Pedigree Query

Please share your thoughts concerning Fusaichi Pegasus...thanks g

Love Fu Peg.. Love Andromeda's Hero Even More! LOL

Not the biggest fu peg fan on earth. he has had more success (seemingly) down under than here.

This is just my two cents about this horse.

Fu Peg is one of those horses who might have done a lot better with a lot less hype. First they overpriced him ($150K) so much that it set a false level of expectation. They dropped it just a bit ($125K) but so many breeders took it on the chin at the sales the next year looked iffy. When he couldn't live up to the hype, the fee finally tumbled, and then they were scrounging mares with foal shares. In my opinion, he is still overpriced at $45K.

This is a horse who has been surrounded by so much hype for much of his life, it could be a bit of a challenge to separate fact from fiction. Truth, he was already pretty much broken down before the Derby and ran in full wraps up front. Anyone who saw him that day should not have doubted that should have been his last race. Truth, he is the best horse Angel Fever came close to having, after having such HIGH expectations from the mare. Fu Peg ended up a bit like the only son of a scion of business who muddles his way through school getting C's, but gets to be president of the corporation anyway because the seat was held for him. The sheer number and quality of mares thrown at this horse virtually guaranteed some success.

If they had taken a more modest tack with him.. starting him at $10K or $15K.. he might have worked his way up. It also would have signified, in my mind, a much deeper level of confidence in him as a sire. The "get rich quick" scheme of that six figure fee in the first two years could almost be perceived as a warning flag that they were not expecting him to perform.

For what it's worth, I agree 100% with Madelyn. FuPeg is a good stallion in the $20 - $30K range. He can sire a very nice horse but his service fee has made it very tough for breeders.

Good analysis, Madelyn. I remember when he won the Derby, I said to my good friend, "Those people in Kentucky know something about horses that we don't know. How could anyone pay $4million for a colt out of that mare (I think she had five foals and only one winner at that time?), and then have it win the Derby?" I figured there had to be something special about him in person (hence the Superman moniker), but whew! $150,000 stud fee was bound to make him disappoint.

I'd be a little wary of his success down under. He had some very, very substantial mare power helping him out. The kind of mares who could be bred to french poodles and get runners.

With the right mare he'll probably get you a useful horse, but not likely one that will recoup his fee at $45k a shot.

Opinions on stallions often swings to extremes in both directions. A sharp horseman can take advantage off these swings. The current low opinion of FuPeg has gone a little too far (in my opionion) and has allowed some auction buyers to have an opportunity for very nice upside on their purchases. It reminds me a bit of the soft (disliked)market that Lemon Drop Kid and Arch offspring fell into a short while ago. While FuPeg is not one of my favorite sires, I believe there is opportunity available at his current sales prices. He's has a few in at Timonium next month out of solid race/producing mares that may go for less than they should. We'll see.

Nevertheless, he did win the Derby, and is good-looking horse who gets some very attractive foals. With his pedigree (soundness concerns aside) and the sort of gilt-edged mares he got, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that he would be a success at stud.

I don't think I've been so surprised at any horse's relative lack of success at stud in the last 10 years, with the possible exception of Coronado's Quest.

No doubt he is an attractive horse, but it is the very soundness concerns that could be the problem, along with the rumors that his offspring are nutty and difficult to train. FuPeg's fall from the clouds was absolutely NO surprise to me.

I have a little two year old filly who is getting ready for a breeze and her first race is reportedly five or six weeks away. Her pedigree would not wow you. But she is a well built filly whose legs are SO RIGHT that her hoof wear is perfectly even. She has not had a bit of heat or issues and has roared right up through three months of training. PLUS, she is a professional little girl with the right kind of smarts and is all about the game. She had no breathing issues. She was raised outside on pasture, grain, water and sunshine. She has never had periosteal stripping. She has never had growth hormones. She has never gone through the rigors of sales prep. I don't expect her to light the world on fire and win the KY Oaks, but she is a sound, determined little filly who will bring home some checks. At this point I think I probably have $6K in this filly. Give me ten like her over a single unsound FuPeg nutcase anyday.

To me, winning the Derby seems to be more of a liability than an asset to a stallion's success. Kentucky Derby winners command a high stud fee and get very good mares but overall they seem disappointing. Guess it's just another race especially for regional breeders who rarely see a 1 1/4 mile race at their local tracks.

His stock are talented but psychotic and they all hang

I'm with Madelyn. If any horse starts out at stud with high expectations, he usually fails to match up in results with any consistency. Mr. Prospector was managed properly. Talented horse, suspect soundness, bred at a reasonable price to some tough blue-collar mares. He earned his way into breeders' hearts and pocketbooks. Sometimes money speaks with forked-tongue.

madelyn wrote:No doubt he is an attractive horse, but it is the very soundness concerns that could be the problem, along with the rumors that his offspring are nutty and difficult to train. FuPeg's fall from the clouds was absolutely NO surprise to me.

I have a little two year old filly who is getting ready for a breeze and her first race is reportedly five or six weeks away. Her pedigree would not wow you. But she is a well built filly whose legs are SO RIGHT that her hoof wear is perfectly even. She has not had a bit of heat or issues and has roared right up through three months of training. PLUS, she is a professional little girl with the right kind of smarts and is all about the game. She had no breathing issues. She was raised outside on pasture, grain, water and sunshine. She has never had periosteal stripping. She has never had growth hormones. She has never gone through the rigors of sales prep. I don't expect her to light the world on fire and win the KY Oaks, but she is a sound, determined little filly who will bring home some checks. At this point I think I probably have $6K in this filly. Give me ten like her over a single unsound FuPeg nutcase anyday.

$6k in........ I believe you Madelyn, but how? I'll send you my young ones!

henthorn wrote:I'm with Madelyn. If any horse starts out at stud with high expectations, he usually fails to match up in results with any consistency. Mr. Prospector was managed properly. Talented horse, suspect soundness, bred at a reasonable price to some tough blue-collar mares. He earned his way into breeders' hearts and pocketbooks. Sometimes money speaks with forked-tongue.

I don't think Coolmore has any interest in really making a stud successful. They marketed him on hype alone and set a ridiculous stud fee to make big bucks for the first few years and then dump him if he is a dud. If he failed, what's it to them? They made their millions and then it's onto the next overhyped colt.

Squeezing the stud fees out of people is what Coolmore is all about. It's never been about results.