eddie woods
Among the MANY changes made to this year’s twoyear-old sales, Fasig-Tipton moved its Select Sale from Calder racecourse to Palm Meadows Training Center. “Fasig-Tipton has been holding the premier sale of two-year-olds in South Florida for over 50 years,” said Boyd Browning, president of Fasig-Tipton. “We are thrilled to begin this new phase at Palm Meadows, which many consider to be the finest training facility in North America. The track [a popular dirt surface], the barns and sales area enable us to showcase the quality two-year-olds we have put together for this catalogue.” Consignor Eddie Woods dismissed the dismal statistics of the sale, in which only a third of the horses catalogued sold. “The first sale was a boutique sale, so it’s difficult to gauge, but it was a pretty good feeling and there has been a more upbeat atmosphere around the whole country. Last year, we didn’t spend more but we bought with confidence. If you stay away from the top end, it’s easier to buy,” he said. Barry and Shari Eisaman sold the OBS March sale topper – a colt by Flatter (a brother to 2010 leading freshman sire Congrats) out of the Quiet American mare Silence Please – to Bob Baffert and Kaleem Shah for $925,000. “The market gets much more selective each year. Buyers in this market want it all – performance, pedigree, conformation. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s created a drastically different market than what we once had,” said Barry Eisaman of a market which has made the chances of a sale producing several seven-figure individuals highly unlikely. Proven sires held their own, but the excitement was generated by freshman sires – Scat Daddy, Bernardini and Street Sense. Carrie Brogden, who sold a $400,000 Scat Daddy colt to K.K. Eishindo, was particularly enthused by his stock. “I loved the Scat Daddies we had. He throws the bigger hip – he throws the hip he has, rather than the hip Johannesburg had, so he has more of a dirt feel to him. Every single one we’ve dealt with has had very good vetting and great brains. I hope he becomes a special horse,” she said. Combining the OBS Select February sale with the March Sale made for a more solid middle market as buyers for all levels showed up, resulting in a buyback rate that dropped from 29 per cent to 24 per cent. Buyers and consignors alike were pleased with the new format, which economically makes more sense and OBS general manager Tom Ventura indicated would remain in place for the foreseeable future. Overall, 244 individuals sold for an aggregate of $25, 563,000, at an average that dropped one per cent to $104,786 and a median that fell seven per cent to $70,000.
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The best thing about working with Eddie is that he is blunt and honest in his opinion about a horse. If it’s good, he’ll tell you, and if it’s bad, he’ll tell you that, too. He sells as many off his opinion coarseness and that head,” he outlines. “But they have to have that quality to them. If you are looking for a sprinter, they have to have that hip, the good shoulder, and they won’t look like the grass horse, but they will have a similar quality to them.” For a time he partnered with Michael McMahon in order to purchase better yearlings directed toward the select twoyear-old in training sales in the spring. The partnership operated as Saratoga Stable, LLC through 2010, but that ended when McMahon chose to concentrate on weanlings. “The partnership with Mike helped us access nice horses,” admits Woods. “It wasn’t terribly profitable, but we were able to get more nice horses. The last couple of years I’ve worked with Pete Bradley, this will be our third year together. I’m happy with the stock we have.” Lexington-based bloodstock agent Bradley is particular about whom he works with, maintaining relationships for many years with horsemen he respects. He says there are “plenty of good horsemen pinhooking” but rates Eddie Woods and Nick de Meric “in the top three.” For years he sent horses he purchased mainly to de Meric, but in the last couple of years Woods has been buying horses with him, usually about eight to 10 yearlings that Woods will then train and sell as juveniles. “We have the same thoughts on horses and so it evolved that we would buy some together,” explains Bradley. “We split up to look at horses, then compare notes. When he started investing, I sent them to him to be trained. I still send other horses from other clients to Nick. “From a business standpoint we are very much in agreement. One thing about Eddie is he won’t overtrain or abuse a horse in order to get it sold. We are on the same wavelength to sell the product.” Woods’s patience, his philosophy of taking his time with a horse, regardless of the
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What they are saying at the US horses-in-training sales
Business partner Pete Bradley
subsequent ability to get it into a two-yearold sale or not, has marked him out among horsemen as a consignor and trainer whose horses do not peak in early spring. His horses give a glimpse of the potential, but there is always more to come with a Woods horse. “When I get a horse from him, it’s very sound,” says Baffert. “He doesn’t burn them up getting them to the sale.” Woods is not simply lucky, but has achieved his success with patience, skill and directness. Bradley summed him up. “The best thing about working with Eddie is that he is blunt and honest in his opinion about a horse. If it’s good, he’ll tell you, and if it’s bad, he’ll tell you that, too. He sells as many off his opinion and reputation as anyone in the business.”