Wygod CA dispersal

[bdw0617]

i don't think the reason betrando isn't getting mares is becuase he is in CA. i think it's becuase he is an underachiever.

Actually, I would not call Bertrando an underachiever for two reasons. First his female family isn't very strong and his overall pedigree is a long way from fashionable, which hurt the quality of the mare support he got. He got absolutely no respect at the sales early on and pretty much had to make his own way on the merits of his progeny after they started racing. Had it not been for support from the Wygods and Marshall Naify, he'd probably have slid out of sight before he had any chance to make it as a sire.

Second, the Wygods' support for him, while much needed, has been a double edged sword because many of the mares they gave him were daughters and granddaughters of Pirate's Bounty. While Pirate's Bounty was a fine regional sire, results for his daughters when crossed to Bertrando have been distinctly subpar compared to Bertrando's results from mares by other sires. I looked at this when he had 11 crops to race, and at the time, Bertrando's results for foals with Pirate's Bounty as broodmare sire came to just 36% winners and 2.6% stakes winners, compared to 46.5% winners and 5.9% stakes winners from mares by other sires. He has also had relatively little access to his two best crosses, mares by Storm Cat and mares by sons of Seattle Slew.

I suspect part of the reason he has not crossed well with Pirate's Bounty has lain in conformation. Bertrando is a tall, rangy fellow who can supply a mare with size and length but does best with a mare that is not too large and coarse but is shorter coupled and has a bigger hip than his. As I recall, at least in photos, Pirate's Bounty appeared to be a rather lengthy type himself with a good shoulder but not particularly strong quarters, so the mating of his daughters to Bertrando probably didn't add anything that either needed.

At any rate, Bertrando isn't likely to improve his overall position as a sire wherever he moves, not because he is inherently a bad stallion (though his percentage of winners could certainly be improved on) but simply because he's old and not commercial.

great post.

honestly, betrando is one of the oddest horses in recent memory to me.

he's best known on the track, for two things.

1. getting blown by int he breeders cup juve by arazi
2. getting blown by in the breeders cup classic by archanges


as you pointed out, doesn't have the strongest pedigree on earth. i'm simply stating that when things get tough people start to get tight with their money. there are better values even if they are in KY. there are only a handful of stallions IMHO worth breeding to in CA right now. betrando would be one of them if they were back on dirt.

[Mahubah]

Regarding Bertrando, I'm looking at the overall stats, not individual horses. Yes, there have been a few nice ones from the Bertrando/Pirate's Bounty cross, but that doesn't change the fact that the overall results have been less than stellar. Statistics don't apply to individuals, but individuals don't create complete stats either.

On his racing career, Bertrando was a good racehorse but not a great one. His BC losses were both to horses that were running the races of their lives and both got trips that perfectly suited their racing styles. Arcangues, by the way, should never have been at 133-1 and was a huge overlay; he'd had his problems but had won the Prix d'Ispahan (FR-I) earlier in the season and probably should have been at more like 20-1, maybe 30-1 max. Still a major upset but this horse didn't deserve to be treated like a cheap claimer that had somehow sneaked into the BC field. As for the loss to Arazi, I'd heard elsewhere that Bertrando had grabbed a quarter at the gate and left blood dotted around the track. No doubt Arazi was the better horse that day regardless, but if the report of his injury was a true one, Bertrando at least deserved marks for guts. He was a favorite of jockey Gary Stevens for his consistent willingness to give everything he had and might have had a better race record if he'd been willing to rate instead of insisting on having the lead every time.