Gaming Shows Benefit Of A Positive View

Some people only look for difficulties. Others seek solutions.

Between those categories, it's not hard to place Joe Pickerrell and his wife Courtney. Having attended a couple of family weddings in South Africa, and been blown away by the venue each time, they struggled to find anywhere remotely comparable when planning their own nuptials back in Florida. Well, they thought, that was not just frustrating. Might it also be a business opportunity? So they found this amazing 1850 barn in Canada, dismantled it, and had it shipped and reassembled, beam by beam, on their farm. They're now staging 60 services a year.

For a less positive approach to life, however, we might cite the people who crowded round their Pick View consignment at OBS back in March to check out the Game Winner colt they had found at Keeneland the previous September.

The Pickerells are increasingly helping clients who race their stock, but at Keeneland they were purely on the pinhook trail. As usual, they split up the barns and made their preliminary picks. Luckily, they seem to use a common filter for a final list.

“I've looked at horses with a lot of folks in my life, and it's very seldom that their tastes are as similar as mine and hers,” Pickerrell says. “Courtney's a very good judge of a horse, maybe even a little more critical than me. Anyway our list that day ended up being pretty short.”

Really it was all about this son of Game Winner, bred by Mount Brilliant from a well-related Johannesburg mare.

Game Winner | Lane's End

“I found him in Book 4 at Lane's End,” Pickerrell recalls. “He was in one of those express lanes, where they're showing a lot of horses to a lot of people for the first time. And he kind of ruined the rest of the day for me. I probably missed a lot of horses afterwards, but I just couldn't quit thinking about that guy.”

The sire was making only a steady debut at the sales, but it had been similar for Palace Malice when the Pickerrells found Structor back in 2018. The subsequent GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner cost $160,000 and was turned round at OBS for $850,000, their biggest hit to date.

“So the freshman sire angle has been successful for us,” Pickerrell says. “Game Winner might have been a little bit under the radar, at that point, but this one had everything we looked for in a horse. We've had a lot of luck with big, two-turn colts that look like they'll go a route of ground, while also having enough speed to complete the task of the 2-year-old sales–which is, of course, very challenging. We ask a lot of these horses, so they need a lot of substance and quality to get through the process. So he made my list and then later in the day he got by the tough list, which is my wife's. And we were lucky enough to get him bought for $40,000.”

They took him down to Ocala and, their standard procedure, turned him out for a spell.

“Usually in groups,” Pickerrell explains. “At least two, sometimes four, depending on the paddock. I like to get them out and socialized, just let them be a horse for a little, make sure they're not going to get sick or have any side effects from coming through the sale. And then we just go through the regular breaking process and go forward.”

They broke around 100 last year, roughly half and half between those preparing for the sales and the track.

“They're all on the same program until about New Year, when the early sale horses start a little more speed work,” Pickerrell says. “Every client's a little different in how they prefer their horses to leave my place. We have one guy who really doesn't care whether or not they run as 2-year-olds. Another guy, that will be his priority. So we kind of gear the program not only around the individual horse, but keep in mind which trainer they'll be joining, how far they'll want to go, things like that.”

It doesn't take long to start sorting wheat from chaff.

“By about Thanksgiving, we tend to know if we made any mistakes or not,” Pickerrell says. “Those will start to separate the wrong way. And meanwhile the cream starts to rise, and we can start to get excited about them.”

The Game Winner colt was soon pushing his way to the front of the line.

“Yeah, he was always class,” Pickerrell recalls. “The kind the riders fight over. He went through the stages just as easy as you can. I'll tell you how early we knew this was a special guy. We've got a very good client that's just getting started in the breeding game. And early in the spring they called and said, 'Who are you liking?' I told them Game Winner. Both their mares are now in foal to him.”

And, as we'll see, this colt has meanwhile made them feel very satisfied with that counsel. But first came the auction, and those critical few seconds on which months of work turn.

Gaming | Benoit

“You can never expect a horse to breeze 20-and-two,” Pickerrell reflects. “I mean, that's a fifth off the track record, and we're talking about a big, two-turn colt. So you never know what's going to happen. What I did know is that I had about 24 horses in that sale, and he was one of the best. And, yeah, he showed as much as any horse we've ever had.”

But this is where we go back to what we were saying about people who look for difficulties. On the face of it, the Pickerrells were sitting on a seven-figure payday. Trouble was, the horse was straying to amber on his X-rays.

“I think it's about time these buyers start translating race results and performance instead of letting the veterinarians control these sales,” Pickerrell declares. “We obviously need our vets, to assist us, but the pendulum has swung so far now. That horse had 20 vets at the March sale—and 19 failed him.

“But it just goes to show you: Bob Baffert, one of the best trainers in the world, and Donato Lanni were smart enough–after their first vet actually failed the horse–to get a second and third opinion. They had enough confidence not only in the horse, but in my program and my word. He was a sound horse. He was less than perfect, on his X-rays, but guess what? Still is, to this day. And he's one of the best 2-year-olds in the country.”

That's because this colt is Gaming, who romped on debut for Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman (“The Three Amigos”) before following up in the GI Del Mar Futurity. With the Breeders' Cup coming to his backyard, this is perhaps the leading juvenile on the West Coast. Because of all that timid vetting, however, a sensational breeze converted to no more than $260,000.

“Obviously it cost us a lot of money,” says Pickerrell with a shrug. “There are some veterinarians out there looking pretty silly. But I realize they're just doing what they're asked to do. I think it's more of an owner issue than a vet issue.”

With horses, of course, things are seldom black or white. Pickerrell dislikes the whole idea that one should “pass” or “fail” the vet.

“I feel like it's up to the owners to have a little more courage when these horses look like they can run,” he argues. “If they only buy the ones that are perfect on the vetting, well, they're going to end up with a lot of slow horses. Many of the best runners I've been around had some kind of issue. I mean, look at what Cogburn's doing.”

Ah, yes–another stellar talent to have learned his trade at Pick View. Cogburn (Not This Time) was a successful pinhook for Clarmont Bloodstock Club ($52,000 KeeNov weanling to $310,000 Fasig July yearling) only to be returned with an eye issue. Josh Stevens, who works with Clarmont, sent the horse to Pickerrell but he still made no more than $150,000 after clocking 20:3/5 at OBS Spring.

“Fastest colt in the sale, and now the fastest horse in the world!” says Pickerrell with a smile. “Actually I found some videos the other day, from when I was breaking him, and he was always an amazing looking horse. Josh has bought a couple of good ones off us, and he's a good judge. These things all come full circle. At the end of the day, you need results. If good horses keep coming out of your barn, year after year, I think eventually people start taking your word a little more. I begged everybody that had a checkbook to buy Gaming. Nobody but Donato was strong enough [to beat the reserve]. Looks quite a bargain now.”

Cogburn | Sarah Andrew

From the same crop as Cogburn, moreover, emerged another terrific sprinter in Skelly (Practical Joke). The $350,000 Saratoga yearling failed to meet his reserve, having come up with a minor X-ray issue, but has since stood up to a 10-for-18 career and banked $1.75 million.

“He was another fast breezer but we couldn't get him sold,” PIckerrell says. “So he's actually still owned by the same guys that bought him as a yearling, Frank Alosa and his crew [Chris Hicks of Red Lane Thoroughbreds]. And now he'll probably go and make some noise at the Breeders' Cup, too.”

Like Skelly, Gulfport (Uncle Mo) went from Pick View to Steve Asmussen–for whom he became one of the best juveniles of his crop.

“He came through the program, though was actually sold privately off the farm,” Pickerrell explains. “But he was showing all the signs that he was going to breeze lights out. Steve has really helped us along, in terms of letting some of our kids shine on the racetrack. We owe him a lot.”

But the Pickerrells themselves plainly deserve much credit, too, so many alert runners having graduated from their academy in barely a dozen years. Nor has all this happened by accident, both having put in long apprenticeships to get here. Courtney actually had a barrel racing background, while Joe's family raced “a lot of cheap claiming horses at the smaller tracks” round Ohio. They met at college in Florida, after which Joe learned the ropes with some of the best programs in the neighborhood, including Courtlandt and Mayberry.

“Eventually I ended up getting an opportunity to break some horses on my own,” Pickerrell recalls. “We started off small, and had a little luck our first year. Actually, the first we sold for a nice price [$220,000 OBS Spring 2012] was to Three Amigos. So it's all come full circle.”

Literally so, in fact, with the horse in question–Doctor Dempsey (Harlan's Holiday)–having returned to the farm on retirement.

“He won some races and then ended up workmate for Hoppertunity,” Pickerrell explains. “A couple of nieces and nephews rode him until they went off to college, and now he's in about his fifth career. He's a pretty amazing horse, has done a lot of cool stuff: barrel racing, jumping, showing. He helped buy us our first farm, so we made sure he got a good landing at the end of it.”

Pickerrell marvels at how Cortney transferred her skills from a different discipline to the Thoroughbred.

“She's a very talented horse person,” he emphasizes. “Obviously racehorses weren't in her blood, but she took to it like a duck to water. I mean, you see her work the sales and you'll hear it from a lot of people: she's just a natural.”

Nowadays, of course, the 2-year-old market depends pretty inflexibly on the stopwatch–but Pickerrell is not one of those consignors who resent that reality.

“I mean, there's arguments for, against, whatever,” he says. “But there's a reason we clock these horses. Continuously, these fast horses are winning important races. And, last time I checked, horse racing is a competition–and the fastest horse wins.

“If it stops being a competition, okay, then I'd agree changes could be made that better suit the marketability of some horses. But if I were buying a bunch of 2-year-olds at a sale, I'd want to put on the clock. Because a lot of the graded stakes horses that came out of our program were fast breezers. And there's not very many fast breezers that came out of our program that do not become good racehorses.”

Joe Pickerrell | Photos by Z

Nonetheless this is not a game for the fainthearted. If you're left holding the baby, you have few salvage options beyond racing a horse yourself.

“So even the day you buy them, you're already thinking about which sale you'll be aiming at,” Pickerrell says. “You might even have an idea of who could buy them. The most important day, in the whole time you have a horse, is the day you buy them. That's when you make your money–if you can find the right horse at the right price. But it's tough, because we have champagne taste on a beer budget. You're trying to hit a small target at a high speed. And if you miss, it's a lonely place.”

The whole process demands resilience of a young horse, and duly a shrewd assessment of temperament through a fleeting window at the yearling sales.

“Yeah, that's very important,” Pickerrell says. “They've got to have a good mind. But if you're listening, they will talk to you. They'll tell you a lot of things you need to know. You only have a minute or two and, oftentimes, if the horse doesn't have the physical qualities that meet our protocol, you'll probably pass on pretty quickly. But if they do, then you spend a little bit more time, try to get a bit of a gauge on them. Put your hands on, just get a feel for what the horse is.

“And we're lucky enough to get advice from guys that have been doing it a long time, including some mentors of ours, besides being friendly with a lot of the consignors, the show people, the guys in the barns. You have to ask questions. There's a lot of information available if you just ask the right ones. Same as we recommend people buying horses from us to ask questions. Sometimes they do, but often they don't.”

Ultimately, no less than anyone else in the business, you can only put yourself in a position to let luck find you. But you will need that luck.

“That's right,” Pickerrell says. “That's the beauty about this game. There are twists and turns to every story. A lot of very successful folks started out with a little bit of nothing. We certainly started out with very little, and it's still a lot of work. But we've a lot to be thankful for, a lot going on. It's been a journey, but we're still just getting rolling.”