“Looking For Love (and Horses) in All the Wrong Places”

It is not easy to find good two turn prospects in a sprinter sale. The first day of the under tack sale at Ocala destroyed many of my top ideas. Ideas #3, #4, #5, #6, and #10 all worked so slow they are not worth considering at any price (#1 was already withdrawn from the sale). It seems I have the unique ability to identify really slow horses. My third best idea was the only horse of over 100 to work in 11.0. Why would you put slow developing, route oriented, horses in the March Ocala sale? Because you want to get the out of your barn before they eat another single oat.

The track seemed to play a little faster this year. Last year there were only 10 works of 9.4 for the entire sale. Today alone there were 16 works of 9.4. That is a significant change. My first impression is that the 10.1 might be too risky this year , because worst cast they might be a 75th percentile horse. Last year 10.1 works were clearly top 50%.

What is left after this disastrous day?

1. #178 – This boring son of Midshipman worked a nifty 20.4 (only 2 of 35 were faster at 2 furlongs). This idea now shoots to the top of my list. Maybe this work will draw too much attention, or maybe nobody cares about Midshipman. I love the Thunder Gulch mare and the With Approval 2nd dam. Anything under $40,000 might be a bargain. A NY-bred.
2. #6. This son of Klimt worked a marginal 10.1. I love the Dynaformer mare. This is a 4/5 foal. Might be worth a second look for under $20,000.
3. #48 and #49 both had good works and will probably sell for $150,000+. This is a Vilolence and a Practical Joke out of Lemon Drop Kid mares. It will be fun to watch. If West Point or Eclipse buys either, it would be an interesting decision. These are “conventional” ideas, not part of my plodder/plodder strategy.
4. #40 is a well bred son of Tonalist that worked 10.0, could be interesting at a price under $60,000
5. #44 is a nice looking son of Cairo Prince that might be interesting, he worked 10.1 as the last horse of day 1. maybe under $30,000
6. Unified was the star of the day with a 20.2 (sale topper) and a 9.4
7. Cupid had a 9.4 and a 10.0
8. American Freedom had a 9.4 and a 10.0