Dear Shareholder,
As you will no doubt be aware, Laddies Poker Two will not feature on the turf in time to appear in our stated target race, the Goffs Million.
With her long term well being our top priority, it is the opinion of our trainer, Jeremy Noseda, that she should now be rested and ideally would be aimed towards a winter/spring all-weather campaign before heading back to the turf for the 2008 flat season. In his latest shareholder statement Jeremy reports on the results of a nuclear scan performed recently to assess her soundness -
"Laddies Poker Two has hot spots on her right hind stifle and hock, she also lit up on her left fore ankle and both shins. X-rays revealed no abnormalities so therefore it is clear, in our opinion, that these issues are very much related to immaturity.
I will give her a six week break now and hopefully have her back into full training in December with a view to possibly starting her on the all weather in the New Year so that we will at least have some action and a better idea of what she can do during the next turf season."
Given this set of circumstances it is our considered opinion, and that of Jeremy Noseda, that a sale at the end of the current season would yield little monetary value to shareholders, compounding the disappointment of a barren 2 year old campaign.
Therefore, we intend to keep Laddies Poker Two in training for her three year old campaign, extending all current shareholder agreements to cover the 2008 season in line with term 7 of the shareholder agreement. Importantly, Ladbrokes would support this initiative by covering all expenses related to keeping the horse in training and share all prize money and any proceeds from her sale in line with term 2 of the shareholder agreement.
Racehorse ownership is seldom straightforward however in operating this promotion it is our intention that you experience at least a little of the thrill of racehorse ownership, therefore we are pursuing this option as a gesture to a highly valued group of Ladbrokes Poker players who have always participated in the spirit of this promotion throughout a very difficult season. In effect this will give all shareholders a second season of ownership for free, during which we will hopefully see Laddies Poker Two reach her full potential. Jeremy Noseda retains a very high opinion of her and is in full support of our proposal.
We hope you are supportive of this initiative and as ever would welcome your views, via email to
[email protected], before 16th September 2007. We will notify all shareholders of the outcome of this consultation by email before 28th September 2007.
Yours sincerely
Ladbrokes Poker Team