There are a lot of similarities between investment business are the horse business.
I started in the investment business in 1982 for a now defunct bank called Interfirst. I was always a “value” investor that recommended stocks that well unpopular with Wall Street. When I recommended these unpopular stocks, it was very common for me to here the following comment from the guys I worked for:
“Of course that is a great stock idea, I intend to buy some for my own portfolio, but I could never buy it for my clients.”
Yesterday the TDN carried a story about the horse named Idol that the G! “Big Cap” at Santa Anita. In an accidental moment of total honesty one of the leading consigners (Top Line Sales) said this in describing Idol:
“While we had him, he was really laid back, just more of a two turn horse. Pretty good size, but didn’t have that big muscle hanging off him like some of these horses that we buy for the two year old sales. You could tell he was an immature, leaner-made type of horse that we would normally go buy for ourselves.”
These are the folks you are buying horse from at the two year old sales. they are selling you the horses with the big muscles, and keeping the good ones for themselves. I do find this comment surprising, but for a leading consigner to admit to this ‘out loud” a day before the sale is very interesting.
Idol is a son of Curlin, out of a stakes winning AP Indy mare. He is a classic plodder/plodder. He did not make it to the races until September of his 3 year old season, but not he is a G1 winner.
In fact Idol has just become my “idol”
Buying A Race Horse 