Let us discuss what you think makes a good horse. Feel free to add your own tips. I encourage it as I am still learning after all these years. Below are my thoughts on each stats bar...

Go On Through



1. Absolute Potential Rating (dark green) - Perhaps the most important - definitely most important to me. As high as possible as soon as possible. If 100% as 2yo - you have the holy grail of horses. This bar will rise slowly with a few races as a 2yo until it hits a level. It will increase at the beginning of the year at 3,4 and 5. Some horses will maintain this high rating as they age higher but most will deteriorate after 5. I can't offer much advice on horses older than 5 because I retire my horses at 4 (I retired them at 5 in SO5).

1a. Realized Potential Rating (light green) - The higher the better like above. But if the Absolute Potential Rating is at half as you first get your horse as a 2yo it is my experience that the Absolute Potential Rating never reaches the Realized Potential Rating. I may just not have enough patience to see a horse reach its top Realized Potential Rating.

2. Battling Qualities - By the description in the game I would want this as high as possible. I have not ever seen this at 100%. Almost all my horses have the Battling Qualities bar like you see in the screenshot above.

3. Constitution - Higher the better. If this is really low your horse will most likely only be able to handle two to five races as a 2yo and 3yo. Your horse will be able to race more as a 4yo and above. Personally I hate when this bar is low and try not to allow low constitution to make it into my breeding lines.

4. Confidence - Higher the better. If you are breeding top quality horses this wont come into play because your horses will usually always perform well thus negating the effect of this bar.

5. Cruising Burst - Higher the better. I think this may be the second most important. The horse in above screenshot has a Cruising Burst that is better than average for most of my horses. Getting this bar to 100% in my breeding lines is a personal mission of mine. This bar increases at 3yo if my memory serves right. The only other bar that increases besides the potential bar.

6. Extra Speed Rating - Higher the better. Most horses have a very high Extra Speed Rating bar.

7. Deterioration Potential - Lower the better. Never really pay much attention to this.

8. Enthusiasm - Higher the better. I Don't pay much attention to this one. But reading the games description of it just now I may start taking a concerted effort to breed it for the better in my breeding lines.

9. Finish Application - Higher the better. Besides Potential rating this is the bar I pay attention to most. So much so that any new 2yo I breed that enters my stable that doesn't have this at 100% I put up for auction. My thinking - my horse should have 100% abilty to apply itself in a hard finish.

10. Consistency - Higher the better. I like to have this at 100%. I only keep new 2yo's who have this at 100%. I suspect though I give too much priority to this bar.

11. Distance Adaptability - I would say higher the better but really it depends on what you expect out of your horse. Wouldn't it be great to have a horse who wins Group 1's at 5 furlongs and 2 miles in the same year?

12. Going/Surface Adaptability - Higher the better. Never really pay much attention to this. Makes sense though that you want your horse to perform well on every surface.

13. Juvenile Constitution - Higher the better. I never pay attention to this one. Probably just the same as regular constitution. My description of the early years in the Constitution category may actually be better placed in this section.

14. Maturity Rate - I never look at this. Pretty sure I've never seen this higher than 0%.

15. Training Adaption - Higher the better. I train manually. When my horse is resting between starts I set the focus on special training depending on what needs it most (Agility or Starting). After awhile your horse will improve in one of these depending on what you pick.

16/17. Jumping Ability~Jumping Speed Potential - Not very wise on these as I am mostly a flat trainer. If memory serves me right I was told that jumping speed potential is the more important bar.

18. Quirks - This comes into play very seldom. But if you have a horse with a high bar in this he/she will give you fits with in race antics. Avoid horses with a high Quirks bar.

I rank these bars as most important when deciding what to keep. In order of importance to me...

Absolute Potential Rating
Finish Application
Cruising Burst
Consistency
Extra Speed Rating

The rest are secondary to me.

___________________________

In my main game I just had like 65 new 2yo's at the beginning of the year. I kept 3. And those 3 aren't much to write home about either.

My record in my main game...

25 Seasons

Earnings - $234,173,825

Wins~Runs - 436/776 59%

Group Wins - 248/50/40

While I haven't dug too deep into breeding or training in SO6, in SO5 I noticed that battling qualities and consistency. In SO5, my best horses (multiple graded stakes earners, near undefeated, $10millionaires) had around 75% absolute potential, but high battling qualities and near perfect consistency. I also have seen distance adaptability to play a part, but I blame that more on the jockey and running style than the horse. Finishing and extra speed also play a huge role.
I usually breed the best with the best. My goal is to have all my 2yos at 1600m to 2400m so I breed for the distance. My main stallion will sire half my 2yos, if not more. My main mare will breed with best stallion, mine or games. I know it works in SO5, and seems to work in SO6.

Aside from stats bars there is a hidden value that determines overall ability it seems. Which is good. You could have two horses with the same exact bars at the same point in their careers but one is much better.

Here is a beast of a gamebred who was dominating the 2yo stakes. I was looking at this horse after she had beat me again and thinking "I really want this horse". Lo and behold a few days later she is put up for auction. I plunked down $4 million+ for this horse and hoped she was a beast stats wise too. She is not. Below average on most bars except one - Finish Application.

Battling qualities and constitution seem to have little affect.

Going surface adaptability is good if you don't want to worry about ground.

Full distance adaptability and finish application bars are very easy to get.

Most important are

extra speed rating
potential rating ( it needs to be dark green not have any light green section )
cruising burst

I have had a full quirks bar before. ( And its not great )

Jumping Speed Potential ( The higher the better ) especially for hurdlers

A better indication for jumps horses is to go to the training screen and scroll through your horses. Horses with good agility and good jumping will be good over fences. ( sometimes their jumping bars can be non existent )