Entries Tagged 'News' ↓
May 15th, 2016 — News, Thoroughbred Broodmares
Who would have thought it? The May sale has traditionally been an event used by breeders to unload stock deemed to be unworthy of the expense of being taken through the winter. Now we have a sale in which the median price has increased by 188% and the average price over all lots sold doubled compared to last year’s figures.
Do these prices indicate a new dawn for the breeding industry or are there factors which make these stellar results a mere flash in the pan? There seem to have been three factors which boosted the prices of weanlings. Many had strong pedigrees, a significant proportion were well conformed and well presented and there was a strong Chinese and Australian interest in the catalogue.
However, what was of more significance, in my opinion, was that the prices of broodmares also improved dramatically. The average rose from $6148 to $17,507, the median from $2000 to $4500 and the clearance rate was a stunning 91%. You can understand people wanting to invest in great looking weanlings with strong pedigrees, but with broodmares it’s all about what you can’t see in front of you. If a mare has already left unsuccessful progeny, are they slow-maturing, the victims of poor handling or accidents, or are they just plain slow? If the mare is in foal to an average sire, is her pedigree going to dominate that of the stallion? If she’s in foal to a successful sire, is he going to be able to produce a foal which is an improvement on the mare’s previous produce?
My view is that the broodmare results are very encouraging indeed. The clearance rate was unparalleled in my memory. Buyers, several of whom appear to be new to the industry, seemed to be determined to buy a mare in spite of the fact that she cost them twice what they would have expected to pay 12 months ago. Moreover, unlike the weanling portion of the catalogue, the broodmare section didn’t seem overly strong on paper: it wasn’t difficult to figure out why most mares were being put up for sale.
Let’s hope that this positive trend continues.
January 16th, 2016 — Horse Racing, News
I strongly suspect that Nashville is significantly responsible for the blood pressure medication I have to take every morning and every evening. He is the sort of horse that every pedigree advisor dreams about and when he won the Haunui Classic for the first time I envisaged a glittering career of Group 1 victories over a range of distances. He did win the Haunui again but his career has been notable for an impressive range of near misses, the Livamol Classic and the Waikato International being the highlights – if that’s the right word.
When he lined up for the Trentham Stakes and I turned on my trusty TV, I was fully prepared for another disappointment. Sure, he was thrown in at the weights but I expected him to find another way of losing a race he really ought to have won.
It’s now history that he surprised not just me but the small army of racegoers who appreciate how good a horse he is when he’s got his mind on the job. His trainers have done brilliantly to outwit him and let’s hope the magic lasts until next week. He’ll find 59kg a challenge but I’m sure that he’ll stay the distance. Rosie Myers has never had much success with Cloughmore runners but today she managed Nashville expertly, keeping him balanced around the turn and then riding him energetically all the way down the Trentham straight. If you look at the replay, you’ll see that he accelerated twice in the last 400, something that only top class thoroughbreds can do.
All In Fun won the Trentham Stakes back in 1994 but since then the race has not been kind to Cloughmore Pedigrees. Nor has the Wellington Cup, with our best results being third placings recorded by both All In Fun and our homebred The Jungle Boy.
Let’s hope that Nashville sets the record straight next weekend.
December 20th, 2015 — News
I’ve just completed my initial reading of the catalogues and it’s not difficult to sense a significant difference between these volumes and their predecessors.
There seems to be much less of a difference between the K2 and K3 sales than there used to be. As recently as 2015 you could look at a pedigree and have a very good idea which catalogue it came from without looking at either the lot number or the cover. Now it’s a different story altogether. Take the colt by Shamoline Warrior out of the Western Symphony mare Blue Lady, for example. The sire looks promising, the dam has had six winners including a G3 winner which has accumulated over $500,000 in stakes. The second dam features such an amount of black type that Zazu, the third dam, doesn’t appear on the page. Sounds a certain Select lot? Not this year. Here’s another one. A colt by Roc ‘n’ Pop out of an unraced Savabeel mare, herself the daughter of a one-win Masterclass mare which has left two seriously minor winners from six named foals. Where can you read all about him? You guessed it! There he is in the Select Sale.
I realise that it’s always fun to criticise the selections of NZB, but the point that I’m really making is that type seems to be becoming more important than pedigree with every year that passes. Sure, the first requirement that owners have is that their racehorse is sound enough to get to the races and the second requirement is that it remains sound enough so that they can get some idea as to whether it’s worth spending any more money on. However, pedigree remains an important indicator of a yearling’s likelihood to succeed. Would you rather have owned a Zabeel or a Rossini?
OK, that’s a simplistic argument but I think that there certainly needs to be some serious analysis done by yearling buyers as to all factors relating to the purchase of yearlings. Apart from the issue I’ve just outlined, here are a couple more questions for you. What evidence is there that older mares can’t produce stakeswinning offspring? What evidence is there that December foals can’t mature into first class racehorses?
It’s fairly obvious that if you have a late foal or if the mare that produced it is getting on in years, your chances of that foal appearing in the Festival catalogue are much improved – not entirely the right word, but you get my point. On the other hand, smart buyers won’t be put off by these factors. Smart buyers will do their homework.
Anyway, if I can help you with those homework tasks, just let me know.
October 3rd, 2015 — Choosing A Stallion, News, Value For Money
Any relative of super sire O’Reilly has immediate appeal as a stallion prospect. If he’s by a stallion which won two championships in Hong Kong and if he was a more than handy racehorse himself, then the attraction grows stronger. Add in a bargain basement fee of $2000 and you’ve got to start doing your homework to see if he suits any of your mares.
As the headline suggests, the stallion I’m talking about is Keano. An expensive yearling, he raced in very strong company over the Tasman and his best win as a 3YO in the QTC Lightning Handicap is easily accessible on Youtube.
He’s already stood in Australia and only became available because his owner decided to sell all his thoroughbred holdings. As www.arion.co.nz shows us, he’s an attractive type; his purchase by Taranaki breeder Jeff Bliss may well prove to be an inspired decision.
Apart from his pedigree, what I really like about Keano is that he was obviously rock-solid sound. There are not many stallions currently available which have had 27 starts over three seasons. Readers of this site will be well aware of how highly I rate soundness in a stallion: whatever a horse’s level of ability, it’s all irrelevant if he can’t be relied on to stay in one piece.
Keano is likely to leave speed and his pedigree has been highly successful in both our and a variety of Asian racing environments. Without giving away too many trade secrets, I expect him to be well suited to mares by Howbaddouwantit, the Rahy and Nijinsky lines holding particular appeal.
Let’s hope Keano gets the opportunity he deserves.
March 21st, 2015 — Horse Racing, News
As he holds a nomination for the Sydney Cup, it was with more than usual interest that I positioned myself in front of the TV set at 9.15 on Friday to see how Don Doremo would perform in his first race over ground in his current campaign.
The first thing I noticed was that he has grown into a stunning individual. The Robbie Laing stable has clearly done a great job conditioning the gelded son of Don Eduardo; he has a lot more substance than his dam Prangelica (Prized) and he also appears to have a more relaxed temperament.
From the jump Don Doremo cruised to the lead. He over-raced a little in the first few hundred metres but then settled nicely for Vlad Duric. The middle stages of the 2040 event proceeded smoothly and with 600 to go the chasing bunch appeared to be poised to pounce. However, Duric clearly knew the quality of the horse beneath him: a little more rein and daylight appeared between Don Doremo and the opposition. By the finish he was a comfortable four lengths clear and had established himself as one of the most promising stayers in Australia.
Bred by Terry Archer, Don Doremo is bred on the same Don Eduardo – Prized cross as the Hawkes Bay Cup winner All In Black. What attracted me about the cross was that both stallions are bred on the Turn-to – Princequillo cross with several No 16 family lines thrown in. The Turn-to line has a reputation for unsoundness but the other significant influences in the cross certainly haven’t; moreover, one must always remember that the further away a questionable influence is positioned in a pedigree, the less chance it has of having a negative impact.
Let’s hope Don Doremo makes the Sydney Cup field.
February 20th, 2015 — Horse Racing, News
The plan was to select just three youngsters at this year’s Karaka sales to buy into but we’re all guilty of succumbing to temptation at some time or other; as Oscar Wilde once wrote, “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it”.
Anyway, we started off with the Mastercraftsman – Plain Jill filly which had been one of my top pedigree selections in the Select catalogue. She made $20,000 which I thought was very good value for a nice individual by a proven sire out of a six-win mare which had already left a SW and several other winners. The filly was purchased by Ilone Kelly of New Plymouth.
Next came a lot I hadn’t considered as I had thought a half-brother to a recent Derby winner would command far too high a price for our budget. However, the Echoes of Heaven half-brother to Habibi made just $30,000. Unsurprisingly, she was signed for by Donna Logan; our partnership is looking forward to continuing our association with her successful stable.
The third yearling we were fortunate to become involved with was a Shaune Ritchie purchase, a Darci Brahma – Gabana filly. Foaled in early December, this stunning walking filly won’t come early, but at $16,000 she appears to be something of a steal. Her dam won four and her near relatives include the Group 1 performer, Armstrong.
At this point, our partnership thought that we had achieved pretty much what we wanted to. However, as the sale series moved on to the Festival section, it quickly became apparent that nice fillies were being given away. I noticed that Donna had purchased lot 1065, a Tavistock filly out of a Volksraad mare – the same cross which produced Volkstok’n’barrell. Given that she was also from Empire Rose’s family, this filly looked too good to pass up – especially considering her $16,000 price tag.
So there we are, the proud owners of a minority holding in four promising thoroughbreds. Let’s hope at least one of them is as good as Candle In The Wind.
January 25th, 2015 — Horse Racing, News
Candle In The Wind’s conclusive win in today’s Windsor Park Stud Karaka Stayers’ Cup justified her owners’ opinion that she is a horse of considerable class. However, it’s fair to say that Hugh Bowman’s masterful ride had a significant impact on the result.
We all know that stepping a horse up appreciably in distance is one of the most difficult feats for a trainer to manage successfully and it was a triumph for Team Logan that the transition went so smoothly. Hugh Bowman’s contribution was equally meritorious: he managed to settle the Darci Brahma mare back on the fence, improved her when the pressure went on and urged her to the finish without asking any more of her than was necessary. It was a text book ride and much appreciated by the owners.
Readers of this site will recall that our mare was purchased for a mere $2500 from the Select session of the 2011 Karaka sales. Donna Logan had noticed that Darci Brahma’s progeny were not selling well and asked me to sort out a filly with a strong pedigree from the remaining lots. The one that appealed was out of Prefer Blondes (USA). She had failed to win on the racetrack and her only foal to race had been similarly talented but I knew a little about her sire Gentlemen (ARG). He’d been the champion 3YO of his year in Argentina and had then raced in the USA before going to stud. Even though his stud record was modest he had proved to be a consistent sire of minor winners. Moreover, he had won six Group 1 events and Prefer Blondes’ dam was Let’s Sgor, 1991 Joint Wrightson Filly of the Year and winner of two Group 1 contests. Anyway, a quick visit to the trusty Arion Pedigrees site convinced me that this was the filly to go for.
It’s nice to be right but there’s always a significant dose of sheer blind luck involved in the process of finding a “good one”.
Let’s hope our luck holds at next week’s sales series.
January 5th, 2015 — Horse Racing, News
I was hoping to be able to report on Candle In The Wind’s Rich Hill Mile success, but one of the ongoing truths of the Festive Season is that we don’t always get what we want. The good news was that our Darci Brahma mare did herself proud, finishing more strongly than anything else in the Group 2 event and confirming our thoughts that she has the ability to be competitive at the highest level.
Regular readers of this site will recall that the mare was one of three yearlings the Cloughmore Racing Partnership bought into after the Karaka sales four years ago. A minority share in each horse for a minimal sum and although our Thorn Park – Grace Park colt broke down in his first preparation and our Lucky Unicorn – Durham Walk filly had limited ability, the Darci Brahma – Prefer Blondes filly has proved to have above average ability and provided the five of us with a lot of enjoyment – and a reasonable financial return. The fact that the Lucky Unicorn filly turned out to be a half-sister to top sprinter Durham Town hasn’t been bad news either – she’s currently in foal to Ekraar.
Anyway, now that the Cloughmore Racing concept has worked reasonably well, I feel that the time is right for a second partnership to be put together. The idea is for an initial investment of around $250 per person and the partnership’s holding in each horse selected to be somewhere between 10% and 20%. The original partnership has five members but this could be easily extended if the demand justified it. However, the key aspect of the partnership is that monthly payments be affordable – any arrangement will be structured so that racing does not become a financial strain on us. I should also point out that I charge no fees of any sort for arranging or managing partnerships.
I’ve recently completed my Karaka Yearling Sales Buyers’ Guide which involves analysing the pedigrees of every lot in the Select and Festival session. I’ve identified a number of horses which I rate highly in terms of their genetic potential; if any of these are purchased by trainers I have worked with in the past, they will be the yearlings I will focus on in including in the 2015 Partnership. I’m especially keen on yearlings by stallions which are out of fashion to some extent: Candle In The Wind cost a mere $2500, an outrageous price for a filly by a stallion standing at $20,000 but in 2011 all sorts of baseless rumours about his progeny were floating around. Current stallions which I think are highly likely to be undervalued by yearling buyers are Bachelor Duke, Captain Rio, Falkirk, Mastercraftsman, Postponed and Towkay. (I’ve included Mastercraftsman here because many of his progeny are quite plain).If we get very lucky we might add a stallion like Nadeem to the list. However, whatever the attractions of a yearling’s pedigree any prospective racehorse also has to have good conformation and a decent temperament.
Anyway, please feel free to get in touch if you’d like further information on anything outlined above.
September 27th, 2014 — Horse Racing, News
It’s been a long time since 2 December 2012, the date of our Hawkeye gelding’s Queenstown Cup victory. Since then we’ve had 21 losing starts, punctuated by a bleeding incident and a significant muscle issue. I must admit that I thought Graham Eade’s persistence was optimistic in the extreme but today proved that he was right and I was wrong.
Sure, it was a very small field that he beat in the PGG Wrightson Balclutha Cup and he was cleverly ridden by Lee Callaway, but not only did he settle much better than he generally does, he also accelerated in the straight with a degree of enthusiasm that had been absent for quite some time.
It was especially gratifying that this, his ninth win, took his stakearnings comfortably over the $150,000 mark. I am touching wood as I write this – but long may his change of form continue.
However, one mystery still remains. So far there have been five Cloughmore horses prepared by Graham. Apart from the promising maiden Oriental Bronze, all have been winners and Comanche’s victory today brings the total number of wins to 21. Why the Eade stable isn’t full, I have no idea.
May 2nd, 2014 — Choosing A Stallion, News, Value For Money
Breeders are always looking for that stallion – the horse they can use for a bargain basement price and then participate in the ride to stardom that the stallion enjoys. Volksraad started at $2500, Sir Tristram began at $6000 and at one stage Pentire stood at a modest $6500. It can happen, it does happen and I’m thinking that perhaps it is going to happen again.
I must admit that when Battle Paint was first announced, I wasn’t much taken with his photo. Although he was a highly talented 2YO who placed second to Holy Roman Emperor in the Group 1 Grand Criterium at Longchamps and although he was by a stallion that I’ve had significant success with and although his dam had produced 50% SWs to foals, I just wasn’t convinced. I am now beginning to suspect that I was 100% wrong.
To date Battle Paint has had no less than seven individual trial winners, four of which have raced. They include the Singapore winner Affleck, successful at his only start, a S$90,000 juvenile event. Jet Trac ran third in the Listed ARC Champagne Stakes and The Real Deal ran second at his Ellerslie debut. Sure, there are 52 Battle Paint 2YOs out there but there’s a remarkable consistency in the performances of those of his offspring which have appeared at trials.
Oddly enough, what really alerted me to this stallion’s potential was a phone call from a Taranaki breeder who had come across this site. He told me that he had been breeding horses for quite some time, that he had two Battle Paint youngsters and that he had never bred horses with such outstanding temperaments.
However, I do have to say that the class of 2010 could well turn out to be a stellar group of stallions. Thewayyouare has made an outstanding start and is highly likely to go on with it, Road to Rock has impressed me so much that I’ve actually spent my own money on a service to him, my enthusiasm for Roc de Cambes is undimmed, Buffalo Man has made a great start and Sufficient is also showing significant promise. Nonetheless, given Battle Paint’s likely affinity with some of our most successful bloodlines, he also has every chance of building on his impressive record to date.
