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Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite
Again intending no disrespect .. somehow that post reminds me of the awful Shirley Temple version of "The Story Of Seabiscuit" ... where Barry Fitzgerald ... the feisty wee Irish "trainer" of Seabiscuit ... claims he can tell a good race horse "by lookin' 'im in the oye."
I don't think looking at a horse's stride is much more worthwhile than "lookin' 'im in the oye" ... because good horses come in all sizes, shapes, and strides ... from the mighty-mite Dark Mirage to the really mighty Forego.
The only sure way to tell if a horse is good ... is to put him on a track with other horses in a competitive race for a purse ... and see what happens.
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That is completely untrue. You can totally tell which horses are good at the 2 year old sales if you know what you're looking at. There are certain things you can't tell. You can't tell how much heart a horse has. But you can make a good assessment of a horse's ability. Why do you think What a Song(who didn't have much pedigree) went for $1.8 million? It was because it was obvious that he could really run. He worked a quarter in :20 3/5 and he had a great way of moving. He was a slam dunk to be at least a half-way decent horse. I would have never paid anything close to that for him, but he could obviously run. He was easy to pick. That's why he went for so much money. The trick is not to pick one like him. The trick is to pick one that isn't so obvious, so you can get a bargain. Tim Ritchey picked Afleet Alex for $75,000. Now that is one to be proud of.