When purchasing a mare from America ideally you will want to maintain the same standards that you would employ when purchasing a mare in Australia.
However, avoiding certain negative conformation traits is important.
One of the key factors is avoiding lighter-boned horses. Australian horses tend to be thicker, strong-boned types, and a weak or light-boned mare can throw weak or light-boned foals, which will be negatively perceived by the market.
American mares that race on dirt tend to have a smaller hoof that is not ideal for turf success, so it’s very important that the mare has a healthy sized foot. To reduce the risk of poor hoof traits being passed onto any future progeny, we look to identify mares that have a good strong turf foot.
Another trait that is consistent with dirt horses is they tend to have a straighter hind leg, a straighter hip and straighter shoulder than we are used to in Australia with our turf breed. I prefer to avoid purchasing a mare for Australia with a pedigree that is purely geared toward success on dirt. My preference is to find some turf form and this is often reflected in the physical appearance of the mare.
Determining whether or not a mare will suit Australian conditions will always include an element of risk, however, with the correct guidance from an industry professional can ensure risk will be significantly reduced. Importantly, there are key advantages to buying American mares, with the single greatest benefit being the ability to introduce different families into the Australian market, free of oversaturated bloodlines.
There has been a change in recent years in the American racing market that’s seen an increase in popularity for turf races, over an historical preference for dirt. This comes from a combination of increased gambling revenue on turf races and the increasing evidence that dirt tracks cause more injuries than turf.
This is a major advantage for Australian buyers, as not only are we seeing more mares with turf success mentioned within their pedigree, but they’re also increasing the standard of the turf races in the US.
For additional information, check out this article in TDN AusNZ on successful American mares
“In the past two years, there have been 17 yearlings from American mares which sold for over $500,000 at the two major Australian sales, while on the track, American dams have produced seven Group 1 winners in Australia since the start of the 2016-17 season.
Russian Revolution (Snitzel – Ballet D’Smour {USA}) is the poster boy for the Australian-American hybrid, winning two Group 1s before retiring to stand at Newgate Stud Farm.”
“In America, horses run fast. It doesn’t matter whether they run six furlongs or ten furlongs. They jump out of the gates and they go really quick. When you combine that speed with our speed, it’s a good fit.” – Henry Field
The combination of a focus on speed in American racing and the ability to introduce new bloodlines into the Australian market are the two key reasons why overseas broodmare purchases should be considered.
In recent years, Boomer Bloodstock has been fortunate to purchase several broodmares for Australian-based clients looking to expand and globalise their broodmare bands. Purchases made across a range of price brackets are proof that success is possible no matter your budget.
An example of the spectrum of mare purchases include:
Blame (USA) mare Ascertain (USA), purchased in 2019 for US$40,000 (AUS$54,877).
Her page is littered with black-type winners including her own sire, a G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner with strong Danzig and Mr Prospector bloodlines. Back in Australia, she is currently in foal to Newgate Farm sire Deep Field.
More Than Ready (USA) mare Ginger N Rye (USA) purchased for US$350,000 (AUS$480,259) in 2018.
A five-time race winner including the Listed Saratoga Smart & Fancy S., she has a yearling Written Tycoon colt and is currently in foal to Snitzel.
I’m Pretty Strong (USA) (Street Cry {Ire} x Shared Account) for US$220,000 (AUS$301,968) in 2018.
Post-purchase, her half-sister Sharing (USA) won the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. A two-time race winner with impressive bloodlines, I’m Pretty Strong has a Dundeel (NZ) yearling filly.
Sweet Victory (USA) by Blame (USA), purchased in 2016 for US$400,000 (AUS$548,986).
Listed-winning dam My Mammy (USA) is the dam to 6 foals, all winners. A four-time winner including two at Listed level, Sweet Victory’s half-sister also won the G1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland post-purchase. She is the dam of retained 3YO filly Sweet Finesse (All Too Hard) trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace. She also has a Dundeel (NZ) yearling colt.
