Page 48 - 8 February 2013

46 SPEEDHORSE, February 8, 2013
You’ve heard the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” Usually it means that you may realize your dream, but with unintended—and sometimes undesired—consequences.
Price, she was in foal to the Mr Jess Perry son Gold Medal Jess, and foaled Miss Southern Jess in 2008. That filly won the Gold Rush Stakes at Remington Park in 2011 and set a track record for 100 yards.
be excited about marketing. Southern Price’s future with him is sealed, but he’s still working on firming up his second and possibly a third choice.
In the case of Missouri breeder Sam Green, the realization of his dream was almost accidental, but totally desirable. By embracing an opportunity, seeking expert advice, and applying his natural analytical abilities, Green has developed his breeding program from scratch in just a few years, and has already produced some winning horses.
“According to my trainer Bill, jockey G.R. Carter said Miss Southern Jess was the fastest horse he’d ever ridden at 100 yards,” Green said.
A fan of Feature Mr Jess horses, Green counts A Priceless Gal as a broodmare candidate. Also among the possibilities is Sweet Jessica James (Mr Jess Perry-Sign
NEVER OWNED A HORSE
Green’s second Southern Price baby was the Feature Mr Jess colt Priceless Feature, foaled in 2009. Although the gelding was his barn favorite, Green sold him at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale—a bargain
at $30,000. The gelding went on to win the Grade 2 Heritage Place Derby and has earned over $375,000 for owner Ed Melzer.
As the owner of a real estate com-
pany in Monett, Missouri, Sam casually mentioned to a horse-owning client in 2007 that he’d always dreamed of having racehorses someday. Little did he know that a couple years later, that client would call him back to tell him about someone she knew who was scaling back and selling some well-bred stock.
a full sister to Golden State Derby-G1 second-place finisher Do You Do Corona.
“I’d never owned a horse in my life,” said Green. But he went to look, bought a couple mares and started raising babies.
TURNING A PROFIT
“I really didn’t know what I was doing,” he added, “but after I’d spent some hard-earned money, I started researching.”
“I texted Ed and said we were coming to the finals because he could win it,” Green added. “My wife, Becky, and youngest son, Tyler, and his girlfriend and I drove over. At 71 years of age, Roy Brooks was on him and he won that race by half a nose in a photo finish. He came from behind to win it and the place went crazy! That’s probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me so far in the horse business!”
The icing on Green’s cake would be to see his racing endeavor turn from striving toward profitability to being profitable. “The biggest challenge of the racehorse business is the money part of it all,” he said. “So much goes out, but I’m hoping to overcome the investment I’ve made.”
LAST-MINUTE BUY
Green spent two to three hours every night studying his newfound passion, and in the process, he got to know Rob Dunkle of Joplin, Missouri, and Oklahomans Joel Pierce of Sallisaw and Phillip Stewart of Norman. Green credits the three men and his trainer, Guillermo “Bill” Valdivia with providing
the advice and guidance that kept him from making some big (read: costly) mistakes.
If results are proportional to effort expended, then Green has an above- average chance of long-term success in the racing industry.
His associates describe Green as a man who likes to study out his options and analyze the costs and benefits of any deci- sions he makes. Although that diligence has paid off, it almost cost him his best- producing mare, Southern Price.
Green might have revised that opinion on Dec. 30, 2012, when Ms Southern Dynasty scored an upset victory in the $176,590 Hialeah Lassie Futurity at Hialeah Park. After selling Priceless Feature, Green kept Southern Price’s 2010 filly, Ms Southern Dynasty, by FDD Dynasty. Making her first appearance in a stakes race, Ms Southern Dynasty went wire to wire to win the Lassie Futurity by three-quarters of a length.
“To be in the horse business, you have to like horses and have perseverance,” said Dunkle. “Sam likes the horses, and when he gets interested in something, he strives to do well and has a lot of perseverance. That’s also why he’s been successful in his and his wife Becky’s real estate business.”
Joel Pierce, who owns the stallions Okey Dokey Dale and Jonathan Perry, had sold the Corona Cartel mare, Southern Price, to a woman who decided she didn’t want her, so he brought her back home and offered her to Green. Green started his normal careful analysis, but when it came time for the Heritage Place Sale, he hadn’t yet made a decision. Pierce loaded her up and headed for the sale.
“Time froze for a second,” said Green, who watched the race from his home in Missouri. “Our living room was like an explosion of excitement. It was an amazing twenty seconds.
The real estate business also developed Green’s nose for value. Phillip Stewart, farm manager at Bob Moore Farms, said, “Sam doesn’t play at the top level as far as buying horses, but he’s a very good negotiator and wants the highest quality his money can buy.”
“He took so long to decide that I had the mare halfway to Oklahoma when he finally committed!” Pierce said, smiling. “I turned around and brought her home again.”
“This is the biggest win I’ve had,” he added. “I hope someone can read my story and think about giving the industry a try. I own only two mares and have six horses in training. If other people can understand you can achieve success in the business without having to own a lot of horses, maybe they will be willing to pursue it like I have.”
“I think what it comes down to,” Green said, “is whatever you work at all day long is what you’ll become. Sixteen years ago, starting out in the real estate business, Becky and I started from scratch. We worked at it all day long, seven days a week, for years and built a very nice busi- ness. I’m striving to do the same thing in the horse business: learning from people
I respect in the industry and putting
their knowledge to work in my own small way. I feel confident that I’m going to get there—and have fun doing it!”
Green’s decision turned out to be a good one. When he bought Southern
Green’s goal is to have two or three really good mares whose offspring he can
Within a couple of weeks, Green accepted an offer he couldn’t turn down for the mare.
It Sweet, The Signature), a three-quarter sister to One Sweet Jess.
HOMEBRED SUCCESS
Green also has three or four good horses in training with Valdivia: Ms Southern Dynasty and Miss Southern DD, both Southern Price daughters he thinks could become good broodmares later, and another Corona Cartel filly, Do You Love Lorona,
“In the trials, he started and sort of stumbled,” Green said of Priceless Feature’s Heritage Place Derby trial run. “He was like two lengths behind before he ever started, and he came back and won.
He also bought Dreamnwideopen, a three-quarter sister to Heartswideopen, from Rob Dunkle of Sunflower Supply Co. as a weanling. “Her name sort of exemplifies what I’m doing,” Green said. “I’m really rooting for her.”
SCOUTING GOOD MARES