Smarty Chuckles:

1) Silver Charm I think combined our last couple of posts; it made it more convenient for SC to attack both of us, which is OK.

2) Its kind of unfair and unrealistic to compare the Phipps operation to some of the others which are being considered. How much money has the Phipps operation spent at auction over the last few years? Do you think when they breed to a stallion that they don't own even a fractional interest in that they are reaching into their pockets? Do you think you will ever see a Phipps 2YO breeze an eighth of a mile in less than 10 seconds?

I'm sure the Phipps' are competitive folks, and would rather win than lose; I can not however think of a family which is more financially suited to losing than the Phipps'. Breeding and racing is a hobby to them. The horses and Shug and Buzz Tenney are like extended family.

In Jimmy Breslin's biography of Damon Runyon, he discusses August Belmont and August Belmont II, owner/ breeder of Man of War:

"... father and son had spent glorious hours planning breeding
lines. Their eyes misty with power, they drew graphs with lines
zigging out of the pack, those great outcropping lines that
would have stable managers bringing mares to stallion barns for
the perfect mating. 'We are not in this sport for winning races'
Belmont had said 'We are in it for the improvement of the breed to
the point where it cannot be improved anymore, thereby giving us
the master thoroughbred racehorse'"

"For his own tastes, old Belmont usually could be found off some-
where making a maid giggle. His son adored women from diners in
Commerce, Oklahoma who wanted to be actresses"

Of course the Phipps could have had more impact if they bred to the commercial stallions you want them to breed to; its slightly more questionable if they would have done better taking Chuckles' pedigree advice rather than the Hancock's. The Phipps family has a history of winning races and producing breeding bedrock going back to at least the 1930s.

To be fair, Dinny and Shug don't need me to defend their record and probably will not be taking you up on your offer to manage their bloodstock.