Bargain Breeding Deals

With the upcoming breeding season comes in the influx of owner’s posting their Stallion Advertisements. The process can be quite daunting for small breeding programs that only have one or two broodmares, and a small amount of money set aside for breeding.

So, for those of us who didn’t book 10 years in advance (and saving for as long) to pay for War Machine’s 5 spots going for $300,000 a piece, Revenge’s $200,000, or Smart Money’s $100,000 stud fee’s, here is a list of some Bargain Stallion, who could end up producing the next champion.

ALL of these stallions’ stud fees are equal to or less than $20,000.

Congenial (KRF Stables): If you can not afford the $200,000 fee for Revenge, perhaps you should try another KRF Stable Stud. This 7 year old black colt is entering his 2 year in the breeding shed. In his racing days, he earned just over $8 million dollars, bringing home 8 wins, 9 seconds, and 11 thirds.

AR Highlights: Prefers on Hard and Soft Turf, Ok on mud, Very Hardy, Incredibly consistent, Good Acceleration, Breaks Well, Handles 10 – 16 furlongs.

Stud Fee: $15,000. Contact KRF Stables for more information.

Handsome Man (Hopeful Farm): This 8 year old bay stallion is entering his 4 year in the breeding shed. He has earned nearly $3.8 million dollar in 43 starts, bringing home 10 wins, 16 seconds, and 11 thirds. He was a Champion sprinter at 4 and 5 winning 2 out 3 legs of the Sprinter’s TC, but at 4 he placed second in G1 and G2 races up to 10 furlongs against legends Revenge and Spanish Midnight.

AR Highlights: Ok on All surface, except Mud, Front Runner, Accelerate like Bullet, Good Speed, Handles 5 furlongs to 10 furlongs.

Progeny Highlights: Currently has 6 two-year old racers, three of which has made their racing debuts (Handsome Image, Handsome Problem, and Handsomely Kept). Handsome Image has a record of 1:0-0-0, Handsome Problem is at 2:1-0-1, and Handsomely Kept has a record of 1:1-0-0.

Stud Fee: $10,000 to established stables or $5,000 to new stables. Contact Hopeful Farm for more information.

Kendane (Stonewall Stables): This 8 year old chestnut stallion is entering his second year in the breeding shed. He earned just over $3 million dollars in 41 starts, bringing home 9 wins, 7 seconds, and 5 thirds. His current owner states that this fast stallion was “grossly mismanaged” during his racing days, and had the potential to amass a better record.

AR Highlights: Quick to Mature, Good or Prefers on Turf and Mud, Very Hardy, Incredibly consistent, Front runner, good acceleration, Lightning Speed, Handles 5 – 10 furlongs.

Stud Fee: $20,000. Contact Stonewall Stables for more information.

Levicorpus (Golden Acres): This 4 year old chestnut colt is finishing off his racing career, preparing for his time in the breeding shed. Thus, far he has earned just under $2 million dollars in 20 starts, bring home 6 wins, 5 seconds, and 3 thirds. His biggest win came as a 3 year old, when he won the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen – one of the biggest and richest sprint races on the card.

AR Highlights: Quick to Mature, Long Peak, Ok or better on all surfaces, Very Hardy, Good Acceleration, Breaks Well, Good Speed, Handles 5 – 7 furlongs.

Stud Fee: FREE to all Stables. Contact Golden Acres for more information.

Supreme Court (KRF Stables): Here is another KRF Stud that has a fee considerably less than their stable buddy Revenge. This 6 year old Secretariat colt earned just over $3 million dollars from 47 races, brining home 5 wins, 12 seconds, and 11 thirds.

AR Highlights: Good or better of Hard Dirt, Mud, and Hard turf, Very consistent, Good Acceleration, Good speed, Handles 8 -12 furlongs.

Stud Fee: $5,000 to Established stables, FREE to New stables. Contact KRF Stables for more information.

SKIM THE HILL (Bally Doyle Stables): First season stallion with an impeccable pedigree and race record. By the world renowned stallion DANEHILL and out of the European Champion mare INDIAN SKIMMER, "Skimmy" has won G1 races in each of the 3 seasons he has raced. Effective up to 1m (8f) on turf, he has posted 6 wins from 17 runs and over $1.5million in earings. Preference for hard turf, good gate speed and not liking being passed once in front, his AR highlights include "Quick maturity", "Fair recovery".

Stud Fee: $10,000 per breed or for multiple breeds, discounts available. Contact Bally Doyle for confirmation and booking - only a few left!

Watch for more Bargain Breeding Deals!

Old School Champions fade into history

Every year new stars emerge. As they climb up the ladder in career earnings and eventually break into the top 25, they push yet another of the old guard off the list and into the beginning stages of obscurity.

The following horses were all on the top 25 earnings list at the end of the 2006 season:

16th - Nightwing - Otsego Farms
17th - Dubai Gold - Fender Stables
22nd - Demoness - Snowbank Farm
23rd - Vampirical - Spartan Racing Stables
24th - Succubus - Rainbow
25th - Golden Tombi - Parklands

All have been bumped and will soon be joined by the following horses:

Currently 23rd - All For Camena - FDL Lodge
Currently 24th - Bold N' Free - Port Pirie Racing
Currently 25th - Blushing Approval - Bonai Farms

The next horse to join the top 25 will probably be Lazy Loper of Bonai. As he joins, another old school horse will step into obscurity. Kind of sad, isn't it? Ah well, we all have to move on....

ATTN: Stallion Owners

If you want to see your stallion in a spotlight article in the Racing Recap send Matt an e-mail at shahmat_amal@hotmail.com. We'll let everyone know about the wonders of your stud, and why his book should be full. It's a chance to let lesser-known stallions get their say, and perhaps educate the growing public of the either older, or non Revenge or War Machine, stallions that need to earn their feed.

So send Matt a line at shahmat_amal@hotmail.com. We only ask that you provide the following information (we will do a little bit of research, if we can, but this information will add to article and guarantee that everyone knows your 'real' stallion):

1. Basic Info (Name, Age, Race Record, Earnings, STUD FEE, etc).
2. Awards/Major Wins or Places
3. Surface Preference
4. Distance Preference (Other preferences if you wish)
5. If have foals of racing age, any significant runs by them/Foals with good ARs/Potential
6. If you wish to have it published: AR (or portion)
7. Any other tidbits you want to mention...

Also, if you are a master of the pen and wish to write up your own article about your stallion and want it published here, just e-mail Matt, and we'll be happy to put it up for you.

Waiting for this year's babies...

How Tired is Tired?

One of the greatest debates to be had in the game is the one over REST. This is a subject close to my heart as there is nothing more saddening than seeing a good horse over run and turn sour. Its a personal choice which means that if I speak to several trainers I will probably get several different answers. One the one hand thats a good thing as different types of horse respond in different ways to more rest, less racing or more racing, less rest. On the other hand a trainer who rests their horses for long spells can find it frustrating to see another trainer running his (or her!) horses week in week out.

Whilst I dont claim to be an expert, and am just a simple journalist, I thought it wouldnt hurt to express how I interpret the rest/run theory.

Lets start with ARs. Depending on when your horse was born it will have a line in its AR referring to its powers of recovery. Some will say "machine", others "fairly quickly" or "average" or some the dreaded "slow". (The newer ARs dont refer to rest so it will be interesting to see how the training fraternity use them).

I will use three horses as examples as to how I see rest periods.

1. RECOVERS LIKE A MACHINE! Yes, this is the one that we all want if we are honest, a horse that can race week in week out and bring the stable lots of money! But we still have to balance the health of the horse with the health of the stable bank balance. So you enter this horse in a race on 1st November 2006. It wins and has no injuries. So you look for another race and see one on 13th November but thats only 12 days rest. Do you enter? That depends entirely on the trainer. Some will say sure the horse had an easy race and is raring to go and enter a horse within 7days of their last run, whilst others would be looking for a race on or after 15th November, ie following the recommended rest period of 14 days.

2. RECOVERS AT AVERAGE RATE. OK not so good but average isnt a disaster. This horse also ran on 1st November, placing and returned sore for 2 days. When do you start to look for a race? Simple math: 14 days rest + 2 days sore = 16days, therefore earliest race should be at or after 17th November. But as this horse only recovers "at average rate", you should be looking at adding at least another 5 - 7 days to the rest period so the equation now reads: 20 days rest + 2 days sore = 22 days, so a race on or after 23rd November.

3. SLOW TO RECOVER. Oh dear what to do with a horse that is fragile? The simple answer is to run sparingly. So you run this "glass" horse on 1st November, it wins but returns with 10days injured. Now the Advanced math course kicks in. 14 days rest + 10 days injured = 24 days, so next race wouldnt be until at least 25th November. But the horse is injured not sore so it would make sense to DOUBLE the extra rest periods, right? Lets try the math again - 14 days rest + 10 days injured + 10 days recuperation = 34 days. Now the calendar flips over into December and you are looking at races from 5th December onwards.

So to simplify, if you horse come back sore, just add the sore days to the 14 days rest. If it comes back injured, double the days and add them to the 14 days. The Racing Steward recommends a minimum of 14 days rest so LISTEN TO HER! The sore/injured list isnt there for bedtime reading either its a serious part of the game.

OK - a lot of you wont agree with any of this, some will agree with some of this and others will put this in as your racing bible! As I stated at the start of this post, the subject of REST is highly flammable and this post could become incendary! But a very very simple equation is that an injured horse cant earn any money so why risk your livelihood by running a horse with little or no rest. So a good rule of thumb for new trainers is run little and rest often - try to place your horse in a race that has a good chance of earning a purse rather than in as many big races as possible in the hope that maybe they will get something.

I know there are several horses out there who are exceptions to the rule and run well week in week out and never get sore, injured and earn a fortune BUT these are few and far between. This may be Fantasy and Simulation but a little bit of Realisim in some parts works wonders!

A Dream Fulfilled

Over the past few weeks we've heard nonstop of the superb races run by 3 year old fillies Pefect Bell and Led Astray. But this past weekend another 3 year old filly captured the last jewel in her Crown.

Broken Dream (Stephen Got Even x La Lagune) the three year old filly bred and trained by Long Island Hayburners, won the G1 Wonder Where Stakes, and completing the Canadian Filly's Triple Crown.

Coming into the Canadian Triple Crown series Broken Dream had a 2008 Record of 5:2-2-0 with $430,000 for the season. She had won the G2 Bonnie Miss Stakes (8.5F, Dirt), and placed 2nd in the G1 Ashland Stakes and Kentucky Oaks. Missing out on the U.S. Filly'sTriple Crown, her trainer decided to send her north of the border, to make her bid at the Canadian T.C.

The first leg of the Canadian Filly's T.C. was The Canadian Oaks, a race over 9 furlongs on the dirt. The track was lightning fast that day, and Broken Dream came home with a 3 1/2 length win and a Track and Race Record, with a time of 1:36.32. That day she beat, Enlightenment (Watch This Space), Scenic Sheba (Foxies Lodge), Princess Royal (Chiknsmack Stables), She's a Prize (Bonai Farms), and Bedazzled (Hutton's Horse Haven). However, Broken Dream came home sore for 2 days, according to the post-race vet examination.

21 days later, Broken Dream faced just two other entries for the G1 Bison City Stakes (8.5F Dirt). None of the fillies she faced in the first leg showed up for this race, but Chiknsmack Stables decided to send out a different filly, Night Flight. The other entry was Affnity from Godolphin 17. This time Broken Dream won by 13 1/2 lengths and came home with another Track and Race Record, with a time of 1:41.10. She would come home sore again for 2 days.

On August 2, 2008, Broken Dream stepped onto the turf track for the first time this year. She faced 7 other entries and would run for 10 furlongs on firm turf, which would prove to be her toughest test. The bettors had faith in this filly, and sent her off as the 4:5 favorite for the running of the last leg of the Canadian Filly's Triple Crown - G1 Wonder Where Stakes.

The field broke fast, and Find the Power, from Port Pirie Racing, took the early lead with Deauville of Yeguada Lore Toki in hot pursuit. Royal Memories, from new stable Nebraska Stables, was just off the pace, with a trio of fillies, Under the Influence (History's Own Stable), Broken Dream, (Long Island), and Royal Hawk (KRF Stables) all within about 3 lengths. April Carrot (Parklands) and Dancing Lass (Stonewall Stables) were sitting comfortably at 5 and 7 lengths behind; their jockeys not too worried, content to wait.

By the middle of the backstretch the field positions had changed rather rapidly. Find the Power and Deauville still held the top two spots, but Royal Hawk had slid into 3rd as they made their way around the first short turn. In hot pursuit was April Carrot who was just behind and starting to make her move.

Half way through the race, the positions had not changed, but 3 fillies, Royal Memories, Under the Influence, and Dancing Lass were battling it out for 5th place. Broken Dream had fallen into last, behind the racing trio, 4 1/2 lengths off the pace, which Find the Power held by a neck. It has at this point that April Carrot was pulled up by her jockey, and starting fall back rapidly, settling beside Dacing Lass on the far outside.

A furlong later, Under the Influence began to move up on the leaders on the inside, with Broken Dream on her heels. With 2 1/2 furlongs to go, Under the Influence found that the hole was not big enough for her to go through, and couldn't find a way past Deauville, who had taken the top spot. April Carrot was give a swat with the whip and was back on track, racing fourth on the outside and gaining ground. Broken Dream, in 5th was having just as much trouble as Under the Influence trying to find racing room.

With less than 2 furlongs to go, Broken Dream's jockey decides that he can not wait for a hole to open on the inside, and swings the filly wide, praying that his move isn't too late. Under the Influence broke through the hole on the inside and claimed a short lead over Deauville, with April Carrot along side Broken Dream and Find the Power.

With a clear racing track ahead of them, Under the Influence and Broken Dream swept away from the other fillies; Broken Dream straining to catch the grey filly from History's Own Stable. In the last few strides the Long Island Hayburner's homebred filly overtook Under the Influence and won by 1/2 a length, with another Track and Race Record, with a time of 1:59.54 (she also came home sore again... for 2 days).

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Matt's Notable Mention: What is up with April Carrot's jockey? He pulled her back, half way through the race when she was sitting comfortably. Then sent her off again a few furlongs later... Find the Power held a nice lead for the beginning of the race, and raced her best time at 10F in this race, but we wonder if she'd do better at shorter distances... It was a very nice race for History's Own Stable's Under the Influence.