Cran Dalgety has selected and purchased an impressive line up of Group One winners and the Kentuckiana Lodge trainer has shared his insights into the process ahead of the 2023 National Yearling Sales.
Cran is in the midst of his annual yearling sale selection journey with the sales less than a month away.
The aim every year is to select a racetrack star of the future, the next Krug, Republican Party, Bit Of A Legend or Smiling Shard.
For Cran, selecting a yearling mixes both art and science.
From a scientific point of view, a yearling must have an immaculate confirmation and clearly be strongly developed.
“Constitution is very important, in terms of a horse’s nutritional background,” Dalgety said.
“A yearling needs to present like it has had every opportunity in the world.”
“The horse can’t have taken a backwards step at any stage, because it immediately puts them on the back foot.”
“We target horses that are very correct in the way they are put together and its needs to show through that they have thrived throughout their lives.”
“When you consider what is required of the modern-day athlete, especially with the times they have to be capable of, it’s not hard to see why.”
"A horse like Republican Party is typical of that."
"He was born to be a racehorse with his conformation and you could tell he had never missed a beat in terms of his physical development and his nutrition."
Cran has been selecting yearlings for more than 30 years and the crop offered in 2023 will be vastly different to what was for sale in 1993.
The advancement of the standardbred breed and the improved presentation of yearlings means Cran has to be a harsh judge.
“You have to have a very discerning eye and be very critical of the horse.”
“The modern yearling has all of the polish and the presentation is exceptional.”
“For that reason you have to critique them very harshly.”
“If you can critique a horse harshly and it stands up to it, you can put your hand up with confidence.”
While much of the talk about top priced yearlings at the sale each year is about their physical attributes, little is heard about the horse’s top-two inches.
A yearling’s nature and personality is something that Cran puts plenty of stock into.
At the 2019 sales, Cran saw a magnificent physical specimen as well as an intelligent type in Krug.
“His top two inches were 12 months ahead of anything else.”
“He had a wonderful temperament that was going to stand him in good stead.”
“That proved to be the case, right from breaking in time to going to the races.”
“In his age group racing he had the manners and attitude, and he was very tractable.”
“He dropped the bit and relaxed when he had to and he dug in when he needed to.”
“That carried him a very long way in his Group One wins.”
Cran had also previously found a horse with the smarts to be a star in Smiling Shard.
The trainer described the pacer a one that could will himself to victory.
“He just had an incredible attitude, he was almost human,”
“I have never had a horse like him, he tried his guts out.”
“He was up and going in the Young Guns as a two-year-old and he was still going strong in the Hunter Cup and the Interdominions.”
If a yearling impresses Cran with its temperament and its physical constitution, there is only one ingredient left that will make it the perfect specimen – the pedigree page.
Simply put, the yearling must have a strong page if it is going to grab Cran’s attention.
“Certainly, the page has to have some standout about it.”
“The pedigree needs to give you confidence that you can target the elite Group One races.”
“We have families that have been good to us and we will always give them a good look because those families have the class to get to the best races.”
"Horses like Bit Of A Legend and Sugar Me fit that category, they both had great pages and they were from families we had full confidence in."
"Republican Party is another, he is a horse that captured my eye with his physical attributes and his nature but a look at his page really sealed the deal."
Pedigree comes first in Cran’s selection process as he studies the sales book as soon as it is released.
Confirmation and temperament are marked when Cran does his yearling inspections in Auckland, Christchurch and Southland before the sales.
Cran welcomes inquiries ahead of the 2023 National Yearling Sales.
Kentuckiana Lodge will be purchasing yearlings for new and existing clients.
New owners a welcome to join the run of racing a horse with Kentuckiana Lodge through a range of share option ranging from a small percentage to a majority share.
For more information, email c.dalgety@xtra.co.nz or call Cran (027-436-0667) or Chrissie (027-278-9466).
