Palomino filly going through the Jan Keeneland Sale ...

[Laurierace]

[QUOTE=farmgirl88;3822317]
This is the problem i sometimes have with racing. Breeding shouldnt just be about who gets to the wire first. Your aardvark of a horse obviously isnt the best example of the breed, but he may get to the wire first, but how in God’s name are you going to keep a horse that looks like an aardvark sound?

breeding should be about looks. It should be about conformation. Breeding for conformation and then pedigree in terms of racing success should be where its at. soundness comes from great conformation and sound legs. Not something thats build like a car from many different cars…but its the fastest and thats all we care about.

You;d think breeders would want to produce something that has some sort of stamina in terms of soundness instead of something thats just going to get the job done and win some cash, even if its until the horse has some serious injury because of it.[/QUOTE]

I personally am discussing racing not breeding. I would assume the breeders didn’t set out to create an aardvark looking horse, but my job is to train what is sent to me. If I get that horse to the wire first, I win. Breeding him is a whole nother ball of wax.

[LaurieB]

@hitchinmygetalong;3822379

The filly sold better than I expected. I thought she would sell poorly because she is out of an unraced mare who is by an unraced stallion. If she had been anything other than a “unique” color, she would have left the ring for very little money. That doesn’t make the fact that she sold “because she’s palomino” any more palatable.

This is a point that really bothers me. Color should be the LAST thing anyone considers when buying or breeding a horse. Performance is the key. Performance is the end product of breeding for correctness and a sound mind.

There are people who spend thousands of dollars on art that does nothing more than hang on their walls. They buy it because they enjoy looking at it. Some people have that much excess money to spend and they like to look at pretty things. And if one of those people wants to buy a “pretty” racehorse and enjoy looking at it, I really don’t understand why that should be a problem for anyone else.

Would the filly have been my choice from the sale if I had 14K to spend? No, because I have bills to pay. :lol: I would have chosen a filly that more closely fit my ideal of a racehorse. But I can hardly fault the buyer just because his ideal differed from mine.

[NancyM]

Well, WAY more money that I would have paid for the animal, based on what the pedigree page looked like. Her conformation would have had to be STUNNING to raise the sale price a few thousand dollars over knockdown price, without somebody bidding on the colour, if this was a legitimate bid and a real buyer. (Sorry, I tend to be a bit of a skeptic when stuff like this happens- rigged bidding happens). Anybody know this buyer? Like other yearlings with a pale page, perhaps she can outrun her pedigree page, perhaps she can’t, time and good training will tell. I like dark bays personally, and would prefer one of these to a yellow one, as either a show horse or race horse. She will look like a dark bay anyways on a wet track, unless she is a front runner. But people are free to bid whatever they like for a horse that catches their fancy, for whatever reason the horse catches their fancy. Whether it will be a reasonable economic decision to purchase this filly for this price or not remains to be seen. Congrats to the breeder, and good luck to the buyer.

[Las_Olas]

[QUOTE=NancyM;3822629]
Well, WAY more money that I would have paid for the animal, based on what the pedigree page looked like. Her conformation would have had to be STUNNING to raise the sale price a few thousand dollars over knockdown price, without somebody bidding on the colour, if this was a legitimate bid and a real buyer. (Sorry, I tend to be a bit of a skeptic when stuff like this happens- rigged bidding happens). Anybody know this buyer?.[/QUOTE]

Yes, Nancy,

I know the buyer and he is legit. As for anyone wanting to breed racehorses for color. Hey, they’re entitled, and good luck to them. As far as I’m concerned, it would make the field ‘softer’ for my plain bays!

And, I’ll touch on the subject of breeding for color in racehorses. Whether you agree with it or not, racing, is a sport of breeding for one variable. The point is to cross the wire first. PERIOD. I’m not saying that is right, and I do try to breed correct horses, with sane minds, but these are hybrid animals. I’ve bred correct to correct and gotten crooked, and I’ve bred less than stellar conformation and ended up with nice individuals. The moment you try to focus on breeding for another variable in a hybrid animal, is the point at which your focus variable (speed) is compromised (to some extent). It costs a lot of money to keep a horse in training that was bred for something other than speed. Again, people are entitled to breed what they want, but I think you will find the market lacking (once the novelty of the color wears off). These horses will really have to step up and do something to prove their worth.

Personally, I would not have bred that palamino mare to that low grade stud to try to get a racehorse. I did not see that filly in person, but from the photos someone posted, she looked like a train wreck (which is subjective, of course). I would’ve bred her to a much nicer stallion. I think Patchen Wilkes is on the right track. He took his white mare and bred to one of the best, and most undervalued, racehorse stallions out there. That white colt now has a decent shot. If he can get some BT, then he’s ‘made’ his pedigree.

[SteeleRdr]

Referenced above was Splash of Vanilla-

Appears she’s entered in the FT Mid-Atlantic Two year olds in training sale. I was looking through the catalog and saw her listed.

[Equinoxfox]

So does that mean that she is not panning out to be what the buyers wanted from her ? OR do they think they can make some quick revenue off of her because she is started training . What do you guys think the reason could be? I would be interested to know what some of the older more veteran race professionals have to say . Thanks

[Acertainsmile]

Could be a number of things…economics could play a big part in their putting her in the sale, as we know it takes lots of cash to put one in training.

[Jessi_P]

Lots of folks “pinhook” young horses - that means buying as a weanling and re- selling as a yearling, or buying a yearling and selling it as a 2 yo in training, you get the idea. Look at the Derby winner - bought for $9,500 as a yearling and then sold (albeit not thru public auction) at the end of his 2 yo season for $400k.

[hitchinmygetalong]

@SteeleRdr;4074990

Referenced above was Splash of Vanilla-

Appears she’s entered in the FT Mid-Atlantic Two year olds in training sale. I was looking through the catalog and saw her listed.

And her page hasn’t improved much since the yearling sales.:no:

[ShadyBug]

My boyfriend rides her every morning, she currently in Bernie Flints barn. She is absolutely STUNNING…but she does have an attitude. She may have a shot as a racehorse…

[KBEquine]

Keep us posted - I’d like to keep track of her!

[doublete]

Shadybug: I saw the pics on his facebook page of the filly…

Gray boy says hi, and he’s growing up… We’ve been a week of total professionalism, galloping along with my filly at a good clip, doing really well. He’s been perfect for Eugene too.

[Derby_Lyn_Farms]

Just wanted to say that the dam of Splash of Vanilla, Maid of Gold, is at my farm. I am not the breeder of the young filly. The pictures taken of the filly and dam do not do them justice. The mare is very tall and nicely put together. She would be just as stunning if she were a chestnut. I am very excited to add her to my broodmares. However, my intentions are for hunter foals and not race foals. But we will have to see how this filly does at the track.

[hitchinmygetalong]

Well, looks like I may just have to eat my cynical words.

Splash of Vanilla just posted a bullet workout at Churchill, going three furlongs in 35.60. The kid has some speed.

[KBEquine]

Thanks for letting us know - I can only imagine how thrilled Derby Lyn Farms is.

[jengersnap]

Nice!

[TrueColours]

Here’s a current picture of her:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saber07/3588841781/

I heard this as well:

Splash of Vanilla just posted a bullet workout at Churchill, going three furlongs in 35.60. The kid has some speed.

Apparently it was the fastest work of the day as well … go Splash of Vanilla!

[hitchinmygetalong]

TC, a “bullet” workout is the racing term for “fastest of the day.” Term came from the clockers’ reports, which would have a bullet before the fastest work at any given distance.

And before you get too excited, I’ve seen a lot of horses that can breeze a bullet at three furlongs, but can’t quite carry it to four. Hope this filly continues to train well for the owners. It seems they are taking her nice and slow — no rush. Good for them and the trainers.

[KBEquine]

Edited to say : Oops. I was wrong.

Never mind . . .

[vineyridge]

Looks to me like the Palomino in the photo on Flickr is a pony horse. FWIW, Goldhaven isn’t a relative of Splash of Vanilla for palomino color. He gets his from Lucky Two Bits, which is a totally different line from the Milkie line. Goldhaven was a 2005 model, but who knows if he raced. I guess he could be the pony horse in the photo.

Does anyone have Splash of Vanilla in a virtual stable?

If she could do a 3f bullet work, don’t you just know the AQHA racing people would salivate to have her for breeding.