Handsome Ransom – Great Value!
Last week I outlined some suggestions about how newcomers to the industry could choose a potentially successful broodmare without it costing them a small fortune.
This week’s posting outlines another procedure which I recommend. There are two main ways one can make a profit out of breeding thoroughbreds. One is by the mare increasing in value as a result of her progeny succeeding on the track; the other is by breeding a foal whose sire becomes much more sought after in the time between the conception and eventual marketing of that foal. Identifying such stallions is an exercise to which breeders devote much time.
A stallion whose foals are about to race when you breed your mare to him is your best chance of making a significant capital gain via this approach to breeding. To give an example, I would recommend the Red Ransom sire Handsome Ransom as a case in point. A blazingly fast juvenile himself, he is likely to leave good 2yos; yearling buyers at the last round of sales were clearly of this opinion as Handsome Ransom yearlings fetched excellent prices as compared to his $4000 service fee. This season his fee remains at $4000; if his progeny win good races next year’s fee could well be considerably in excess of this figure.
The next step in the plan should be to buy or lease a mare with a pedigree which is complementary to that of Handsome Ransom. If you are not confident in your knowledge of pedigrees, then there are a number of pedigree advisors such as myself who will be happy to help you. Certainly, I would be looking for a mare with a reasonable amount of speed in her pedigree and I have a strong preference for mares which have won at least one race. It’s one thing to breed a foal by a stallion which is doing well; it’s quite another to breed a foal which buyers can see is likely to have the necessary qualities to win good races.
