Residual Value Is The Name Of The Game

Thoroughbred Horse Racing Partnerships Target Fillies For Residual Value

In today’s thoroughbred horse racing market it is becoming increasingly difficult to purchase quality individuals year in and year out at reasonable prices. With foal crops down close to 30% the last few years and demand remaining the same, prices have sky rocketed throughout the yearling and 2 year old in training sales. Where horse racing partnerships use to find value in first crop sires, they now have to compete with the bigger players and farms who have realized that there is value to be had with new and less established sires. This now puts thoroughbred horse racing syndicates in a very difficult situation. Finding value is harder than it’s ever been and even harder when the end goal is to be able to get part of your initial investment back to your owners at the end of the horse’s racing career.

With even fewer stallions in today’s market coupled with the overwhelming scrutiny put on a colt’s ability, family, conformation and race record, it is almost impossible to think that a thoroughbred horse racing partnership will be lucky enough to campaign a potential stallion. That is why in today’s market fillies are so valuable. A filly from a winning family with an average pedigree can present significant residual value potentially. With an exponentially greater number of broodmares compared to stallions, fillies on average have a much greater chance to present their owners with residual value at the end of the day.

The general checklist for a potential broodmare, aside from a winning family and decent pedigree is as follows. Attaining some sort of black type status in their career, whether it is winning a stake (most important) or being stakes placed. Multiple stakes wins increase the value, and graded stakes wins or placings increase the value dramatically. In addition, the $100,000 mark in earnings is a threshold that needs to be surpassed in order to become sought after in the broodmare market. Just having the basics, $100,000 in earnings and a stakes win a broodmare can be worth upwards of $100,000 at the end of the day. This number is significant, seeing as this will most likely put a significant amount your initial investment back in the owner’s pockets.

At Blinkers On Racing Stable we have been lucky enough to campaign one of the top filly sprinters in the last few years, Turbulent Descent. We purchased Turbulent Descent at the OBS April sale in 2010 for $160,000. By first crop sire Congrats we were taking somewhat of a chance, but her athleticism is what sold us. By Greg Gilchrist’s recommendation we purchased her as a 2 year old in training and she went on to earn over $950,000 for the Blinkers On Partners, with 3 G1 wins, 2 G1 placings a G2 win, and 2 unlisted stakes wins. With a solid pedigree and outstanding race record we sold her privately to one of the biggest farms in the game, Coolmore. She was purchased for a private amount, and you can imagine based on her credentials what that was, and she is now in foal to the world’s top sire Galileo. For Blinkers On and our partners, this was an outstanding return and experience that will keep us and our owners in the game.

When investing in thoroughbreds, remember there always has to be an exit strategy at the end of the horse’s racing career. Fillies present that residual value on a much higher percentage than colts do. Getting your initial investment or even part of it back at the end of the day is important because that will keep you reinvesting in the game.

Blinkers On

Blinkers On Racing Stable, a leader in thoroughbred horse racing partnerships, brings together the finest in thoroughbred horse racing expertise with the best in business know-how, and above all, a team of people you can trust, to manage your investment. We are committed to helping you experience the joys of thoroughbred horse ownership. For more information on thoroughbred partnerships visit our website or request an information package about our partnership. Keep up with horse racing in California by reading our Blog, finding us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, checking us out on LinkedIn, or visiting our YouTube Channel!

 

Thoroughbred Horse Racing Loses a Prolific Sire

Horse Racing Partnerships Will Miss Offspring By Unbridled’s Song

On July 25, 2013 the thoroughbred horse racing world lost one of its most popular and successful sires. At the age of 20, Unbridled’s Song was euthanized due to a brain tumor that was ruled inoperable. He had just completed his 16^th season at Stud with Taylor Made Stallions in Nicholasville, KY where he stood this year for $60,000. The Majestic looking Gray/Roan stallion, now almost completely white, was a popular sire of precocious horses that thoroughbred horse racing partnerships, owners, and trainers alike all wanted to own.

Unbridled’s Song’s career was one to remember from the beginning. As a yearling he was purchased by owner Ernie Paragallo for $200,000 in 1994 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected yearling sale. A few months later he was brought into the Barrett’s March 2 year olds in training sale where he sold for $1.4 million dollars to Hiroshi Fujita, only to then be bought back by Paragallo because Fujita argued his vet found bone chips in the horse’s ankle. Clearly frustrated, but knowing the horse’s talent, Paragallo was happy to campaign the horse himself.

Unbridled’s Song was from the first crop of Kentucky Derby winner and champion Unbridled, out of the winning Caro mare, Trolley Song. He was off to a quick and precocious start on the race track, breaking his maiden by 8 ½ length at Saratoga then capping off the year with a G1 win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park. Not only was Unbridled’s Song talented on the track, he was able to duplicate that in the breeding shed. Horse racing syndicates today love to buy progeny of Unbridled’s Song because they are so good looking and show a lot of talent at under tack shows, the ultimate combination for a 2 year old in training sale. Unbridled’s Song would go on to run 2^nd in a pair of G2’s, the Huctheson and the Fountain of Youth, before winning the G1 Floirda Derby. He went on to run 5^th in the Kentucky Derby where he raced with a sore left front. His career ended prematurely training for the Donn Handicap where he suffered a fractured cannon bone.

In 1997 Taylor Made stood Unbridled’s Song for his first of many prolific seasons as a stallion. From 14 crops of racing age, Unbridled’s Song has sired 100 stakes winners, including 45 graded stakes winners, for combined earnings of over $89 million. He became the 27th North American stallion to eclipse 100 stakes winners earlier this year when Graydar took the Donn Handicap, and was one of ten active stallions worldwide to accomplish the feat prior to his death. Unbridled’s Song also led yearling average price at sales with a lifetime average of $298,118, leading all North American sires. In addition, he also ranks 3^rd all-time among North American Sires by gross yearling sales of $198,844,653. These numbers alone can tell you how much this sire’s progeny was loved by thoroughbred horse racing partnerships across the U.S. Not only were did his progeny win early, but they were also fast, could run a route of ground and excelled on the dirt and turf as runners.

His progeny are led by U.S. champion Midshipman, Canadian champion Embur’s Song, Breeders’ Cup Distaff/Ladies’ Classic winners Unrivaled Belle, and Unbridled Elaine. He also sired multiple Grade 1 winners Octave, Splendid Blended, Thorn Song, and Zensational, as well as 2008 Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles and 2009 Belmont Stakes runner-up Dunkirk. Unbridled’s Song’s legacy will continue to live on through his over 45 sons standing at stud around the world today. Led by G1 producing sires Even the Score and First Defence, he is also represented by first-crop sires Old Fashioned and Zensational, as well as young sires Dunkirk, Songandaprayer, Midshipman, and Mission Impazible.

Through all his success on and off the track progeny of Unbridled’s Song have been plagued with the same relative unsoundness that Unbridled’s Song had himself as a race horse that cut his career short. Being such a big, fast and precocious animals, progeny of Unbridled’s Song seem to fit the saying “high risk, high reward”. At Blinkers On Racing Stable, we purchased a son of Unbridled’s Song for our thoroughbred horse racing partnerships as a 2 year old in training at the OBS June 2012 sale. Now, named Island Freedom, he stopped the clock in 10 flat, the co-fastest time at the sale, doing it better than any other horse in the sale. Bloodstock advisor Greg Gilchrist felt that from the beginning this horse had unlimited talent and potential. Also, being a ¾ brother to first crop sire and G2 winner Old Fashioned (by Unbridled’s Song), we knew that we had to have this horse. Just like his father, Island Freedom has it all, looks, pedigree, speed, and presence, but unfortunately that’s not all. He has also been dealt an unlucky hand like many Unbridled’s Songs, being so big he has had a tough time getting to the track. But with patience and time everyone in the thoroughbred horse partnership is confident that he will be well worth the wait.

Blinkers On

Blinkers On Racing Stable, a leader in thoroughbred horse racing partnerships, brings together the finest in thoroughbred horse racing expertise with the best in business know-how, and above all, a team of people you can trust, to manage your investment. We are committed to helping you experience the joys of thoroughbred horse ownership. For more information on thoroughbred partnerships visit our website or request an information package about our partnership. Keep up with horse racing in California by reading our Blog, finding us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, checking us out on LinkedIn, or visiting our YouTube Channel!