Rich Strike retired, to be offered at Keeneland sale November 17th

[Mara]

Now I’m curious too. Seattle Slew’s breeder wanted My Charmer to go to Jacinto, another Bold Ruler grandson, but his book was full and Seth Hancock suggested Bold Reasoning instead. But that wasn’t last-minute, at least not by any account I’ve seen.

The story of Signorinetta, a British filly who won both the Epsom Derby and Oaks in 1911, is a quirky one. Her owner bred her dam to the teaser, thinking that because they whinnied to each other when passing that it was a “love match”.
Signorinetta had her crowded hour of fame but never won again. I think it was Lord Derby who bought her as a broodmare and while she wasn’t a standout producer she did okay.

[Christa_P]

I think it was Nasrullah. I think the mare was supposed to go to a full brother to Nearco but the stallion owner had a grudge with the mare owner.

[skydy]

It was something like the mare wouldn’t get in the trailer so they took her to a stallion within walking or riding distance? I could be misremembering.

[Mara]

It was Nearco! Tesio was refused a nomination to Fairway, who was owned by Lord Derby. This link doesn’t say anything about a feud, but a lot of breeders thought Tesio was nuts and maybe they’d had words at some previous time.

Nearco (horse)

[MHM]

@Mara

Her owner bred her dam to the teaser, thinking that because they whinnied to each other when passing that it was a “love match”.

Oh, my goodness.

[MHM]

@skydy

It was something like the mare wouldn’t get in the trailer so they took her to a stallion within walking or riding distance?

It’s funny to think how much the world has changed in the last hundred years or even less. I believe part of the reason the Morgan breed suddenly popped up out of nowhere was because the original stallion was in an area of New England where it was probably hard to get mares to go any distance to any other stallions at that time. And there you go, a whole new breed.

Now between the AI and frozen semen for the other breeds and the thoroughbreds that will shuttle to the Southern Hemisphere to stand in the fall or the mare owners who will put their mares on a plane as necessary to get them covered, it’s a whole different ball game.

[ASB_Stars]

Interesting! Maybe they think that a better record helps his prospects as a stallion. Or, maybe they don’t have anything else to do with him.

Rich Strike: Pulled From November Sale, Derby Winner To Undergo Stem Cell...

[MHM]

Huh. He’s what, four coming five now?

[Mara]

The thing is, as Dawson has no doubt been told by multiple people, the 3x2 to Smart Strike cross is going to put off owners of “really good mares”.

It sounds like he’s determined to have the horse stand in Kentucky. Short of buying his own farm, I don’t see that happening.

[ASB_Stars]

@Mara

It sounds like he’s determined to have the horse stand in Kentucky. Short of buying his own farm, I don’t see that happening.

Maybe. But, he also may have decided to make some more money with the horse. Or, OTOH, if the horse makes a comeback, the movie will be that much better.

The horses’ value as a sire that gets high quality mares is clearly limited.

Still, I would be interested in seeing what would have if he was bred to a mare who was a total outcross.

There is a very successful ASB breeder who has stood a couple of nice stallions in her career. She had one stud that she kept a bunch of daughters from. Then, she bred one of her good mares to a complete outcross. Finally, she bred that stud back to some of her mares, who were closely related to him on the dam side. Apparently, it worked for her. She’s now into another generation, and is still “line breeding”.

I do not think that it is the same with TBs for a number of reasons. It’s done to lock in type. While there a so many horses out there that are descendants of Northern Dancer, or Mr. Prospector in the TB registry, I am not sure how you work with Richies papers in that panoply.

[EventerAJ]

The TDN article published Nov 30 made it pretty clear what Dawson’s intentions are. After testing the market at Keeneland, he realized there was minimal interest for the horse with his current race record. He wants a better stud deal for the horse, which only happens if the horse can add to his win resume. It sounds like Rich Strike has had ongoing suspensory issues, which have been getting better/not so much depending on the ultrasound. Trying stem cells is another grasp to help heal the suspensory and give him a chance to return to the track if the ultrasounds improve.

I don’t think it’s an entirely money-hungry grab for cash. Dawson is well aware that the horse “could” stand at stud now regionally somewhere, but would get crappy mares. A small book of sub-par mares means small numbers of very average offspring, which leads to a quick end to a stallion’s career. If the horse can run at 5 (against a relatively smaller pool of older horses) he has a chance to build a better stallion page and attract better quality mares, thus ensuring he has a better chance to succeed as a stallion.

The process of returning to the track is not inexpensive. The medical treatment, the layup/rehab, legging him back up, months of training before even entering a race with no guarantee he’ll start or even win. All for the chance to get the horse a better stud deal ($) and better mares to hope he has a longer stallion career.

I still think he’d be a better gelding, but you have to admit Dawson is spending some stubborn money on his idea of making the horse a stallion. Of course he could always follow in the Ramseys’ footsteps and go all-in Kitten style, but that costs even MORE money.

[MHM]

I do think it’s interesting that the horse has only had two wins in his career. A $30,000 claimer and then the Kentucky Derby. How often does that happen?

[Mara]

Technically he’s still eligible to run in “Non-winners of two, other than maiden, claiming, or starter”.

Even with the stem cell treatment, it’s going to be late 2024 before he gets back in the starting gate.

[findeight]

I dunno…he raced mostly against superstar quality colts in classic races, he may have a shot against somewhat “softer” fields as a 5 year old. If the guy wants to race his horse and he’s pronounced sound? His choice. Personally doubt it will result get better mares but maybe owner just likes seeing him run.

[EventerAJ]

Owner says very specifically he wants him to run to increase the quality of his mare book.

After Being Pulled from Keeneland November Sale, Rich Strike Will Be Pointed...

“After the sale I was thinking ‘what am I going to do now?’” Dawson said. “I started checking options. I started further researching other options. We visited with Dr. Bramlage at Rood and Riddle and we talked about stem cell treatment. We were so close to getting him back before. If stem cells could bring anything to the party it could really make a difference. He’s not terribly injured. He just has this on-going nagging-type issue and so we thought if we could get him healed he could race again and do so at a high level and win. That would make his stallion value a lot better. It’s not a matter of dollars to me. I just want to get him into a situation where he has access to really good mares and therefore get him to a level playing field to produce great offspring. If you’re covering mediocre or less-than-mediocre mares your stallion career is going to be pretty short.”

Rich Strike remains at Margaux Farm, where all he is doing is walking and is not yet back under tack. Dawson is aiming for him to join Mott in April and begin serious training. Of course, that plan could go up in smoke if the vets don’t like what they see from future ultrasounds. Dawson understands this plan is no sure thing, but believes it’s the best possible route to take.

“All this means is that we’re going to have a year off and haven’t gotten beaten up,” the owner said. “In his age group, every time I look I see that someone else has been retired. The older class just gets smaller and smaller. My hope is that when he turns five, he’ll be back in great condition and he’ll be in great position. He can be older, bigger and better. I feel like if we get him back well and he could win a race or two will that will not only further his resume as a race horse, but it’s also going to increase his value as a stallion. The risk is worth taking.”