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SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HORSES
American horses to race in the United States. “They were running good horses down there for a lot cheaper purses so it helped their owners to sell them for a good price,” McAnally said. “Back when I started, we were giving $100,000 or $200,000 for them, but now we can’t match dollars with the sheikhs.” From the 25 or 30 horses he transported to California, Bayakoa (Arg) was Champion Older Female in 1988 and 1989, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998; Paseana (Arg), a 2001 Hall of Fame inductee, was Champion Older Female in 1992 and 1993; Candy Ride (Arg) won the 2003 Grade I Pacific Classic in track record time; Different (Arg) was a multiple Grade I winner; and several other horses were graded stakes winners. There is one South American horse McAnally inspected that wound up in someone else’s barn. “We almost bought Invasor,” McAnally said. “At the last minute the Craigs decided they wanted to try for a Derby horse, so we stopped the vet examination.” Ken McPeek, who bought two-time Horse of the Year Curlin as a yearling for $57,000, has successfully imported horses from the Southern Hemisphere and generally seeks younger horses that possess a nice hip, balance, a good eye,
“It’s the ones that make you stop and say, ‘Wow, this horse can run anywhere.’ That’s how it was with Hard Buck when I saw him in his stall in the Brazilian mountains” Ken McPeek decent-sized shoulder and a certain presence. Grade I winner and Group I placed Hard Buck (Arg) and Grade I victor Einstein (Brz) fit his criteria. “Good horses can come from anywhere, whether it’s Brazil, Argentina or Keeneland’s September sale,” the classicwinning trainer said. “The Thoroughbred, in general, is a hybrid and you just don’t know which one is going to have that injection of quality. It’s the ones that make you stop and say, ‘Wow, this horse can run anywhere.’ That’s how it was with Hard Buck when I saw him in his stall in the Brazilian mountains. “Einstein was technically only three when he beat older horses in the Grade I Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in 2006,” he continued. “That just shows you how special he is and I don’t know of anyone else ever buying a horse as a yearling from South America that has done that.” In McPeek’s experience, it takes about six months for most Southern Hemisphere horses to adjust but he feels the transition
might be easier on colts than fillies because their hormones don’t cycle around the seasons. “With fillies, you have to be very careful,” McPeek cautioned. “They will go through a period where they look great and then their coats might change direction. That’s because they are coming from a place where the days are longer and have more sunlight or vice versa. The colts handle it better because they don’t have to contend with breeding cycles but with both sexes, the more time you give them the better.” Like McAnally, McPeek feels the market has recently grown exponentially, making it a bit tougher to acquire South American horses. “It used to be really easy to get what we wanted for what we wanted to spend,” McPeek explained. “Now it’s very difficult to buy older horses, so I’m buying yearlings. But I am gearing down on the Southern American market because I would like more Classic winners, like Curlin.” If a horse has demonstrated class, he’s welcome to reside in Kiaran McLaughlin’s barn. “The world is a much smaller place now than it was years ago,” McLaughlin, who trained 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor, said with a laugh. “It’s much easier for a trainer to receive proven horses and I always have an empty stall for a Group I winner from anywhere. We run dirt and turf, so we are always happy to have either kind of horse.” Since Southern Hemisphere horses are often eight months younger than their Northern Hemisphere counterparts, they often have to race against older horses as three-year-olds. “Invasor came on December 8, 2005,” McLaughlin said. “He acclimated so quickly and did everything right from day one. But we pointed for the UAE Derby, because in America he would have had to run against older horses. In Dubai, it includes horses Argentinian import Invasor went on to win the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Horse of the Year title
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