For Tash and Delightful Jackie left for Queensland this week, while the Ellen Bartley-trained Western Sonador has returned to Victoria after the completion of the group one Regional Championships series.
We Salute You (to Blake Fitzpatrick) and Ideal Fantasy (to Chris Judd) have also departed the region since the group one final at Riverina Paceway last Friday week.
Whereyabinboppin has joined the Shane Sanderson stable at Menangle in Sydney, a move made to race for the better prizemoney on offer
Breeder and managing owner of Whereyabinboppin, Troy Saddler, said they were left with little option but to move the horse on from the Riverina.
"You just can't pay for them...you can't cover training bills with what you're racing for," Saddler said.
"You've got to win twice a month to break even.
"Hopefully it turns around, they come back and they can have some nice free-for-alls but they're going to have to put the prizemoney up somehow. And even more than $6000 for the free-for-alls, whether they go to Victoria's programming, that's something they have to consider."
Whereyabinboppin will make his debut for Sanderson stable on Saturday night at Menangle, where the winner will pocket $5720, compared to the $2080 at Wagga. Former Junee boy Cameron Hart will take the drive.
Saddler said he considered sending the four-year-old to Victoria but settled on Sanderson after plenty of consideration.
"It was a very hard choice," he said.
"I just asked around, asked a lot of blokes in the industry and a few blokes up there. It was him or (Luke) Mccarthy. McCarthy's the best but he's got 10 Whereyabinboppins, probably more.
"Or Victoria but I just thought the Menangle track would be best for him."
Saddler said the Breeders Crown series was a potential target for Whereyabinboppin.
"The Breeders Crown later in the season if it stands up but again, that's the unknown," he said.
"He's had five starts in two years, we just had to take him up there to start him basically. It's a shame taking him off Dave (Kennedy) because he was going super."
Saddler said he is still coming to terms with Whereyabinboppin's defeat in the group one final.
"Devastated. Still devastated, I still haven't watched the replay," he said.
"But that's racing, it didn't go his way, which was a bit of a shame but they all get beat."
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