Mare Purchases
Many of the best racing and bloodstock operations have been built on the back of a successful broodmare band. Most notable would be Juddmonte who to this day probably has the best broodmare band in the World.
Families are built up through buying the right mares, successful matings, good rearing and training of progeny meaning a proven successful broodmare is one of bloodstock’s most valuable commodities. Just one good mare can start a family which if looked after properly can benefit generations of breeders both from a ‘breeding to race’ and a commercial perspective.
Richard’s successes include Countess Ferrama (dam of 2021 Listed winner and 2020 Group 3 winner Top Rank), Pearls or Passion (dam of 2019 Group 3 winner Pelligrina and Stakes performer Podemos), Molly Brown (dam of Group 2 winner Priceless) and Moonlit Garden (dam of Group performer Mokaatil, Stakes performer Dan and dam of a 600,000gns October yearling sale graduate).
When purchasing a mare you need to think about what you want to achieve. Are you breeding to race or breeding to sell ? If you are breeding to race then you have the distinct advantage that you don’t have to obey ‘fashion’. It might be that the fashionable miler is right for your mare but often it will be the case that you can use a good proven stallion who is just not ‘hot’ in the sales ring for half the price. If ‘breeding to race’ you actually have no need to use an unproven stallion unless you are trying to identify and use a young stallion before he becomes successful and his stud fee becomes too high.
Once you have decided what your ambitions are you need to purchase the mare. The main European mare sales would be the Tattersalls July Sale in Newmarket, Goffs November mare sale in Ireland, Tattersalls December mare sale in Newmarket and the Arqana December sale held in Deauville. All of these sales are well supported with fillies and mares for sale with most either covered and in-foal or maiden fillies off the track.
www.wesellbloodstock.com is another option for purchasing high-class broodmares and fillies off the track and targets horses with a value in excess of £50,000. All the broodmares and fillies on their site are sold with a vet report which includes pregnancy diagnosis for in-foal mares and scope report for fillies off the track. All the listings also have professional photos, video and a pedigree page download.
When purchasing a mare by public auction Richard looks closely at pedigree, race record, conformation, in-foal status, last service date (last date the mare was covered) and produce record and thinks ahead to future stallions that might suit the mare. A correct, athletic, well put together mare with depth, quality and a good temperament would always be the characteristics that Richard looks for.