Worms, Sales & Sire's!

This time of year is generally pretty quiet on the National Hunt side on the outside. A lot of horses are starting their breaks, and while there is still racing, the schedule is not as active over the next few months. This is, however, still a very busy time behind the scenes, and a lot of stores, horses in training, and point-to-point sales are held. Between now and the end of June, there are at least 11 days of these sales in the UK and Ireland alone, not to mention the online sales as well, which will no doubt include a strong amount of these horses.

Needless to say, with that in mind, it has been a busy week, but not with anything worth shouting about. Going through sales catalogues is not the most exciting thing for you to hear about. This, alongside preparing for the syndicate race evening at Huntingdon on the 19th, means that you may find this blog slightly, well, I'll say it, boring.

This week I have focused on the Doncaster sales as it starts tomorrow. I have always done shortlists of sales for many years just for me to gauge where my eye is in terms of whether I pick a horse that sells for a lot of money, and I'd say 70% of the time I do, which tells me I am looking at the right horses (for someone that has a lot of money!). For me now, it is all about trying to buy value.

When you are a very small player in the market, there are concessions you have to make. For example, sires: "Paul," our yearling colt (and also my most expensive purchase), is by Logician, who at the time was a complete unknown as a sire. He had had no runners at all on the track, which to some of the bigger players is not a gamble worth taking. I really liked the idea of him as a sire, and he has a lot going for him in that sphere, so I took the gamble.

"Paul" had an awful lot in his favor, being out of an excellent race mare who won several graded races and is very well related, being from the family of the great Long Run, which made the decision that little bit easier. Credit must go to Jerry McGrath, who really did his job well for me. As he was going through the ring, he was out of my budget but did not make his reserve. However, Jerry managed to negotiate the price down to significantly less than what he went through the ring for, which I really couldn't say no to.

Since then, both sides of the pedigree have gone from strength to strength, with his half-sister by Dartmouth winning on debut by 8 lengths, and his sire's first (and only to date) runner not only winning on debut but then winning a listed race very comfortably. I'd suggest "Paul's" value has significantly increased in just a few months.

So, now my long lists are much shorter as I discount those I think will go for a lot of money in a complete reversal of what I had done for years. That said, buying horses is not an exact science, and I've still managed to pick out the top lot in 2 of the recent sales despite the change in my approach (it's nice to think I'm still looking at the right horses, though). For tomorrow alone, I have a long list of 14 but a short list of 4 that I think could be extremely good value.

Sire Watch!

From time to time, I will update you on the recent results of our horses' sires. Here are the last 7 days' highlights in GB and Ireland (Not including PTP's):

Logician: No runners - Sire of "Paul".

Order Of St George: 4 winners, 4 placed - Sire of "Pam".

Tirwanako: 3 runners, no winners, no placed - Sire of "Emma".

Passing Glance: 1 win, 1 place, from 4 runners - Sire of "Ellie".

Around the yards!

At Charlock Stud, where our yearlings currently live, it has been worm counting week. A delightful process that I am glad I don't need to do personally. It involves collecting a sample of their manure, mixing it with a solution, putting it on a slide, and placing that under a microscope and literally counting eggs. Here is a really informative video I found on YouTube showing you the whole process. The exact method will differ from person to person, but this will give you a general overview... if you are interested.

While I have not received the results back yet for our yearlings, they are doing very well in themselves, still growing and strengthening all the time. I am very pleased with all of their progress. Graham and Carla are going on a holiday now that all of their foaling for this year is completed. We hope they have a nice time having some well-deserved downtime.

Down the road in Lambourn (yes, quite a long road), "Ellie," our 3-year-old filly, is having a break. She has worked really hard over the last few months, so she deserves a nice break. She will come in for a bit of work before heading over to Ravenswell Farm and the esteemed trainer Fergal O'Brien, where she will most likely compete in bumpers this coming season. The reports back from Katie and David have been really positive, and they have been very impressed with how she has taken to her work, also commenting that she "is not a slow horse" and there is "no reason she can't be competitive" in bumpers this coming season. There are shares available from just £85 per month. Get involved today!

I'm also gearing up for Tuesday's race evening, where we have a trade stand. Make sure you come and say hi if you are there!

Until next time.