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5 best sires for $10k or less

November 14, 2011 By 3 Comments
Cigar Mile winner Daaher

Cigar Mile winner Daaher

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Breeding a thoroughbred race horse is risky business. The saying goes “breed the best to the best; and hope for the best.” Just like handicapping, breeding is an inexact science. New sires hit the scene every year and bargains are there for those interested in trying to breed the next champion. Let’s take a look some of the best value sires for 2012.

Concord Point (Tapit x Harve de Grace by Boston Harbor) Tapit is proving to be one of the best sires in America and his fee has jumped to $125k for 2012. How can you not like his best son at $7.5k? Concord Point was very fast at 2 and 3 and blew the competition away to win the West Virginia and Iowa Derby. His first race was a monster run in which he earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. Plenty of value with the Hill N’ Dale sire.

Thunder Gulch (Gulch x Line of Thunder by Storm Bird) Kentucky Derby winner has proved to be a very useful stallion. Among his progeny are 7 millionaires including Point Given, Spain and Circular Quay. That’s incredible for a sire that commands only $10k. 2011 was a relatively quiet year for his progeny, but his daughter Shotgun Gulch won the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland. He stands at Ashford Stud.

Majesticperfection (Harlan’s Holiday x Act So Noble by Wavering Monarch) Trainer Steve Asmussen said this is the fastest horse he has ever trained. That’s saying something! The freaky fast runner made future Breeders Cup Sprint winner Big Drama look like a cream puff when he beat him in the 2010 Vanderbilt Stakes. His broodmare sire produced Maria’s Mon who in turn produced Kentucky Derby winners Monarchos and Super Saver. Visit him for $10k at Airdrie Stud (2012 fee unannounced at this time).

First Dude (Stephen Got Even x Run Sarah Run by Smart Strike) Imposing colt was is quite the physical specimen. He hit the scene with a doggedly tough second place finish to Lookin At Lucky in Preakness Stakes. It took him a while to finally get on track after many second place finishes in big races, but he went on to win the Alysheba and Hollywood Gold Cup. He is from a very underrated sire who produced monsters like Stevie Wonderboy, I Want Revenge and the Japanese racer Cosmo Phantom. It’s hard not to like him for $7.5k at Donald Dizney’s Double Diamond Farm in Ocala, FL.

Daaher (Awesome Again x Irish Cherry by Irish Open) I liked this one as a race horse. He was a tremendous miler and he scored his best win in the Cigar Mile where he turned back Breeders Cup champ Midnight Lute. His first crop wasn’t awe inspiring, but I’m willing to wait for him to come around and fully believe he will. Daaher is wonderfully bred as a half to Grade 1 winner Spun Sugar. Check him out at Shadwell Farm for $7.5k.

You may notice that all but one of the sires I’ve chosen are very young. These types of sires are high risk, but also high reward.  Naturally, a very accomplished sire comes with a hefty price tag. It is better to find a young and unproven stallion with lots of potential for a much lower price tag.  Other variables exist, but for the money these are the five sires I’d look to first when breeding a thoroughbred race horse.

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Gradedstakes.com Eclipse Awards Ballot

December 28, 2010 By 6 Comments

The above photo is of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. This years Eclipse Awards are every bit as exciting as last year when she took the top spot. I didn’t get a vote, but if I did here are the horses I would’ve selected. Let’s take a look!

Two-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo wins this in an open and shut case. The son of Indian Charlie only raced three times, but won emphatically in each start. His Breeders Cup Juvenile victory is one of the most incredible I’ve ever seen. It will be exciting to see how he fares in 2011.

Two-Year-Old Female: Awesome Feather did everything asked of her in 6 starts this year. She capped it with a Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies win. Other interesting horses include Position Limit and Turbulent Descent. All three will be strong contenders in 2011, but the Breeders Cup winner gets the nod for the Eclipse Award.

Three-Year-Old Male: Lookin At Lucky has to take this on virtue of his wins in the Preakness Stakes and Haskell Invitational. The son of Smart Strike has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen. The other horse here is Eskendereya. He only raced 3 times before retiring due to injury, but his win in the Wood Memorial was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen by a sophomore runner.

Three-Year-Old Female: Blind Luck seems to know where the wire is. She won three races by a nose and another by a neck this year. Her best wins came in the Las Virgenes, Kentucky Oaks and Alabama Stakes. She was purchased for a measly $11k in 2008. Her rival, Havre de Grace, gets an honorable mention.

Older Horse: This division is another open and shut case in favor of Blame. He is the only horse to ever beat the legendary Zenyatta and he did so in the Breeders Cup Classic. I love his style of galloping horses down. He is a truly a throwback.

Older Female: Zenyatta gets this one for the third consecutive year. Relax ladies, she won’t be around to win it next year. You will get your chance.

Male Sprinter: This division is the first one with some room for debate. Even though I picked Breeders Cup Sprint winner Big Drama to win that race, I do think others deserve consideration. My selection for this award is Majesticperfection. He won the head to head matchup with Big Drama and won twice as many races in total. He is one of the best sprinters I’ve seen in many years and its a damn shame he was injured and forced to retire. Smiling Tiger had a great year winning two Grade 1 races and missing a third by a nose.

Female Sprinter: This was a tough pick, but I went with Dubai Majesty over Franny Freud. The latter had her season ended by an injury after taking the Prioress. Dubai Majesty finished her year with a win in the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. That put her over the top.

Male Turf Horse: It was a pretty sorry year for this division. I’ll give the nod to Champ Pegasus on virtue of his runner up performance in the Breeders Cup Turf. Rosario was bold to put him on the lead as this horse closed from 19 back to win a race earlier this year. His best win came in the Clement L. Hirsch. Most will probably go with Gio Ponti here and he deserves a look after running behind Goldikova in the Breeders Cup Mile.

Female Turf Horse: This is an easy pick. Although Goldikova only raced once in North America she deserves the award. The filly looked like she had a rocket in her rear end as she vaulted past them all in the Breeders Cup Mile. It was one of the best efforts all year and by FAR the best from this division. The ill fated Tuscan Evening gets an honorable mention for going a perfect 6 for 6.

Horse of the Year: Please refer to this post.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher wins this one in a rout. He took the Kentucky Derby and won much more money than any other trainer. He also took more Grade 1 races and more graded races overall. Bob Baffert, John Sadler, John Sheriffs and Steve Asmussen deserve mentions. Among the lower tier trainers Jamie Ness and Joe Woodard both had great years. Pletcher is the reigning king though.

Jockey: Although he didn’t win as many graded races as some, Ramon Dominguez is very deserving of this award. He rides circles around most of the New York colony and won more money than any other jockey this year. Dominguez is a great tactician and extremely underrated.

Apprentice: I don’t have a very strong opinion here, but I’ll go with top money earner and wins leader Omar Moreno. The young rider’s life is finally looking up after living through a civil war as a child. Click here to read more.

Owner: Jerry and Ann Moss deserve this one for keeping Zenyatta around. They did what was good for the game and we owe them a debt that can never be repaid. This award would be a good start though.

Stallion: I don’t have an opinion in this category, but Malibu Moon and Distorted Humor were 1-2 in wins earnings.

So there you have it, my picks for the 2010 Eclipse Awards. Official results will be released on January 17, 2011. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts. I’d love to discuss the topic  and hear what you think!

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Concord Point wins Iowa Derby in huge weekend of racing at Prairie Meadows

June 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Bob Baffert and Martin Garcia have hooked up to win yet another graded stakes event. This time it was the Grade 3 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows with Concord Point. Martin Garcia has had quite the hot hand lately and this race was no different. He stalked the early pacesetter and drew off to an easy 8 1/2 length win over Thiskyhasnolimit and Winslow Homer.

Concord Point broke the track record with a final time of 1:40.37 for the 8.5 furlongs distance. The son of Tapit easily bested the old time of 1:40.82 set in 2003 by Excessivepleasure.

Holy Bull Stakes winner Winslow Homer had a great trip behind the speed, but when asked for his best run he did not respond. He was classy enough to grab third place. Thiskyhasnolimit rallied for second place honors after winning the Matt Winn Stakes last out at Churchill Downs.

It looks like Concord Point really loved the extra distance and traditional dirt surface. This bodes well for his chances of making a splash in the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs later this year. Look for Bob Baffert to campaign him masterfully until November.

The feature race of the day at Prairie Meadows was the Grade 2 Cornhusker Handicap and it was won by Shadowbdancing. The five-year-old son of Montbrook finished second in this race last year after setting the pace. This time he took a stalking position and it ended up in victory for jockey Eddie Razo Jr. Shadowbdancing won for the 10th time in 24 starts increasing his lifetime earnings $622,495.

Seeking The Title finally registered a break through win in the Iowa Oaks earlier in the card. She was piloted by jockey Calvin Borel. You may recall that she lost her jockey in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes a few months ago. Harissa was second.

Perhaps the most important horse to race at Prairie Meadows in terms of future potential this weekend was Majesticperfection. He won the Iowa Sprint Handicap EASILY on Friday night in 1:07.24 for six furlongs. Jockey Shaun Bridgmahon never asked him for his best run, but he threw a few crosses at the son of Harlan’s Holiday. Trainer Steve Asmussen has to be thinking Breeders Cup Sprint after that effort.

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