IMHO I think that people have the notion that if they buy a good tosai, they have a real good chance of having a full blown GC on their hands. The only thing I see wrong with this is that the breeder would never let go of anything that is worth keeping for a few more years. If the breeder were to let's say a dealer, or even a hobbyist purchase the tosai, he'll probably have a contingency on keeping it on for growing at his facility and giving it a shot at the All Japan. The other problem I see is that when the breeder has a true tategoi, the koi wouldn't very good for show purposes now, so the hobbyist would then try, in the best way he or she knows to just keep the koi in it's best conditions. I believe if a koi peaks early in its life that, it may not keep that condition when it matures. The only way I can see a koi grown from tosai to GC is in a very small show.
