Pegasus Horse Sale (2011 update + 2012 recap)

via www.pegasustrainingcenter.com

Today was the Pegasus two year olds in training horse sale. Pegasus is a rehabilitation and training center that offers world class facilities and staff in Redmond Washington. Owned by Dr. Mark Dedomenico, the facility includes:

5/8 Polytrack Training Track

Equine Swimming Pool

Aqua-Tred

Hyperbaric Chamber

European Horse Walkers

Polytrack Indoor Arena

Round Pen

Soft Stalls

100+ Acres

Etc….Not a shabby operation to say the least.

Last year 20 horses were catalogued at the sale, with 2 outs and 3 RNA’s . The 17 horses that actually sold went for a combined 633k or an average of 37,235 per horse (high of 77k low of 18k). Of those 17, 12 have made it to the track up to this point. They have ran in a total of 48 races accumulating a record of 6-9-13 for earnings of 177,350.

The top earner from last year’s sale was With Council a Colt by Lawyer Ron out of Wild Flair (by Broad Brush), whom was a G3 winner. With Council posted a 1-2-1 record in 4 starts with earnings of 52,169 and broke its maiden to end the season in the Ascot Graduation Stakes at Hastings Park.

Like last year, this year’s sale was broken down into two days, a preview day which included an opportunity to watch the horses work on the track, and then the day of the actual sale (with 3 hours of inspection time prior). One change to the sale is the implementation of a 20,000$ bonus to the first horse that wins an unrestricted stakes race (value of 20k or more) at either HST or EMD.

This year’s sale was also presented by Glen Todd. Glen Todd has been a prominent figure at Hastings Park in Canada for decades. While Dedomenico does not race many horses at Emerald Downs, Todd continues to race a large stable of horses at his home track, routinely winning the most races at the track by owner (with his partner Patrick Kinsella).

The majority of these horses were purchased from the Keeneland September sale, with a couple coming from the Washington Thoroughbred Sale, and a couple being privately bred. Of the 30 horses offered, 17 bids were successfully accepted, 4 horses were outs, and 9 were RNA’s. I don’t have access to expectations, or what the reserves were set at on some of these horses, however, some seem a bit dubious. Pegasus lists a daily rate of 57$ for training/breaking, for simplicity sake let’s say these horses have been there 120 days. That is a total of 6,840$. How about transportation? 2,450 (again rounded) journey between Redmond WA, and Lexington Kentucky for transportation costs (ground) of around 2,000$ per horse (maybe a little steep but let’s assume).

A Few of the RNA’s:

HIP 17: 18.5k in costs (10k Keeneland) hammer dropped for 23k

HIP 18: 18.5k in costs (7k RNA Keeneland so let’s say they paid a little more) hammer dropped for 23k

HIP 19: 20.5k in costs (12k WTBOA) hammer dropped for 22k

One of the goals of the sale (from my understanding) was to help expand the business to new faces, as well as offer a unique sale that does not exist in the local. Honestly most people, who want to keep horses local, and race horses locally, aren’t going to be willing or able to spend 40-80k to enter the market. It is EXTREMELY hard to post a return with the current purse structure at EMD or even HST. These three horses obviously don’t appear to be world beaters, if you aren’t taking a huge hit on your time/investment, why not let them go?

One other RNA of note to keep an eye on is HIP 25, Cape Town Cowboy out of a Woodman mare, and sired by Johannesburg, he was purchased at Keeneland for 17,000$, but has filled out nicely, and looks stunning. The hammer dropped at 55,000$ on this Chestnut Colt, but even that wasn’t enough to beat the reserve. The auctioneer noted that this was Mike Puhich’s (Pegasus Manager/ Trainer) favorite horse from the whole sale.

So what about the horses that Did Sell? The 17 horses that did sell fetched a total of 876,000$ (51.5k average). The prices ranged between 125k and low of 14k.

J. Hollendorfer dropped 125k on Midnight Casanova (2/23/10) a Brown Colt by Pleasantly Perfect out of the stakes placed mare Casanova Story. Originally purchased for 47k at Keeneland, this colt shows tremendous potential as it continues to fill out an excellent frame.

Glenn Todd won with a final bid of 97k on Strange Luck (3/23/10) a Bay Filly by Songandaprayer out of a multiple stakes winning mare Glitter Star (raced at CBY). This filly made its best impression on the training track, showing a poise and consistency that many of the other young horses were lacking. She has matured fast, and should be ready to race as soon as the two year old races get posted.

One horse with strong local potential is Southern Solution a Chestnut Gelding by Southern Africa out of a winning mare Kimora.Foaled in Washington this horse originally sold for 6500 at the WTBOA in September, and at the time he hadn’t quite developed at the speed of some of the other offerings (alas what can make pin hooking so successful!) In 6 months time however he has really filled out nicely and grown up tremendously. It is no surprise that the hammer dropped at 55k on him this year. He is eligible for almost everything you could throw at him in Washington:

- Northwest Race Series (fully Nominated, so he could get a crack at some early 25k restricted stakes)

- Washington Bred (So he is elligible for the Washington Cup (35k race for 2 yr olds to end the year) The Washington Cup race is usually light on talent as the big 2 year old race to end the meet is two weeks later

- WTBOA Sales incentive program, gets a bonus for breaking his maiden in a MSW at EMD, and is also eligible for a 20k ALLOWANCE later in the meet

- The possibility of earning the Pegasus 20k bonus

Overall I found the attendance to be up from last year, and found a lot more “buyers” in the crowd, they’ve expanded the sale, done a better job at evaluating yearlings, and I hope they continue to do so in the future. This two year old sale fills a unique niche in the NW racing scene, and if managed properly can continue to be both a boon for buyers and sellers for years to come.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, each new experience I have in the world of racing creates a deeper bond between myself and the "game".