Should I Buy A Colt Or Filly?

Should I buy a Colt or Filly?

 This is a common question we hear from prospective owners hoping to know the perfect way to spread risk and diversify their equine portfolios.

If you ask people what their ultimate dream is because horse owners, most will likely tell you it is winning the Golden Slipper, Magic Millions, Cox Plate or Melbourne Cup.

The reality is, in Australia fillies perform outstandingly well in our greatest races.

Regal Rossa

The Golden Slipper has been won 28 times by fillies and exactly 5 times in last 10 years.

Our best Sprinter – Black Caviar is a mare and arguably our best racehorse in last 20 years (Winx) is a mare.  The Melbourne Cup was won a record 3 times by arguably our best stayer in at least 20 years (Makybe Diva). 

Winx

Probably the best Japanese racehorse to race in Australia (winning the Cox Plate) Lys Gracieux was a mare. If you are set on one of the Big 3 races in Australia, you certainly are not disadvantaged purchasing fillies. 

Lys Gracieux

On the other hand, if you are seeking residual value by the conclusion of a racing career, colts are a riskier proposition than fillies if they do not wind up as top echelon racehorses.

If a colt has to be gelded throughout their racing career (and a number of them need to be), their residual value is minimal.

It is a very tight market for stallion prospects, so if they are not gelded they need to be commercially bred and highly performed on the racetrack to attract a significant residual price tag.

But if you are fortunate enough to own a well-bred, high performing colt, it could signify a stallion bargain worth huge dollars since as the top stallions in the world are worth hundreds of millions of dollars!

Having a filly is a safer prospect for potential investors as they are more likely to have residual value as broodmares after they performed on the racetrack.

Races for fillies and mares often don’t carry as much stature as races for the boys, but a winning mare with some pedigree frequently has more value than her male counterpart with a similar race album.

Breeding is a very serious business.

A well bought and marketable filly can provide high market interest and residual value returns even with a modest racing career.

We are always on lookout for these types of fillies.

Sunlight as an example was sold for $4.2 million, Milanova $5 million, Melody Belle 2.6 million. Arcadia Queen $3.2 million.

Consider this: while there have been over 21,000 foals born in 2021 from about 33,000 mares bred, the number of active stallions stood 1,600.

The main point is if you get a racehorse, you should pretty much consider racing.

If you are looking for breeding value before they even begin training, you may become disappointed.

A good horse can change your own life and take you around the planet, and it doesn’t matter if it is a filly, a colt, or a gelding.

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