CTHS Winter Mixed Sale Preview

The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's (CTHS) Ontario Division will hold it's annual Winter Mixed Sale at their Sales Pavilion at Woodbine Racetrack tomorrow afternoon beginning at 1:00 p.m. The sale is open not only to the horsemen but to casual observers as well, so I thought I would take the opportunity to attend my first horse sale. Including supplemental entries, there are 220 horses available, including 112 mares, four stallions, 50 weanlings, 16 yearlings and 38 horses of racing age. This number is up compared to the 185 horses that were available in the 2009 Winter Mixed Sale.

The 2009 Winter Mixed Sale saw a total of 110 horses sold for $590,210. Here was the breakdown of horses sold from 2009:

Broodmares - 54 sold for $218,600; average price - $4,048; median price - $1,800
Weanlings - 26 sold for $125,900; average price - $4,842; median price - $1,800
Yearlings - 12 sold for $53,900; average price - $4,492; median price - $2,000
Horses of Racing Age - 14 sold for $76,450; average price - $5,461; median price - $5,000

Stallions - 4 sold for $115,250; average price - $28,813; median price - $12,000

I decided to browse through the catalogue and make a list of horses I will be watching at tomorrow's sale. Most of the horses that made the list qualified because of pedigree lines but I also took into account racing records for mares. Keep in mind that I have never seen most of these horses in person so my list might be a little bit different when I actually see these horses up close for the first time. Without further delay, here's the horses I'm watching during tomorrow's sale:

Mares

Hip 1: Anna's Ballerina - I really liked this mare's durability in racing, something which I think is very important in breeding. Maybe that's a misguided option, but when purchasing a horse, I'd feel more comfortable knowing both the sire and the dam raced than just one or the other. Anna's Ballerina raced until she was seven years old, only winning twice but she finished second five times and third four times. She's currently carrying a foal by Where's the Ring. That match makes it attractive for an Ontario horsemen because Where's the Ring is in the near the top in purse earnings among Canadian sires and the foal will qualify for the lucrative Ontario Sire Stakes program and is eligible for the Queen's Plate.Anna's Ballerina is by the late Maria's Mon, who ranks in the top five in North American sire earnings this year and also sired Kentucky Derby winner Supersaver. 

Hip 36: Flows Like Wine - This mare wasn't raced like the previous horse, Anna's Ballerina, and doesn't have any recognizable names in her pedigree. I'm looking at her more for who she's mated to. Flows Like Wine is believed to be carrying a foal by Milwaukee Brew, who is a leading sire in Canada with Bold Executive. Like Anna's Ballerina, this foal will be eligible for Ontario Sire Stakes and the Queen's Plate. If the foal happens to be a filly, we know that another Milwaukee Brew offspring, Milwaukee Appeal, won the Woodbine Oaks as a three-year-old and this year raced in the Breeders' Cup. Flows Like Wine also had a good produce record as four of her five foals at racing age have made it to the racetrack.

Hip 58: Lunar Linda - Although she's listed in the broadmare section of the catalogue, I believe Lunar Linda may still have some racing left in her. If not, she can be retired and has had a pretty good racing career, earning $292,346 lifetime. Lunar Linda only has three wins from 26 lifetime starts, but she also has nine second place finishes and four third place finishes, meaning she's been in the money for more than half of her starts.

Hip 71: Press Exclusive - Press Exclusive has also had a long racing career. I guess we're seeing a trend in what I like out of mares in foal. Press Exclusive raced until she was six years old and notched 14 wins in her career. In total, she earned $436,810. She's believed to be in foal to Philanthropist, who is a freshman sire in this racing season. Looking at the rankings on Bllodhorse.com, Philanthropist has had 16 starters and four winners in 2010.

Weanlings

Hip 111: Bay Colt by Vibank out of Attache - Vibank may be a freshman sire to follow in 2011. Vibank is by Silver Deputy who has been among the leading sires in the United States. That's good bloodline to have and now Vibank helps you qualify for the Ontario Sire Stakes and the Queen's Plate. This weanling's dam also has a good produce record. Out of six foals from Attache, four have made it to the racetrack and three have won. I will be watching for this horse hopefully in 2012.

Hip 117: Bay Colt by War Cry out of Czipra - Like Vibank, War Cry is a freshmen sire for 2011 but also brings top U.S. bloodlines into the Canadian racing scene. War Cry is by Unbridled, who has produced several champions including Halfbridled. Halfbridled won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in 2003 at Santa Anita. With the sire line looking good, Czipra is a mare with a good produce record. This weanling is Czipra's tenth foal and so far eight have gone to the racetrack and five have been winners. 


Yearlings

Hip 165: Mobil Millie - This yearling is out of Mobil who's first foals are now three-year-olds. Among these three-year-olds includes Mobil Unit, who finished second to Golden Moka in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie in July. This filly could find herself in the Woodbine Oaks as a three-year-old if things go the right way. On the dam's side, she is out of Unique Sky, a rather unproven mare as she only has one foal who is of racing age. Mobil Millie was Unique Sky's third foal. 

Horses of Racing Age

Hip 175: Tizsation - Tizsation is a colt by Tiznow, a horse of the year and a two time winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Over the course of his career he earned $6,427,830. Tiznow has also produced some great champion horses, liked Well Armed, who was owned by Winstar Farms and captured the Dubai World Cup. Although Tizsation has not had great races as a two-year-old, part of me feels like someone could get a really valuable horse for a good price. Tizsation has not placed in three starts in maiden special weight company, but a drop down into maiden claiming company could be just what he needs. Going into next season, anything can happen and this two-year-old may just suprise in the future.

Hip 177: Forest Ice - I think everyone at the CTHS sale will be watching for this horse when he reaches the ring. Forest Ice is out of top freshman sire Old Forester, who has produced a lot of winners in his first year as a sire. Of 33 starters, 14 have won races and two of those winners have gone on to win stakes races. He's currently the 10th ranked sire of two-year-olds according to Bloodhorse.com rankings and the top sire of two-year-olds in Canada. Forest Ice is one of 41 two-year-olds by Old Forester that hasn't started yet, but if his other two-year-olds offer a glimpse into the future, this horse could be successful in his three-year-old season. 

Supplemental Entries

Hip 202: Chestnut Colt by Bold Executive out of Flows Like Wine - If I had Flows Like Wine on my watch list for mares, then I have to have this weanling on my watch list when he's by Bold Executive. This is Flows Like Wine's last live foal and her next live foal will be by Milwaukee Brew. The owners of this mare have mated her with some pretty elite company when it comes to Canadian sires.
 
Hip 203: Bay Filly by Langfuhr out of Nite in Rome - This weanling has great pedigree on both sides. Her sire, Langfuhr, has produced a number of great horses, including Mobil, who I mentioned earlier. Looking back even futher we see Danzig, Northern Dancer, Natalma and Nearctic in that pedigree. That is a lot of great turf horses to appear on one side. Nite in Rome is an unknown as a mare as this is her first foal. However, she did place in the Natalma Stakes, which suggests this weanling will be looking to run on turf. I'm also interested in the second dam Ascot Wedding. Three other foals we see out of Ascot Wedding on the catalogue page have all earned over $100,000 in their careers. I think this weanling has the potential to be a quality turf horse based on her pedigree.

These are horses that caught my eye when going through the catalogue pages. The sale will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion tomorrow. For those who can't make the sale, the CTHS Ontario Division will be streaming the sale live on their website cthsont.com. You can also find the catalogue and supplemental entries there. At The Post will follow up a sale with a recap that includes the overall statistics and top priced horses later on this weekend.  

Posted in: Sales,Woodbine