I want to purchase a TB broodmare

Questions and postings about buying and selling Thoroughbreds.

Moderators: Roguelet, WaveMaster, Jessi P, madelyn

DonaldT
Suckling
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2015 4:22 pm

Re: I want to purchase a TB broodmare

Postby DonaldT » Mon Feb 02, 2015 8:56 am

Thank you so much Kimberley! It is extremely helpful to have someone else (with way more experience) breakdown their catalogue analysis. My budget is quite modest...no more than 15k is my max I think. I think one of the hardest aspects is trying to pick mares from a catalogue that will sell within my price range. I plan on breeding to sell so that, of course, skews my selections when looking at these pages. I understand that I may never make money but I hope to...but I also fully realize that breeding the best racehorse (even if the sire I choose to take my mare to isn't as fashionable) will only help my mare in the long-run. Of the four mares you analyze I lean toward 586 and 558. Of those two, if I had to choose, I think I would take 558. I like the fact that 558's family is producing well and having such an immediate connection to a G-1 (even if it is Chilean) is hard to resist. I lean toward 586 and 558 because I think these mare's offspring might be more commercial...but then again a mare by Speightstown or Tapit is damn fashionable...so who knows. It's hard to pick though really, they all have some major plus factors. I haven't finished going through the catalogue yet (I'm still in the 400s) but I strongly suspect I would have circled all four of these mares as potential picks. And then it would just be a matter of bidding on whichever one I liked best that was actually selling for a price I could afford. I am somewhat generous when going through my catalogue...I circle everything I think might be a good broodmare. Because I know, when I finally get to the sale, a lot of my choices will be over my price range and maybe some of my options will be a no-go because of a bad physical.

My list (in order of preference):

1. 558--Like you said, the family is consistent. More than Ready is a good sire so I think I might be justified in thinking he might be a good BM sire. I also like the fact that her half sister has already produced a stakes winner. And (this could be completely irrelevant) I like seeing Buckpasser in the female line. I would want an experienced set of eyes to look over her conformation given her race record (soundness issues?)

2. 586--I like Langfuhr and I definitely like the half sibling G-1 winner. And, even though 1st dam isn't producing anymore, and her half sister isn't much help, I think having a G-1 half sibling is enough to make 1st dam legitimized as a good producer. And, hopefully, that ability to produce is present in 586 herself. I would want to take this mare to an established stallion though...I dislike her current owner's choice of mates.

3. 399--Tapit is awesome, enough said. And the fact that 1st dam is a stakes winner of 400k is great. She's pretty light on black-type all around though. Hopefully, with some thoughtful breeding, and being by Tapit, the resulting foal would be marketable. It's a bit of a draw between 399 and 596 for me:

4. 596--I would still circle this mare as a potential pick. I love mares that run and run consistently and make money...even if they do it in the blue collar ranks. I love to see a mare that runs over several seasons...it means durability which seems like a quickly disappearing quality. Plus, Speightstown is a great sire, and like you said, hopefully he will be a good broodmare sire. I only ranked this mare last because I think her offspring's catalogue page will be somewhat weak.

When you have a mare by a stallion like More Than Ready how do you begin to tell if he will be a good broodmare sire? Langfuhr is more established as a BM sire and Tapit and Speighstown are such hot sires, even if they end up not being excellent broodmare sires, their daughter's offspring should at least get the benefit of the doubt since they are such excellent sires, right? I guess I'm wondering...when you have a set of mares by relatively new sires how do you evaluate the BM sire potential? Or do you not? I just finished going through the OBS winter mixed catalogue and there were quite a few mares that I liked by really regional sires. For instance, hip 187 I liked very much as a broodmare. She's by Pure Precision. Are there any rules of thumb you follow when trying to determine if a sire is going to be a good BM sire? And why do mare owners take their maiden or almost-maiden mares to unproven stallions? Just wondering. I strongly feel like I would want my young mare to go to a stallion that is proven...but maybe there is a reason I'm not thinking of?

Another huge question weighing on my mind is...where in the world do I take this mare to foal/get state-bred status? I live in Michigan so keeping her here would be the most economical option (and my preference since I truly love this industry and I want to be actively involved, even if it's on a tiny scale with one mare) but is that a wise decision when I could take her to MD or PA or NY where state incentives are so huge? If I'm aiming to sell at Keeneland or (dare I say it) Saratoga does it even matter what state-bred program the foal is born into?

I'm definitely considering getting a bloodstock agent--because while I am quite comfortable looking at catalogue pages and analyzing them--I am not as good at analyzing the actual physical confirmation of the mare in front of me. It would be nice to have an experienced set of eyes looking at the horse and letting me know whether the physical package is a deal breaker.

I mean, honestly, I would like to just work for a bloodstock agent for a few years...but getting those positions seem impossible!

Thanks so much Kimberely!!

Blue feather
Allowance Winner
Posts: 318
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:17 am

Re: I want to purchase a TB broodmare

Postby Blue feather » Mon Feb 02, 2015 3:21 pm

Young stakes winning broodmare prospect on http://www.starquine.com. Winner of over 100k in just 7 starts asking 15k. Interesting buy.

DonaldT
Suckling
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2015 4:22 pm

Re: I want to purchase a TB broodmare

Postby DonaldT » Mon Feb 02, 2015 3:37 pm

Interesting. Looks like she was a RNA 14k in January at Keeneland.

kimberley mine
Breeder's Cup Contender
Posts: 1811
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2005 8:43 pm

Re: I want to purchase a TB broodmare

Postby kimberley mine » Mon Feb 02, 2015 9:02 pm

You're welcome.

That stakes-winning filly on Starquine looks interesting. I like the fact that the dam of this filly has lots of winners and her foals have earned almost half a million on the track.

For $15k, I actually like this one better: http://www.starquine.com/category/196/B ... spect.html Won over $120k, dam is stakes-placed, well-bred, graded stakes winning talent from the 2nd dam all the way back.

On the subject of knowing your market....the mare Katie It's Fine (Hip 596 at FT-Jan) raced most of her career at Woodbine. She was a stalwart up there, to the point where you can google her name and you'll get comments on her and how consistent she was. That's the kind of thing to look for. Trainers remember horses like her, and there will be a market at Woodbine (probably Asssiniboia in Winnipeg) for her foals. Ontario might not be the best place to breed or foal her out--things changed when the breeders awards program changed--so breeding her in New York and trying to sell for the Canadian market is an option with this mare. Pedigree-wise, Alphabet Soup is too old and unfashionable for auction, but a nice one might sell privately, and given that he's got 2 stakes horses/1 graded out of this mare's family and you should check out what's going on between Mizzen Mast and Gone West (seriously, and it works the other way around with Speightstown and Mizzen Mast). This is the kind of thing a bloodstock agent should help you sort out, so that when you buy, and when you make breeding plans, you're set up for success.

About the More Than Ready mare, my take on her race record is that she got injured early, had time off, but showed enough speed/promise that they kept her to race. Started her again, injuries cropped up again, tried one more year, and nothing. If she were just slow, it's not likely they would have tried to race her at 5 after nothing at 2, 3, and 4.

Something else noone has mentioned here so far, and again a bloodstock agent can help you with this, is looking at claiming a filly off the track. The Ramseys built Kitten's Joy into a powerhouse by looking for good-value claiming mares with good back class in their families and enough talent to win.

Good luck!

DonaldT
Suckling
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2015 4:22 pm

Re: I want to purchase a TB broodmare

Postby DonaldT » Thu Feb 05, 2015 1:25 pm

Thanks again Kimberley! All super helpful information. I think getting a bloodstock agent is a good idea. I am not sure yet if I'm going to the TOBA Breeders clinic in May but if I do, I will start inquiring around for an agent. It's stuff like knowing that Katie Its Fine was a well respected campaigner at Woodbine that I don't know and can't begin to contemplate researching when faced with a 500+ hip catalogue book. Hopefully an agent will know some of these sorts of things to lessen the research burden on me.