Part 3: Choosing a Racehorse
By Emily Schulz
You would have already decided what type of owner you’d like to be by now and you’ve chosen whether you want to go directly through a trainer or see what happens with a syndicator (click here if you missed Part 1 & Part 2).
Now for the exciting part, choosing which horse to buy into! This decision is not only going to bring you immense joy aside from lots of other emotions but it’s also going to shape your new lifestyle. Say goodbye to showing people photos of your kids or your pets and say hello to showing them photos of your racehorses progress to the racetrack (on the Fred App group chat of course). It’s pretty addictive once you’ve caught the bug!
Australian racehorses are some of the greatest specimens in the world. We’ve had Pharlap, Kingston Town, Black Caviar, Makybe Diva and more recently Winx (I could go on!) grow up in this beautiful country we call home. We have vast open spaces with mineral rich breeding grounds and the finest expertise from professionals with generations of experience in selecting bloodlines of international quality. There is so much opportunity in racing for owners and breeders when it comes to prize money and success in this sunburnt country, we are the lucky ones and you can be too!
The most important question to ask when choosing a horse is how much do you want to spend and what are your goals with the horse? You also have to be realistic but that doesn’t mean you can’t dare to dream! You may want a two-year-old sprinter that will be up and running early or you may have other ideas of winning a Melbourne Cup or a Grand National which requires some patience for the horse to further develop for it get over those staying distances or jumps. It is always a smart move to gain further insight from the trainer or syndicator that you have decided on or even straight to the source, the breeders and studs before making a decision. They should be able to answer any questions you have in regards to horses they have for sale.
Horse Types
A fun breeding fact is that a horses gestation period is 11 months so they are only able to have one foal a year. The aim of the breeding game is to get a mare in foal as early as possible in the breeding season (starting September 1st each year in the Southern Hemisphere) so that it is born the earliest possible and therefore develop earlier than the horses it will compete against in the same age category. There are many different types of horse sales scattered throughout the year in Australia both in person and online these days. Here is a simple explanation of the what you can buy:
Weanling: A young horse between 6 and 11 months old that has been weaned off their mum and has completed some light ground training in order to parade at the sales. They usually go for cheaper at the sales than their older counterparts and are attractive to people who pinhook (buy a weanling to sell as a yearling or older for a profit). They will take the most time and money to get to the racetrack. If you’re a newbie, skip this type.
Yearling: The most common purchases by trainers and syndicators. These one-year-olds have been through a yearling preparation but have not yet been broken in or had their racing ability exposed yet. When mature enough, they will be broken in and can then start their racing career from their second birthday on August 1st.
Ready to run: These are two-year-old horses that have been broken in, pre trained and taught to gallop hence they are ‘Ready to run’. They will breeze up and their gallop is generally filmed and timed for buyers to view alongside their pedigree page prior to sale. These horses generally are at the races sooner however can also be put under pressure too early in the process. These are very popular with export markets.
Tried horse: A horse that has raced before with a trainer and is being sold on. Horses can thrive with one trainer and not with another, sometimes it can be an owner related sale. You can find significant discounts on horses that were expensive yearlings but haven’t lived up to their trainers and owners’ expectations. These horses are ready for someone to swoop in, give them a change of scenery and hopefully spark something to change their form around which is not always guaranteed.
“I think if you were new to ownership and had no idea what you’re looking for, I would ring and enquire about a small share with a syndicator or a trainer to get involved on a small scale and start from there - you most likely wouldn’t get through to a larger trainer to speak to them personally but a smaller one would and they’d be able to guide you”
Pedigree
A pedigree is a record of the ancestors’ bloodlines of a horse and is looked upon highly in racehorses. Get your hands on a sales catalogue, they hold most things you will need to know about the horses that are on offer. Catalogues are available in hard copy and also online around six weeks before the sale kicks off. This allows bloodstock agents, trainers and other professionals to visit the stud farms and inspect the stock before they get to the sales complex. You’ll find the basics of each horse including the colour and sex, when it was born, its brands for identification, which stud is selling it and where to find it at the sales. You’ll be able to check out the horse’s relatives in detail and their racing performance or if they even made it to the racetrack.
Once you’ve read the catalogue top to bottom, it’s time to check out the sales for yourself. Even if you’re not looking to buy yet, it’s open invite and a good way to meet trainers and breeders to get an idea of how things work. You may hear the term ‘Black Type’ thrown around by the auctioneer which refers to horses with their names in bold text in the catalogue, denoting Group or Listed (top level) wins and placings. The more bold text on a page generally means that horse will fetch a higher price at auction. Something else you may hear is a horse being referred to as an ‘early foal’ meaning the foal was born around July to September that year which means they will generally be more developed than foals born later in the year. This is important if you want to train early two-year-old’s. These factors, along with many others, determine how much a horse will go for at an auction.
Deciding on which pedigree you like can be fun, you could throw a dart or you could dedicate years to pedigree research and seeing which crosses work and which don’t. There are stallions that were very successful on the racetrack and now in the breeding barn producing many winners, they are coined ‘fashionable’ and are very appealing to buyers that have a lot of money to spend! It’s a good idea to look into how much a stallions stud fee is because the aim for vendors is to make a positive return on their investment. In saying this, there are no rules in racing and exceptions are everywhere. A successful racehorse doesn’t equal success at stud and unraced mares have produced stakes winners, it’s a real-life gamble! It will also mention in the catalogue if the sire (father) and dam (mother) won races at two or three-years-old and over what distances, which should be a useful guide when shopping for your ownership goals. Some sires can be versatile and produce winners over sprinting, miler and staying distances.
Sometimes we don’t get to see the best of a horse due to injury early on in their racing career which is why you may see lightly raced or unraced horses going off to stud, if they’ve got a great pedigree. If a mare’s produce aren’t making it to the track, this could indicate soundness issues and should be taken into consideration. In saying that, certain sires can pass on their conformational faults such as breathing difficulties which will need surgery later down the track as an example, depending on the degree of the fault, it could be a non-issue or career ending. It’s important to know that pedigree isn’t everything, you can breed the best two racehorses together and there is no certainty that a champion will be produced.
Conformation
What is more important than pedigree is conformation, which we’ll go into greater detail in Part 4 so keep an eye out. Conformation is how a horse is built, the structure of the muscle, tissue and bone that allows a half ton beast to travel at speeds up to 70km/h. You want longevity out of a racehorse so the more correct the horse is, with appropriate training and care, the longer it should stay sound. Horses don’t fully develop until they are around five years old so you can expect some changes over the next few years anyway.
Thoroughbreds come in all shapes and sizes and there’s no such thing as a perfect horse. You’ve probably watched heaps of horses racing around the track but have you ever had a proper look at them parading in the mounting yard or up close and personal? When you start to really take an interest you will notice that not each horse is built the same and the more you look at them, the more you will pick up on their differences. When you’re at the sales, you can ask a groom to parade a horse in front of you. It’s important to assess the horse from all angles, standing still and at a walk. You’re looking for a horse that is in proportion, well-muscled and a good mover. How they move at a walk is a good indication of how they will move at a gallop. Bigger in size isn’t always better, too much weight or height puts pressure on growing joints which can be detrimental later down the track, similar in big dog breeds. Look for a shiny coat, this is an important indicator of a horse’s wellbeing. A nice head with a kind eye is favoured along with big nostrils and a wide jaw so more oxygen can get to the lungs when running at top speeds some may preach.
“I like them to be well grown, intelligent and have a relaxed demeanour. I look for a deep girth, fluent movement, muscle tone, long levers, good angles and strong quarters. Neutral head carriage with a high wither set and good pelvic length and width are all important to me when choosing a horse at the sales”
Bruce Slade, Kestrel Thoroughbreds
Attitude
A horses attitude is everything, they are flight animals by nature then we put them into unfamiliar environments and it’s how they cope with these pressures at a young age that can tell you how they may be to train and on race day. You have to remember though, we are dealing with young horses which are like toddlers who haven’t been to school yet, some develop and mature physically and mentally quicker than others, so don’t put a line through one as it’s attitude could improve if in the right hands. When assessing a horses temperament you’d like to see it doing what it has been asked to do in a calm but alert manner. You want it to be aware of its surroundings and have a good nature about it, this can signify it can focus on the task at hand like it will have to do on the racetrack. Signs of distress such as sweating, pulling the groom around, squealing at other horses and general nervous energy is not ideal and some would say the horse may run their race in the mounting yard if it can’t control its nerves.
You’ll have to decide whether you want a filly (female under four-years-old) or a colt (uncastrated male under four-years-old). When deciding, it’s important to know that a large statistic of colts end up as geldings due to testosterone taking over with behavioural and weight issues or bloodlines not good enough to pursue. Geldings race on for many years whereas colts, if valuable, tend to go to stud early if you’re lucky enough to come across a good one! Fillies are tough, you don’t want to mess with them and they also have residual value. This means that after she is finished racing, depending on her racetrack performance and pedigree, you will likely get value when selling her as a broodmare whereas geldings are worth next to nothing and make great equestrian horses post racing.
“Presence, presence, presence! They have to catch your eye, as Simon says ‘It’s like trying to pick up at a nightclub, they have to grab your attention!’. Aside from that, there are a number of attributes you can look for. Temperament & attitude are big pluses. I like a relaxed nature and a tractable workmanlike attitude.”
Bonus Schemes
When deciding on a horse, you may want to look up if it’s eligible for any bonuses. These state-based schemes were set up as an incentive for breeders and owners to invest locally so they can be rewarded financially when their horses run in their home state no matter what level the horse is racing at. Nomination fees are involved however a fair chunk of additional prizemoney is given to each winner of these specific races which can go to the breeder, owner, trainer and jockey depending on which state you’re in. NSW also has a bonus for older horses which rewards owners for their patience in training long distance runners and slow maturing horses which is great in a country that loves to train sprinters. These schemes are a great way to distribute winnings back into the local market of breeders, trainers and owners encouraging local participation.
Depending on which auction house you buy a horse through, they each have their individual race series that your horse can be nominated for. Any horse that sells through that sales ring is eligible to race in these restricted two- and three-year-old races such as the $2,000,000 Inglis Millennium or the $2,000,000 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas if they qualify. There are many races around Australia that your horse could be eligible for so this may interest you to do some more research. To encourage female participation in the Sport of Kings, all ladies’ syndicates and bonus schemes are available for some horses depending if you meet the criteria but you will get be a nice addition to the bank account just for being a participant in the fast-becoming Sport of Queens. So, if you haven’t already, why not get your girlfriend, your wife or even your mum into a racehorse… they’re missing out!
That’s enough for today, you now have a lot to think about when deciding on which horse is best for your budget and ambitions. Don’t hesitate in doing your own research on anything that we’ve spoken about above, the more knowledge you have, the better off your choices will be. Don’t forget to have fun with it as well, you may like one because you won a bet back in the day when its sire was racing or just because you love a chestnut with four white socks! Whatever the reason is, don’t take your debut into racehorse ownership too seriously, get a couple of mates involved and look forward to some good times no matter what the outcome. If you’re still lost or keen to get on with it, you can check out the Fred App Marketplace to browse what horses our partners have on offer which includes everything from yearlings to tried horses.
Don’t stand in the barriers, Part 4: Conformation Explained out soon.
