Please critique my 8 month old QH racing filly

[danwilson]

[img]

holymolyshesfast by feature mr jess

my first post so hopefully I have done it correctly. thank you for your feeback. Unfortunately, she broke her mandible 1 week after the picture. It was surgically repaired with a plate, but the damage is severe and there are questions about her ability to hold a bit. She is a little upright, but seems to have a very nice hip and substantial size. I am curious as to thoughts about her neck and the impact it would have on speed, gait, agility etc. I have a free rebreed and like her alot, but have another maiden mare that I may use the rebreed for as she is a stakes placed mare out of an all american qualifier. I am torn, because I love this filly's mom, but she was unraced. Although I have been racing 25 years, I am far from an expert. Any advice would be truly appreciated. I will ask about the broken mandible elsewhere.

[img][/img][img][/img]

[Bondama]

She doesn't look anything like a QH. What is the percentage of her TB blood? She looks like my TB mares with those long legs and tiny head.
_________________
TRINITY RANCH - Home of WF Indian Bill, Perlino stallion, dual reg. AQHA/APHA
Breeders of Fine Dilute Appendix Horses for Sport and Trail

[horsetrainer89]

No she is a QH. She has the body of the old style QH (foundation) mixed with the racing QH. She looks really cute and well put together. She does have long legs, but that's a racer for you. She looks to hve great conformation and a disposition. Now the real key to the racers is: does she have the speed, power, and endurance for racing?

[one okie gal]

She sure looks like Three Bars to me. Nothing in her lines to apologize for and should have all kinds of speed. Nice looking baby with a nice butt.

Unless that other mare had something pretty fantastic in her lines, I would breed back the same way, unless I had some reason to think there was a temperment issue or I thought there was a lack of "want to run" on the part of the mom or the product, and I can't feature that there would be.

[danwilson]

You are both accurate as she has a heavy dose of foundation QH and racing TB. Feature Mr Jess is the biggest QH I have ever seen and has incredible presence. He has to be pushing 17 hands and has the physical attributes of a QH. The dam is by a sprinting tb not used as a qh sire, but ended up as the sire do to circumstances (death of the originally contracted stallion and late in the season)

Because of the broken mandible, I received a free rebreed to Feature mr Jess. I am leaning toward using it on another mare for economic reasons, but really like this filly. Unfortunatly, she may never race, but eventually I will bring her home and probably breed her.

The biggest question I have is the angle of the neck. I am not sure if it is a trait of speed or not.

[horsetrainer89]

It looks to me that it is. The way to really tell is to see her run a little, but unfortunatly you might not be able to do that. When she moves into at least a trot(if you can even do that) and see if her moves are choppy or nice and smooth. If they are smooth, than she is fine, if they are choppy than a jockey would have a hard time staying on her so to speak.

[Dawn]

This filly has a really nice large hip and a good shoulder as well as a short back. She has size and shape to her legs and a petite, feminine face. She looks like she should be able to run. Again, her hip really looks like a runners.

I would think that a broken mandible may be aesthetically displeasing, but unless there is some obstruction to the airway, I wouldn't think it would affect her ability to run in any way.

[surprisewind]

Nice girl! Her sire is a favorite of mine. I've always liked the cross he was bred on.

I do not dislike her neck for her intended purpose. I don't love it, but I don't see it as a detriment, either. Her shoulder does look a little upright, as you say in your post, and I might consider that a more important issue, really. I've heard some trainers say it slightly limits stride length.
Other than that, she has good bone, looks to be well balanced (except for that whole growth spurt thing - I wish my colt were so big!) and has the beginnings of an excellent motor.

I'm sorry about her mandible - if she can't hold a bit to race, at least you will have a good looking, well bred broodmare.

As for rebreeding, are you going to "for sure" race the foal yourself or would you be selling (privately or at auction)? Your unraced mare clearly has a nice pedigree and a very correct yearling. Does she have any offspring of racing age? The SP mare by the All American qualifier has more commercial appeal, especially in the sales ring, if the first mare hasn't yet produced a winner. If it were me, I'd go with the possibility of a great sales page just in case I needed to sell. But that's me, and I tend to look more closely at the female family on the sales page than on the stallion.

If you don't mind, I'd love to know the pedigree on your other mare. I'm nosy Did you race her?

[danwilson]

As I said I have been doing this for 25 years and every single one looks special in my eyes. I really appreciate the feedback and help as it is hard to be objective. This is a really cool forum and I cant wait to use it in the future. The other mare I am breeding for the first time is named Love That Six, by Tres Seis out of Love That Chapelle. Tres ran second in the all american and Chapelle a troubled 6th. You can see why I am somewhat torn as I really like the Holy Moly filly out of an unraced mare. Her dam took multiple years to get in foal then aborted. This was her first foal and I have waited 10 years.

My other filly, Love That Six is a totally different filly as she is extremely athletic and quick but not overwhelminly powerful. Attahched is her 2 year old picture (now 4) and the picture of her mom. Six was stakes placed and tied Strawkins 15.29 at Sun Downs. This picture is at Sun Downs. She was 22 months old. Always race em, never had one injured that I didnt take care of regardless of cost and only sell them to those that will use them actively. Really love them and the heart they show. They are amazing.

I also have a Chicks Beduino filly out of a dash for Cash mare. I bred her Feature mr jess.
I found Chapelles picture on AQHA. I have also bred Six to FDD Dynasty via embryo transfer. [img][/img][img][/img]

[Pedigree Fanatic]

Looks like a running QH to me! I'll bet she could be a great barrel horse. She has a great big QH back end, even though it looks a little jacked up to me. They often grow into that, and I bet she'll look more balanced in a couple of years.

[surprisewind]

I can see why you're torn. Waiting so long for that foal and to face the problems you are.... you've probably got more emotionally invested than financially What do you think about being the first to race in a bosal LOL


Love That Six is pretty darn cool. I see where she went through the Ruidoso auction in 2005 and brought a tidy sum. Did you buy her back after her racing career? I have a "thing" for streakin six lines - very versatile, very sound (IMO).

If it were me.... I'd probably breed the same mare again. It's too bad, I guess, that you can't wait long enough to see if your filly will race. But you obviously wanted that cross and put thought into it, you know basically what the result will look like, and then you'll have one of that cross that can race for you if you keep it, or you can watch if you sell. Just my two and a half cents.

With Six's race record and a stronger female family, you can probably get a heck of a deal to any stallion you like. Again, all stuff I'm sure you know better than I!

Also, as you know, there are plenty of unraced mares that produce champions. You just have to give them time to prove themselves, to increase sales prices.

It's great that you're there for them when their careers end. We do the same...right now we've got one mare and 2 geldings toodling around the pasture, and a coming three year old colt that will never make it to the races (I think he would have been great, but you know how stuff happens...).

[danwilson]

Thanks again for the feedback pedigree fanatic and Surprisewind. I definitely can relate Surprisewind, but its the emotional ups and downs that make it fun. I bought her at Ruidos with a partner...thus the WG. We raced her at bush tracks and les bois for the fun of something different as I have raced at Los Al for 23 years. It is really fun to drink with a bunch of guys you have never met and talk horses and listen to stories. My partner is well connected and respected, so I get to talk (listen) to everyone. When I bought Six it took me a long time to tell my wife. You probably understand why. I was in the dogghouse (barn) for a long time.

I decided to breed holymoly to okie dokey fantasy and tyhink Ill use the FMJ breeding for six. It probably gives a little better shot at that big dream of the AA. Although I have never even won a stakes.

[danwilson]

This filly broke her mandible shortly after this picture and spent 12 months recovering from a 4 inch plate having been inserted to hold her jaw together. Visually, you would not notice anymore and she has begun training. They say she is cat quick and as athletic as anything in the barn. Hopefully, she doesnt experience any setbacks from the antibiotics she has taken. Thank you guys for the prior posts.