view raw text
SIRES AND DAMS *y nelson dunstan *M- Jm LEXINGTON, Ky., June 22. — iHpSk We are here in the Blue Grass looking W vMjJ over the yearlings to be sold by the WBP Breeders Sales Company at Keene- .jflk ■ laIld late JUly aIld 0tnerS 40 16 rfBPlsrafe auctioned by the Fasig-Tipton Com-pany at Saratoga in August. AtKeene-~~~ak long some 320 colts and fillies will be mKtmmiiMLJKM offered and while we cannot hope to see all of them, our travels from farm to farm will total a goodly number of the youngsters who will be a definite part of next years racing picture. We recall seeing Dark Star when he was sent into the salesring and in every year there was a question of whether some of the top stakes winners of the following year are amongst those that we look over. It is a never-ending process with youngsters going to the salesring, then to the racing wars, and finally, back to the farms to take their place as sires or broodmares. Alfred Vanderbilt had his greatest satisfaction in breeding Native Dancer and the same can be said for Jim Norris with Jamie K. It remains, however, that the salerings do offer such as Alsab, Battlefield and Dark Star and the buyers derive considerable satisfaction from the yearlings they purchase and who go out to give battle to J;he homebreds. The trick, of course, is to pick the right ones and that takes a lot of picking and also some share of luck. Bringing a yearling to the sale is one thing,, but the training and development before he goes to the races ~n is just as important. AAA This years crop will be one of the smallest, if not the smallest, to be sent into the Keeneland ring since the Breeders Sales Company was formed in 1944. Bill Evans, general manager of that company, tells us that the colts and fillies have been* more rigidly inspected this season than in any year since the first sale. They are first passed on by a committee for pedigree and then inspected by Yearlings Being Readied for Keeneland Only 320 Babes to Be Offered in July Inspection Committees Rejected Many Breeders Sales Co. Has Splendid Record two competent horsemen as to conformation. There are some occasions when the inspector will turn down a colt or filly for the summer sales only to have the babe go on to be a success on the race course. On the whole, these men do a fair and impartial job in their endeavors to select the yearlings for the July vendues. Those who are excluded are either sold privately or held over to the fall sales. Ben Jones once said: "A horse can make a fool out of any man." So, after inspecting anywhere from 300 to 350, it is not surprising that some of the youngsters prove of far greater value than they appear to at first. That is why so many buyers -take yearlings out of the fall sale that go on to do just as well as the more higher-priced babes sold in July. Breeding always has been and probably always will be a conjectural science and there are elements of gamble in any purchase, even though a young horse may pass the requirements of both the pedigree and conformation committees. AAA That old expression, "All horses are well enough bred," does not hold good with the pedigree committee of the Breeders Sales Company. They scan the production records of the successive mares and although a youngster may be faultless in conformation, will be rejected due to the failure of those mares to produce good horses.-We believe more yearlings are turned down by the pedigree committee than is the case with those who judge the conformation. Some men like one type of yearling while, others have different ideas. In the very first sentence of Preston Burchs new book, "Training Thoroughbred Horses" it says, "It should be understood at the outset that there are no hard and fast rules for the selection of young horses to be used for racing. There are certain considerations that may be used as guides for selection, but they are only general principles and it would not be unusual to encounter exceptions to them. In selecting yearlings as prospective race horses a trainer considers same basic points." Oftentimes we hear and read, "Which is the more important — pedigree or conformation?" The late Col. John F. Wall, former chief of the U. S. Remount and the author of many books on breeding, contended that pedigree was the most important although he admitted that a good pedigree could not make up for some of the shortcomings in the horses make and shape. The late Bob Smith would barely look at the pedigree but . would give all of his time to a thorough examination of the points of the horse. Willis Sharpe Kilmer always insisted that pedigree and conformation went hand in hand and one was just as important as the other. In any summary of a yearlings qualities the things that cannot be seen, such as nerve response, are just as important if not more so than those that can be seen. In that is the margin that usually causes the errors in judgment. AAA Since its organization 10 years ago, the Breeders Sales Company has compiled a splendid record, from 1944 they have offered at public auction a total of 10,760 horses-and from these sales have realized a gross income of over 1,000,000. In the past nine years 1,100 different buyers have purchased thoroughbreds at Keenland sales. Many of these horses have gone on to compile a splendid repord. For example, from the 1951 sales came 22 two-year-old stakes winners of 1952. These 22 juveniles of 1952 won 32 stakes and included the top two-year-old filly and the second best two-year-old colt. Keeneland- Continued on Page Thirty-Nine r I "SIRES AND DAMS By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page Forty-Eight sold horses in the last nine years have won 616 stakes races. The sales company has constantly striven to improve the facilities of the building in which the yearlings are sold. The quarters are air conditioned, with the best lighting available, comfortable arm chairs and well-kept grounds and buildings. They spare nothing to insure the patrons maximum comfort. This year there will be three afternoon sessions and one in the evening and the fine consignment from the Spendthrift Farm of Leslie Combs TJ. will be just one of those offered at the evening session. AAA There is always speculation at this time as to how the market will compare with those of former years. Breeders we have talked with appear confident that the averages in July will compare favorably with those of a year ago. There has been steady gain during the past five years and a" figure comparable to that of a year ago will satisfy the consignors. The recent sale at Belmont Park indicated the heavy demand for racing material and when we add to that the prosperity and growing popularity of the sport, we believe the breeders are justified in looking for the same return as was the case a year ago. Purse distribution has never been as high as it is this year and there are plenty of opportunities for horses to realize a return on the investments. We have not counted the number of sires who will be represented at the four Keeneland sessions, the offerings including colts and fillies by War Admiral, Mahmoud, Count Fleet, Nirgal, Heliopolis Royal Gem II., War Relic, Blenheim TJ., Priam II., Poly-nesian, Bull Lea, Mr. Busher, Alibhai, Blue Swords and others toojiumerous to mention. In. every year there is added interest in the first crops to go to the salesrings and this year there will be youngsters by Bolero, Noor, Nathoo, Nizami, Olympia, Djeddah, I Will, Somali and Sport Page. There were only two by Nasrullah sold last season and there will be only two offered at Keeneland this year. They are both fillies, one being a bay out of Betagain in the Stoner Creek Farm group, and the other a bay out of Bayborough, and consigned by the Walnut Spring Farm.
