I've been trying to tweak my lineup of broodmares over the past couple of years because I have a need for more true distance mares. They have proven elusive, but I made a couple of acquisitions recently that will temper that need somewhat.
It's true that my two new girls are not marquee broodmares like Dancing Delaware or Domitila, but they have strengths that may bring out the best in Otsego stallions such as Refractor, Union Jack, Alphabet, and Nightwing. They have stamina. Lots of it... and at levels that are rare for mares.
Blank KD, a 3yo who was languishing at Endless Vista, has a 73 stamina rating and a lofty kick of 1250, which is the highest kick rating I have ever seen. She had a terrible record on the track in her first 8 races with a plethora of last or near-last place finishes. The reason? She is slow and the races she entered were way too short. I must admit that I was concerned when I entered her at 12F in her Otsego Farms debut and she still finished last. But I concluded that even that was too short for her. I was vindicated by her last race when she put up a 100 PSR at 16F and had plenty of strength left at the finish.
I've had four-year-old Dream d' Oro in my sights for a couple seasons. She has had a somewhat better racing career than Blank KD up to this point, but my interest in her was as a broodmare. With 71 stamina and 1086 kick, a very long projected career, and surface PREFER's on everything, she will be perfect match for my stallions. She also had a mediocre Otsego debut at 12F, before showing her true colors with a 3rd place finish at 16F with a sparkling 102 PSR.
Whether I retire them both at the end of this season, or run them for another year depends on how they perform on the track. But as I said, I didn't buy them for their racing skill. I bought them for their stamina.
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