Yearling Sales

FASTHORSES

THE WINNING PEDIGREE

Yearling Sales

_____________________________

The yearling sales start up again in January and potential buyers of yearlings may wonder how to go about the business of buying that super star of the future.

Every year a new collection of stallions have their first yearlings for sale and the studs which stand these stallions employ the most sophisticated marketing tools available, in order that their stallion has a head start in the fickle marketplace. The stallions retire to stud with a fanfare and the advertising momentum continues to the sales, hopefully ensuring good prices and returns for the stud's loyal clients, and maintaining the value of the stallion.

The potential buyer will be assailed with all manner of things from impressive statistics of the sires near relations, to enticing pictures in glossy brochures, all of which are designed to give the new stallion an advantage in the market place. So how do buyers find their way
around all this?

Firstly you must have some idea of what type of yearling you want to buy, and roughly how much money you want to spend on it. Then you must look through the catalogue and study each lot and if you don't have the time to do this then you may consider the input of a pedigree consultant.

Although there are no guarantees in this business, it is important to find a consultant with a reliable record for financial impartiality and accuracy, which can be verified through a third party.

Financial impartiality is an absolute necessity when it comes to selecting yearlings, so be careful of the pedigree consultant who wants to represent you "as agent" at the sales. The assumed impartiality of their advice could be called into question if they were to take the agent's commission on the purchase price of the yearling.

A consultant's job is to give you their opinion about the strengths or weaknesses of a yearling's pedigree and also may give you a list of likely lots for you to consider within your price range. If you opt for the computer generated rating list then you will be given a rating for each horse and you may be one of many with the same list at the sale, so always ask how many other people have it.

Once you have this list give it to your trainer, agent or veterinarian to inspect each lot on type. This part is absolutely crucial. The pedigree cannot be taken in isolation. Just as there are superb physical specimens who cannot win a race, there are horses with wonderful pedigree's, which given the vagaries of inheritance, do not translate into horses who can win races.

If the person assessing the yearling on type is impressed with the yearling and it is also well regarded on pedigree you might put it on your short list of lots to bid on at the sale. It is amazing how quickly you can whittle away a cumbersome list of yearlings to a select handful using this approach.

From the impressive collection of stallions who had their first yearlings at the last sales some have already sired some good winners. There has been a rally from some local freshman's, to coin an American phrase, which is really wonderful given the opposition they have had from the dual-hemisphere big shots.

Keltrice sounded the trumpet for the Victorian based stallion when Northeast Sheila blitzed the field in the Maribyrnong Plate. Zeditave's half brother Alannon is another local stallion who has also done well with a number of winners including Falvelon who won the JF Meynink Stakes LR in October. He was a sad loss from the local stallion ranks, however if any of his daughters come up for sale they should make wonderful matrons. Victorian breeders have been fortunate indeed to have his brother Druid's Lodge available.

Danzero has also put in a good showing with several well placed juveniles. He has a broadly adaptable pedigree which will hopefully translate into consistency as a sire. I have always liked his pedigree but was a little disappointed at some of his yearlings at the sales, for no reason other than they looked a little plain, but what does that matter if they run.

The dual-hemisphere fellows have been a little slow to start however Sadler's Well's three parts brother Perugino has done marvellously by siring the VATC Debutante Stakes winner Testa Rossa, and at this stage he is heading the evergreen Rory's Jester as leading 2yo sire. Grand Lodge is also doing well as the sire of Shogun Lodge who won the Canonbury Stakes LR in October. Barathea really made a splash at the sales with some spectacular and athletic types and he is by Sadler's Wells from Grand Lodge's broodmare sire Habitat. Interestingly Habitat is the half brother to Northfields, the broodmare sire of the controversial Caulfield Cup winner Taufan's Melody.

Dehere is another dual hemisphere stallion whose whose juveniles are only now attracting plenty of attention. Dehere seemed to get a broad range of types indicating more versatility than is typically associated with a sprinter built like Ben Johnson. Probably the most impressively built was a filly from the precocious Transparency who looked all muscle in the ring. There isn't a great deal of depth on the pedigree page, but the filly was an outstanding type in the sales ring. Dehere is also doing well in America, so don't expect any bargains at the sales this time around.

The first season sires this year include Danehill's marvellous sons Danewin and Flying Spur as well as Eagle Eyed, the brother to Danehill. There should be plenty of interest for those three for obvious reasons.

Zabeel's half brother Baryshnikov has three colts and a filly in the Classic Sale, watch out for any Baryshnikov's out of Geiger Counter, Sadler's Well's or Nureyev mares as this could be a nice cross. There should be a couple in the Easter sales out of Geiger Counter mares to look out for.

Hurricane Sky, the half brother to Umatilla by the marvellous juvenile Star Watch makes his debut. He is another stallion with a lovely, adaptable pedigree which should stand him in good stead.

Every year there are new stallions, some will challenge the old guard in the sire's tables and some will fall by the wayside, by selecting yearlings according to conformation and pedigree you can improve your chances of getting the good ones.