By Bill Finley
With the first major 2-year-old sale, OBS March, now in the books, and the next round, the OBS April sale, right around the corner, it's time for some predictions. We asked the experts who their pick is for leading freshman sire and also asked them for a “sleeper pick,” or a stallion that will perform beyond expectations.
Here's what they had to say:
STEVE VENOSA
Top Pick: Jackie's Warrior (Spendthrift Farm, $25,000)
Training them this year, I think the obvious two horses are Jackie's Warrior and Drain the Clock. They were very easy to break. They were very well-minded and very willing to do everything. They had a quick turn of foot, were very precocious, and they were very sound. You'll hear a lot about those two. At the OBS March sale, every Drain the Clock they led out there really, really worked well. The question to me is, what happens when you start stretching them out? I think the Jackie's Warriors might go a little further. The jury is still out. Between the two, it's a flip of a coin. At the end of the day, I am sure everyone is saying Drain the Clock, so I'll go the other way and say Jackie's Warrior.
Sleeper Pick: Corniche (Coolmore Ashford Stud, $15,000)
I have three of them and every one of them can run. They are sound, well-minded and very efficient in their strides.
NICK DE MERIC
Top Pick: Corniche
Like most of the people who get these questions, my answers would be subjective based on our personal experiences with the horses that we have in our care. Those are the best yardsticks to judge by. We noticed that the Corniche yearlings that were offered at sale were, almost to a horse, exceptionally good movers. We were very impressed with that. Remembering how the horse moved himself when we had him, we saw a lot of that in many of his offspring. We deliberately went after them as yearlings. We bought four of them and a piece of a fifth. They have trained beautifully throughout the winter. We offered one in March that was very well received. We have two in the April sale coming up, two fillies that we like an awful lot. I rate him highly alongside his peers with the babies that we have.
Sleeper Pick: Drain the Clock (Gainesway, $10,000)
I am a big fan of Drain the Clock. I realize that the sire line tends to be sprinters or milers. But when you ask who will be the leading sire, that wouldn't come into play until they come into their three and four-year-old years. I rate him very highly.
KARL KEEGAN
Top Pick: Life is Good (WinStar Farm, $60,000)
Life is Good is my top pick. I have two horses by him. It is a small sample size. I've got a colt out of a mare named Lights of Medina, and I had the half-brother, Pioneer of Medina. He finished third in the Louisiana Derby. He was a $375,000 RNA at Keeneland September. He is average sized, but really robust. He is a quick, early-type two-year-old. He's a nice horse and flies over the racetrack. He'll be going to Brad Cox. I have a filly for Repole Stable, and she is out of Smart Shopping. She is a $1,025,000 Saratoga graduate. She is a big, beautiful filly. She is a half-sister to Seize the Grey, and she is progressing beautifully. She is slated to go to Todd Pletcher. These Life is Goods are training as well as anything I have. The word around town here in Ocala is that everyone is high on the Life is Goods
Sleeper Pick: Jack Christopher (Coolmore Ashford Stud, $15,000)
Personally and financially, I unloaded on the Jack Christophers. I don't think that he was well received at the March sale. They were all after the Drain the Clocks. I'm hoping that he hits. He was a very precocious two-year-old himself. I have a couple of them here that I like that I will sell myself in the April sale.
Jackie Warrior | Sarah Andrew
BRANDON RICE
Top Pick: Jackie's Warrior
I don't have all the freshman stallions. I don't have any Life is Goods, and I know they look amazing. From the one I have or the ones that my family has, there is one that I really believe in, and that is Jackie's Warrior. I have a colt by him that shows all the right ingredients. There have been good sample sizes when it comes to both Drain the Clock and Jackie's Warrior. I don't know which of the two will be better, but the Jackie's Warrior that I have been associated with gave me such good feelings. I wish I had obtained a couple of Drain the Clocks
Sleeper Pick: Colonel Liam (Ocala Stud, $6,500)
I would like to recognize the Florida breeding community, where there are only a couple of entities standing stallions. I'd like to tip my cap to the Colonel Liams from Ocala Stud. He had a legitimate career and comes from bloodlines that I believe in. He's a grand-looking horse that looks like he has the makings of being really good in Ocala and might even launch into the open market.
BECKY THOMAS
Top Pick: Jackie's Warrior
We have seen plenty of good Jackie's Warriors, plenty of fast Drain the Clocks, and I can't help but think that Wesley Ward is going to have the Golden Pals rocking and rolling. I like those three as far as performing well on the racetrack. My pick is based on the fact I know who is going to have the Jackie's Warriors. Steve Asmussen is going to have several. Wesley has some. We sold one at the last sale for $500,000 and it was one of Mr. Broman's homebreds, so the reserve was low. I'm breeding back to all three of the sires I mentioned, based on what I have seen.
Sleeper Pick: Corniche
I like the Corniches very much. He had a super sales average in March, so I'm not sure he is under the radar, But there weren't as many of them as those other sires. I have one that sold for $300,000 and we liked him very much. I didn't think they would be particularly precocious. Ours was a big, stretchy, two-turn horse that just covered a lot of ground.
Tomorrow: More experts give us their selection for leading first-crop sire. Have picks you'd like to submit? Email suefinley@thetdn.com.
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