By Franck Mourier
What are the factors that determine the price of a two-year old in training?
1. Pedigree
2. Conformation
3. The “Under Tack Show”
4. Vetting
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Let’s begin with the pedigree:
A pedigree is the detailed ancestry of a young horse which presents how commercially desirable the sire is, and how many winners in the mare’s lineage there are.
The English aristocracy created, developed, and organized our sport in the 17th century. They inherited their societal hierarchy from their ancestors and were eager to reproduce this hereditary elitism within their beloved sport.
Since then, a fascination with pedigrees has spread to all participants of the sport—a fascination that often develops into an obsession.
But the pedigree alone won’t do the job! Conformation is essential.
The thoroughbred racehorse was initially bred for success in competition, with little regard for conformation. The only factor that determined a horse’s value was its speed and ability to win races, regardless of its physical attributes.
It didn’t matter if the horses were tall, short, long, small, muscular, whether their knees were offset, their hocks straight, their pasterns upright, how deep their girth, how flat their feet, etc. The only thing that mattered was who crossed the finish line first!
However, this changed approximately 30 years ago when the leading American trainers began to seize Classic winners on looks alone. This shift in focus towards conformation drove commercial breeders to prioritize producing horses that have both a correct conformation and were aesthetically pleasing to look at.
As a result, well-conformed horses now command the highest prices at auction.
However, a commercial pedigree coupled with a superb conformation is far from enough to shine in the sale ring of a two-year-old in training.
A good under tack show is essential!
Nowadays analysis on the track leaves nothing to the imagination. Data such as gallop outs, stride lengths, and motion patterns are now dissected in depth. These statistics provide anyone, even those with no horsemanship expertise, with an understanding of the young horses’ track performance. Consequently, potential buyers, armed with the same data, gravitate toward the same horses, resulting in a very polarized market.
At last, vetting plays, in the end, a primordial role in the valuation of a horse.
The vetting involves a thorough examination by veterinarians, including x-rays and endoscopic exams, to assess the horse’s health and identify any potential issues that could impact the horse’s performance on the race tracks and thus its price. Virtually nonexistent a few decades ago, it has become a multi-million dollar business.
Although it has been proven many times that most findings do not significantly reduce performances on the racetracks, they can greatly affect the value of any young thoroughbred.
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In conclusion:
Any trainer and agent will want to purchase a young horse with a commercial pedigree, correct conformation, clean vetting, and an exceptional workout on the track.
But the beauty of the sport is that there have been champions with no pedigree, poor conformation, and mediocre workouts on the undertack show, who miserably failed the vetting.
However, agents and trainers need to justify their horse purchases to their clients. Therefore, they usually avoid horses that don’t meet the four criteria mentioned above. If these criteria are met, clients will be less likely to question their purchase if the horse performs poorly and disappoints.
For those who wish to find that one-in-a-million racehorse, the list below may inspire you.
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190 is a bay racy filly by leading sire Curlin. Her work on the track was truly beautiful, and everyone was very impressed by her efficient strides with which she flowed over the ground. She was very professional and organized, showing a very willing attitude.
She is smaller and lighter than the average Curlin filly, but has the plain head of her Dad with his Roman nose and the long ears that you can find in so many very good fillies. Her head also has a very rare oddity, presenting a couple of small horn-like frontal skull bosses.
Nevertheless, she’s a beautiful athlete and a lovely mover, despite her back being rather long thanks to her very strong hip. Her back end is very impressive, and she is fairly correct, maybe slightly offset. She also has a couple of splints on the medial side of both front cannon bones in the proximal position which have been freeze fired and also a case of very mild sesamoiditis, but I don’t personally believe it will affect her career at any point. She is a tremendous racing prospect and definitely one of the best fillies of the OBS April sale.
246 is a beautiful gray colt by Vekoma. The leading freshman sire has been last year’s revelation, topping the sire list by progeny earnings, winners, and black-type winners. It seems likely that his son will contribute to keeping his momentum into the second crop.
His work was visually very impressive. He has tremendous mechanics, with his long and smooth action. He didn’t switch leads during his workouts, showing his inexperience, but we cannot fail to be impressed by the way this colt stretched out without the notorious paddling action that his sire Vekoma is known for.
We love the way he flopped his ears around during the gallop-out, as if he really enjoyed what he was doing. He is a gorgeous, big colt with a handsome look from head to toe. He has an attractive, broad forehead between the eyes with big, soft nostrils. He is correct, with a perfect shoulder angle and strong hindquarters. His walk is fluid and determined, with a zest of assertive masculinity.
585 is a bay colt from the first crop of Yaupon. He is an awesome-looking 2-year-old with plenty of scope and a lot of quality. He showed tremendous potential during the breeze show, displaying a very polished way of running with a tenacious and willing attitude.
His downhill build indicates that he still has some growing to do. His hind leg is a little straight, especially at the hocks, with a high-set stifle. However, we can reasonably predict that it will self-adjust when he matures and gains strength with time and training.
He’s an incredible mover with a nice length of rein. His powerful walk is really impressive, showing strength coupled with a bubbling and exuberant attitude. This colt slightly toes out and has a tiny splint in the medial position of his front left cannon bone that have been freeze fired last summer.
619, The son of freshman sire Independence Hall, is arguably the best-looking horse of the sale. As good-looking a two-year-old as you could ever want to see, he is amazingly fast as well. His work on the track was truly exceptional, showing a good length of stride with a very high stride frequency. Passing the quarter pole at the beginning of his workout, he was eager to run and produced an incredible acceleration.
We were very impressed by the cadence of his raking strides and the way he was grabbing the surface during his amazingly fast workout. Surprisingly, he seemed to have plenty in reserve. As talented as he seems, he is also truly handsome. A horse of refinement, he doesn’t lack magnetism and signs of vitality — common traits of so many great champions. His athletic body is very correct, symmetrical and sound, making him a fabulous mover. He has it all. He is poetry.
741 is a very good-looking daughter of Triple Crown winner and leading sire Justify. Not the biggest filly, her workout was nevertheless a delight to the eye. She was very professional, demonstrating great resolution in her forward movement. Perfectly balanced and using her relatively long neck with great efficiency, she was explosive. The amazing speed she displayed was more a product of her nervous energy than sheer muscular power.
Indeed, when we visit her at the barn, we can’t fail to notice her small size and light build. She is, regardless, very well conformed and proportioned. Her sire Justify, who is a tank of a horse standing almost 17 hands, doesn’t seem to transmit his gigantic size to his best progeny — as we saw in Europe, his very best offspring like City of Troy or Ramatuelle, among others, tend to be on the small side.
We can also predict, by the way she is made, that she will be more at home on the turf than on the dirt. She’s not the most correct by any means, being significantly toed out, but her light frame will help her to withstand training and racing. Though she has a mild sesamoiditis on her off fore and both her hocks present some spurs, including a spavin on the tarsometatarsal joint, she is a formidable prospect and any trainer would love to have this lovely filly in their barn.
833 is a handsome bay son of leading sire Uncle Mo. Tall and scopey with great presence, this masculine colt is a beast. His workout was truly spectacular — his action is long, powerful, and his mechanics are better than any 2-year-old we saw at this sale.
His stride length and efficiency are impressive, with excellent reach. He keeps his legs under him with no wasted motion, grinding over the ground with those long, effortless strides. He has plenty of size and scope, with a great shoulder, powerful hindquarters, and a very strong loin. A very nice outlook with great presence and a very good head. He is fairly correct, but we noticed that a curb on his hock has been freeze fired. He also presents a mild sesamoiditis, but this horse is a baby champion.
1045 is a striking Yaupon colt with plenty of substance and a commanding presence. We were amazed to see how confident and relaxed he was during the under tack show. When a horse gallops with such relaxation, his flowing action allows the muscles to fully stretch, maximizing the elastic rebounding effect of each stride. Consequently, his coordination was excellent, producing very long strides.
Confident on the track and confident in the barn as well, we met a very intelligent horse. He has the lovely Arabian head of his dad, displaying sheer brilliance. His impressive stature is perfectly balanced with a lovely shoulder-to-neck connection. His shoulder is really exceptional with a perfect angle. He also has a very good, wide chest.
He is pretty wide across his hindquarters as well with a good hip.
However, he is too straight in his hocks — it is the curse of the American Thoroughbred, and this blemish is unfortunately found in so many good dirt performers. Aside from that, he is fairly correct, and we will look forward to seeing him on the track as soon as he recovers from the severe case of sore shins that popped up after his workout during the under tack show.
1010 is an athletic-looking son of Nyquist. This burly colt doesn’t have the speed of the two-year-olds mentioned earlier but looked like a relentless galloper, covering a lot of ground with his magnificent action. His cruising speed probably won’t be enough to win a sprint, but it will be very efficient around two turns.
He is a little unfurnished and coarse-looking — still narrow and flat — but will develop with time into a beautiful colt. He already has powerful withers, and although his loin currently lacks depth, it can be improved.
His aplombs are not perfect, especially on his near fore where his knee is severely offset and he is toed-in significantly. However, being pigeon-toed on the left foot on an American track has rarely been a disadvantage. Some even consider it a benefit because it can create a more balanced load on the leg when racing at full speed on the turns. He has very good feet with plenty of heel. This colt presents a mild spavin on his left hock. We are looking forward to seeing this colt next spring over route trips.
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