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Originally Posted by Phalaris1913
Breeding sales yearlings is a much surer bet, with a faster return.
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I never really bought into this.
By "breeding for racing" I assume you mean breeding good mares to a lot of excellent distance race horses turned sires....the result of which is typically slowpoke, plodding offspring who get outpaced.
Storm Cat is always the one sire people talk about when it comes to "breeding sales yearlings."
However, as late as 1993, Storm Cat's stud fee was just $20,000, and it wasn't like his offspring really excelled at yearling sales early on.
In 1990, the first crop of Storm Cat yearlings averaged $54,769
In 1991, the second crop of Storm Cat yearling averaged $78,735
In '92, the 3rd crop averaged $74,050
It wasn't until '93, when they averaged $109,000 that he hit six figures.
By comparison, the $6.7 million earning, stoutly bred, great race horse Alysheba...stood for $75,000 and his first crop of yearlings sold for an average of $175,000.
People who know how to handicap understand that speed wins horse races. Storm Cat offspring often have excellent early speed and can carry it beyond sprint distances. That is why he's excelled at stud and become such a hot prospect.
He didn't start to get the best book of mares, and sire the most expensive of yearlings, until his offspring first established themselves as exciting race horses.