I like to keep lists. This list keeps track of when real serious racing people agree with some of my more outrageous opinions.
Elliot Walden (the top operating guy at Winsar) did an interview with TDN discussing the success of the their horses in the recent Kentucky Oaks. When asked later how the Fasig-Tipton sale went, the first thing he mentioned was the purchase of a $200,000 colt by Midnight Storm. The buyer was listed as Maverick Racing, which I did not know was related to Winstar.
I know I looked a little crazy when I put Midnight Storm at the top of my list of 150 sires about 10 days ago. My list combined ability with value (MS fee is only $10,000). To have an industry leader like Walden say nice thing publicly about MS is reassuring. To have them spend 20x on a Midnight Storm colt is even better.
Not surprisingly the Winstar folks were willing to $200,000 because the Indian Charlie dam of Hip #534 gives the colt the precocity that a stallion prospect needs. They did not even want other MS that sold for $185,000 where the second dam was the amazing Sharp Cat. I was able to pay only $35,000 for my MS because the mare was by stamina influence Ghostzapper.
The first “Crazy?? – Maybe Not” post came when Jerry Crawford the top guy at Donegal stated that “value” was the key to selecting horses.
Buying A Race Horse 