Crossing a speedy sire line over a stamina-oriented female family is a winning formula in American Thoroughbred racing. One permutation of the pattern that has yielded consistently good result for 150 years is to import solid South American racemares and mate them with U.S.-bred dirt sprinters. The results, when it works, are dirt milers and classic-distance runners on all surfaces that have class, speed, and durability.
Despite a sophisticated Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry throughout the continent--in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia--many U.S. breeders shy away from bloodstock with names ending in (CHI), (ARG), (BRZ), and other South American-bred country designations.
Smart breeders will take advantage of this general ignorance. When a mare sporting a South American country code in her name walks through the sales ring in Central Kentucky, you can be fairly certain of at least one thing: someone felt she was valuable enough to spend considerable resources importing her.
For a quick reference on how well these mares fare at auction, I took a quick look at results from the 2009 Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton November sales. I searched for broodmares and broodmare prospects--no weanlings--that were either South American-bred themselves or out of mares who were born in South America. I looked at only mares that sold--no RNAs or Outs--and compared them to the average and median for the session in which they were offered. In 2009, 28 hips at Keeneland met these qualifications, and none at Fasig-Tipton. Results below show that South American mares came in below session averages on eight of 10 days they were offered:
|
KeeNov
Session |
Session
Average |
Session
Median |
S.Am.-bred
No. Sold |
Average
(% Diff.) |
Median
(% Diff.) |
| 1 |
$208,663 |
$160,000 |
5 |
$172,000
(-17.6%) |
$120,000
(-25.0%) |
| 2 |
$268,401 |
$175,000 |
3 |
$110,000
(-59.0%) |
$95,000
(-45.7%) |
| 3 |
$106,480 |
$75,000 |
5 |
$63,400
(-40.5%) |
$60,000
(-20.0%) |
| 5 |
$42,004 |
$32,000 |
2 |
$61,000
(45.2%) |
$61,000
(90.6%) |
| 6 |
$41,084 |
$28,000 |
3 |
$18,000
(-56.2%) |
$22,000
(-21.4%) |
| 7 |
$23,230 |
$20,000 |
3 |
$19,667
(-15.3%) |
$22,000
(10.0%) |
| 8 |
$20,343 |
$13,000 |
2 |
$12,500
(-38.6%) |
$12,500
(-3.8%) |
| 10 |
$9,431 |
$6,000 |
2 |
$3,350
(-64.5%) |
$3,350
(-44.2%) |
| 12 |
$7,765 |
$3,500 |
1 |
$4,000
(-48.5%) |
$4,000
(14.3%) |
| 13 |
$6,134 |
$2,700 |
2 |
$8,350
(36.1%) |
$8,350
(209.3%) |
Any edge helps when you're investing. I believe that South American-bred mares offered in North America represent, on average, an "edge" for savvy buyers. With that in mind, I've selected a handful of mares from Argentina that might be worth reviewing at Lexington's upcoming bloodstock sales:
FT Hip #100 ( catalog page, pedigree), a 14-year-old mare named MISS MARY (ARG), sells Sun., Nov. 7, 2010 at the Fasig-Tipton November mixed sale. |
-
Thoroughbred female family: 7
-
Race record: 12-2-2-1 for earnings of $$40,446. Winner of Arturo R. Bullrich (Arg-II).
-
Produce record: dam of 4 foals, 3 of racing age, 2 raced, 1 winner, 0 stakes winners.
-
Sale history: $130,000 as a 2002 Keeneland November broodmare prospect (archived catalog page: 2002 hip 48)
-
-
Comments: A 3-year-old Medaglia d'Oro filly looks promising. Miss Mary is a daughter of Miss Peggy (ARG), an important Argentine blue hen mare. Like this mare but you can't afford Fasig-Tipton November prices? Check out Keeneland's hip 1796, Miss Mary's 2007 filly Triple Latte, by Medaglia d'Oro. |
FT Hip #167 ( catalog page, pedigree), a 7-year-old mare named TEAMGEIST (ARG), sells Sun., Nov. 7, 2010 at the Fasig-Tipton November mixed sale. |
-
Thoroughbred female family: 20
-
Race record: 19-7-3-3 for earnings of $180,040. Winner of Sibila and Carlos P. Rodriguez stakes (both Arg-II) and four times grade/group I-placed.
-
Produce record: offered as a maiden broodmare.
-
Sale history: Not previously sold
-
-
Comments: Trainer Kenny McPeek has created a successful niche operation of importing top race fillies from South America, getting some U.S. black type on their pages, and sending them to the broodmare pastures. Teamgeist was third in last year's Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (gr. I) on dirt, in addition to her several group wins/places on turf. |
Kee Hip #26 ( catalog page, pedigree), an 8-year-old mare named SAFARI QUEEN (ARG), sells Mon., Nov. 8, 2010 at the Keeneland November mixed sale. |
-
Thoroughbred female family: 13-c
-
Race record: 19-9-4-0 for earnings of $632,239. Winner of Jorge de Atucha and Estrellas Juvenile Fillies stakes (both Arg-I) and Long Island Handicap (gr. IIT) and La Prevoyante Handicap (gr. II).
-
Produce record: dam of 2 foals, 0 of racing age, 0 raced, 0 winners, 0 stakes winners.
-
Sale history: Not previously sold
-
-
Comments: Arindel Farm and Todd Pletcher teamed up here for a solid import--Safari Queen was champion juvenile filly in Argentina in 2006. Safari Queen's Book 1 placement indicates she's a top prospect for American buyers in 2010. What's not to like? Group I and grade II wins on dirt, Group I and grade II wins on turf. Good juvenile form. The ability to win at a mile, but to excel at 12 furlongs (remember that American speed-over-Argentine stamina idea?) And from a well-bred branch of the Frizette/Myrtlewood female line that is known as one of America's most important Thoroughbred families. |
Kee Hip #449 ( catalog page, pedigree), a 5-year-old mare named MISS MATCH (ARG), sells Tues., Nov. 9, 2010 at the Keeneland November mixed sale. |
-
Thoroughbred female family: 7
-
Race record: 18-4-2-6 for earnings of $$347,614. Winner of Seleccion-Argentine Oaks (Arg-I) and placed in three additional Argentine stakes and two U.S. stakes races.
-
Produce record: Offered as a racing or broodmare prospect
-
Sale history: Not previously sold
-
Covering sire: N/A
-
Comments: The humorously-named Miss Match is an Argentine group I winner from one of that nation's most prominent female families. Granddam Miss Peggy (ARG) was a group winner in her native country and produced three group-winning full siblings to Miss Simpatia (ARG) (dam of Miss Match)--including Miss Mary (the first mare profiled above). Miss Match broke her maiden at a mile and won the Argentine classic at 10 furlongs. |
Kee Hip #673 ( catalog page, pedigree), a 10-year-old mare named BRUNILDA (ARG), sells Wed., Nov. 10, 2010 at the Keeneland November mixed sale. |
-
Thoroughbred female family: 4-m
-
Race record: 31-9-4-5 for earnings of $389,883. Winner of the Eatontown Handicap (gr. III).
-
Produce record: dam of 2 foals, 0 of racing age, 0 raced, 0 winners, 0 stakes winners.
-
Sale history: $295,000 as a 2007 Keeneland January racing or broodmare prospect (archived catalog page: 2007 hip 285)
-
-
Comments: Another Argentine mare that displayed talent on dual surfaces, Brunilda actually scored her most impressive victory on dirt--a positive for the U.S. market. |
Kee Hip #1869 ( catalog page, pedigree), a 12-year-old mare named CANDY APPLE (ARG), sells Sat., Nov. 13, 2010 at the Keeneland November mixed sale. |
-
Thoroughbred female family: 13-c
-
Race record: 11-4-2-2 for earnings of $19,444.
-
Produce record: dam of 5 foals, 3 of racing age, 1 raced, 1 winner, 0 stakes winners.
-
Sale history: Not previously sold
-
-
Comments: Here's another family 13-c mare--but from a distinctly different line than Safari Queen (discussed above). Candy Apple's family kicked around Europe much longer than the Myrtlewood branch did, and came to the Americas via France, with Cithara (ARG) starting an Argentine legacy. Candy Girl (ARG), dam of Candy Apple, is better known for another progeny import: Candy Ride (ARG), the 2003 Argentine champion miler who scored on dirt in the Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar and now stands at Lane's End Farm. Don't let Candy Apple's early progeny give you any doubts: she's going to produce durable and speedy runners. |
UPDATES
- 07 November 2010: I went to see Teamgeist (ARG) (Fasig-Tipton hip #167).
- 07 November 2010: I went to see Miss Mary (ARG) (Fasig-Tipton hip #100).
- 07 November 2010: Miss Mary (ARG) (Fasig-Tipton hip #100) was a $70,000 RNA.
- 07 November 2010: Share a Moment (ARG) (Fasig-Tipton hip #148) was a $100,000 RNA.
- 07 November 2010: Teamgeist (ARG) (Fasig-Tipton hip #167) was a $275,000 RNA.
- 08 November 2010: I went to see Safari Queen (ARG) (Keeneland hip #26).
- 08 November 2010: I went to see Miss Match (ARG) (Keeneland hip #449).
- 08 November 2010: Safari Queen (ARG) (Keeneland hip #26) sold for $425,000 to influential international breeders Wertheimer et Frere.
- 09 November 2010: Miss Match (ARG) (Keeneland hip #449) sold for $500,000.
- 10 November 2010: I went to see Brunilda (ARG) (Keeneland hip #673).
- 10 November 2010: Brunilda (ARG) (Keeneland hip #673) sold for $65,000.
