KEESEP20 – Hip 1389 – Hard Spun – Hanalei Hailey, by Malibu Moon Clark Shepherd (Shepherd Equine Advisers), bloodstock agent for Wayne Sanders & Larry Hirsch, purchased this Hard Spun colt at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the consignment of Elm Tree Farm for $140,000. He was bred by Stonestreet Farm. The […]
OPTIMAL Mating Purchase: Goldencents – Appealing Cat, by Successful Appeal
KEESEP20 – Hip 1255 – Goldencents / Appealing Cat, by Successful Appeal Clark Shepherd (Shepherd Equine Advisers), bloodstock agent for Wayne Sanders & Larry Hirsch, purchased this Goldencents colt at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the consignment of Eaton Sales for $110,000. He was bred by Spendthrift Farm LLC. The colt’s dam, Appealing […]
Case Study: A Look At Upstart’s Quick Start
A Look At Upstart’s Quick Start Every year it’s a mad rush to breed to the first-year stallions. Some do it because they were great racehorses; some do it because they have great physicals; some do it because he may be by a sire-of-sires; some do it just because. Upstart stands stud at Airdrie Stud […]
Case Study: Bernardini’s Brilliance As Broodmare Sire
Case Study: Bernardini’s Excellence As Broodmare Sire Anyone who follows race results on a daily basis has likely taken notice of the rise of Bernardini as a must-have broodmare sire. I have always been a fan of the Darley stallion as a producer of good racehorses. But, in performing weanling and yearling sales analysis, I […]
Why Are Some Stallions More Consistent Than Others?
Why Are Some Stallions More Consistent Than Others? Some stallions seem to consistently produce good racehorses and other stallions are very sporadic. But, even the worst stallions sometimes have a stakes winner or two in time. Why is that? I have studied this for a long time and would like to shed some light on […]
Are Female Families Really That Important?
Female Families Numbers Explained To allow this topic to come full circle, please forgive the initial history and science lessons. I promise that I will eventually get to something practical and/or useful! The Family Numbers commonly used to designate the various Thoroughbred female families were popularized by Bruce Lowe, an Australian pedigree researcher at the […]
OPTIMAL Mating Analysis: Candy Ride Colt May Be Aptly Named
Therideofalifetime (c, 2, Candy Ride (ARG) – Cosmic Evolution, by Proud Citizen) THERIDEOFALIFETIME (c, 2, Candy Ride (Arg) – Cosmic Evolution (SW & GSP, $164,810), by Proud Citizen) looks aptly named if he again runs anywhere close to his sharp wire-to-wire maiden victory Saturday at Keeneland. Rallying to be runner-up when unveiled June 19 at […]
FTISPR20 Recap: OPTIMAL Mating Selections Prove Profitable
Sales Recap The two-day auction at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium produced numbers on par with last year’s record sale, emboldening the spirits of those involved in the business of buying and selling juvenile racing prospects. From 563 head cataloged, Fasig-Tipton reported 303 horses grossed $23,572,500, for an average $77,797 and a $40,000 median. […]
OBSJUN20 Recap: Did the OPTIMAL Mating Short Lists Help?
Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale I love the process of analyzing pedigrees, inspecting horses, replaying breeze videos, evaluating vet exams, performing cardio scans and putting all that together to establish an acceptable range of value. The process for last week’s OBS Spring Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale was even more fulfilling because I […]