Almost

Eclipse almost got my money this afternoon. They put out an e-mail with a nice presentation on each of the 7 horses they are offering. The highlight is Aron Wellman (the Eclipse CEO) doing a 3-4 minute “elevator pitch” on each horse. He is a very effective speaker. Mr. Wellman has just the right mix of enthusiasm and wisdom.

He almost convinced me that $250,000 was not to much to pay for the well bred Air force Blue filly. His best line was something like:

“her ovaries alone are worth what we paid”

He was implying she is well bred enough that she has residual value as a broodmare. That is an interesting comment about a part of this game I do not fully understand.

Wellman made one other interesting comment in that AFB filly video. He said:

“she is the first foal out of an unraced Malibu Moon mare, and we like that”

That is really the first time I have heard anyone say out loud that they are using what I call an “anti-pedigree” strategy. The implication is, Eclipse would rather buy a horse by a mare that has done nothing because they do not have to pay as much. As long as the “physical” appearance is good they don’t want the performance at least in the first dam. This also seems to be a major strategy at Starlight.

A third comment that caught my attention was the common refrain:

“We think she could be ready for Saratoga”

In my strange way of thinking I consider that a negative.

I give Eclipse credit for buying a off brand sire that I like. If I was not so uncertain about whether civilization will continue in 2021, Eclipse might have got my money.

The good news is that I was 100% ready to pull the trigger on this horse. I would never have said that 4 months ago.

Skylerville has a slow win at Woodbine, no works since December 6th