Even if most racing is delayed, we're all hoping it will get underway sometime this spring or early summer, if for no other reason than so we can all find out the answer to our annual favorite question. We surveyed some top judges on who their leading first-crop sire is, and to give us some under-the-radar picks as well.
I want to disclose my opinion by saying that most of it is based on the two-year-olds I have seen this past week at the OBS sale. Most of my clients want proven sires at yearling sales, so I don't have a great reference point from what I looked at in September other than what I've seen training for this first two-year-olds sale.
If I were a betting man, however, the horses I really like and that have enamored me at the sale are Upstart and Outwork. I think for both of them, their progeny favor their grand sire.
The Upstarts really remind me of Flatter. They are big, stretchy types. They look two-turn type horses, but they trained fast and looked well.
The Outworks favored Uncle Mo. There were a couple of them at the sale that struck me as good-looking physicals. They look like what they should look like in my mind based on their pedigree.
I'm also a big fan of Frosted for sentimental reasons because he was a baby when I was at Darley.
If you want to call him an under-the-radar sire, I think that Air Force Blue is making a really good impression. He was such a great two-year-old himself, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's not a little hint of what might be in store for his first crop.
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