Sales finalized on two horses

The 3YO Filly Vixen (pictured at left) and the 2YO colt Golden Hurricane were both sold today in separate transactions.

Rivendell Stables purchased Vixen, undoubtedly to become a broodmare after this season. Vixen has tremendous bloodlines, being by Revenge out of Sky Beauty. That did not translate into racetrack success, but perhaps Vixen will have more luck in the breeding barn.

Dolphins Stables acquired Golden Hurricane. The 2YO colt has solid tools but has been behind schedule on his development. We feel that he has some potential and we wish Dolphins good fortune.

We are still considering the sale of another horse. It will not be Doomsday as previously reported. He will be retained until the end of the season. He'll skip down to grade 3 races until he gets back on track.

Emeritus or Firefighter, both 2YO colts are being considered as possible sales options. Both horses have been disappointing this season but our trainers feel that they are progressing. One of the two will be sold prior to the end of this racing season.

Is $300,000 too much for War Machine?

Breeding has begun to take center stage over the past couple weeks as stable after stable start advertising and booking their studs.

Many stables are offering very cheap or even free service just to get bookings. I guess the idea is to produce as many progeny as possible in the hopes that some will hit the big-time and enhance the stallions reputation.

I take a different approach with War Machine. Five bookings per year, $300,000 per. Actually, I did slip up a bit last season and allowed 7 bookings. A simple accounting error plus a negotiated spot as part of a deal to acquire Big Slick from Goforwand Stables. Going forward, the 5 per year limit will be strictly adhered to. A couple stables have disagreed with the limit and have demonstrated their disapproval by vowing never to use War Machine for stud purposes. I can live with that.

Why would someone pay $300,000 for War Machine when there are so many solid and less expensive stallions to choose from?

• The only American Triple Crown winner
• Single season earning record of $11,100,000 in only 12 races
• Won 16 of 17 races during prime including 12 in a row, most of which were Grade 1
  
• In addition to TC races, also won BC Juvenile, Dubai World Cup, and BC Classic

Simply put, War Machine was able to accomplish feats that no other horse has been able to duplicate. That makes him special. That will make his offspring special.

The 2009 book for War Machine is as follows:

1. Otsego Farms
2. Snowbank Farm
3. Alydar Stables
4. Olmo Dorato
   
5. Watch This Space
   

Potential becomes reality with speedy Nova

When we decided to breed our first foal, Housebuster was the consensus choice to be the stud. We chose him because of his deadly combination of mindbending speed and heartwrenching courage.

We were using the list mares at the time, so I spent a considerable amount of time trying to find the perfect match. Unfortunately, all 5 of my choices were gone by the time I was able to get my breeding picks sent in (back in those days it was strictly first-come first-serve).

I was unhappy, but went back to the drawing board to find another broodmare. I stumbled upon Raging Fever and was very surprised to find that she was still available. Looking over her stats on HRF, I noticed that she was almost a perfect match for Housebuster; surface and distance preference, courage, speed, bam, bam, bam...right down the line. I quickly made arrangements to secure her as my match for Housebuster.

The result was Nova, a stunning dark brown filly. It was obvious from the start that she had inherited the speed of her parents. The AR that was produced by our trainers is as pretty as a picture...speed, consistency, courage, the whole package.

We went into her 2YO season full of hope, but Nova did not set the track afire. We should have remembered that both Housebuster and Raging Fever didn't mature until they were 3-4 years old. She did have a very repectable record of 11-1-3-2 in her first season.

We felt that she would shine as a 3YO and she has not let us down. Nova has been very consistent and compiled a record of 8-5-3-0 this year. Two of the second place finishes were literally by a hair, so her record could actually be better. Along the way, she has set 4 new track records running primarily 6 or 7 furlongs.

The plan will be to finish this season with a run at a couple of the bigger money sprints, then compete as a 4YO next season before retiring her to become a broodmare at Otsego Farms. We are sure that she will acquit herself admirably.

Monsoon makes date with Predator

Monsoon, our 3yo brown filly bred by Martin at Woodbury Stables and purchased from our mate Finlay at FDL Lodge will match with Predator, the 17.3 hand stallion standing at Zippy Chippy Stables.

Great White, as our trainers affectionately referred to Predator, occupied a stable here at Otsego Farms for over 4 years. We know this fellow very well and are excited about the prospect of getting another tough, scrappy, multi-surface warrior like Predator.

Monsoon has been a pleasant surprise so far this year for our stable. She has a record of 3-1-1-0 since coming on board, after a mostly uninspiring career record up to that point. She does have some strengths that lead us to believe that she will be a solid broodmare for years to come.

QUIZ: Can you name this horse?

1. Who is this champion?
2. Extra credit: Who is the horse in the "What's in a name?" post?
3. Can anyone name the horse masquerading as Nightwing below?
4. Who is the real-life filly who looks like Shadowcat below?
   

Enter your answers as comments if you wish.

What's in a name?

As strange as it may sound, I've made purchase decisions based strictly on a horses name.

Heavens Hall was one example. Something about that name struck a chord with me. I still have a soft spot for that horse even though I don't own him anymore. He is now a stud over with Tyler at Zippy Chippy Stables.

Purchasing a horse is always a dicey proposition for me. Not only do I have to like his parentage, AR, and prospects....I have to like his name.

It's much easier when I breed a foal. Otsego Farms names all homebred foals after comic book Superheroes. By following that simple formula, I accomplish two things:

1. I get strong, heroic names that are recognizable.
2. I don't have to waste energy trying to be creative.

So, the next time you're looking at a race card and you say to yourself, "Wow, that is a bad-ass name on that horse", just slide your eyes over and you'll see the name Otsego Farms right next to it. Excelsior!

Two breeding spots remain for Stayer

Nightwing, the big bay stallion known for his electrifying finishes and inexhaustible endurance has 2 spots remaining for his 2008 stud book.

Since Otsego Farms only allows each stud 5 breedings per year, Nightwing's availability is now, and will remain, limited.

Certainly there is no shortage of quality studs, but we feel that Nightwing is a tremendous option for those hoping to produce a router. See our website for more specific information.

Shadowcat plans settled

As already mentioned, Shadowcat will be retired at season end. She'll join Shattered Record and Monsoon as our first broodmares.

A deal has been struck with Ryan of Spartan Racing Stables to send Shadowcat to Vampirical this breeding season.

Vampirical has had a long and distinguished career and we think that his combination of speed, durability, and endurance will certainly complement the abilities we see in Shadowcat.

Stable changes coming soon

Final decisions are currently being made regarding the fate of several Otsego horses. There will be at least 2 and perhaps as many as 4 racers put up for sale in the near future.

The current crop of 2yo's has been a bit of a disappointment and we feel that possibly two of them will be sold. Homebred Kid Flash and the promising Lady Katherine will be kept. Firefighter, who looks to be maturing very slowly will also probably be sticking with the stable for at least another year.

That leaves Emeritus and Golden Hurricane as the 2yo's most likely to be sold. Both have solid attributes and may eventually blossom, but with a new crop of foals forthcoming, the need for stalls becomes paramount.

There has also been some talk about the possibility of selling Doomsday, the 4yo male with a record of 20-4-6-2 and career earnings of $922,000. He has a tremendous amount of talent, but we have not had much success with him in the past year. I'm thinking that a change of scenery may do him well.

Additionally, it looks likely that Shattered Record, Monsoon and Shadowcat will all be retired and moved into the breeding barn. Discussions regarding pairings have netted the following; War Machine will match with Sharp Cat, Nightwing will match with Shattered Record, Monsoon and Shadowcat will meet with studs to be determined.

Lastly, Vixen will be sold or retired to Endless Vista by the end of the season. She has prodigious parents but has not shown much on the track.