SIM Magic – Last chances to breed with an open mare

With only 2 weeks of racing remaining in the 2008 season, now is the last chance to breed a 2008 2yo, many people may say, well it turns 3 so quick, I wait till January to get me a new baby, but wait “not so fast”. Breeding in December has some advantages, you can often get top sires at a decent prize later in the week, as many people play the waiting game for January, plus there are still some decent open mares out there.

First let me explain open mare, until October only those that owned a mare at any time during the sim years have the chance to breed to a mare, but once it is october, those not bred become open to the sim, and as by now many of those open mares have been bred, there are still some decent mares out there, that could be yours during the last 2 sim weeks of 2008.

What inspired me to this article was the breeding of Stormy Rattle I got this week, a Storm Cat x Affirmed Mare, that had not been used 2008, and that I was able to match with Ghostzapper on Thursday Morning for 963 points, well, come early January, you’ll likely not get a Ghostzapper x Storm Cat at all, unless you will be ready to spent 1500 BP or even more, or be lucky in the clickfest, so I reckon this a very good value.

What is important, when using an open mare?

Well, first of all, you can look at the racing results of the open mare, but those are not really a good measurement of her success as a mare, from my point of view, the breeding and the results of already bred progeny are a much better indicator, first of all, the Sire and the Dam Sire should be top level, take a look at the Dam Sire Stats via the Sire Stats, when deciding, if a Open Mare should be used, plus if the Mare has been used in previous years, take a look, how these fared, if one or two have gone on to win stakes or even Graded Stakes, you have found a valueable mare. And then it is time to decide on a sire to use.

Of course choosing a sire depends on availability and BP or credits you have. If you want one of the Top 20 sires, it’s likely you’ll have to be there for the clickfest, if you try searching a lesser known sire, use the Dam Sire Stats and then try to find working combinations with that dam sire to choose a sire. Something that worked earlier is likely to work again, of course you could breed a full sister or brother to one of the earlier progeny, for example if your Mare produced a Graded winner in 2006 being bred to Kingmambo, try to get Kingmambo again.

Here are some open mares(as of Sunday 12/14 8:00 am EST):

WOODEN STATE  by WOODMAN

$175K, 28r, 5w – GP

Woodman x Alleged, Woodman scored 7.1% SW and 1.6% GW as a Dam Sire in the last 5 years, used as a Dam Sire he produced 14 Graded Winners in the last 5 years.

Best Progeny is 2004 SQUALLFLY'S WOODY crossed with Summer Squall the horse became a stakes winner, and won 6 races for a total of $199K.

NURSE STORM  by RAHY

$200K, 39r, 7w -3 SW, Clm

Rahy x Deputy Minister, Rahy scored 8.3% SW and 1.0% GW as a Dam Sire, he produced 8 Graded Winners in the last 5 years.

So far Nurse Storms Progeny has disappointed all the way, but I like the lines, and 2007 bred with Storm Cat the result VIVE(KY) seems ok, she has 1 win in 5 races, and seems a late bloomer.

HER STORMS  by STORM CAT

$280K, 100r, 10w -1 SW, Clm

Storm Cat x Never Tabled, Storm Cat scored 15.2% SW and 3.8% GW, he produced 89 Graded Winners in the last 5 years.

You likely can’t go wrong with a Storm Cat Mare, her progeny so far is average, 2004 Strom in Indy was Stakes Placed and won 2 Races for a total of $132K.

FRESH BOOM  by FORTY NINER

$174K, 30r, 9w – SP

Forty Niner x Auction Ring, Forty Niner scored 15.5% SW and 2.4% GW, he produced 40 Graded Winners in the last 5 years.

Fresh Boom already produced 2 stakes winners, 2004 Spinning Nines won 8 Races so far for a total of $428K, 2006 Tiz Fresh won 5 races for a total of $144K, both are still active.

CLEM'S MOUNT  by MOUNTAIN CAT

$153K, 24r, 7w -1 SW, Clm

Mountain Cat x Lyphard, Mountain Cat scored 6.6% SW and 0.4 GW, he produced 1 Graded Winner in the last 5 years.

Although the stats for Mountain Cat don’t look that great, with Lyphard in the Dam Sire slot I’d give the Mare a try, she so far has not been bred at all, so a black spot and one to hope for, I’d go for Silver Deputy as a sire, he already has 2 SW in combo with Mountain Cat.

CAT CALL  by STORM CAT

$139K, 40r, 5w -1 SW

Storm Cat x Sadler’s Wells, another Storm Cat, as we saw earlier his stats as a Dam Sire are great, and in combo with Sadler’s Wells, this simply has to work, so far the horse hasn’t produced a good progeny, but the sires used I think have not fit so far, try a breeding on the turf side, Gone West or Danehill Dancer may be nice fits.

STAMPING FOR SLEW  by FORTY NINER

$334K, 46r, 10w - GP,3 SW, Clm

Forty Niner x Slew the Bridge, another Forty Niner, well, she likely is a little worse than Fresh Boom, but her progeny showed some life, with two Stakes Placed horses, best so far was 2003 Forty Awards, winning 9 races for $133K, I think bred with a top sire, this mare can produce much better.

 OUR STRATOSPHERE  by STRAVINSKY

$314K, 21r, 4w - GP,3 SW

Stravinsky x Seeking the Gold, Stravinsky only has a 2.9% SW as a Dam Sire, but I like the lines with Seeking the Gold, and the progeny has shown some life, 2006 Bells Beach is a nice ALW horse with 4 wins and a $65K total.

MATCHING A LA ASH(IRE)  by BLACK TIE AFFAIR(IRE)

$618K, 48r, 4w - GP,1 SW

Black Tie Affair x Bucksplasher, Black tie Affair, only at 4.2% and 1 Graded Winner, nevertheless this horse seems to have good qualities as a Mare, she produced 2 Graded Placed horses, and still active 2005 Ben is a late bloomer, still very competitive in Stakes Races.

BINGO CAT  by STORM CAT

$259K, 39r, 7w -2 SW

Storm Cat x Cannonade, another Storm Cat, and this one has nice progeny, 2001 Rosella became a Graded Winner, 2004 Swat Cat is still active at 4 wins for $125K.

SECOND CARSON  by CARSON CITY

$222K, 36r, 6w -2 SW

Carson City x Foolish Pleasure, Carson City has 7.3% SW and 1.3% GW, with a total of 5 Graded winners the last 5 years as a Dam Sire.

Second Carson provided 2004 Green City going on to win 11 for $262K, becoming classified as a Stakes winner, 2007 Shot in the Arm just broke her maiden, and could still be a late bloomer.

ALYWITHIN QUE  by RAINBOW QUEST

  $135K, 19r, 5w -1 SW, Clm

Rainbow Quest x Alydar, Rainbow Quest produced 7.1% SW and 1.7% Graded Winners, with a total of 7 Graded Winners as a Dam Sire, Alywithin Que already produced 2 Stakes Winners, in 2007 she was not used, I’d go for her with a top sire.

Ok, those 13 mares should give you a good idea, of whats still left, there are tons more good breeding stock out there, so instead of playing the waiting game for 2009, perhaps get yourself a great horse at the end of 2008.