In the game now
 

In case you have given up reading my Schadenfreude thread (and I don't blame you), I have spent the last two days at the Keeneland November sale, trying to buy a broodmare. Finally late in the afternoon on Saturday, I was able to get a good mare in my price range. Half-sister to a G1 winner; dam of 3 winners, 1 placed, from her 4 foals of racing age; in-foal on an early cover. Cold, tedious work waiting while promising mares' prices soared above my maximum, but patience pays. Will be taking the whole family out to the farm where she will board this afternoon to meet my mare; they are all so excited.

Congratulations!

Congrats. Good luck with her.

Ediby, hire Peanut Shell.




Basic seal training lays good groundwork for a successful race horsey.

This is Peanut's most advanced student:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIrB3oIMa9U





Think of the possibilities.

Sounds like an excellent purchase. Good luck and congratulations.

This is REALLY great news.....and nothing if not International.

Congratulations! Best of luck to you and the mare!

Her name is Our Majestic Cat, by Tabasco Cat out of Bye the Bye, by Balzac. Good Canadian family, lots of black type, third dam is a half-sister to Nearis, the dam of Kennedy Road. (Canada is another nation, after all.) She's in foal to Majestic Warrior, a Hopeful winner of a few years back; I'll probably sell that one as a weanling to get funds to keep the program going for the foals whose sires I will choose. Big, solid girl, dark bay/brown, tiny bits of white on her forehead and nowhere else.

Good luck!

Good luck with that.

I haven't posted on this board for quite a while now, since life got hectic - injured dog, dying cats, and marrying off a son. And the worst spring for pollen here in the Bluegrass that I can remember. Let me get you caught up -

Emma (OMC) delivered her dark bay or brown filly by Majestic Warrior on the 19th of January. All went well, foal standing within an hour. My first grandfoal.

Next, Emma was bred to Include; her G1 winning half-brother Schossberg was by Broad Brush, so breeding her to Broad Brush's best son is the obvious choice (what I can the 'duh!' choice - takes no brains). She got in foal first cover, all looks to be going well.

Through the summer all we visit often. The Horselette (Our Majestic Cat '12) grows according to expectations, seems to have Mama's even disposition. A little shy of humans at first, but by fall we can pet her like we can her mama. Then she starts sales prep.

I was disappointed that Horselette was in book 5 (Hip #3004) at Keeneland November; we bought her dam out of Book 3 and her sire was contending for leading freshman sire. We put in a reserve of $7500, which was about what I calculated she cost to raise to that point, and fingernails were nibbled when the bidding stalled for a few moments at $7200. But finally it picked up again and she sold for $11,000; after the Keeneland and agent commissions were subtracted, I made a couple thousand on her, for which I was profoundly grateful.

The wedding happened in December (at Keeneland!) and I collapsed thereafter; then we had the elderly Siamese dying and my daughter (his staff) frantic, so I didn't get out to see Emma as her due date neared. Then came a phone call from the farm on the morning of February 19. Emma was gone and an emergency Caesarian couldn't save her foal. I was crushed. She had had such an easy time with Horselette - I had never expected anything like this would happen. It is still hard for me to type about it. All that was left to do was pay the vet clinic bills.

I think I have decided to start over again in November, or earlier if Janeen (my agent and owner of the farm where Emma boarded, a friend for a dozen years) finds a mare for me privately. But whoever she will be can't replace Emma. This is a heart-breaking business.

Sad. Very sorry to hear about the loss of your mare and her foal.