Thoughts from Ocala Part 3: Finding Value in Freshman Sires

   Justify, City of Light, Mendelssohn, Good Magic and Bolt d'Oro all received glowing reviews by various consignors in parts one and two of our 'Thoughts from Ocala' series. Logically enough, this select group of freshman sires holds the top five stud fees amongst their stallion crop in the U.S., each standing for $20,000 or more in 2022.

While 'value' and 'freshman sires' are two terms rarely used in the same sentence in this industry, as buyers can surely attest, we asked consignors to point out a few first-crop sires who might be flying under the radar now, but could very well be making headlines when their 2-year-olds take to the sales ring and the racetrack. The responses we received were all across the board, but each of the freshman sires noted stand for under $15,000 this year and could eventually wind up creating valuable opportunities for breeders and buyers alike.

CIARAN DUNNE: Wavertree Stables

Our sleeper horse is probably Always Dreaming. We only have two, but if they're reflective of what the rest of them are, I would think that he's a horse with a big future.  They've got a beautiful way of going and they act like horses that will stay all day long. We have a colt out of Silent Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) who goes to OBS March [Hip 121]. He's a half-brother to Epicenter (Not This Time), who wants to go long, so we have high hopes for him.

Mor Spirit is obviously a horse that we're a little bit biased on having had him as a yearling and selling him as a 2-year-old, but the colt out of Follow My Tail (Indian Charlie) was probably one of his more expensive yearlings [$160,000 at FTJuly] and he has trained accordingly. He's going to OBS March [Hip 437] and I think everybody will know who Mor Spirit is when he's done.

Another stallion who maybe is a little under the radar is Good Samaritan. Again, we have a very small sampling. We only have one, but she is just a wonderfully-athletic filly. She came to us late, but she's done everything right and she's going to the March Sale [Hip 404] because she pointed herself there rather than us deciding it for her. We're quite excited about her. I think she'll be a neat filly down the road.

JIMBO GLADWELL: Top Line Sales

We have a Tapwrit filly that has really shown a lot of speed early and should be a nice filly over at OBS March [Hip 309]. She has looked like she would go 10 flat from the day we bought her. All we've done is maintained that and kept her going in the right direction. She's good-minded and a really good-moving filly with a lot of balance and muscle. We're very happy with the way she's broken out. Tapwrit was a sire that kind of flew under the radar for us, but she's really gone the right way and is going to be really fast at the sale.

We also have a really nice U.S. Navy Flag filly that came over from Europe. She's doing really well and we're very happy with her. She handles the training and has had no issues with anything we've thrown at her. I think she's going to really throw a big work over at OBS March [Hip 368] and we're very happy with the way she's coming along.

NIALL BRENNAN:

Obviously there are a lot of nice freshman sires this year, but there are a few I don't have any by so it's hard to comment.

However a stallion that I feel like could be very much under the radar is Cloud Computing. I've got two lovely fillies by him that are big, strong, scope-y, classy fillies. They're beautiful movers on the racetrack. They're very light on their feet, very athletic and they act like they've got speed.

One is out of a Malibu Moon mare and the other one is out of a Rock Hard Ten mare. They're both bred to run all day, but they sure look like they'll get over the ground pretty quick to me. I'm impressed with them. Just because of those two fillies, I'm going to pick him as an under-the-radar stallion.

NICK DE MERIC:

Bucchero is as a local stallion in Florida. He's a son of Kantharos, who is a sire that we've had great luck with over the years and we are particularly fond of. We've sold some good Kantharos 2-year-olds over the years. Bucchero seems to be getting nice individuals. We've seen a lot of them at local yearling sales. They seem to be precocious, athletic and quick, and we have a Bucchero filly going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 473] who would fit that description on all accounts.

SUSAN MONTANYE: SBM Training and Sales

I have an Always Dreaming colt that actually is the half-brother to We the People (Constitution), who just broke his maiden for Rudolphe Brisset. This colt is potentially targeting the OBS April Sale. I might even wait until Maryland, depending on what the brother does. He's a big, two-turn, cool horse. I think Always Dreaming might be a little bit under the radar. I know there are other people who have some and they think that they're a little on the early side as well.

I have an Army Mule colt going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 3]. He's more of a two-turn horse. He's a big, pretty colt and has been straightforward. I have another Army Mule filly going to OBS March [Hip 298] as well, and she is going to be hopefully really fast. She's more of a sprinter type. Fingers crossed, she should work lights out and I think Army Mule should be well received. I don't know that the Army Mules are stamped as only sprinters or only two-turn horses. I think he could kind of get you both.