Breaking down the pacing yearlings being offered at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale

by Murray Brown

At first glance, the trotting yearlings being offered in Lexington have more, for lack of a better term, “pizzaz” than do the pacers. Nevertheless, the pacers on offer are a very significant group.

Once again, I stress that the views expressed here are entirely my own.

ALL BETS OFF — one yearling — Actually, from limited opportunity, All Bets Off is one of the better producing sons of Bettors Delight. It’s in the Ontario market where his yearlings will likely be most sought out. He has only this one filly on offer in Lexington. There will be several more in the Canadian Sale in London where he will face significant competition from the hot sires Cattlewash and Bulldog Hanover, not to mention the perennial leader Bettors Delight.

ALWAYS B MIKI — 14 — Always B Miki›s stature in the sales ring is similar to how he is looked upon when his foals hit the racetrack. He is very much capable of hitting that “Home Run” horse of which he has had several, both colts and fillies. It’s in the middle where he is sometimes viewed negatively. The perception seems to be that you are either going to hit that long ball or perhaps strike out.

AMERICAN IDEAL — nine — One of our great sires who, in my opinion, has never been given his due respect. For years he labored under the perceived negative of standing in New York where his semen could not be transported out of state to maintain New York Sires Stakes eligibility. This severely hampered the quality of the mares he could receive outside of New York. He has never not been among the leading money producing sires in and out of the Empire State. As this is written, he is the seventh leading sire of 2-year-olds, ninth with 3-year-olds, and fifth overall in North America.

BETTORS DELIGHT — 23 — What more can be said about this great horse — described as “a runt” as a yearling — that is the all-time leading money-producing sire of all breeds, including thoroughbreds. He will have only one more North American yearling crop beyond this one. Looking at them realistically, there will likely be bargains to be found. He is not only at a disadvantage in terms of North American racing, but also on his home turf in Ontario, where he faces exceptional competition from the two exciting new stallions Cattlewash and Bulldog Hanover.

BETTOR’S WISH — nine — Speaking personally, I regard this horse as one of the greater bargain stallions. I look upon him as perhaps being Bettors Delight›s greatest siring son. Looking from the outside, it appears to me that just about the only trainer who gives him the respect in the sales ring that he deserves is his trainer, Chris Ryder.

He was the victim of:

1. Standing in New Jersey while still racing. This is only a personal view, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for North America. It works in Europe, but I’m not enthused about its efficacy here.

2. Then being moved to the cauldron of Pennsylvania where his competition to begin with were the two leading pacing sires in North America: Sweet Lou and Captaintreacherous.

3. Now he is back in New Jersey.

BULLDOG HANOVER — 45 — If you are looking for value, it’s my opinion, that this is one of the places where it surely will be found. This is Bulldog’s second crop. The first one was conceived while he was still in training. The dams of his first crop were much smaller in number and significantly lesser in quality. Having this large number of yearlings in Lexington poses several possible detriments to the sellers and presents significant opportunities to the buyers.

They include:

1. The numbers themselves. There aren’t too many pacing sires that can sustain that many yearlings in a single sale.

2. The fact that they are Ontario-sired will eliminate some bidders. Nevertheless, the way his first crop has performed from decidedly lesser mares than this group, lends great promise to them being able to perform on the Grand Circuit and also to those that also have Kentucky eligibility.

3. Reason dictates that a significant number of those interested in them will be Canadian buyers. These same Canadian buyers would have to pay more than a 30 per cent premium to buy them in Lexington or Harrisburg using U.S. dollars as opposed to the Canadian dollars they would spend in London, ON.

The exceptional ones will probably still sell exceptionally well. As for the others, that remains to be seen.

CAPTAIN CRUNCH — five — A perfect example of what I regard as the truism that sires are almost never quite as good or quite as bad as they are usually regarded. Has Captain Crunch achieved the status that his backers thought he would? Undoubtedly not. However, at worst, I regard him as a decent sire, capable, on occasion, of coming up with a decent stakes performer.

CAPTAINTREACHEROUS — 37 — Perennially considered to be one of the two or three best pacing sires in North America and therefore the world. He is in the midst of what is regarded as his worst year in the stud as far as 2-year-old performance is concerned. Nevertheless, Captaintreacherous is still Captaintreacherous. He is the No. 2 leading sire of money winners of both 3-year-olds and all-age performers on the continent, and after a relatively slow start, has cracked the top 10 in 2-year-old money winners at No. 7. There will undoubtedly be some who move from this usual leader to what is perceived as the flavor of the day. For the wise yearling shopper, therein lies great opportunity. The dams of these 37 yearlings are, almost without exception, capable of producing the next great horse, perhaps more than one. If you are looking for the complete package in a yearling, these yearlings merit your attention.

CATCH THE FIRE — one — One of the better sires in Ohio. This filly will undoubtedly be looked at by those looking to compete in the Buckeye State’s lucrative Sires Stakes program.

CATTLEWASH — 11 — When speaking of flavor of the day yearlings, those by this son of Somebeachsomewhere undoubtedly fit that description. He has quickly dethroned Bettors Delight as the leader in Ontario and is now among the elite pacing sires purveying their trade throughout North America. His 2-year-olds are headed by the sensational Beau Jangles, but include an excellent supporting cast of both colts and fillies. His presence here is relatively small with 11 head, 10 of them being fillies. There are significantly more waiting in London and Harrisburg.

COURTLY CHOICE — five — A small offering by this son of Art Major who has done fairly well on the New York Sires Stakes Circuit. Those who anticipate racing there will undoubtedly be foremost among those looking to buy them.

DOWNBYTHESEASIDE — 37 — A large grouping by this son of Somebeachsomewhere who, as this is written, is the No. 1 sire of 2-year-old money winners in North America. He has worked his way up from being the leading sire in Ohio to where his sons and daughters are also quite competitive in Grand Circuit races. His status in Lexington has also been upgraded from most of his yearlings being offered on the last day of the sale, traditionally that’s where Ohio and Indiana sires have been featured, to their well-earned spots among the yearlings by our sport’s leading sires.

HUNTSVILLE — 21 — As this is being written, Huntsville is presently the leading sire of money winning 3-year-olds, No. 2 in 2-year-old earnings and No. 4 in all age categories. Almost from the outset, Huntsville has led all New York based sires, first taking the lead from Art Major, then American Ideal to where he now stands alone at the top of the heap. If one were looking for a word to define them, that word would be consistency. They race well and in all categories. It’s a good sized, well-chosen group that should be looked at by those looking to compete in stakes or in the long term as quality overnight horses.

MONTE MIKI — five — A small offering from the first crop by a very fast 2-year-old son of Always B Miki. They are Ohio eligibles and it is assumed that most of the customers looking at them will be looking to race in the Buckeye State. The first group of them were sold at the recent Ohio Selected Jug Sale. They seemed to have been well received.

PAPI ROB HANOVER — 20 — A decent sized offering from this outstanding son of the great Somebeachsomewhere. One of Papi Rob Hanover’s greatest assets is that he is a son of the greatest pacing sire ever, Somebeachsomewhere. There, I’ve said it, and truly believe it to be so. Somebeachsomewhere is the greatest pacing sire ever and it isn’t even close! In the same way that it is one of Papi Rob Hanover’s greatest assets, it is also one of his greatest negatives. It puts him in direct competition to all of Somebeachsomewhere’s sons including Captaintreacherous, Cattlewash, Downbytheseaside, Huntsville, Stay Hungry, and Summa Cum Laude for mares suitable for mating with him. It also negates the possibility of mares by Somebeachsomewhere or these sons of him from going to Papi Rob Hanover. Nevertheless, from two crops to the races, Papi Rob Hanover is No. 5 in earnings by his 3-year-olds and has now cracked the top 10 in 2-year-old earnings.

PEBBLE BEACH — 33 — A relatively large group from the first crop by this fast son of Downbytheseaside. They are eligible to the Kentucky Sire Stakes and the Kentucky bonus events. One assumes that a significant part of the buyer base will be among those looking to compete in those events. However, based upon the horse’s ability, one would think that their upside would not disallow them from becoming a factor in Grand Circuit racing in and out of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

PERFECT STING — 25 — A good sized group, nonetheless down in size from the ٤٦ on offer last year. When checking the results of last year›s Lexington and Harrisburg sales, one would might have thought that we were addressing two different sires when looking at the money that the Perfect Sting yearlings brought. In Lexington they blew the doors off averaging $68,674, while in Harrisburg they averaged a disappointing $21,897. Their racing results are what I would call mixed. The good news is that he is in the top 10 in 2-year-old earnings at No. 9. The bad, if it is indeed bad, is that much of those earnings were in New Jersey Sires Stakes races where he is in effect all alone.

SHADOW PLAY — one — A transplant to New York from Ontario where he was reasonably successful, to a large degree due to his great son Bulldog Hanover. One wonders why the change in venue? He is in tough against the dominant Huntsville.

STAY HUNGRY — 18 — Another one of those terrific sons of Somebeachsomewhere, both on the racetrack and in the breeding shed. Stay Hungry was unfortunate enough to be domiciled at Hanover Shoe Farms at the start of what looked to be a successful stud career, the same year that two phenomenal pacers named Papi Rob Hanover and Tall Dark Stranger arrived as competition. This resulted in Papi Rob Hanover and Tall Dark Stranger getting most of the quality available mares with Stay Hungry in effect relegated to the bleachers. Nevertheless, he is having a good year on the racetrack with his undefeated son Frantic Hanover being one of the two best (with Beau Jangles) 2-year-olds out there.

SUMMA CUM LAUDE — three — Another quality son of Somebeachsomewhere. His first crop are 2-year-olds and he is enjoying a very successful first season at the races with them. He is presently ranked at No. 6 among money winning sires of freshman pacers. The majority of his success has been achieved in Ohio. One assumes that the buyers for these will be those looking to race in the Buckeye State.

SWEET LOU — 33 — A large quality group by the horse that many consider to be the top pacing sire in North America. One of the many questions that I have wondered is why, with as great a stallion as Sweet Lou has been, hasn’t that success been carried over to the sales ring for his yearlings. They haven’t sold poorly, but neither have they sold well. I have been told that one of the reasons might be that his best yearlings often do not make it to the sales ring. This group might change those results.

TALL DARK STRANGER — 36 — Still a large number, but down from an astonishing ٥٦ in Lexington in ٢٠٢٤. A perfect example of the truism that a stallion is rarely as good or as bad as he is perceived as being. Considering the number and quality of the mares he received, both from his great syndicate and outside of it, that combined with his individuality, his pedigree and his great prowess on the racetrack, the world was expected of him in the stud. Yet, as often happens, the results didn’t come close to the expectations. Despite all the perceived negativity last year, the results this season have been significantly better. He is now No. 5 on the list of money winning 2-year-olds, perhaps not quite what was expected, but significantly better than previously seen.

WHITE BLISS — one — One might be inclined to ask why is this colt, by an ordinary racehorse, even in the number one select yearling sale in the country? The answer is probably as simple as simple could be. His sire is an exceedingly rare white horse. His owners were hoping to get a white foal. Instead, they got one that is a bay. So, they decided to sell it rather than to put it into training which is what they would have done if it were white.