2013 Foal names trickle out...

Otsego Farms has not yet officially released the names of their 2013 foals, but an insider in the breeding operation has leaked the following:

DOOMSDAY x MONSOON
Colt - Krakatoa
Filly - Krakatoa

NIGHTWING x FLAWLESS
Colt - Darkhawk
Filly - Nightveil

JENNY'S MY GAL x SHATTERED RECORD
Colt - Juggernaut
Filly - Dream Girl

RUN MISSY RUN x NOVA
Colt - Warp Factor Ten
Filly - Warp Factor Ten

WAR MACHINE x FALSE DEMON
Colt - Trebuchet
Filly - Trebuchet

The names of the other three War Machine foals and the three Union Jack foals have not yet been released.

She's outta this world!

Another 2yo that will make her debut for Otsego Farms in 2013 will be the petite dark brown filly, Nebula.

She was sired by Dubai Gold out of Nova by Housebuster, so she has the bloodlines to be a very successful miler. However, her training hints that she may have more success at longer distances.

Otsego owner Jim Webber suggested that they would give her a try at shorter distances, just because she has the speed, but her destiny appears to be at 10+ furlongs. He continued, "She tolerates turf, but is infinitely more comfortable on dirt, so that's where we'll concentrate."

House of M. Looks, runs like daddy.

She bears an uncanny resemblance to her sire War Machine. Many a visitor to Otsego Farms has commented on that.

House of M is a 15.2 hand chestnut filly by War Machine out of Classical Music by Black Tie Affair and she'll be coming to a track near you in 2013.

She's fully prepared and ready to run early in the season. "Loves dirt, hates grass", commented an Otsego trainer who then continued, "The boss says M will never race on turf. Not even once."

When asked about distance preference, the trainer beamed and said, "This girl likes distance. She's no sprinter, this one. I reckon 10-12 furlongs will eventually suit her well. Maybe more."

We tracked down Otsego owner Jim Webber and asked him how soon House of M might see the track. "Oh, we're in no hurry, She's ready to go, but we'll probably wait awhile until the races lengthen and the fields thin out a bit. April, perhaps May. We'll see."

Bomb's away!

I've commented a couple times about how I made a concerted effort in the past year to get some compatible mares for War Machine.

One of the mares I acquired was False Demon, who is by Fusaichi Pegasus out of Seattle Halo. When Mike from Noble Farms offered her up and I saw the AR, I knew he was right; this girl is the perfect match for the Triple Crown champ.

Her AR states that she matured quickly, and had a peak of at least 2 seasons. How about Prefer, Prefer, Prefer on dirt? Very hardy. Good acceleration. Breaks well. Best distance of 12 furlongs. Nice.

False Demon had a good racing career as well, hitting the board in 15 of 25 career races and earning over $1,000,000.

War Machine x False Demon. Whether a colt or a filly, the foals name will be Trebuchet.

Prepare for war.

Bottoms Up!

I was fairly vocal in my disappointment with the auction this year.

There was a huge number of veteran (4+) horses for sale and 99% of them were unfit to be racers. It was the most untalented, over-the-hill bunch I've seen in all my years at Photo-Finish. In fact, the vast majority of the 3yo's were below average as well.

There were just 25 2yo's for sale and since I personally have become highly suspicious of nonraced 2yo horses who have been cast-off by their breeders, I decided to pass on them entirely. My feelings are the same for yearlings, but to a lesser degree because their availability can possibly be attributed to impatience by the owner rather than a perceived lack of talent.

So, I was prepared to sit this one out.

That is....until I saw a pretty little filly that was bred by Woodbury Stables by the name of Sazerac. The unique name comes from a very old New Orleans cocktail which is a combination of Cognac and bitters.

To be honest, it was her name that struck my fancy at first. I've gone on the record many times saying that I've made buy/sell decisions based on name alone. Call it a gut feeling or some kind of intuition, but the name caught my eye for some reason.

I decided to take a look at her parentage. Her sire, Sendintheclowns, was no superstar, but he won over $1,000,000 and had above average speed. The dam Seattle Halo, did not race, but has had reasonable success as a broodmare and is the dam of recently acquired Otsego broodmare, False Demon. Plus Seattle Halo is by Seattle Slew. Nuff said. Sazerac passed muster.

I particularly liked the fact that she is an unraced 3yo. I didn't see this as a dump-off because I figured Martin of Woodbury wouldn't have held onto her for her entire 2yo season if he thought she was hopeless. Plus, she was acquired for the very reasonable price of $41,000. That modest amount won't even be missed.

So, Otsego Farms is the proud owner of Sazerac. And in her honor, I've sent one of my staff for a bottle of Remy Martin, and some bitters and orange peel to mix up a couple drinks.

Skál!

2013 Breeding Pairs

The transition from racing stable to breeding stable begins this year with our most prolific breeding season ever.

Eleven foals will be produced, which is a 57% increase over last year and a 175% increase over 2011. The plan will be to produce 10-12 foals per season and initially race them all to determine their potential. Those not passing muster in their first 4-6 races after maturity will be sold.

Going forward, I'll keep a relatively small number of veteran racers. The bulk of my stable will be for the training and evaluation of young horses.

The broodmares I'll use this year are:

1. Ace Of Grace - True ability at 16 furlongs on turf makes her a great match for Union Jack.
2. Affirm Gal - Turf ability and speed up to 12 furlongs. Union Jack again.
3. Flawless - Nice results with Union Jack last year, so we'll stay with a distance sire and give Nightwing a crack.
4. Immortal - Loves dirt and distances from 7-10 furlongs. I've been thinking War Machine all the way for this girl.
5. In Spirit - Turf and distance = Union Jack.
6. Monsoon - This mare has some inherent talent. I can sense it. We'll match her with old stable favorite Doomsday to produce a turf miler.
7. Nova - Her string of immortal sires will continue with Run Missy Run. She's had War Machine, Dubai Gold, and Revenge up to this point.
8. Second Strike - Excellent match for War Machine. She loved dirt and 8-10 furlongs and had good speed. This will be a good one.
9. Shattered Record - She's stayed with Otsego studs until this year. Now she's off for a monumental match with Jenny's My Gal. This is a special pairing in my mind.
10. False Demon - Another dirt-loving, 8-10 furlong gal that was acquired specifically for War Machine.
11. Bold Alanna - Successful racer leased from Oak Tree for 2013 for a match with War Machine.

That's the lineup for breeding season 2013.