1. Yearling Rating List Index
2. Yearlings to Watch for/be Wary of in 2005  (Top 30 Good Value and 40 Suspect Value buys)
3. Explanation of Sales rating system
4. Explanation of the yearling Pedigree information

The sales ratings and pedigree information provided for each yearling can be used to:

• assess runners before their debut runs
• assess the strength of a race containing mainly unraced or lightly raced 2yos.

The entire sales ratings (1,387 yearlings) are listed alphabetically by dam (horse names will be added as they become available). The listings include summaries of previous foals (with ratings, preferred distance, etc.) with links to pictures where available.

Dam groupings:-
 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M1

M2

N

O

P

Q

R

S1

S2

T

U

V

W

[x]

Y

Z

Around 100 of the yearlings were able to be identified as being sold to race abroad and have been separated out from main lists above. These yearling ratings and pedigree information as presented in the same format but in a separate list.
 

Sales to (Fr)/(It)/(De)/(Gr)/(Tr)/(Ab) =

Abroad List

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The sales rating undertaken (by B2yoR) include producing an estimate of whether the price paid is good value for the yearling as a physical specimen. At its simplest this can be seen as the number guineas paid for each unit of physical rating. This allows a simple classification of each yearling sale which can be interpreted as it being on a scale somewhere between very good to very poor value.

However the term 'value' for thoroughbred racehorses has a wide variety of influences and definitions. B2yoR is specifically interested in 2yo racing and therefore places greater emphasis on factors which will allow a yearling to be competitive as a 2yo. Other factors may lead to different views on what the value of an individual sale is.

For example, a yearling which is physically immature and whose build and geometry suggest it will need 12 furlongs or more to show any ability will score lower on the B2yoR 'value' scale. Another example would be a filly who is bought as a broodmare prospect. If such a filly costs 200,000 guineas and is a moderate to average physical specimen she is clearly poor value as a racing prospect. However if she can win a race and get an inflated rating by running in 'black-type' races then she may still be good value. If she produces yearlings which sell for similarly high prices then, in a long term view, her initial purchase was good value.

The following list gives details of 30 yearlings which B2yoR believes were good value buys at the 2004 sales. They cost between 1,000 to 36,000 guineas and all had the physical make-up to be competitive 2yos and ought to be able to rate over 70, at least, during the season.
Top 30 Good Value Buys

The following list gives details of 40 yearlings which B2yoR believes were poor value buys as prospective 2yo runners. The cost between 22,000 to 700,000 guineas but 38 of the 40 were rated below 70 at the sales. For example they were judged lesser physical specimens than the 30, mainly much cheaper yearlings, good value buys in the list above.

As a group they are likely not to perform as well as their pedigrees and high sales prices would suggest. [As an aside, B2yoR would expect a few of those on the list to perform to 70+ ratings but still be suspect value. For example if you pay 100,000 for a yearling with a '2yo' pedigree that wins a Catterick maiden and finishes the season with an official rating (OR) of 79 was it good value? (Simplify, Salisbury Plain, etc., where are you now?)]
40 Suspect Value Yearlings

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The yearling sales listed in section 1. of this page include two numerical ratings. These two ratings are :

A) "RATING" = Rating of the yearling as a physical specimen. The sales review procedure uses the "paddock review" criteria discussed in the dedicated section on this site. The yearling is rated on a scale between 50 and 90 with the lower ratings being given to the poorest physical specimens.

The use of the range between 50 and 90 has been chosen to give some alignment between the rating and the expected 'actual' performance rating of the yearling on the racecourse. This system is still developing and experience has shown that the agreement between review rating and actual performance is best in the 50-72 section of the scale.

B2yoR uses a rating of 70 as the benchmark of a yearling that is worth following as a 2yo and has a higher probability of being able to compete well in open maidens. Yearlings with ratings between 64-69 may be competitive in selling, claiming and lower quality auction races. In summary:
 

Sales Rating Range	Likely Racing Performance
50-59	Poorest physical specimens. Those rated between 50-55 are likely to be competitive only in the poorest quality races. Those rating between 55-59 may be capable of competing in selling/claiming races.
60-69	Moderate to average physical specimens. Likely to be able to achieve ratings in the 60s (low 70s at best, probably in early season). Better types should be capable of competing well in sellers, claimers, auction races and lower quality nurseries off light weights.
70-79	Above average physical specimens but not obviously superior runners. Should be capable of competing well in open maidens. Those rated 70-72 likely to be limited to low 70s ratings. Ratings 73-79 will include better types capable of achieving ratings in the 80s.
80-90	Above average and superior physical specimens. Should be capable of achieving ratings in the 80s at least. Better types will be capable of 90+ ratings and be part of the relatively small group of superior 2yo runners.

B) "FULL RATING" = Method of distinguishing between yearlings with different prospects of being effective as racehorses at 2yos. For example a yearling may receive a high rating as a physical specimen but may appear too immature to show its full ability at 2yo. Other yearlings may appear neat and acceptably athletic but be small and with limited prospects to grow and develop and receive a rating in the 60s. However this type may be able to compete well in poorly contested early season 2yo races because of their 'readiness' to race.

The "Full Rating" is the product of multiplying the physical rating by a figure assessing how effective the yearling is likely to be as a 2yo. For example, two yearlings with the same "Rating" as a physical specimen may have very different "Full Rating" figures if one is a ready-made 2yo runner and the other is not. Therefore, when using the ratings to assess the likely ability of a 2yo runner in its early runs a higher "Full Rating" is a positive sign.

The Full Ratings range between 5 to 270 with the higher figures indicating the more effective 2yos. A Full Rating above 130 is suggested as the lowest acceptable level to be able to give consideration to the yearling as competitive for some level of 2yo win.

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The table below is an example of the pedigree information provided for each yearling. In this case for the broodmare Alzianah.
 

DAM Name	Foal Summary	Foal Years	General Notes
Alzianah	6 previous foals. Half to :- 5f AW 2yo Waffles Of Amin (rtd 75),  5f 2yo+ Leozian (23k, rtd 85),  unp 5f 2yo/6f AW 3yo Patientes Virtis (14k, rrtd 30/60),  unp 6-7f AW 2yo/6f AW 3yo Voluptuous (rtd 52/64),  6f 2yo Desperate Dan (40k, rtd 90), pl 6f 2yo Flying Dancer (58k, rtd 64, HIT 16.5k);  dam 5-6f 2yo/6f 3yo (rtd 85/88)	DAM 91 =  97 WOA;  98 L;  99 PV;  00 V;  01 DD;  02 FD;

The information given in the "Foal Summary" section is :-

• Sale Price of yearling that will be a 2yo in 2005. In this case "30k" = 30,000 guineas. If the sale was outside of the UK then the appropriate currency symbol will proceed the figure (e.g. €, $, etc.)
• The ordinal number of the foal. In this case this is Alzianah's "7th" foal and summaries of her previous six foals follow..
• Relation of this foal to the previous foals, in this case the latest foal is a half brother ("1/2") to the previous foals. If he were a full brother then this would be denoted by "Full". The abbreviation "cl rel" (closely related) is used for relationships closer than half brothers, for example if the dam has visited sires who are themselves half brothers.
• The bullet point list then gives racing performance summaries of the previous foals. The name of the horse is in bold and if it is underlined then there is a link to a photograph of the horse. In this case there are links to photos of both Desperate Dan and Flying Dancer.
• The horse performance summary is split into two parts. The text before the name summarises the performance at 2yo, and later years if applicable, and the distances over which those performances have been achieved. In this case Waffles Of Amin was a winner over 5f on the all-weather as a 2yo and Leozian won over 5f at 2yo and at older ages. Note that the phrase "5f 2yo" in this context implies a winner over 5f as a 2yo. If a runner has not been a winner at a certain age then one of the abbreviations unp (unplaced), pl (placed) or unr  (unraced) will precede the distance and age. In the example above Voluptuous ran over 6 to 7 furlongs as a 2yo but was unplaced, but won over 6f as a 3yo.
• The text after the horse name starts with the horse's yearling sales price if applicable (Leozian cost 23,000gns as a yearling). The ratings achieved (B2yoR estimates) in each season are then given ("rated" is abbreviated to "rtd" or "r"). For example Waffles of Amin was rated 75 at 2yo and Leozian 85. Patientes Virtis was rated 30 at 2yo and 60 at 3yo. The ratings figures may be followed by later sale price information. In this case Flying Dancer cost 58,000gns as a yearling, was placed over 6f as a 2yo rating 64 and was then sold at the Horses In Training sales for 16,500gns at the end of his 2yo career.
• At the bottom of this section the race performance is given for the dam. Here Alzianah won over 5-6f as a 2yo rating 85 and then won over 6f as a 3yo rating 88.

For example an old dam may have produced 10 or more foals and one of these may have been a notable runner. It would then be common to read in the racing press that a 2yo making it's debut was related to the notable runner - but what use is that information? If the dam produced the notable runner as her first foal more than ten years ago and has produced moderate runners since then relating the latest runner to the notable runner is clearly misleading.

As a general rule if you look through the dams in this website or in a sales catalogue you will find it is common for a dam's career to 'tail off' after producing better runners among her earliest foals.
 

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