Bobbing For Broodmares – In Claiming Races

Original article written by Sue Wentz posted 6 months 3 weeks ago

In my far off youth, a common Halloween party activity was called, “Bobbing For Apples.” At the time, there was a common parental philosophy that forcing groups of children to shove their entire faces into a half barrel of questionably hygienic water to try and catch apples with their teeth was SAFER than sending them out to participate in Trick or Treating. The dominant argument seemed to be that any apples gifted via Trick or Treat were bound to have razor blades in them. Honestly, I’m not sure who came up with that particular risk assessment algorithm, but I bet they didn’t like children very much. Also, seriously? Apples were the first things we jettisoned out of our baskets to make room for more candy. (And years later, arborists likely shook their heads in confusion with the proliferation of rogue apple trees erupting out of arborvitae in residential neighborhoods.)

Nevertheless, the premise was simple: draping yourself over the aforementioned half barrel of water, you attempted to snag a not-very-flotational apple without using your hands (teeth only) and eventually (if you didn’t die of shame and/or drowning first) you would be rewarded with an… well, with an apple. And while some apples look better than others—especially when they’re mostly under water—the result of your labors might meet the traditional parent-and-doctor-approved tasty expectation for a standard apple or… not.

Like the time you dove deep for that awesome looking Golden Delicious and you CAUGHT IT only to discover the hard way that it was a worm-ridden Granny Smith, and you became the absolute laughingstock of the 4th grade, and everyone called you Granny Worm Face, and of COURSE years later someone scrawled it in your senior yearbook, and now you can’t go to any class reunions because you just know that while you’re sampling the canapés and modestly explaining to the class heart-throb (to whom you were formerly invisible) about being on the short list for a Nobel in Astrophysics but really it was a team effort but SUCH a privilege to be named as Project Lead, SOMEONE is going to spot you from across the banquet hall and yell, “HEY! It’s Granny Worm Face!” and you’ll have to resign from your job without notice, move to some backwater town, population 37, and reinvent yourself as a 3rd rate drummer in a 4th rate bar band probably called Skunk Sneeze and THEN…

But, I digress.

Where was I?

Right, claiming races. Potential broodmares. Yes. Sorry.

Horses in claiming races tend to be a mixed bunch of varying quality. Kind of like the Golden Delicious and Granny Smith metaphor. Even the ones that look promising under certain lighting conditions, might turn out to be not be worth the investment.

“So Sue, you silly goose,” you say, “why would you even look at claiming races for broodmares? Aren’t claiming races for the not-very-good horses?”

I’m glad you asked! There are a few reasons, but primarily because an intermediate player of middling talent, like myself, can’t hope to compete with the big time players when the REALLY proven metaphorical Golden Delicious or even Honey Crisp producing mares come up for sale or lease. Not to mention, when the big time players discard mares to Greener Pastures, there’s usually a really good reason that they did – which represents more quantifiable downside than looking young mares whose talent in the shed hasn’t already been disproven. Also, I kind of enjoy the challenge of finding that Golden Delicious among the Granny Smiths.

“Yeah,” you say, “but…”

Look, have you seen my budget? Here’s the spreadsheet. This column right here.

“Oh. Wow. Uhm. Hey, would you like this apple? Hardly any teeth marks on it at all.”

Thanks!

Anyway, in order to make this article worth reading, I thought I’d share my easy-peasy preliminary Three Point Checklist with which I evaluate potential broodmare prospects amongst the claiming entries. Think of it as a rather short yet invasive hiring interview. None of the items are set in stone, but the more a filly aligns with my list, the more likely I am to place a claim on her. In the interests of full disclosure, I normally shop in the 16k and under categories (budget!) but sometimes up to 32k. I’ll explain why shortly.

1. Tell Me About Your First Career Start? (And the rest of your career to date.)
One of the most important things that we DON’T know about a claim eligible horse is its gallop comment. A first start in a Maiden Special Weight provides at least some indication of early talent or presumed potential. Heck, I get absolutely giddy if I spot one whose first start was in a stakes or even a barrier trial – both of which are excellent indicators that no matter what she did on the track, she looked worth some risk and investment to the person who COULD see that gallop comment. In fact, a mare who ran in a stakes or allowance at any point in her career is worth extra consideration. I’m not necessarily looking for stakes winners – just the indication that their trainer had reason to believe they belonged in that class. But if they were stakes winners and are churning along in the twilight of their careers, I'm interested!

Conversely, if a filly’s first start was a claiming race, especially at a very low price, odds are pretty good that they had a poor gallop comment, or had terrible work outs, or the dreaded longer career comment. Maybe all three. Some productives become very good broodmares, but most probably don’t. I don't have any data on whether anything below productive has ever hit the algorithm jackpot, but most people don't bother to try.

2. Tell Me About Your Family

In the corporate world, this isn’t a particularly acceptable question, but in the SIM it’s a must. Let’s look at Mom’s history. And, while we’re at it, I want to hear about dear old Grandma and all the siblings, too! Stakes producing dams are a really nice indication of talent in the family. Stakes producers over the first two or three female generations show an established history of classy genetics. And if the dam wasn’t much but HER dam was the bee’s knees as a broodmare, I might just take a gamble that the Production Fairy skipped a generation. As far as sires go, I assume quality based on the fact that he was good enough to stand at stud in the first place. But if I’m on the fence or I’ve never heard of him, I’ll check his stats (especially as a dam sire) if he’s old enough.

3. Will You Make Me A Profit?

When I’m shopping the claiming ranks for colts or geldings, this is my FIRST question without exception, but it’s worth asking for the potential broodies, too. Just think, if you can keep your new prospective baby factory running long enough to earn back the initial claim cost, plus expenses, you’re essentially getting her for free. Run her with any success beyond that and you’re being paid to own her! Yes, there’s a risk of losing her to another claim, so if I decide to go this route, I’ll enter her in races where she’ll make more than I spent. If she cost 16k and she did well, I’ll see how she does in 32k or 45k company. I even tried one that I particularly didn’t want to lose in allowance company where she proved she could hit the top four so consistently that I ran her for another year.

And hey, if your claim turns out to be a six and a half legged, parrot mouthed, long career monstrosity that would give cooties to your entire broodmare operation just by looking at them, running her back might STILL bring in a profit on the deal – especially if someone else claims her from you.

This, by the way, is why I tend not to look too much at the 45k-100k claiming races. Yes, budget is an issue, but also because I'd be running the same risk as I would with the cheaper horses with far less chance of recouping my expenses. I never say never, but the bar is set much higher for the more expensive claims.

“Okay Sue, that sounds reasonable,” you say, “but does it really work like that?”

Not always, of course. Claiming is a gamble. Just like buying any horse is a gamble. Just like breeding even the good horses are a gamble. Just like bobbing for apples is a gamble. But sure, if you're willing to do just a little homework, the future Blue Hens are out there.

Even better, you won’t have to risk drowning or even have to learn how to play the drums.

So bob away! And best of luck!

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