Dr. Litin--no race record, but spectacular pedigree

[vineyridge]

Sold for 2,500,000 as a yearling at Keeneland. Raced 3 times without success. Now standing for $750 at a weird place in Oregon. Don't know anything about why he's so cheap--and what happened to make him that way.

By Broad Brush out of Winning Colors.

What do y'all think of this one? I think he's a 99.

[xfactor fan]

Looks like a relatively new outfit, standing a whole lot of sons of major stallions. The website is nice.

http://www.oakhurstthoroughbreds.com/default.asp

[erins isle]

Looks a nice type to me, but try to find out why he got no results on the racetrack. It also often happens that the offspring of great racemares skip a generation, but the quality will come back sooner of later!

[magic code]

It isn't a "weird place." The Roots have been in the business for MANY years, training breeding owning and Jack Root is a vet, too. Baquero is one of the leading sire with % of stakes horses in the COUNTRY.

Dr Litin's had very small crops and not many mares so far - that farm does stand too many stallions. I've had the opportunity to see one Dr. Litin as a young foal and it was gorgeous baby.

[vineyridge]

Only reason I said it was weird is that they are also selling pewter and chocolate on their website. Just seemed more than a bit odd for a breeding farm.

[Heidilady]

The mare Air Forbes Gal has a filly by Dr. Litin under his progreny and they've probably renamed her because the filly's listed twice. Can somebody figure out who's the real one?

Dr. Litin's pretty. It would be interesting if you could get an offspring of his or Mongoose's without paying what you would for Include but still end up with a nice Broad Brush line foal.

PS I wonder if someone should tell them under the novelty item section they spelled it "nolvelty." It's one thing if we do it on a message board and it's another if you're selling a product. Just a presentation issue.

[Jolene]

Oakhurst is famous for its Heritage Tree, a lovely giant Oak that grows on the property between the barns and the home. Because it is in Oregon's "wine country", I think they get a fair amount of tourists for the tree, and the legend of the pioneer buried beneath. Having such a landmark, I assume, they have a popular gift shop on the property with equine and wine themed goodies.

Oakhurst is a very nice facility, with an indoor eurosizer, a training track, a fully equipped veterinary hospital, and three DVMs on staff.

So, "not weird" at all, considering their special (historical) location and nice facility.

[xfactor fan]

How old is the stallion part of the outfit? I thought it was sort of new becasue of the "first foals to race in 2005, and 2006" notices on many of the stallions. And yes I figured there was a gift shop attached to the farm, hence the giftware.

[Jolene]

The farm has stood past stallions like Danjur, Stately Wager, Abstract, True Confidence...that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

[geowarrior]

Well, this is Oregon we are talking about, and on another thread on a slightly different topic Madelyn was educating me about the fact that shipping mares to and from the Northwest, even if the mares themselves cost next to nothing, could be prohibitively expensive.

It seems to me that this farm may have a very specific business plan where the owners have decided to stand lightly raced or unraced stallions with excellent pedigrees for low prices, perhaps to offset shipping costs and increase the possible catchment area for potential mares (to Washington and N. California at least). I didn't notice whether they also have their own band of supporting mares for the stallions, because for this to work they do need to get some proof of performance on the ground. I can see why gifts of various sorts would fit into this business plan, as although Oregon is not a racing haven it is a popular tourist destination, and the more bodies that visit an operation the more word of mouth advertising there is.

I've seen it said several times on this board that although it's always best to send a good mare to a proven sire, if this is not possible, then it's better to send a mare with a few wins to an unproven sire than to send an unplaced mare to a proven sire. Perhaps the business plan of this farm is based on trying to attract some broodmares that have been regional winners. I do like the looks of Dr. Litin and his pedigree, as well as some of the other stallions at the farm. The website says he was retired from racing because of a suspensory ligament injury, although at the price he sold for I am surprised he was retired and that a rehab was not attempted, so there may be more to the story.

As a northwest resident, I'm going to follow this farm carefully, and if I get a couple of days off, it's actually close enough for me to drive to and visit. At the very least I may see some nice horses and get some nice gifts.

[sunday_silence]

Someone told me that Dr. Litin was mismanaged from the start. It was felt that he was going to be a really good horse, but he wasn't given time to develop and wound up with a career-ending injury.

[Jolene]

Well, this is Oregon we are talking about,

Always the phrase that notifies me it's time to pick up my ball and go home, because nothing good ever comes out it.

But a final thought: Jack and Cookie have a lovely operation, I have complete respect for them. They stand the best stallions they can; stallions whose progeny do well throughout the west, including Canada. Their son Ben is proving to be a most excellent trainer, and at only 29, I think great things are on his horizon.

Seattle Shamus alone covered over 40 mares last year, if memory serves. To the best of my knowledge, Karen and Mickey Taylor still own him, and chose Oakhurst. Oakhurst has also been chosen by Aaron and Marie Jones for stallion placement in the past. I have seen Oakhurst-stallion sired horses as WA breds, Cal breds, and BC breds. So no, they are not merely looking to appeal to regional-winning broodmares.

I have always appreicated their hospitality and support. Cookie brought charm and panache to our little gift kiosk at Portland Meadows, and it certainly looks more fitting. I am glad she opened the little shop on their property, too, as she has a good eye for fun things. Jack has been particularly supportive of my efforts to get the Oregon breeding product out on the internet, and even though we disagree on many issues, I have never felt anything but complete support from him.

Oakhurst has an open house day once a year, it is a lovely and fun event that I encourage anyone nearby to attend.

[geowarrior]

Thanks for the extra information Jolene. It only piques my interest in the farm and sounds like it would be a great little trip for me from Spokane maybe next spring.

[sparta]

I think Lukas had this horse. He said that this was the only one of Winning Color's foals that looked anything like her, if I remember correctly.

[vineyridge]

Possible and purely speculative explanation on why he is standing in Oregon for $750.

1) Insurance is adequate to cover a $2,500,000 million yearling.
2) Lukas trained
3) Suspensory tear after 3 non-winning races.
4) Loss of use versus a year or more layoff. Would miss the big three year old races.
5) Insurance pays.
6) Insurance company sells to Oregon breeder for little or nothing.
7) No race record or record on progeny, plus breakdown, equals cheap stud fee.

Possible? Probably. Plausible? Don't know enough.