The Worst Broodmare in the Sim

Is Bar K Jessica the worst broodmare in the sim?

Not so long ago, there was a message board thread headed “Retired mare breeding standards”. It created a degree of discussion, and one of the sim’s most highly respected analysts, Morgan (aka knightmare) contributed a reply, from which the following paragraph is taken:

Now there is a retired mare named Bar K Jessica with a stellar pedigree of Storm Cat X Seattle Slew X Halo. She never won was 0 for 27 on the track never ran a speed figure faster than 72. She has been bred 4 times with sires like Gulch, Smart Strike, Silver Deputy and Forest Camp. Those runners are not completely horrible but when paying 400+ credits or BPs for the breeding and you get a solid claimer you might be a little disappointed. In fact her four runners combined have 106 career races with 9 wins only two are allowance wins.

As a part owner of Bar K Jessica, and the breeder of her four offspring, that set me to wondering if she would qualify as the sim’s worst broodmare, at least from a perspective of value. She certainly has not lived up to her bloodlines, either as a racehorse, or to date as a broodmare, but she’s the foundation mare of a minor (if as yet unsuccessful) dynasty, and this article is her fifteen minutes of fame.

On September 22, 2001, bredtasell put in a claim for a well bred underperforming three year old filly named Bar K Jessica, with the possible intention of using her blood in the future. She’d had 20 starts for a couple of seconds, and as a racehorse was not worth the two thousand dollar claiming price. From memory, in those days there was no breeding point cost attached to claims under 5k (or was it 10k?), so there wasn’t really much to lose, except  perhaps the earnings gained from better utilizing the stall in the barn. There was no great attachment to the filly, as in three of her four further runs in that season, she raced for a tag, coming back home each time. In 2002 she raced just twice in maidens, returning the impressive speed ratings of 44 and 41. Given one start at five, she managed a 43 and was thereby retired to begin her inglorious stud career

Sent to Gulch, her first foal was a filly named Bredto Reign. Here was a far superior race filly. Taking a dozen starts to break her maiden (albeit with four seconds and a third along the way), she went on to have 36 career starts, winning one more minor race and banking 75k.

Kaye Too came next, following an appointment with Smart Strike, and she also proved to be at best average, winning two from thirty, but at least earning enough for a visit to the photographer. As with her older half sister, she never raced for a tag, her trainer being the first to own up to becoming far too attached to his horses.

The following year she went to Silver Deputy, and produced Corsair. By this time it was slowly dawning on the stubborn breeder, that the family wasn’t exactly firing, and that there was virtually no chance of this colt ever undergoing the dreaded gender altering operation, at least whilst still under this ownership. Corsair took eight starts to salute in his maiden and was given a dozen chances (11 too many?) before being dropped for a low tag. He came back to the fold immediately via an interstable claim (Will I never learn?). At least masquerading as iluka, I had enough sense to race him where he belongs, and he collected breeding points in all eight starts, before being claimed by the Murray1 conglomerate, where he still plods along today.

Attempt four sees us knocking on the door of Forest Camp’s shed, and the result is the now three year old Alegro. The patience has worn thin by now, but it still takes five failures before he races for a maiden claimer tag, winning immediately when slotted in at the right level. He’s showing a glimpse of ability, bouncing between claimers and starters, and to date he’s maintained the progeny average of a pair of wins, while nobody has shown much interest in securing him from the bredtasell yard.

How has this exciting dynasty progressed? I believe the jury is still out, as we begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Bred to Reign has produced Posie, by Pleasant Tap (the gene pool regressing noticeably). She’s on her fourth trainer at the moment, but is a last start winner with a 96 speed figure, so perhaps there’s still hope.

Kaye Too went to Friends Lake (a sire I believe we’ll hear a bit more about IRL) for her first meeting, and Court Lady was the result. Clearly nobody has informed her of the dearth of ability on the tree, as she’s setting a precedent for the family in winning her first and only two appearances thus far.

Has the Bar K Jessica saga been as disappointing as has been suggested? Like any positive owner / trainer, I’ll put on an affirmative spin wherever possible, rationalizing my extravagances in any way I can. So let’s look at the costs:

Bar K Jessica cost 2000 sim dollars and perhaps 4 breeding points

Bredto Reign cost 423 BP’s

Kaye Too cost 342 BP’s

Corsair Cost 433 BP’s

Alegro Cost 311 BP’s

Posie cost 73 BP’s

Court Lady cost 79 credits

A family of seven for 1661 (or 1665) breeding units. That’s probably cheaper most of them would have cost individually, as early week scratchbreds.

Wasted? Perhaps, but racing is a game for optimists. At this stage Kaye Too is virtually guaranteed a trip to a more high profile sire next season, while her daughter Court Lady is the reason most trainers get out of bed in the morning – the two year old with potential.

Is Bar K Jessica the worst broodmare in the sim? I’ll let you decide.