This article first appeared in a previous edition of Equestrian Life. To see what is in the current issue, click here.

Vancouver
©Amanda Wood

Pedigree is a valuable guide to a horse’s potential, but not the only indicator. Physique, conformation, athleticism and attitude are all traits to look for in a stallion or its offspring, and sometimes backing your own judgment is your best bet.

BY GAI WATERHOUSE

AS A HORSE TRAINER, I very carefully analyse a horse’s physique, conformation, athleticism and attitude. I will travel from farm to farm, state to state and inspect approximately 500 horses in the months leading up to the sales, and I specifically ask each farm manager not to mention the yearlings’ breeding as they come out. I feel that by knowing the sire or the dam line, one can very easily be swayed into marking the horse more harshly or more generously. It can then be very interesting when they tell me the breeding after I have made my notes, because some very clear patterns emerge. This could be one particular stallion throwing lighter boned horses, big heavy horses, straight hind legs or certain personality traits. Some stallions don’t stamp their stock as strongly and can be difficult to pick but I have had a great deal of success buying yearlings based on traits that make a champion rather than their page. As we say in the racing world, a horse cannot read his page.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to say that the pedigree is completely disregarded, it is simply secondary to physique, conformation, athleticism and attitude. A good stallion, who usually was a champion racehorse himself, generally stamps his stock (passes on favourable traits), so once my shortlist has been created it is naturally heavily weighted towards the best producers in the country. Once a yearling secures its place on my shortlist, after numerous inspections my team and I pore through every page of the catalogue, providing us with a list to be vetted prior to the commencement of the sale.

Gai Waterhouse - Golden Slipper Stakes
©Amanda Wood

So, specifically, what do I look for in a horse? Well, this question can provide many different answers depending on the type of horse I am looking to secure. I suppose there are three major targets in mind when attending the different sales. When purchasing yearlings in Australia, I have the Group 1 Golden Slipper in mind, when purchasing yearlings in New Zealand I have the Derby and the Oaks in mind, and when purchasing tried horses in Europe, I have the rich Cups races in mind. There are a couple of boxes that must be ticked for each of these horses, and that is attitude and athleticism. When buying older, tried horses from Europe, my husband, Rob, does the form and careful analytics on their past races, so let’s concentrate on buying yearlings. Two of my last three Golden Slipper winners were bought from public auction and both were by stallions that many would say cannot throw an early two-year-old type. I saw something in both Vancouver and Pierro, irrespective of the fact that Medaglia D’Oro and Lonhro are both known by most for producing later maturing types. Both colts had terrific dispositions, athleticism, lovely fluid strides, good bone for bulk, balance, strong shoulders and hindquarters. My Golden Slipper horses have all stood up and identified themselves prior to the first two-year-old trials in September and each has just caught the ball and thrown it straight back. It’s a bit like a precocious child at school.

I truly couldn’t be happier with this year’s crop of yearlings. I purchased colts and fillies by Fastnet Rock, Redoute’s Choice, Snitzel, I Am Invincible, Sebring, More Than Ready, High Chaparral, Savabeel, So You Think, Stratum, Foxwedge, Al Maher and many more. Each yearling has been broken in here at my stables at Randwick under my watchful eye by the most terrific horseman and breaker, Ryan Pendergast. My yearlings have such a head start over others because in their very first preparation when they are broken in, they experience all the sights of Randwick, rubbing shoulders with the older horses out in the middle of the track by the trainers’ tower. When a horse is broken in on a farm, they can take a large step backwards when entering a training stable for their next preparation, as it can be quite daunting. By this stage my yearlings are out-and-out professionals, completing some pacework, jumping out of the gates on the grass and getting on with the job. This group could be the most exciting yet and I am convinced that the 2016 Golden Slipper winner is amongst them. See you in the Winner’s Circle.
 

This article first appeared in a previous edition of Equestrian Life.

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