Skip Away

[Heidilady]

I'm in the early stages of reading Steve Haskin's remembrances of Skip Away's career (following a lovely one on Cigar and another on Holy Bull) on Bloodhorse.com. I noticed SA is standing for $10,000 for 2009 and after smoking over his offspring thus far, as much as I loved him, I can't figure out why. Normally a stallion with this record would, I suspect, long since find himself sold to Korea or in a regional program in the US. It's lovely that he's so fast and strong so I would think they'd be justified in thinking it's a matter of finding the right cross to unlock his breeding awesomeness. If only we could the breed would be better for it.

My questions are, what kinds of mares has he been getting? What should he be trying that maybe they haven't? Why $10,000 and a spot on a KY farm when stallions that cost less have accomplished more? (Again, I'm a huge fan so I'm not dogging him) Is his fee much of a change from last year? Was the fact that he got so much better with age the biggest problem in getting him the best mares early on? I wish him so much success. Obviously they don't always work out the way you think they would (see the Bid) but Tiznow made it--I get spoiled when that happens.

[griff]

I have a Skip Away daughter out of a multi stakes winning dam [Rexy Sexy] and i;m hoping he will become a broodmare sire.

griff

[Toccet02]

I think Hopewell people love him (I've been there) and he's a name that puts their farm on the map.

[madelyn]

I think if a stallion is privately owned and loved, it doesn't take but a couple of mares at $10K to pay his upkeep each year, and he is available for the owner's mares. Skip Away covered 27 mares this year. He had 18 foals last year from 33 reported covers. He won't make his owner rich as a stallion - but does he have to? He earned over $9 million as a racehorse. I wonder if Marilyn Hines still owns him? I had a big Skip Away that I bought as a yearling. I bought five one year as an experiment all for $1-2K. They all ran and won except the Skip Away. One filly has earned over $70K to date and is still running. Anyhow, the Skip Away was just too big. I got him a good home a few months ago as a jumper trainee. He's four now.

If you look at the economics, even at $50 a day to board a stallion at a farm, which is a bit less than $20K a year, he's making some money... Funny, I just looked and Skip Away is 15 now!! I so vividly remember him running! Must be getting old myself..

[Toccet02]

He also has arthritis which makes covering mares painful...they had him stand on extra padding over the rubber shavings.
But we chatted with the stallion manager for a long time, outside of Skip's stall. He had the door open and was just standing with his head over the guy's shoulder, nibbling on his knuckles very gently--apparently it's a game with him. He'll do that for a long time and then give a playful harder nip when he's thinking you're relaxed. This guy prided himself on anticipating it and jerking away. Cute together, they were.

I saw a lot of folks in Kentucky with missing fingers though---it's amazing how some would play with the stallions and some wouldn't.

[griff]

I suspect the ones with missing fingers are amoung the ones that don't play with them.

griff

[Hold Your Peace]

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/18654

Skip Away was syndicated for $18 million originally.

[Monmouth Matt]

The big boy always came the track with his game-face on.....loved watching him run like an old freight train! Great article by Haskin, who is in an absolute league of his own as a horseracing writer. His recent article's on Bloodhorse.com are sensational.

[madelyn]

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/18654

Skip Away was syndicated for $18 million originally.

Ah. Well then I guess that was not a good investment for the partners.

[Heidilady]

I guess his arthritis limitations keep the buyers away to some degree. If they can't get more than 20-25 foals out of him at most, they're not liable to offer a ton. I do think it's sweet that Skippy has inspired so many folks to not just sell out, be it the Hines back when they got offered big bucks for a Derby prospect, or Hopewell which I'm sure gets an occasional query. They're taking care of the ol'boy then much like the Bid was looked after. I wonder if he has melanoma. I heard a lot of greys get it a la Winning Colors.

I know I rambled on but I'll pose it again, what has he crossed well with? What would be your breeding recommendations considering what's been tried?

[griff]

I think that the reason he only gets 20 to 25 foals a year is because that's all the mares he gets, not because he has trouble covering the mares.

griff

[Joltman]

My questions are, what kinds of mares has he been getting? What should he be trying that maybe they haven't?

I think the question is a good one as to what kinds of mares they have bred him. He had a strange (but effective!) way of going with high action and I wouldn't be surprised if he was biomechanically incompatible with a lot of mares.

jm

[Heidilady]

My questions are, what kinds of mares has he been getting? What should he be trying that maybe they haven't?

I think the question is a good one as to what kinds of mares they have bred him. He had a strange (but effective!) way of going with high action and I wouldn't be surprised if he was biomechanically incompatible with a lot of mares.

jm

Sounds like a job for the breeder of Big Brown. Isn't that how BB was bred? His parents, based on some program pairing them biomechanically together, were matched? He needs to do that with Skip Away.

[FOS]

hello Heidilady...hi Joltman

(Re Skip Away) What would be your breeding recommendations considering what's been tried?

If you're thinking of breeding to Skip Away...I STRONGLY recommend that you select a mare for him that has more than adequate bone, is quite robust and strongly-made in general, and offers a particularly sturdy hind leg (with maybe a stronger-than-average [if you will] gaskin) that ties nicely into a powerful (leaning toward massive) set of hindquarters.

That's how (for the most part) the dams (that I've seen) of a number of his best runners (which I've also seen) are made.

Seems to me that it's likely not so much a pedigree thing re mares that have produced successful runners by Skip Away...but rather how the mares were structurally made (that produced his best sons and daughters).

Skip Away was a world-beater of a racehorse, but (as a sire) he all too often gets what might be described as gangly individuals who don't appear (based on what I've seen by him thru the years) to have much strength/mass behind.

Bottom-line...I would NOT recommend that anyone use Skip Away UNLESS they were sending a mare to him that (at the very least) would likely inject some significant POWER and MASS BEHIND into the equasion.

(Skip Away) had a strange (but effective!) way of going with high action and I wouldn't be surprised if he was biomechanically incompatible with a lot of mares.

Horse of the Year Skip Away did have high knee action (as did champion Chief's Crown, for example)...but I am convinced (based on what I've seen by him thru the years) that SA's hindquarters (moreso that any knee action issue) has created a significant challenge/obstacle for breeders. The good news...that challenge/obstacle can/will (at least to my way of thinking) likely be reduced (if not overcome completely) by selecting an appropriate mare (as described above) for him.

You might consider the following when selecting a mare for Skip Away.

1/ Of the many sons and daughters of Skip Away that I've seen thru the years (including foals, yearlings, training horses, and runners by him)...in general the rule seems to be that they're pretty darn weak-looking/weakly-made behind.

2/ Skip Away's most successful runners (at least the ones that I've seen anyway) seem to be exceptions to the rule though, to the extent that they are (at the very least) clearly stronger-looking behind than the overwhelming majority of SA's sons and daughters (that I've seen) in general.

Best.

Respectfully

[Heidilady]

FOS, what do you think about Skip Code? There's a picture of him mid-flight on PQ. Where would you conjecture Skip Away's weak hind end transfer comes from? Obviously he himself had lots of oomph to win races so I assume he wasn't lacking in the caboose to the degree his offspring seem to quite often.