Buying yearlings from big name breeders

Quiet Chris · Thu Sep 15, 2016 1:01 pm

I was discussing a few horses in the sale that I think one of my employers was looking at. One was a Godolphin bred and another a Team Valor bred (that is what equineline says). I told him those people don't put their good ones in the sale because they keep them. He said they are yearlings and it is a crapshoot. Are there any stories of guys like Godolphin or even Team Valor letting really good horses get away? Seems unlikely, although one is out of a G1 winning mare and looks great on paper. Perhaps they just can't keep them all.

Admin · Thu Sep 15, 2016 4:30 pm

Some sell their culls, some sell them all, and some are in between.

You have to figure out which one those breeders are. It doesn't mean they can't make a mistake but there's a reason why it's best to not be known for only selling your culls.

Isn't it a little late for this discussion? When do they sell, and who do you have looking at them?

Twingo · Thu Sep 15, 2016 4:43 pm

Godolphin cuts back in large-scale worldwide bloodstock 'pruning'

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-ra ... t7DaysNews

Quiet Chris · Thu Sep 15, 2016 6:18 pm

Admin wrote:Some sell their culls, some sell them all, and some are in between.

You have to figure out which one those breeders are. It doesn't mean they can't make a mistake but there's a reason why it's best to not be known for only selling your culls.

Isn't it a little late for this discussion? When do they sell, and who do you have looking at them?

He is very secretive because of the nature of his work, but considering he still uses a flip phone I am not worried about him reading this. I believe he set up credit and plans to bid on the Animal Kingdom out of the Dynaformer mare St Malos Gate. Hip 2275. He was bred by Team Valor. The fillies though are where his real interest is. They are hips 2989 and 2990. They are two Goldolphins.

Quiet Chris · Thu Sep 15, 2016 6:20 pm

Twingo wrote:Godolphin cuts back in large-scale worldwide bloodstock 'pruning'

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-ra ... t7DaysNews

Thanks.

Treve · Thu Sep 15, 2016 6:52 pm

Isn't book 1 of the sale usually where the best breedings meet the best physical? Not that there can't be nice horses in the other books but I'd imagine they then must have some pretty significant weaknesses.

Also I mean, I'd imagine even with big name breeders it is probably dependent on the size of the operations. Look at the horses of Lord Stanley, the Earl of Derby - arguably a well established name with roots going back to the 5th Earl of Derby regarding racing. Their policy is usually to race the fillies and sell the colts. They kept Ouija Board's first colt (I'm guessing for sentimental reasons) and though a winner wasn't stellar. But they sold Australia as a yearling and the rest is history.

As V said, it can be more beneficial as breeder especially to sell the best, sometimes.

Admin · Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:36 pm

Quiet Chris wrote:
Admin wrote:Some sell their culls, some sell them all, and some are in between.

You have to figure out which one those breeders are. It doesn't mean they can't make a mistake but there's a reason why it's best to not be known for only selling your culls.

Isn't it a little late for this discussion? When do they sell, and who do you have looking at them?
He is very secretive because of the nature of his work, but considering he still uses a flip phone I am not worried about him reading this. I believe he set up credit and plans to bid on the Animal Kingdom out of the Dynaformer mare St Malos Gate. Hip 2275. He was bred by Team Valor. The fillies though are where his real interest is. They are hips 2989 and 2990. They are two Goldolphins.

I wish him good luck but hope he's set up with someone trustworthy to check them physically, vet them, and advise him on their value. The likelihood of a good pedigree combined with good physical gets lower as the hip number gets higher.

BaroqueAgain1 · Sat Sep 17, 2016 3:16 pm

"Are there any stories of guys like Godolphin or even Team Valor letting really good horses get away?"

It happens. Coolmore sold Winx in the 2013 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale for $241,569. She's won over $7,000,000, 11 straight races and seven G1's.

Starine · Tue Sep 20, 2016 12:37 pm

The Niarchos family, I think, has bred and/or owned something like 125 group/grade I winners. They have a US division, Flaxman Holdings, and Haras du
Fresnay-le-Buffard in France. One of their offerings was Hector Protector as a yearling and he didn't meet his modest reserve so they kept him, and he won five group I contests. Dream Well didn't meet his reserve at Deauville and he won both the French and Irish Derbies for them. Another one was Whipper, who sold for a piddly $4,000 as a weanling and later won three group I's.

Quote from the Fresnay-le-Buffard manager Tim Richardson on Epsom Derby winner Kris Kin (bred and sold by the Niarchos family):

"Obviously,we would love to have him running in our own colors, but we do have a policy of selling certain yearlings. The horse was raised in America and was a nice yearling, but our budget for the year is based on selling a certain number, and that helps pay for the whole operation."

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pd ... 030902.pdf

Twingo · Tue Sep 20, 2016 4:51 pm

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:"Are there any stories of guys like Godolphin or even Team Valor letting really good horses get away?"

It happens. Coolmore sold Winx in the 2013 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale for $241,569. She's won over $7,000,000, 11 straight races and seven G1's.

Coolmore Aus as consignor. Winx was bred by Fairway Thoroughbreds. And Fairway Thoroughbreds still owns Winx's dam Vegas Showgirl.