Eggs in a Basket

[madelyn]

I was chatting this morning with a trainer who called me - I am helping out to reorganize his website, etc. I was talking up my five two year olds trying to work out a deal.. and he said he might be able to take one or two. He said I should NEVER consider putting that many of the "same type" of horse in the same barn.

It's a subject he feels strongly about. His point was this: if you have three or four of the same class, age, type of horse in one barn, they will either end up running against each other in a coupled entry, or they will miss out, or they will be entered at the wrong distance or class just to get them in a race. He said, in his experience, if a barn has a LOT of two year olds in it, the trainer will continue to charge day rates, tell the owners varying truths about readiness to race, the barn will suffer from too much sameness. Many of the owners, in this case, will continue to pay day rates when the horse could have been elsewhere and have already moved into racing/winning. His best scenario for his barn is to have a variety of ages, class, sex, etc. That way his barn can be racing much more often and be much more successful.

Does anyone have any comments on this?

[Sock Monkey]

The trainer is correct.

[no hurray]

the trainer is partly correct IMO. if you start 5 2yr olds at the same time chances are they will not all be race ready at exactly the same time.some will be ready before the others you have to consider things are going to happen to some of them. shins,virus,throat infections ect. so chances are they will not be running against each other. some might want to run 5 furlongs others may want to go farther. i know lot's of stables that have 20 or more babies in training and they very rarely run an entry. some may prove to be worth 10,000 others may be alw. horses.so i wouldn't worry to much about the same trainer haveing the 5 babies.

[ageecee]

trainer is 100% correct

Madelyn,

Of the 5 two yr olds how many are filles and how many colts? How many will go far and how many short? Are all ready to run right now?

[majxmom]

I think the trainer is very correct, as well. What if you have a virus go through the barn, and they all get sick and waste a month at the same time?

The flip side is that you'll have to decide what foal goes to what trainer, which might be a political problem for you if one 2yo is a Street Cry and the other is a Behrens. The trainer that gets the Behrens might get upset with you.

[wilf]

Street Cry,that reminds me Madelyn,what became of the one you sold last year?

[madelyn]

Thanks for remembering, Wilf. The folks who bought the Street Cry filly kept her at Three Chimneys and put her back with Three Chimneys in one of the yearling sales this year. Three Chimneys was also the consignor of the filly when I sold her. Unfortunately she RNA'ed. I imagine I will see her named in January, and maybe published works next year.

Thanks so much to EVERYONE for the responses - ageecee, three colts, two fillies, all are by Rocking Trick. All bred for 6-9 furlongs, all roughly at the same stage in training...

[ageecee]

Well then i would send 2 colts and one filly to the trainer but not all 5.