Mills said if a mare has had six or seven foals to race and hasn’t thrown a smart horse, he will give that a miss. “I go in with a shortlist. I go and check the ones I like via pedigrees two or three times to narrow down the list.” Mills said a yearling’s physical appearance and how it walked was paramount for him. “For me, the most important thing for a horse is how it walks. The vast majority of good horses walk well. “I’m also really big on a horse’s attitude. Not necessarily that they are calm or really quiet. What I’m looking for is a certain level of confidence in a horse in that environment. They are herd animals and I’m looking for a horse to show dominant signs.” Mills said he looked for a large girth on a yearling so there was plenty of heart and lung room. “I like to narrow them down and narrow them down again. Once I’ve seen them five or six times, I’ll then go and do some more pedigree research. “I’ll go and check what the other fillies in the family are up to. If they are being mated to Zoustar, Fastnet Rock, I Am Invincible that will also influence me. “By the time we are bidding, I want to have seen them enough times to know I’m bidding on the right horse.” Mills said once the sales began it was all about sliding door moments on the auction floor. “Do you get beaten with the first one you bid for on your list or do you get the fifth one? It’s also about value.”
Images courtesy of Inglis
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