September Yearling Sales 2020

[skydy]

@snaffle1987

please excuse me while I wipe the drool from my keyboard:
https://vimeo.com/457818077

Your favorite was RNA for 37K.

[skydy]

Another chunky Honor Code in the ring now, out of Leroidesanimaux mare. Big feet! :yes:

[skydy]

No more of Arrogate’s in the sale. It’s nice to see him well so received, such a sad story.
Mastery has one tomorrow and he’s done.
Gun Runner is done.
Classic Empire has one tomorrow and he’s done.
Practical Joke has a few more left in the sale.
Keen Ice has a few left.
Lord Nelson has a few left.
Astern has a few more (his first N.A. crop)
…so we’ve seen what their first crops look like. It’s always interesting.:yes:

[skydy]

@LaurieB

It’s absolutely heartbreaking, both emotionally and financially.

Most TB breeders have multiple mares they breed each year. So when you factor in the cost to get a yearling from this point to the race track at two–assuming nothing goes wrong, around 25-30K–it becomes imperative that at least some of those yearlings get sold, even if their breeders are taking a loss.

Here’s an article about the state of this years sales https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-rac…through-book-3

[jolise]

I saw a lovely Noble Mission colt go through the ring this morning for $5000 and sold at that. Hip 3639. Wonder if he had a major vet issue.
Question for skydy. How do they determine the books? Do most of the yearlings in the later books have vet issues? Or just the less popular pedigrees? The Chrome_SuzySage filly looked nice too and was RNA at 4 K.
Are any COTHers at the sale?

[skydy]

@jolise

I saw a lovely Noble Mission colt go through the ring this morning for $5000 and sold at that. Hip 3639. Wonder if he had a major vet issue.
Question for skydy. How do they determine the books? Do most of the yearlings in the later books have vet issues? Or just the less popular pedigrees? The Chrome_SuzySage filly looked nice too and was RNA at 4 K.
Are any COTHers at the sale?

The books are determined before the sale and the horses are assigned by pedigree and conformation. You must enter your potential sales yearling into the sale, then, the sales agents go around to the farms and inspect your babies. They then assign the horses to the books, depending on their criteria.

The stunners, by proven stallions, and the first crop by stallions that were stars on the track o/o well bred race mares (or proven producing mares) whose get are looking very good, will fill the upper books.
The lower books are not necessarily horses with vet issues. A horse in the lower books may have a (usually) slight conformation fault or look immature, and/or has a less than stellar or popular pedigree. Again there have been quite a few excellent racehorses that sold in the lower books.

[EventerAJ]

As Skydy said, the books are determined by the sales company. You may notice the whole sale is alphabetized by dam’s name, though each book may not start with “A” (it’s arbitrary, and sales company may take liberty to start with a letter that happens to place super star prospects near the middle/end of the day…pocketbooks often are a little tight in the morning, and keeping “big fish” around until late day may allow them to pick up additional horses while they wait.).

Book 1 & 2 horses are specifically inspected and “approved” by sales company representatives. Book 1 horses are generally the best of the best: outstanding catalog pages, plenty of black type, successful sires, great physical. Book 2 horses may have a little less pedigree, but are outstanding physicals. Note: the sales company may not know anything about xrays at the time the catalog is created. Most farms, with good horses, take preview films around March, and address any surgical issues then (and tailor conditioning programs around any problems). Final sales xrays are taken about 10 days out from sale date…way after the catalogs are printed.

Horses in the later books may not be seen by sales inspectors, but they rely on consignors to appropriately place their stock. Consignors/bloodstock agents will request books (catalog assignments) for their horses, based on pedigree & conformation as usual. It isn’t always better to be in an early book, if the horse can’t back it up…a book 5 horse/pedigree will not even be noticed if he is in book 2… It can help to be “big fish in a small pond”, in book 6, if that makes sense. But, fewer high-dollar buyers are left shopping in the later books, so it’s a fight to be “best of the day.” Consignors operate with the belief that there is a buyer for every horse, and they must place the horse appropriately to meet the right buyer for maximum result. As with everything in the world, popular/successful big name consignors are more likely to get their desired book placements than “the little guy” with a handful of horses, and it can definitely be political or “good old boys” network.

Breeders has it hard this year. It made me gulp a little, with 3 pregnant mares in foal for 2021, aiming for middle/mid lower market. I’m just hoping things will rebound by 2022 when mine make it to the sales. I am curious to see if stud fees are softened next year, and what happens at the November/January sales.

[jolise]

Skydy–thanks for the information. Yes, the SuzySage had a video. A bit gawky but leggy filly.
The Noble Mission–Casual Smile, I thought, was stunning. I considering trying to bid on him, but too last minute to get signed up for online bidding and arrange. Would be curious on your take on that one as the yearlings are hard for me to evaluate. I’m trying to develop an eye for it, but it is so much more difficult than assessing conformation on a mature horse.

EventerAJ—what stallions are your mares in foal to this year?

[skydy]

@jolise

Skydy–thanks for the information. Yes, the SuzySage had a video. A bit gawky but leggy filly.
The Noble Mission–Casual Smile, I thought, was stunning. I considering trying to bid on him, but too last minute to get signed up for online bidding and arrange. Would be curious on your take on that one as the yearlings are hard for me to evaluate. I’m trying to develop an eye for it, but it is so much more difficult than assessing conformation on a mature horse.

EventerAJ—what stallions are your mares in foal to this year?

Are you considering buying a yearling for racing or for some other purpose? If you are buying to race you really need a bloodstock agent to advise you. :yes: Either way, I wouldn’t buy a yearling without seeing it (or having a trusted friend who is buying or an agent do so) at the sale. You can’t tell what sort of temperament he has or how he is moving now, from a short, month old walking video. Having his veterinary information reviewed would take some arranging as well.

One reason that some horses look lovely and well bred to me, yet don’t sell well, is because I’m not there. The folks that are there may know something that I don’t.:yes: and sometimes it’s just the market, but I can’t tell which.

I don’t see anything glaringly wrong with the Noble Mission colt, I think he looks good, but I can’t really see his feet and I’d want a better view of his legs altogether. He is interested in his surroundings and isn’t cooperating so well with the whole walking-straight-forward thing.:lol:

He has a nice page, lots of black type and it seems he’s mostly bred for turf , which tends not to be as popular in the U.S. so he may not bring much. You never know, someone from the UK may want him and he’ll sell well. I never can tell.

ETA I Didn’t watch the sale yesterday. I see he went for 5K…and you mentioned that in your post.:o

[EventerAJ]

@jolise

Skydy–thanks for the information. Yes, the SuzySage had a video. A bit gawky but leggy filly.
The Noble Mission–Casual Smile, I thought, was stunning. I considering trying to bid on him, but too last minute to get signed up for online bidding and arrange. Would be curious on your take on that one as the yearlings are hard for me to evaluate. I’m trying to develop an eye for it, but it is so much more difficult than assessing conformation on a mature horse.

EventerAJ—what stallions are your mares in foal to this year?

We have 3 mares in foal to St Patrick’s Day, full brother to American Pharoah, standing in FL. And 2 more in foal to Saketini, my own event stallion by Bernardini (not aiming for the racing market).

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[skydy]

@jolise

I saw a lovely Noble Mission colt go through the ring this morning for $5000 and sold at that. Hip 3639. Wonder if he had a major vet issue.
Question for skydy. How do they determine the books? Do most of the yearlings in the later books have vet issues? Or just the less popular pedigrees? The Chrome_SuzySage filly looked nice too and was RNA at 4 K.
Are any COTHers at the sale?

The C.C. filly was sold privately for $2,500. There’s an example of a private sale. Horse is RNA so seller and buyer make a deal.

I wasn’t impressed by her movement at all, so just from video I can see why she was inexpensive. There was no close up view of her from the side and I’d want to see her much closer up, especially her pasterns.

[jolise]

Eventer AJ. Your mares are lovely!