Nowhere on the planet are there more horse stories generated than in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and that came to light again this past weekend.
Twin B Joe Fresh won an $80,000 leg of the Kentucky Championship Series at the Red Mile on Sunday. The time was 1:48.4…not bad for a two-year-old pacing filly (a fifth of a second off the speed record) but the back story on this goes to Thursday, November 7, 2019 late in the day at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex.
Hip #1250 was an unraced three-year-old daughter of Captain Treacherous selling in foal to Roll With Joe. Nothing special and appeared to be a victim of the annual purging Brittany Farms does each year.
Enter Twinbrook Farms. The Rob/Tammy McNiven family was looking to add to its broodmare bank back in Embro, Ontario. Farm manager/daughter Jenna tells the tale best.
“We actually did have her marked and while her first dam was a bit of a turnoff in terms of production it was the Three Diamonds family and she was a Captain Treacherous. But there was another mare in the sale, a Western Ideal filly we liked and were really taken with. My Dad and I have a habit of falling in love with horses”, she notes.
“Anyway we separated and I was walking by the Preferred Equine consignment when Fresh Breeze was out getting ready for the ring. In fact, she was the next one to go and she just stopped me in my tracks with her looks. She was a beauty. I quickly called my parents and they came right over where we had a super quick discussion. Our goal was not in foal mares but Dad agreed she had the looks and put one maybe two bids and we had her for US $21,000”.
She explained the farm simply does not have the firepower to pursue to high powered breeding prospects so they are not afraid to pursue unarmed fillies a strategy some people dismiss.
”Right away we were happy with the price and then we had a few people comment to us that they though she was a very good buy. That aside at $21,000 if it did not work out we were not going to get hurt too badly so we were very pleased”.
The fact the mare was in foal to Roll With Joe was not the silver lining in the haystack so to speak. That sire has had very modest success and the family figured a resulting foal might bring $20,000-$30,000. But it was the future offspring that they believed offered the most potential.
“Later on we did call Brittany Farms and ask about her. What we got is that she just wasn’t very athletic looking and I’m not even sure if they tried racing her. She does have a problem with her stifles locking which came to light when she foaled and had trouble getting up”.
When Joe Fresh was born the family was quite happy with the result. Jenna termed her a nice foal that grew into a big, wide yearling. In fact she has evolved into a big power filly.
“She got very little attention from Ontario buyers because she was New York sired but at the sale there was a bit of a buzz about her with the right people looking. We began to think she now qualified as a really, nice individual that would go beyond our expected figure of $30,000”.
At $65,000 the buyer was New Jersey horseman Chris Ryder who many believe to be the most underrated selector of yearlings in the game.
“As far as we were concerned that was a huge plus because we love the way Chris manages his horses. My Mom regularly spoke with Chris’ wife and in the winter there was even an inquiry about us selling the mare but that was not in the cards. We had her Bettors Delight three-quarter sister which we will sell in Harrisburg this year and knew we had something here”.
Twin B Joe Fresh has over $100,000 to date from just five starts and now ranks among the top fillies in the game. Fast times do not impress this writer but class does and this filly looks the part. The only chance she will race in Canada could be the Breeders Crown the end of October at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The farm owns a share of Bettors Delight and used that a second time with Fresh Breeze who now has a Bettors Delight colt at side. She is in foal to Perfect Sting.
“It’s all a little bit like the Bulldog Hanover story. Why Fresh Breeze was largely ignored no one knows. Could we get that lucky again? I’d hate to bet on it. What are the odds that I would be walking by just when she was getting ready to go in the ring? Those are stories you just cannot make up”.
As long as racing has existed the one constant has been people’s constant lament about trying to find value for money when it comes to finding horses. Whether it be yearling buyer, racehorse owner or breeder it is a familiar whine. No one is saying it is easy but every year people do it.
Twinbrook Farms did it in this instance as did trainer Jack Darling with the purchase of Bulldog Hanover one day earlier. Value is out there for sure but one has to find it.
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