Western Tease

[The Indomitable DrugS]

When he won a nice starter to go 7-for-7 yesterday at Saratoga - I thought nothing of it...other than - wow, cool horse.



I realized this morning - that I thought this horse was dead.

A trainer I had here was at OBS for the 2yo June sale in '08.

Presque Isle was running MSW races for 2yo's with 40K purses that were possibly the weakest races for that level ever imaginable. One of them was won by a Beulah Park shipper who was an $1,100 yearling. Another was won by a 2nd time starter from Fort Erie who was last with a 0 Beyer in his debut. Another was won by a Mountaineer B level baby. Because of the stall situation, there were no decent non-Pa Bred 2yo's on the ground - and nothing of remote ability was shipping in.

The idea was to buy something fast and ready from that June sale - run it ASAP in a PID MSW - and sell it right after its debut.

I had no interest in anything that would sell for over 20K - but after watching all the breezes, the horse that got my attention most was a West Acre from the M & H consignment.

I knew the horse would be way out of my price range because it RNA'd for 47K just two months earlier - and it worked well again. But my trainer was also looking for some owners from California who could pay more.

I told him that the M & H West Acre would win its debut at PID from here to 26th street and that was the first one for him to look at.

M & H had a consignment of no more than a dozen 2yo's at OBS Mar '07 - among those, they had El Gato Malo (Eventual SA Derby favorite) RNA for 95K. They had Into Mischief (Grade 1 winning 2yo - beat Colonel John in the Hollywood Futurity) sell for 180K and they had Goshawk Han (the 2yo champion in Japan) sell for 160K. It was mind-boggling.. and they had a great consignment at March the prior year with Blue Grass winner Dominican selling for like 150k.

I basically went back and studied all the works from the babies in their consignments over the past years to get a feel. In March of '08 at OBS - another small consignment and their fastest worker is Backbackbackgone - who only sold for 65K. He debuts less than 2 months later in a Bay Meadows MSW race at wins by 10 lengths - takes the Willard Procter Stakes at HP next. The Proctor wins was right before this June sale.

So, the trainer calls me back and says "a few of the ones you wanted me to look at are going to be out - and that West Acre you like broke down" He didn't say the horse came back bad, or was a private sale, he said broke down.

Just crazy thinking about it. The horse ends up debuting well over a year later for a $4,500 tag in a MCL at Suffolk with no takers.

How friggen sick was M & H going? ... and they rarely pay up for their babies.