Thinking Harder, City of Light

Maybe I am too negative of this group of new sires. I pushed myself to become moderately convinced that Collected could be a good sire, even though he is a son of sprint oriented City Zip. But Collected is so boring that he could not even get one horse in the fancy Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. Let’s try a little harder to get excited about another new sire.

The obvious choice is City of Light. He is expensive at $40,000, but money is no issue if you are a cool kid. The good news is that City of Light was the ultimate late developer. He was a May foal that did not start until July of his 3 year old season. At the end of his 3 year old season he won the Malibu Stakes at 7 furlongs. Then stretched out to win the Breeders Cup mile at the end of his 4 year old season, and then the Pegasus at 1 1/8 miles at 5 years old. He is kind of the ultimate slow developing horse. He was trained by low profile Mike McCarthy, not one the super trainers.

City of Light is a son of the great Quality Road. To me the magic of Quality Road comes from the dam by Strawberry Road, not so much his sire Elusive Quality. City of Light’s dam is an unimpressive and unraced Dehere mare, but the grandmother was a very successful mare that was 9 fo 16 back in the 1980’s, and won multiple G1’s. There is a lot to like here. City of Light does stand at Lane’s End. Let’s hope the cool kids chase Justify, Arrogate, Mendelssohn, and forget about the slow developing City of Light’s.

There are 7 in the Saratoga sale, let’s rank them:

1. #209 – c – a Victory Gallup mare that produced Travel Column and Neolithic, A+ nick, this should be an expensive horse, maybe $600,000, $725,000
2. #175 – f – the mare won $500,000 and produced a $500,000 winner (Share the Ride), A+ nick, maybe $500,000, $500,000
3. #96 – c – a Flatter mare that recently produced G2 winner Merneith, B+ nick, maybe $450,000, $210,000
4. #154 – f – an AP Indy mare that has been a modest producer, but the 2nd dam produced Aldebaren and Good Journey, B+ nick, maybe $300,000, $650,000
5. #55 – c – a Harlan’s Holiday mare that produced a sprinter 2nd in the G1 Vosburgh, C+ nick, maybe $250,000, $250,000
6. #33 – c – a Kitten’s Joy mare that won $165,000, D nick, maybe $200,000, $500,000 West Point
7. #185 – c – a Scat Daddy mare that won $170,000 in Canada, A++ nick, 4/20 foal, maybe you can steal this one for $150,000, $160,000 Rockingham Ranch

Maybe the best value here is #154. You get AP Indy and a great extended family, without having to pay up for any stakes winning offspring. Or maybe #185 is the value play.

I would not say I am excited, but I am moderately interested in thinking a little more about the offspring of City of Light. Let’s watch.

The City of Light’s sold well. I really like #185 the more I look at him.