rare beauty: off to the golden state

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alcibiades stakes, ballena vista farm, benchmark, bertrando, california, eric anderson, idiot proof, keeneland, Kentucky Derby, kerry thomas, nw management, quiet american, ramona, rare beauty, smarty jones, thomas herding technique

The Quiet American broodmare Rare Beauty, second in the G2 Alcibiades Stakes as a juvenile on the racetrack, sold for $20,000 at last month’s Keeneland November sale while in foal to Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones and will be going to live in California. She has been the subject of a pair of earlier posts because this mare was the top selection of Kerry Thomas, using his equine psychology techniques (read posts here and here).

Agent Eric Anderson, in the name of his NW Management, purchased the mare for Ballena Vista Farm, and she was “purchased to breed to Idiot Proof,” Anderson said.

Ballena Vista will stand Idiot Proof at their facility east of Ramona, Calif. The son of Benchmark out of the Bertrando mare Perfectly Pretty, will enter stud for the 2010 season at a fee of $1,500.

Anderson said that the rationale for puchasing Rare Beauty was that “we were looking for large mares, and we were told that Rare Beauty needed to be bred to a smaller stallion, which might make the mating to Smarty Jones even better,” he said. “I was very happily surprised we were able to buy her.”

The agent wasn’t aware of the psychological profile developed by Kerry Thomas but did say that “Rare Beauty has a very kind and pretty eye. I was attracted to her quality and sex appeal. I’ve been buying horses for 37 years, and she’s an awful nice mare.”

Joining the exodus of Kentucky mares going to other, sometimes warmer, climes, Rare Beauty is already expected at her new home in California.

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bloodstock selection: differing perspectives

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aptitude, audley farm, biomechanics, bob baffert, conformation, dosage, franco varola, herd dynamic, keeneland, kerry thomas, lemhi go, northern dancer, nw management, quiet american, raise a native, rare beauty, smarty jones, thomas herding technique, typology

In selecting broodmares and mating them to stallions, there are almost as many opinions as there are buyers. Really promising physiques attract my attention, especially when allied with good racing performance. I tend to evaluate this in terms of biomechanical quality. (There are several posts on this blog regarding biomechanics available to read from last month.)

Kerry Thomas, who has developed Thomas Herding Technique, uses equine psychology and behavior characteristics to evaluate prospects. Read more about Thomas and his approach here, which also includes a 10-minute video with trainer Bob Baffert.

Another line of evaluation is deep pedigree theory and study, such as that used by Franco Varola, developer of the typology of Thoroughbred aptitudes that he described using dosage. I wrote about Varola just a few days ago (here) and was thrilled to find that Varola, as consultant to breeder Audley Farm, was involved in the production of both a mare that I own and her half-sister, whom Thomas selected as an outstanding foundation mare at the recently concluded Keeneland November sale.

The primary attraction in my purchase of G2 winner Lemhi Go was her racing class, which was quite high, allied with her pedigree. She carries no Raise a Native, and her only Northern Dancer is through that stallion’s son Giboulee, sire of Lemhi Go’s dam Midnight Rapture. Not surprisingly for a high-class racemare, Lemhi Go is a scopey mare with quality and presence. She also has a smooth, lengthy walk that is lovely to watch.

In evaluating her half-sister Rare Beauty at Keeneland, Thomas noted that Rare Beauty “was in a class by herself” as a broodmare. Thomas makes his observations purely by eye, watching horses alone or in company with others. Using the horse’s own actions to gain insight about its attitudes, he said that Rare Beauty was “the most emotionally sound, mentally prepared, highest herd dynamic mare of the sale.”

Makes her sound like a crackerjack, right? Well, she was one impressive specimen. Standing 16.3 hands, Rare Beauty was typical of her sire, Quiet American. She was quite big all over, very ruggedly made with strong bone and tendons, and well-conformed.

She has a high wither, great length through the body, and a good eye. I suspect that her stature and commanding presence caught Thomas’s eye. His summation was that “Rare Beauty’s inner character and behavioral dynamics (both Group Herd Dynamic and Individual Herd Dynamic) far exceeded her peers.”

In foal to Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones, the mare sold for $20,000 to NW Management, agent.