February 8, 2012

Posts Comments

You are here: Home / Archives for breeding

2012 California value stallions

November 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Unusual Heat (Nureyev x Rossard by Glacial) was one of the primary beneficiaries of a poor group of top horses in 2011. His son, Acclamation, was able to win the Charlie Whittingham Memorial, Eddie Read and Pacific Classic; all Grade 1 races. The sire is also boosted by Grade 2 winner Burns. Likely emboldened by the success of Acclamation, Harris Farms has raised his stud fee to $20k.

Thanks, but no thanks. There are too many low priced sires in California to pay that much for Unusual Heat.

The first place I would look is Golden Eagle Farm where Stormin Fever (Storm Cat x Pennant Fever by Seattle Slew) is standing for $4.5k. Some of his recent progeny include Grade 1 Garden City Stakes winner Check The Label, Grade 2 Jim Dandy winner A Little Warm and Biofuel, a Grade 3 winning filly who finished second in the CCA Oaks. He has sired over 31 stakes winners overall.

With Stormin Fever you are just as likely, if not more so to get a fast race horse than with Unusual Heat, who is priced over 4 times higher. Check out the video above to learn more about the Grade 1 winning son of arguably the most successful sire of all time, Storm Cat.

The next place to go is Legacy Ranch, the home of Papa Clem (Smart Strike x Miss Houdini by Belong To Me). I love his pedigree and as a millionaire winner of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, the sky could be the limit. We haven’t got any data on him yet as his progeny haven’t hit the track, but at $6.5k he is worth a risk.

This might surprise you, but I really like Grazen (Benchmark x Hazen by Rubiano) who is standing at Rancho San Miguel. His career was cut short by injury, but before that he won the Grade 3 Affirmed Handicap which included future Big Cap winner Misremembered. The gray colt was very, very quick. California breeders should give him a chance at the bargain basement price of $2k.

Also standing at Rancho San Miguel is The Pamplemousse (Kafwain x Comfort Zone by Rubiano). When he destroyed the Grade 3 San Rafael field by 6 lengths and then won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes, he got people talking Kentucky Derby. He would have vied for favoritism in the Santa Anita Derby, but didn’t make the gate because of an injury. A tremendously talented colt, it’s a shame we didn’t get to see him release he full potential. We might see it come out in his progeny though! If you are going to breed in California then I urge you to check out this stallion for a mere $2.5k.

Are you a California breeder? Just interested in sharing your opinion? Leave a comment below. I’d love to discuss California racing and breeding.

Filed Under: Horse Racing Information Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Racing Superstars Off To Fast Start In The Shed

February 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It’s funny to hear about a stallion siring his first foal when you can remember the sire’s first race like it was yesterday. That’s how I felt today when I learned that J Be K’s first son was born. You may recall that J Be K took the Grade 2 Woody Stephens in 2008. The colt is a half brother to Grade 3 winner E Z Warrior and multiple stakes winner J Z Warrior.

J Be K isn’t the only one getting off to a good start in the shed. Undefeated Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava gave birth to a filly on Saturday, Febuary 6. Zarkava is owned by Aga Khan IV and was bred to his sire Dalakhani who won the Arc in 2003. She is going to be bred to Sea The Stars  who also Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe next. Aga Khan described the filly in the quote below.

“a lovely individual that is correct, strong, and full of quality. It was a straight-forward foaling and Zarkava has proved herself to be a good mother. The Dalakhani filly is a good size for a first foal.”

Grade 1 Suburban Handicap winner Frost Giant recently became a father. The son of Giant’s Causeway has every right to be a success at stud, and I’ll be watching his progress closely. Other sires to recently produce their first foal include Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, Grade 1 winners Street Boss, Majestic Warrior, Circular Quay and Grade 2 winners Lewis Michael and Ready’s Image.

In other breeding news, Grade 1 winner Great Hunter will be standing in Venezuela at Haras Los Semanas after being privately purchased. Grade 1 winner Square Eddie has been retired to stud duty after several lackluster performances and an injury. I can remember watching every single one of the previously mentioned horses and I actually bet most of them at one point or another. I’m feeling old and I’m still a young man. Imagine how I will feel in 20 years!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Horse Racing Resources

September 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The internet is a wonderful thing. So many times in the past I have found myself wondering things like “Who won the 1996 Hollywood Gold Cup?” or “Who was the sire of Bellamy Road?”. If not for the internet I would have to resort to the sometimes fuzzy memories of my elders. There are numerous horse racing resources on the ‘net. Let’s take a look at a couple of the most useful ones!

Just like its name would suggest, Pedigree Query is the ultimate source for all things pedigree related. I believe they have ever horse that has ever raced in their database, but I don’t know that for sure. They also offer information on careers of most horses. The typical search returns 5 generations, but for a small subscription fee up to 9 generations are included. Pedigree Query also offers progeny reports, photos, hypomating, line breeding, and female family reports. I recommend bookmarking this site.

I love this website. It is developed and maintained by the Blood Horse. Stallion Register is a MUST visit for any breeder. It has reports on just about every stallion in the United States, including stud fees and progeny reports. When searching a horse such as Big Brown links to other Three Chimneys stallions are included at the bottom. This goes for sires at other farms.  Information on top progeny and auction results are provided. Race records are available along with current  Users are also able to compare sires head to head.

DRF is a must visit for any horse racing fan. They have entries, results, charts, and horse racing news. The writers are top notch, and the information provided is invaluable. Visitors are able to take advantage of their “Race of the Day” page, which provides free PPs for one race daily. DRF also has books and videos that could help a new gambler or even a seasoned veteran.

Wikipedia provides information about literally everything; horse racing or not. I find the information to be accurate about 90% of the time, but there are errors from time to time.  Many famous horses have detailed pages on Wikipedia, along with famous races. There is an abundance of horse racing information that can be gained by surfing Wikipedia.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something important, but I’ll add more later. Do you have any horse racing website you would like to share with the visitors of this website? Leave a comment and educate us.

Filed Under: Horse Racing Information Tagged With: , , , ,