Breaking down the London Classic Yearling Sale

by Murray Brown

In relative terms, the upcoming London Classic Yearling sale, to this observer, is loaded. There is strength in both trotting and pacing pedigrees.

Fully 95 of the 128 trotting-bred yearlings presently up for sale are by four of the most prominent trotting sires to ever stand in the province — Green Manalishi S (20), King Of The North (25), Muscle Mass (35) and Trixton (15). There are also 10 by Archangel, the sire of certain Older Trotter of the Year winner Lexus Kody, with reasonably good representation by Alarm Detector (seven), Lookslkachippendale (four) and My MVP (eight).

Although the percentage of “Star” sires of pacers is perhaps not as strong as with trotters, the numbers are right up there. They are led by arguably the three most formidable sires to ever stand in the province, the sensational youngsters Bulldog Hanover (22) and Cattlewash (32) and the world’s leading money winning sire of any breed, Bettors Delight (13). These three world class stallions are augmented in representation by All Bets Off (18), Betterthancheddar (seven), Betting Line (seven), Big Jim (nine), Dancin Lou (five), McWicked (12), Sportswriter (12) and Sunshine Beach (seven).

I am only referencing stallions with five or more yearlings in the sale.

Thanks in no part, to the Canadian Postal Service going on strike, this author was handicapped by not receiving a catalog from which to diligently research the information necessary to adequately present a complete picture. Nevertheless, here are my thoughts on the offering based on the sires represented in it.

But first…

REASONS WHY A CANADIAN SHOULD MAKE THIS SALE HIS PRIMARY PLACE TO DO BUSINESS.

1. There are more Ontario eligible yearlings to be found here than any other sale. Canadians race mostly in Ontario. This sale has more than double the number of those eligibles than any other sale. That is certainly not to negate the importance of Harrisburg where 140 Ontario-sired yearlings will be sold in a few weeks. The wisest shoppers will make it their business to attend and peruse both.

2. Price. With all things being equal, which they rarely are, the buyer conducting commerce in Canadian funds will be paying roughly 40 per cent less for the same horse than he would if he were buying it an American sale. Added to the actual cost of the horse would be secondary expenses such as shipping (for both horses and people), board (the same) and any ancillary expenses related to leaving home or close by. I would caution that saving on these secondary expenses could be construed as being penny wise and pound foolish if doing so prevents the buyer from doing his due diligence in exploring all, or close to all Ontario-sired yearlings being offered for sale.

3. Many Canadians have expressed a desire to spend their money in Canada, with Canadians. This seems to have become a significant factor in the travel and tourism industries. If you do not believe this to be the case, check out the numbers in such popular tourist destinations such as Las Vegas, Orlando, Arizona and Southern California. The numbers are all down, especially so with Canadians.

TROTTING SIRES WITH FIVE OR MORE YEARLINGS IN LONDON

ALARM DETECTOR (SEVEN, FOUR COLTS, THREE FILLIES)

One of the first sons of Chapter Seven to enter the stud. He really hasn’t had much of a chance serving small books of average mares. However his Strobe Light defeated all the Green Manalishis and Muscle Masses in winning Friday’s (Oct. 10) OSS Gold Super Final.

ARCHANGEL (10, FIVE COLTS, FIVE FILLIES)

To these eyes, a very underrated stallion. A rare chance to acquire a possible home run horse without breaking the vault to get there. He has been more than a decent stallion, already siring three millionaires including the almost certain Dan Patch winner Lexus Kody and the Canadian champion Logan Park.

GREEN MANALISHI S (20, 11 COLTS, NINE FILLIES)

Right now the top trotting stallion in Ontario and it isn’t that close. He burst on the scene last year like the veritable colossus. He did it all — numbers, percentages, colts, fillies and money earnings. This year with that first crop now 3, he has cemented his stature with those, as well as once again having the top group of 2-year-olds

KING OF THE NORTH (25, 12 COLTS, 13 FILLIES)

Theaspiring pretender to the throne of Green Manalishi S. KOTN made his debut in Lexington and it was quite promising. Assuming that my arithmetic is accurate, his nine colts averaged $115,777 and his six fillies $64,500. That is, of course, in U.S. dollars, which is likely quite a bit more than you will have to pay in London. From all reports his yearlings looked and moved in a manner that you would like a successful sire to look and perform.

MY MVP (EIGHT, SIX COLTS, TWO FILLIES)

This much-traveled son of Cantab Hall began his stud career in Ohio, moved to Ontario and is now back in Ohio. He is what I would describe as a middler. His horses generally show up and race. His top performer is the excellent mare Herculisa ($684,275).

MUSCLE MASS (35, 13 COLTS, 22 FILLIES)

One of the greatest trotting sires to ever call Ontario home. Until Green Manalishi S came on the scene, MM dominated the Ontario trotting stakes. Now with GM here, Muscle Mass is still an important player. One wonders how well this regional market will be able to absorb 35 yearlings at a single venue, especially considering the difficult opposition they face from strong groups by GM and KOTH. On the other hand, those numbers allow for excellent value for the wise shopper. It allows for, in the words of the great Bill Wellwood to “buy where people are not buying.”

TRIXTON (15, 11 COLTS, FOUR FILLIES)

To this observer, this appears to be the largest number this extremely well-bred and well-performed son of Muscle Hill has had on offer at this sale since locating to Ontario from New Jersey. I would assess his success thus far to have been what I would call solid. Although, thus far, he lacks the home run horse that all breeders look for. His best horse to date is the flashy Cuatro De Julio ($879,061) who’s first crop of yearlings acquitted themselves well in the sales ring in Lexington.

PACING SIRES WITH FIVE OR MORE YEARLINGS IN LONDON

ALL BETS OFF (18, FIVE COLTS, 13 FILLIES)

To these eyes, together with Bettors Wish and Betterthancheddar, the three best siring sons of Bettors Delight. All three have done reasonably well, but none has yet to come through with the home run horse that both breeders and buyers look for.

BETTERTHANCHEDDAR (SEVEN, FOUR COLTS, THREE FILLIES)

From relatively limited opportunity, he has done all right, but just that. Generally looked upon as being a decent Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) and overnight horse. Price wise, they will not be able to compete with Cattlewashes, Bulldog Hanovers, and, to a lesser degree, the Bettors Delights. For someone with limited means, there should be some opportunity here.

BETTING LINE (SEVEN, FOUR COLTS, THREE FILLIES)

The expectations were extremely high, but unfortunately they just were not reached. Of all the horses I have been involved with, Betting Line ranked as number one on my all-time “cannot miss” list of becoming a great stallion — yet, he missed! I wouldn’t consider him to have been an abject failure. He has sired some very good horses led by the $2 million+ winner Abuckabett Hanover.

BETTORS DELIGHT (13, NINE COLTS, FOUR FILLIES)

The leading money winning sire of all breeds. He is the sire of winners of hundreds of millions of dollars in both North America and Down Under. This will be his second to last yearling crop here in North America. It appears, that the competition, namely Bulldog Hanover and Cattlewash, have caught up to and surpassed him. Would I be willing to guess that there is not one more great horse or more in these last two crops? Not on your life.

BIG JIM (NINE, SIX COLTS, THREE FILLIES)

In this guy’s opinion, a much underrated sire who has done far better than the credit for which he is given. There will undoubtedly be some value to be found here. The human Big Jim would be very proud of what he has done.

BULLDOG HANOVER (22, EIGHT COLTS, 14 FILLIES)

This is his second and first full crop. His first group was conceived while he was still in training. It consisted of 54 foals coming from decent, but just decent mares. They are now 2-year-olds and have raced exceptionally well being second only to the incredible Cattlewash, but surpassing perennial leader Bettors Delight among OSS sires. His second crop of 132 foals, now yearlings are out of a stellar collection of blue blooded mares. In Lexington, his 24 colts averaged $81,543 and his 21 fillies $75,429 in U.S. funds. They would both have to average in excess of $100,000 in Canadian dollars to come close to meeting those numbers in London.

CATTLEWASH (32, 17 COLTS, 15 FILLIES)

The hottest pacing sire in Canada and perhaps everywhere. After a small first crop while standing in New Jersey, Cattlewash was sent to Ontario where he has overwhelmed his opposition. He swept the OSS Super Finals on Friday with his superstar undefeated colt Beau Jangles winning the colt division and his filly A Clean Deal being the best of the fairer sex. The very large number of yearlings, by far the most by any pacer in the sale, might allow for their prices not being too high. It’s almost certain that there will be many who fetch large numbered bids. There will also likely be some that are affordable.

DANCIN LOU (FIVE, THREE COLTS, TWO FILLIES)

This is the third crop by this son of Sweet Lou. His oldest foals from his first two groups have raced well enough for the wise shopper to look these over. However, with almost all pacing sires, the trio of Cattlewash, Bulldog Hanover, and Bettors Delight make for very steep competition.

MCWICKED (12, SEVEN COLTS, FIVE FILLIES)

As with all pacing sires, the competition is inordinately high. However, McWicked has shown he is capable of producing some very good raceway performers.

SPORTSWRITER (12, FOUR COLTS, EIGHT FILLIES)

There was a time when Sportswriter stood near the top of the line when it came to siring the best OSS performers. However, as with most sires to varying degrees, his time appears to have come and gone. That’s not to say that he is no longer capable of possibly producing a top one. There are likely to be a bargain or more among this group.

SUNSHINE BEACH (SEVEN, TWO COLTS, FIVE FILLIES)

The expectations were very high for this son of the mighty Somebeachsomewhere. As with most sires, they were not quite reached. He has done okay, but just okay. He has proven capable of siring the occasional OSS star, but as with all pacers not by Bettors Delight, Bulldog Hanover, and Cattlewash, the air is rather thin in the areas in which they play.