Ecurie Wildenstein.

GRIN!

It is so difficult to quantify an operation's success when you don't know the size of it and can only guess at the budget. I didn't see the article about the Wildensteins I'm afraid but they have indeed bred some nice horses.

I wonder how good a breeder everyone would be if they had absolutely no commercial constraints. I suspect even the Aga Khan keeps the tiniest eye on breeding the next stallion that the market will support and which will therefore help pay some bills. The Wildensteins are presented as an arrogant bunch (rightly or wrongly) and if this is the case, perhaps two fingers up at the rest of us has actively aided their cause!

Not having to kowtow (is that how you spell it?) to fashion is certainly no hinderance to breeding a good horse, and all the top stallions in the world have been used along side the less trendy over the years by them to good effect too. Solid less fashionable sires that they use, they loved Lear Fan for instance didn't they, probably won't breed you a stallion prospect but they can provide you with a lovely broodmare band which are then easier to cross back in to what is current, and you don't find yourself backed into a corner.

I would love to breed purely for the track but knowing I had to sell the odd one would perhaps keep me from losing the speed in my families.

I don't know exactly how the Wildensteins have operated but they are a fan of some quite close inbreeding aren't they. I guess they like to inbreed to notable mares and they have done the same with sires too.

Your spelling of 'kowtow' is correct by the way.

Interesting article. I'm always fascinated in particular by the desirability or otherwise of inbreeding.

http://runroughshod.blogspot.com/