“Do you think we should make an offer?”
“Maybe, when Capp is finished.” The men watched as Capp mounted each horse bareback and gently checked their gate and response to commands.
“Could either be pregnant?” Wil asked Blevens.
“Nope, they’re fertile, proven but not currently pregnant.”
When Capp finished his examinations, he put his hands high in the air, signaling that he was excited. “They are good. Beautiful and sound. The one mare has a well-developed chest, good for passing on muscle strength to her foals. The other wanted me to run her. She was ready to race.”
The next stop was the yearling field. There were ten colts and fillies running and playing, rolling in the wet bluegrass. When Blevens pointed out the yearlings belonging to the two bay mares, Wil and Capp could tell they were strong youngsters—playful, curious, and intelligent.
“I would like a yearling. Would you consider letting go of one?” asked James.
“Maybe, we have one colt. He has a good pedigree but appears small. Could be genetic, could be he isn’t thriving. Seen it before and then the yearling makes great strides in his second year. He’s the small bay near the rail. We’d be willing to sell him, if you’re willing to take a chance.”
James was thinking hard, counting how much money he wanted to drop here at Idle Hour Farm. The yearling began running and playing with the others in the field. Throwing his head, lifting his front legs high, he looked like there was racehorse in his blood.
“James, I think we should consider the two broodmares,” Wil said.
“How much do you think for the two, Wil?” James asked.
“Let’s wait. Let’s see if they have a stallion we like. We can ask them for a bundle price.”
“I want the colt for Maizie.”
“Well, you’re talking about two broodmares, a yearling, and a stud stallion. I sense they want to get rid of a few horses. We would be taking a risk with the yearling,” suggested Wil.
“No risk with the yearling. It’ll be Maizie’s horse,” said James.
The six men moved on to the stallion holding field, some distance from the broodmares and the yearlings. Grazing in the sun stood three stallions. “There is only one stallion here for sale. He was on the racetrack until he was six years old and is a proven stud. He has sired twenty foals here at the farm. He’s seven now. He has at least ten years left, maybe fifteen, to breed. And he’s a beauty. Black as the ace of spades. We called him Black Ace on the track,” said Blevens.
“May I check him out? Has he been ridden?”
“Yes, the colonel likes to keep his studs exercised. They stay more fertile that way, he believes.”
“May I ride him?” asked Capp.
“Think you better view this boy from the ground. You can use a lunge line in the corral. Just a precaution. He’s fiery with strangers,” admitted Clyde. “He threw his rider during a workout last week. Poor guy broke a few ribs.”
So as before, Capp went through his list of things to look for in a fine thoroughbred and worked him from the ground with a lunge line. After the workout Capp was satisfied, gave a thumbs-up, and handed the lunge line back to Clyde. The three men were ready to bargain. James, Wil, and Capp, who were generally excited, would play their hand carefully. Buying four horses from Idle Hour Farm was an exhilarating feeling. James was prepared to pay a fair price. Knowing that these horses were more proven than the horses he had claimed at Churchill Downs, he wondered how much these high-quality thoroughbreds would cost.
Dale held the door as the men entered the Idle Hour office located near the north side of the large barn. There were several desks and a large conference table with comfortable chairs. It was around this table the six men sat. Richmond Blevens quickly offered coffee and set cups in front of each member of the Glidewell team.
Blevens began his discussion as he passed pedigree charts around the table. “I preselected the horses I showed you based on information Wil had given me. You can see as you look at the pedigrees that each horse has champions in their bloodlines. We vary our bloodlines by bringing animals in from other farms to further improve our stock. There is no inbreeding here at Idle Farm. Our horses are not only sound in structure, but also healthy and well cared for. We breed for conformation, speed, demeanor, and match complementary strengths. There is no guarantee in breeding that you’ll get a champion, but your chances are better with our horses.”
“What do you want for the whole lot?” said James.
“That’s two broodmares, one stallion, and a foal?”
“Yes,” confirmed Wil.
“The broodmares are going to run about five grand apiece. Their sire is Blue Larkspur, horse of the year in 1930.” James perked up at the mention of Blue Larkspur, the racehorse that kindled his interest in thoroughbred horses. “I know Blue Larkspur. Saw him win at Arlington in 1929. Thrilling to experience.”
“Yep, we are proud to call that horse our own,” said Richmond Blevens. “The stallion you chose gets about five hundred dollars as a stud fee.” Blevens slowed down to do the math in his head. “He did thirty mares last year and could have done more. He’d be a moneymaker for your ranch, fifteen to twenty thousand dollars a year. I think his value at seven years old is fifteen thousand. And the yearling is developing. Hard to tell what he’ll be able to do. You can take the four horses for twenty-five thousand. I’ll throw in the colt.”
Wil, James, and Capp were quiet. James was tapping his pencil on the tabletop, taking his time. “I’ll pay twenty thousand for the lot with the understanding that our stallion will earn us money for five more years. Am I right to figure that way?” James asked,
