Ladies and gentleman, this next Track King alum we are about to introduce really needs no introduction. He has been playing the game since 17th Sep 2008 and his name is synonymous in the TK world. If you’ve never seen or heard of the name “ADDIE OVER” then that means you really haven’t paid attention to the game. His stable has won 9 World Cup, 10 Regional Cups and a heap of top 5 and league wins at some of the toughest tracks abroad. He also holds a few official World Records with the Hall of Fame champion sprinter Addie Over Great.
Without further ado, TK Nuts would like to give a big warm welcome to the man I nicknamed “The Lookout”.
Welcome to TK Nuts, Crowsrock of Addictive Racing.
STARTING OUT
Q – How did you come across TK?
- “I was searching for management games on google and was lucky enough to come across TK, signed up and haven’t regretted it.”
Q – Any particular reason you re-named your stable to Addictive Racing?
- “Ever since starting I have always wanted to change my stable name and finally got around to it. I rushed the sign up form and didn’t put any effort into it, there is some great stable names in the game like Manor Park Stud, Riddley Walker Racing, Blackjack Farms, New Scotland Yard etc and wanted something like that. Addictive Racing seemed to suit well with my horse names being Addie Over.”
Q – You started the game in 2008, do you still remember your first race?
- “Nope, have no idea what it was. Too long ago now.”
Q – If you could start over, what would you do differently?
- “If starting again I would try and replicate what Pedantic has done. Train up a top apprentice, train some good gened mares for breeding and train a good runner each season.”
Q – As one of the older stables in TK, what would be your words of wisdom to newer stables or older ones who haven’t had some degree of success and are disappointed with their stables??
- “Research!! Plenty of information there just need to look. Study the Hall of Fame and look at what the top stables use stat balance wise for each distance. Watch the big cups and look at weight, stride and jockey choice. From looking at all of that you can get a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t.
- Would also definitely recommend getting into the TK chat, plenty of knowledgeable TKers that are more than happy to help.”
RACING HIGHLIGHTS
Q – Your first world cup is always special, tell us about your first winner Addie Over Tamara?
- “Took longer than I would of liked to get that first world cup (had won the Belmont Stake and Golden Slipper but they weren’t cups at that stage), but it was certainly special. Was a great horse Addie Over Tamara, he was trained before Training Track, when people didn’t really bother that much with xp, but I went the route of xp with her using a fair bit of TT-Mediums and it worked well beating some nice horses. Almost won a MM with her using an App jock but lost by .05 seconds.”
Q – Any other memorable races that stands out for you?
- “Most memorable race win would definitely have to be my first Belmont Stakes win with Addie Over Mattawa, I was only in class 2 at that stage and it was massive win for the stable. This was before all the age cups and the Triple Crown races where the biggest and most sought after races in the game. I managed 2nds in the 1st and 2nd legs and was confident going into the 3rd and Addie Over Mattawa powered home with a good win. Winning this race is where the Addie Over name for my stable came from.”
Q – How do you plan a race, do you weigh up the opposition or run your own race?
- “Run my own race, I look at my horse and make a plan and stick to it.”
Q – Do you still get nervous before a cup final?
- “Yep most definitely, with big cups I will be thinking about them all week and when its race time my heart gets going pretty quick.”
Q – You’ve always been in a league full of league racers, is it one of the most enjoyable aspects of TK for you?
- “When I first started it certainly was but I haven’t take league seriously for a long time now, early in the game I took league more seriously and managed some top 5’s in competitive leagues. Since then I have mostly just taken the jock bonus or bot bashed for a couple of seasons just keeping the bank happy. I usually run a small stable and with cups, league isn’t a big priority.”
HORSES
Q – Which do you consider to be the best horse you have trained to date?
- “Easy question, Addie Over Great, 3x SS, 1x WC and 3x WR. Struggled a bit as a youngster but was a beast as an older horse becoming one of the best sprinters the game has had. Consistently ran 64km/h+ and 1 of only 4 horses to run over 65 km/h. Had a great rivalry with another top sprinter Dark Design, some great races between those two.”
Q – Which horse in your stable currently is your favorite and why??
- “Would have to be Addie Over Captain, was an absolutely bargain at 250k and has been a great runner, 2 world cups already and a very close 2nd in another. Got the Movember Cups coming up where he is a top chance. Has excellent genes so will be a top stud when the time comes as well.”
Q – Which of your horses do you feel would be worth following over the next couple of months?
- “Addie Over Captain as above and Addie Over Ped. Ped’s in the Ascot this week and is a good chance, tough field but will suit the Comp style perfectly. Should be a big season for Addie Over Dan as well, top chance in the Classic and TK Open.”
Q – Which are the horses that left the biggest impact on you, from other stables?
- “Early in the game I really admired a coupe of Chenkos horses, Chillia Dia Mante, Pockets and Sissy Cap’n. They where all monsters and followed them closely.’
Q – What are your plans for the future and what is the one thing you want to achieve most in TK??
- “Plan for this season is to finally win a full class 1 at Osaka while winning a couple cups. Main aim for me is to keep training horses that are competitive in cup finals.”
Q – Is there anything you would like to share to stables who would like to try training good younger horses especially those 2 to 3 year olds?
- “Follow the top stables look at what they do and Training Track, xp can be vital when Overall Rating is similar.”
Q – Favorite style of horse you like to race with?
- “Looking at my stable history you could probably work it out, Fast Finisher, had some great results with them and on Good are very hard to beat. With aged cups Comps and Mudlarks are definitely the go to styles tho, those 2 are very hard to beat and dominate the cups.”
THOUGHTS ON THE GAME
Q – If you had to name the most important things or features in the game that have kept your interest here in TK, what would those things or features be? And, why?
- “I’m a competitive person so cup racing is what keeps me most interested but also training in general, logging in on a Monday to look at training pops is something I look forward to.”
Q – Old stables that you miss or you wish were still playing?
- “Aquanau, Chenko, Hatless. All top stables early in the game and was a shame when they left. Hatless was pretty funny when he got onto the beer as well.”
Q – Name a few things you would like to see changed on TK?
- “The training change reversed, training should of never been changed. Hairboy reacted to a couple of stables making a lot noise in the forums about monster OR horses when in reality they just didn’t want to put the effort in to train a monster themselves.
- I would also like to see the aged cup set up changed, at the moment I feel there is too many cups, 4yo mediums have 3 cups which is ridiculous I think. How I would have it set up is to have 1 cup at each distance for each age group. The setup would be as follows. Week 2/3 Sprint and Long, Week 6/7 Medium Week 11/12 Short and Epic. Every distance is covered while also still having the chance at a Triple Crown, yes the TC would be hard to do but its the way it should be.”
Q – Is there something in TK that you would want to change that would reflect something in real life horses/situations?
- “No cant really think of anything,”
Q – What irks you the most in this game?
- “Race Starts, they are an absolute gamble, had too many races ruined by bad starts that make no sense.”
Q – What is the one feature of the game you cannot get your head wrapped around?
- “Probably breeding, never put heap of effort into, had a couple of decent foals but its always been last minute planning for it.”
Q – What motivates you to play this game day in and day out?
- “Improving and winning cups, also something to kill a bit of time.”
Q – Looking back at the eight years you have been playing, what were the accomplishments you are most proud of?
- “The Belmont win as a class 2 and the 3 world records with Great.”
FREEBIES
Q – What is the best advice you’ve been given in playing this game?
- “Never been given much advice. When I started everyone was still working it out for themselves, learnt from trial and error.”
Q – What are the most common mistakes that you see other experienced players making? Mistakes that they may not realize, that they are making?
- “I feel that Beach Gallops is overused, I see a lot of horses that have a terrible stat balance with no muscle, BG is a great training but can easily throw stats out of whack.”
GENERAL
Q – What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- “I was 14 when I started playing the game.”
Q – How do you like to spend your free time?
- “Playing sport( AFL), going to the gym and video games.”
Q – Who in Track King is on the guest list for your ideal dinner party and why?
- “The usuals from the TK chat, Pedantic, Woody, Kdhmhe and Troublemaker. Then throw in a couple of the big dogs in Manor, Angel and Ersins.”
Thanks for taking the time to chat to us Crowsrock, it’s been an honour. We look forward to seeing your youngsters burning up the track!
