[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by kentuckyrosesinmay

I'll answer that since he hasn't and I can say from personal experience that your assessment is far from the reality. I don't have to see them race against other horses to tell if they are good...I just have to see them gallop and breeze. Astute horsemen can look them "in the face", their conformation, and their movement over the track to distinguish the good ones from the not so good. It is very difficult to explain because so many elements are involved. It takes years of experience in watching two year olds mature, judging movement and conformation, watching them race, and much, much more. Most of the two year olds that turn into great horses have a quality about them that distinguishes them from the other horses.

There are exceptions to some exceptions to this though...Seabiscuit is a prime example...God what an ugly gallop! But Smith saw it in his face. Just like Lava Man. You could see it before it showed up in his performances. I'll tell you one thing, Lava Man has more heart than any horse I have ever seen. I know this may sound weird, but I can feel it when I look at him, but, then again, all true horseman can.

Some other examples of great purchases based solely on movement, character, and how they breezed over the track were in Funny Cide and Showing Up, both of whom Barclay Tagg picked out. They weren't really expensive horses and it is not a mere coincidence that both of these horses ended up in his stable. He picked them because he knew what he was looking for and knew what he was doing. There are quite a few out there in this business that have that kind of ability such as Tagg, and the really good ones are treasured in this game.

Jessica is 100% correct. I don't know about the part of looking a horse in the eye. I have no ability to do that. It's possible that some people might be able to do that. Some people make the mistake of thinking that just because they can't do something, that it can't be done. I can't tell anything from looking a horse in the eye but I guess it's possible that some people may have some ability to do that. But even if someone can get information from looking a horse in the eye, I highly doubt that this would be nearly as accurate of a method as watching a horse work out. It's not that difficult to judge a horse if you know what you're doing, if you can watch them run full-speed like they do at the sales.