F.T. Saratoga Select Yearlings 2018

As always, it will be fun to see how the freshman sires’ get will run. Liam’s Map looked to have some nice ones, as did AP.
I wonder what , if anything, will be done about his fee in light of the good reception of his yearlings. Not being in the racing business I am not privy to why his fee became “private” so quickly.

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It became private because it was far less expensive his second season. Instead of posting that; they keep it “private”

Honor Code had some real stunners as well. No surprise; he’s a beautiful individual in the flesh.

Question: Somewhere (can’t remember if I read it or heard it, I think in a Bloodhorse recap) there was a reference to a high-priced yearling being “vetted 14 times”. What does such vetting include? I don’t think X-rays, I think each yearling has one set done. (14 sets and he/she would be glowing in the dark!). But what does comprise the vetting? Just a walk/jog and a hands-on? Surely not flexions, their legs would fall off!

The number of times a horse is vetted refers to the number of times a horse had his xrays looked at by a vet in repository. (They are only xrayed once pre-sale.) If a horses “passes” that part of the inspection, potential buyers will next send a vet to scope the horse to check the make up and efficiency of his throat. Sellers place more weight on the number of scopes a horses has had (rather than repository looks) because that indicates more serious intent on the part of a buyer.

Some yearlings also have their hearts measured, or their feet xrayed, or their measurements taken. But vetting commonly refers to the first two things.

Yearlings are not flexed or jogged. There are xrays in the repository for vets to see, but occasionally a buyer’s vet will repeat some views for clarification. Most commonly, a buyer’s vet will scope the yearling for their own opinion on the throat. Some consignors will limit scopes, as after 10+ scopes, the throat gets irritated and won’t look as good as it could (not to mention a pissy yearling who may hurt himself objecting to the procedure and twitch). Consignors keep record of every time a yearling is viewed, by buyers and vets. A “hot” horse may have over 200 looks over two or three days, and 10-15 vet visits.

Yes I understand that. I’m wondering if the success of APs yearlings will get his fee back up to where it was or at least become public again.

Honor Code sure had some nice ones, as did Verrazano and Liam’s Map. Of course there really weren’t any ugly ones in the sale at all. :slight_smile:

Oh, there were some questionable legs on a couple of them if you watched them walk in person. They didn’t come out very often, though.

What are “questionable” legs??

Toe in/out? Not straight legs when viewed from front/rear? Winging/paddling? Scars?

Which ones did you buy?

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Why far less expensive the second year? I thought there is typically a drop the year before the first offspring race when people want to wait to see how they do…

Breeders are listed in the Equineline App. I’ve used my iPad almost exclusively since that became available. ALL my marks, comments, etc. are right there for me to see!

Why would I buy a yearling with questionable conformation?

That seems to be an obvious," I bought no yearlings at the Saratoga Sale" and that’s all well and good. Most people don’t buy yearlings at the super high end, especially when they’ve never bought yearlings before.

I actually thought none were ugly, but as you know, I am watching online. There was one that was very expensive that was not my favorite because the forelegs. Still, none were ugly and none were poorly conformed. When the prices are that high one can nit pick. but that’s what it is, nit picking.

The talent that goes into choosing the horses for this sale is remarkable, it was a great group of yearlings. :yes:

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ALL of the yearlings at the sale had questionable conformation? Golly! I just thought you could have found ONE to take home.:lol:

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It’s call the Saratoga SELECT sale for a reason. A boutique high end sale to go along with the boutique, high end atmosphere of the racing meet. I’m willing to bet there wasn’t anything at the sale that was considered ugly or poor quality. This is not Keeneland November where there is literally, something for everyone. All of the horses in this sale were hand selected, seemed to all be very balanced individuals with good confirmation, good pedigrees, lots of appeal.

I am surprised the MDO out of La Verdad was an RNA.

Interested to see the NY bred sale. Obviously wont be as high dollar but I bet lots of bargains to be had

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I never said that some were ugly, just mentioned that some of them had some not so great legs. It was a personal observation, not a rebuttal to your opinion. I’m not sure how a few of them even got into the sale, I’ll assume it was on pedigree. The vets I was speaking with said that you don’t see conformation like that at the track, meaning they don’t stay sound enough to race. But the huge majority of them were impressive, looking way way better than many of the 2 yos now at the track in the mid Atlantic area. But then again most of the good 2 yos were at Saratoga.

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;n10196183

My back fields are 3 ft tall due to the rain and my crazy work schedule, and my first thought this morning was, “It would be so nice to have a couple horses graze that down rather than have to keep mowing it.” So yeah, why not a couple yearlings??? There are always deals to be done, especially at auctions with the RNAs. ;)[/QUOTE]

Apparently, I misunderstood.

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Someone please explain that a wink usually means the poster is kidding. I could buy 62,000 push mowers for what those youngsters sold for. Then I’d need a bigger garage.

I am so sorry. I thought that your wink was a nod to your expertise in sneaking a great one out of the sale, under the radar. Also, I was unaware that you needed all of those push mowers. And a garage. My apologies! :lol:

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I would guess that the vet that you were speaking with was correct in saying that “you don’t see conformation like that at the track” if only because yearlings aren’t on the track, and most everyone knows that in 5 months when some of these yearlings will be on the track, they will have matured and some of their physical bits will have changed.

I doubt, from seeing those that went through the ring and from knowing that the selectors are some of the best in the business, that there were conformation flaws that would keep any of those yearlings from entering training …

I agree, they were an impressive lot!

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