Tag: breeder

Thirty Year Farm On Track to Stamp Its Presence in Saratoga

Not many people have heard of Thirty Year Farm–yet. Kristen Esler hopes that someday soon, it will be a different story.

Six years ago, Esler decided that after years of corporate life, she was ready to try something different. She and her husband Matt began looking for a piece of property in Saratoga. They found a farm located just off Fish Creek, less than five miles from the racetrack, and it was love at first sight. On the couple's thirtieth wedding anniversary, they signed the paperwork on their new property and Thirty Year Farm was born.

Neither of them had much horse experience, but they had both been racing fans for decades–back to the early days of their marriage when Matthew had a t-shirt business at the track. They were meticulous in educating themselves as they put together their plan to build a thriving breeding farm and now, just a few years later, they're preparing to sell their first yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

On Tuesday, Thirty Year Farm's Authentic filly, who is a half-sister to MGISW Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), will sell with Paramount Sales as Hip 227.

It was a long road for the operation to get to such a prestigious night. Esler admits that she was “extremely intimidated” when she was first getting involved in the industry, but she made a point to surrounded herself with the right advisors–people like Joe and Anne McMahon, who live just down the road, trainer John Kimmel, Hedgewood Farm's Carson Asbury and former Chestertown Farm manager Jeff Raine.

They started with just three broodmares. While Matt, who is the CEO of the Andersen Windows affiliate Esler Companies, traveled during the week, Kristen ran the day-to-day aspects of the farm and soaked in as much knowledge as she could.

“I started to read everything I possibly could,” Esler recalled. “I went to any farm that would have me so that I could shadow them and work for the day. I would ask them every question that I could come up with and anything that I needed to know. We only had two employees and during the week I did as much of the work as I could myself so that I understood what I was doing.”

Kristen and Matt Esler | Ashley Nizolek

Esler quickly noticed that in order for her farm to be successful in the long run, they would need to breed at the top of the game.

“We started slow so that we could learn to eventually get there, but it felt to me like the middle part of this business seemed to be disappearing a little and it started to make me nervous,” she said. “With all of the sales I was following and with the numbers I felt like we needed to make to have this farm be here for our grandchildren, I felt like we needed to step it up. I wanted to breed to the best.”

In 2021, Esler and a few trusted advisors went to Kentucky for the Keeneland November Sale. They all landed on Achalaya, an unraced Belamy Road mare that was in foal to Authentic. She was out of the MGSW Wild Heart Dancing (Farma Way) and her produce record featured the talented turfer Casa Creed, who at the time had won the 2019 GII Hall of Fame S. and the 2021 GI Jaipur S., as well as Grade III winner Chess's Dream (Jess's Dream).

“I still have my notes,” Esler recalled. “She was Barn 2, hip number 175, and she checked every box that we were looking for. She was on a very short list and we stretched to $725,000 to purchase her. We felt like we had something really special.

Esler's gut feeling about the mare grew when that Authentic foal hit the ground. The April-foaled filly bore a strong resemblance to her young sire and she was a pleasure to work with from the start.

Since then, Achalaya has produced a Curlin filly this year and is back in foal to Life Is Good. Meanwhile her son Casa Creed won another edition of the Jaipur and the GI Fourstardave H. in 2022 and this year, recently got yet another graded stakes win in the GIII Kelso S. Achalaya also has a 3-year-old Distorted Humor colt named Direct Drive that just broke his maiden at Woodbine for Mark Casse and a 2-year-old Omaha Beach colt that sold for $775,000 as a yearling to White Birch Farm and is now named Bold Landing.

Thirty Year Farm is now home to 10 broodmares. Last year at Keeneland November, they added the maiden Tapit mare Follow the Flag, a $700,000 purchase who has since produced a Quality Road filly and is back in foal to Not This Time. East India (Mizzen Mast), the dam of Grade II winner Ete Indien (Summer Front), was a $325,000 purchase at the same sale and she produced a Gun Runner filly this year.

She'samericanmade (American Pharoah), a half-sister to the dam of Life Is Good, raced for the Eslers and is now in foal to Tapit. Gotta Go Mo (Uncle Mo) also raced in the Esler's silks and was stakes placed. She had her first foal by Medaglia d'Oro this year and is in foal to Constitution.

Esler puts as much care into the horses she breeds before they hit the ground as she does once they are foaled. A director for the medical supply company Henry Schein in her former career, Esler has embraced her biology background in her new role as a breeder.

“I work really hard on the genetic side to see that the crosses work and feel like we're going to get a sound animal,” she said. “I really want to do it right. Basically these horses are treated better than I treat myself. I want to raise animals that we can really be proud of. In the years to come, people will know Thirty Year Farm and what we're trying to do here and it will be something lasting.”

Esler admits that there have been challenges throughout the early stages of developing her operation.

“When we first started, I expected it to be hard,” she admitted. “But I don't think I ever thought it would be this hard. There have been some tough times. There have been some wonderful times. There have been times that you're crying and times that you're celebrating. I didn't know how hard it would be, but at the same time, things that aren't hard really aren't worth it.”

It's a big month ahead for Thirty Year Farm, and they kicked it off with a bang on Aug. 2 when Brocknardini (Palace Malice), a 2-year-old filly that their farm bred, won impressively on debut for trainer George Weaver at Saratoga.

Thirty Year Farm-bred Brocknardini wins for fun on debut at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

Next week, they will send half a dozen yearlings to the New York-bred Sale.

“I run around like crazy and try to see everything that is at the sale and what our competition is,” explained Esler. “Of course I think our animals are the absolute best of all of them, but I have a soft spot. We have a gorgeous group this year and we are so proud of them all.”

Thirty Year Farm has offered yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Sale in past years, but Esler said there is no denying how special it will be to send the Authentic filly through the ring on Tuesday as their first yearling selling at the Saratoga Sale.

“I'm as excited and nervous as I could possibly feel,” Esler said. “We are so proud of this filly and what she has become. She's always been an uncomplicated, forward type who has prepped up into an impressive animal. I try to be at absolutely every foaling, so they mean a lot to me. I will absolutely miss having her on this farm, but this is the right thing for her and we are excited for her future.”

Esler learned quickly that as a breeder, she has to make decisions that might be difficult in the moment, but will prove to have the best outcome in the long run.

“There are times where some of the decisions are not what we want to make, but it's the right decision,” she explained. “I feel like in the end, that is what is going to make this farm. Even if it takes longer, that's what will get us where we need to go. This team that we've put together right now, they all are absolutely superb and they feel like family. We all work together to make sure that the animals come first.”

She credits farm consultant Jeff Raine, manager Lolly LaRue and the rest of their team for the work they have put in during these early stages of building the operation.

The Eslers' son and daughter-in-law now live on the farm as well, along with their young son Oliver. Esler explained that by setting Thirty Year Farm up for success from the start, she hopes that it will flourish into something she and her husband can leave for their family and for generations to come.

“Maybe someday Oliver will run this farm,” she hoped. “We're trying to build something lasting and special. We feel blessed to be stewards of this incredible farm. I'm so happy that my grandchildren get to grow up here and I feel really excited to be doing something so different with my life. If you had told me ten years ago that this is what I would be doing, I don't know that I ever would have believed it.”

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Ramspring Farm Hits the Mark with a Top-Class Turfer

The rest of the Patrick family had all come and gone by the time Belle's Finale (Ghostzapper) was preparing to sell at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale, but Mary Leigh Patrick was there to watch as the pretty bay mare stepped into the ring. Mary Leigh had decided to hold out for the rest of the session, hoping to find one last addition for Ramspring Farm's broodmare band ahead of another breeding season.

The octogenarian knew she had accomplished the mission when she spotted Belle's Finale, an unraced 3-year-old out of GISW Capote Belle (Capote) carrying her first foal by Not This Time, and she secured the winning $70,000 bid.

Mary Leigh's son Clay Patrick, an attorney in their home town of Frankfort who also works alongside his mother to oversee the daily operations of Ramspring, has spent decades observing his mother's knack for scoping out value at the breeding sale.

“She just loves horses, period,” he explained. “She could look at horses all day long, 24/7. She goes into the sales and waits until the last one sells, making sure they don't slip through the cracks. She's very good at spotting a good-looking horse and finding a new mare that might be a good addition for the broodmare band.”

While the acquisition of Belle's Finale exemplifies her purchaser's bargain buying routine, the mare's accomplishments since she arrived at Ramspring have been far from ordinary as her son Up to the Mark (Not This Time) has emerged as one the top turf horses in the country.

When the Patricks were impressed with Belle's Finale's first foal, they sent the mare back to Not This Time and the resulting foal was Up to the Mark. The February-foaled colt was a standout throughout his time at Ramspring.

Clay Patrick recalled how their team, along with Taylor Made advisor Stuart Angus, always thought highly of the youngster.

“Stuart comes out frequently and inspects the horses and the foals and he gives them a grade,” Patrick explained. “I think the colt was one of the few horses that he's ever given an A- grade to on every occasion that he saw him. He was very handsome, a very good-looking young foal from the day he was born until he went to the sales ring.”

While Patrick described sending the colt through the Keeneland September ring to sell for $450,000 as a thrill, he said it has been even more gratifying to watch Up to the Mark's rise to the top of the sport this year.

Up to the Mark gets a second Grade I victory in the Manhattan S. | Sarah Andrew

The Todd Pletcher-trained, Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables-campaigned 4-year-old has made a name for himself after switching to the turf, recently reeling off masterful performances in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. and the GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S.

“When he turned for home, it was just a thrill,” Patrick said of the recent victory on Belmont weekend. “The hair stood up on the back of my neck when he got loose. Just seeing the horse that you nurtured and took care of from conception to the day he was a mature athlete ready to run was something. Todd Pletcher and the owners have done a super job with him.”

Up to the Mark was one of the 12 to 15 foals Ramspring Farm breeds every year. The breed-to-sell operation focuses on quality over quantity and has been a family business from the beginning.

Mary Leigh and her husband Mac, a surgeon and businessman deeply involved in the Frankfort community, purchased the 200-acre farm in 1976. They named it after the spring located on the property that once had a ram pump system used to send the spring water uphill for livestock.

“I think it was something that they always wanted to do,” Patrick explained about his parents' desire to get involved in the horse business. “They had it in their mind that they wanted to and then once they took the plunge and got into it, it was in their blood.”

Bail Out Becky (Red Ransom) was one of the first horses to gain the Patricks recognition in the Thoroughbred world when she won the 1995 GI Del Mar Oaks and earned over $700,000 for Ken and Sarah Ramsey. Other standouts among the stakes winners to come off the farm over the years include MGSW Lead Story (Editor's Note), 2012 GI Florida Derby runner-up Reveron (Songandaprayer), the MGISP 2017 GIII Turnback the Alarm H. winner Eskenformoney (Eskendereya) and GSP Winning Envelope (More Than Ready).

Ramspring Farm sits alongside the Kentucky River and as the crow flies, is just over a mile from where Dr. James Crow is said to have perfected the sour mash fermentation process used to produce bourbon. Appropriately, the farm is in the early stages of launching their own Ramspring Farm Kentucky Bourbon.

As a teenager growing up at Ramspring, Patrick–who is the youngest of three children–developed his own admiration for the land, the horses and the business.

Unique outbuildings at Ramspring Farm | Katie Petrunyak

“I've always enjoyed being out here and have spent a ton of my time on the farm,” he explained. “The most exciting part for me was to see the foals grow up here and make their way to the sales and hopefully do well on the racetrack. I've moved out here and built a house on the farm.”

Last summer the farm's patriarch, Dr. Patrick, passed away at the age of 87. Mary Leigh continues to oversee the operation from their home that overlooks several of the farm's main pastures, but she now has two more generations of Patricks who have developed their own passion for the land.

“My mother has always taken care of most of the aspects of the farm and is continuing to do so,” Patrick said. “I have three boys and they all enjoy the farm and we combine to take care of it, along with all of the good people that we have working out here. I think the fact that it's a family affair is the most special part of it. We've had a lot of special events and family outings out here. To have the whole family enjoy it is special.”

The farm's star broodmare Belle's Finale has a pipeline of foals that has the Ramspring team excited for the future. While her foal of 2021 died of colic complications, she has two youngsters on the ground and she recently checked in foal to Not This Time.

Her yearling colt by McKinzie is pointing for the Keeneland September Sale.

Belle's Finale and her Maxfield colt | Katie Petrunyak

“He's got a lot of his sire in him and is a big, strong colt,” Patrick shared. “He's got a very powerful motor on him and looks like he's going to be a runner.”

This spring, Belle's Finale foaled a colt from the first crop of Maxfield on April 12.

“The Maxfield is a stoic individual who has a good head on his shoulders and looks great,” said Patrick. “He looks like an A physical to me.”

Until those youngsters hit the sales ring, the Patrick family will await news of Up to the Mark's next challenge as his connections point for a bid in the Breeders' Cup this fall.

“I would say he's definitely the best that we've ever had here,” Patrick said. “That hair-raising experience of seeing him turning for home and giving that final kick, it's something to behold.”

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Three Grade I Winners Reflect Godolphin’s Evolving Program

From Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) getting Godolphin their first win in the GI Kentucky Oaks on Friday to Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) and Cody's Wish (Curlin) both coming home with Grade I scores on Saturday, the first weekend in May was one for the books for Godolphin USA.

The global racing powerhouse is coming off back-to-back Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Owner and Breeder, but Godolphin USA's Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan said that this year's Derby weekend ranks near the top of the list of great weekends for the American branch of Sheikh Mohammed's international operation.

“We've been lucky enough to hit some highlights, for example when Bernardini won the Preakness, or the Travers with Essential Quality or Cody's Wish last year at the GI Breeders' Cup, but to have a domestic triple Grade I weekend, I don't think we've done that before,” he said. “Obviously we've had a couple of great Breeders' Cups, but that was on the coattails of our English colleagues who helped us out big time. For us to do it here domestically, it was an amazing weekend and it meant so much to the team all across the board. Our expectations were pretty high, but we know the way the game goes. It couldn't have gone any more perfect.”

Each of the three Godolphin homebreds made a Grade I statement on Derby weekend, with Pretty Mischievous getting her first Grade I score in the Oaks, Matareya earning her second at the top level in the Derby City Distaff S., and Cody's Wish with his third in the Churchill Downs S.

Just as each member of the talented trio forged their own path to the winner's circle, the dams of each of the top-level performers had very different journeys into the Godolphin broodmare band. Each mare's story reflects Godolphin USA's evolution as a leading buyer in the sales pavilion to now a leading breeder with an inimitable broodmare band and a star-studded group of homebred performers.

Pretty City Dancer at Stonerside Farm | Sara Gordon

PRETTY CITY DANCER (Tapit – Pretty City, by Carson City). Dam of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief)

While Godolphin has been markedly less active at the fall breeding stock sales in recent years, they came home with two purchases at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale with GSW Champagne Problems (Ghostzapper) and Pretty City Dancer (Tapit).

“We're very fortunate in that we haven't had to dip into the pool very often over the last seven or eight years and so Pretty City Dancer is one of the few mares we've bought over the last half a dozen years or so,” Banahan explained. “We're conscious of wanting to try to get in there and maybe get some mares that complement the broodmare band that we have at the moment.”

Pretty City Dancer was a standout at the auction as the winner of the 2016 GI Spinaway S. and a half-sister to another Grade I winner in Lear's Princess (Lear Fan). The daughter of Tapit was offered carrying her first foal by Medaglia d'Oro and sold to Stroud Coleman Bloodstock on behalf of Godolphin for $3.5 million.

“She's a beautiful-looking mare, great quality to her and well balanced,” Banahan noted. “She's the type of mare that you can breed to a lot of different stallions from a physical standpoint.”

While that first Medaglia d'Oro filly named Ornamental took six tries to break her maiden, Pretty City Dancer's second foal Pretty Mischievous was a standout from the beginning.  A 'TDN Rising Star' on debut, the bay went on to get a first Oaks score not only for Godolphin, but also for trainer Brendan Walsh and jockey Tyler Gaffalione.

Pretty City Dancer, who resides at Godolphin's Stonerside Farm in Paris, Kentucky, does not have a 2-year-old this year, but she has a Medaglia d'Oro yearling filly and a Street Sense filly foaled Mar. 28 this year. The 9-year-old mare has been bred back to Into Mischief.

Dance Card and her Gun Runner filly | Sara Gordon

DANCE CARD (Tapit -Tempting Note, by Editor's Note). Dam of GI Churchill Downs S. winner Cody's Wish (Curlin)

Dance Card was purchased by John Ferguson for Godolphin in 2011 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Old in Training Sale as a $67,000 yearling-turned-$750,000 juvenile.

“At that time, we did buy a few 2-year-olds,” Banahan explained. “Not many, but we bought a few and she was part of a pair that we bought that year. We haven't been very active in the sales pavilion for a while and obviously it was a change from a good few years ago where we were the most active buyer at the Saratoga and the Keeneland September sales, but the majority of those horses ended up racing in Europe. Not many of them really stayed here.”

Dance Card was one of those Godolphin purchases that did stay in the U.S. and she proved to be a talent on American soil for Kiaran McLaughlin. The daughter of Tapit did not make her first start until three, but she claimed the Belle Cherie S. and the GI Gazelle S. as a sophomore and came back at four to run third in the 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

The mare's early offspring performed well. Her first foal Bocephus (Medaglia d'Oro) was stakes placed and her second foal Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro) has been competitive at the graded level for years–having just earned his first two graded stakes wins this year at age seven–but it was Dance Card's fourth foal, by Curlin, that was destined to be a star.

“Cody's Wish was by far her best-looking foal that she produced at that stage,” Banahan recalled. “He was probably ranked in the top five yearlings that we had that year and we had high, high expectations for him.”

Dance Card's yearling filly by Street Sense | Sara Gordon

Unquestionably one of the most inspirational stories in racing this year, Cody's Wish validated Godolphin's decision to bring the champion back as a 5-year-old when he came in off a layoff to extend his winning streak to five straight scores in the GI Churchill Downs S.

“I think that on Saturday, Cody's Wish showed that he's probably even a better horse this year than last year,” Banahan said. “To me, it was his most impressive race yet thus far. We knew there was a great lineup this year for him with the Churchill Downs S., then going for the GI Metropolitan H., back to the GI Forego S. and on to the Breeders' Cup. We're hoping that maybe he can have a special campaign this year and hit some of those great races.”

At the age of 14, Dance Card has a quality lineup of progeny in the pipeline. Her 2-year-old Into Mischief colt named Hunt Ball just arrived at Bill Mott's barn and she also has a Street Sense yearling filly that Banahan said their team is particularly high on. She recently foaled a Gun Runner filly and she has been bred back to Curlin.

 

INNOVATIVE IDEA (Bernardini – Golden Velvet, by Seeking the Gold). Dam of GI Derby City Distaff winner Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile)

While Pretty City Dancer and Innovative Idea both wound up under the Godolphin banner later in life, Innovative Idea is a second-generation homebred for the organization and she hails from their prolific producer Caress (Storm Cat).

A three-time graded stakes winner, Caress was purchased by John Ferguson Bloodstock for Godolphin for $3.1 million at the 2000 Keeneland November Sale a few months after she produced future Grade I winner Sky Mesa (Puplit). Her daughters include Velvety (Bernardini), the dam of Grade I winner and Darley sire Maxfield (Street Sense), and MGSW Golden Velvet (Seeking the Gold), the dam of Innovative Idea (Bernardini).

Innovative Idea was a productive race filly for Godolphin and Eoin Harty, breaking her maiden on debut at two and later claiming the Iowa Distaff S. and the GIII Groupie Doll S. as a 4-year-old. Her first foal, Business Model (Candy Ride {Arg}), is a winner at three and four and he is in training with Brendan Walsh this season as a 5-year-old for Qatar Racing and Marc Detampel.

Matareya was the mare's second foal and she was one that Banahan said he noticed from the start.

“Matareya was an absolutely beautiful yearling and I think she was my favorite of that year,” he said. “A lot of guys give me a hard time because I'm so hard grading them, but she got one of the highest grades I would give and I was in love with her as a yearling. I was always excited to see what she was going to do on the racetrack.”

To be able to celebrate the achievements of a third-generation homebred like Matareya, Banahan said, is a uniquely rewarding experience.

“It has been a great family for us,” he said. “To get it from a homebred is extra special. We've been very fortunate the last couple of years that all our stakes winners have happened from the broodmare band and that makes it all the more rewarding.”

Innovative Idea, now 11 years old and thriving at Godolphin's Gainsborough Farm in Versailles, has added three foals by Uncle Mo to her produce record. Her 3-year-old filly named Methodology is in training with Brad Cox and preparing for her debut in the next few months. She also has a 2-year-old colt and a yearling colt both by Uncle Mo. This year, she produced a filly by Curlin and is being bred back to the Hill 'n' Dale sire.

Innovative Idea's Curlin filly | Sara Gordon

Examining Success and Looking Ahead

What do the three Grade I producers have in common? Banahan said it starts with noting that each of them were graded stakes-winning racehorses.

“That's a quality that we love to have in any broodmare that we have, that they're successful on the racetrack,” he said. “All three are also nice, medium-sized mares. I struggle with big mares to try and make it work properly and I think it gives you a lot more options to stallions that you can breed to when you have those quality, athletic, medium-sized mares.”

Banahan noted that all three mares also hail from A.P. Indy, with two daughters of Tapit and a daughter of Darley's late sire Bernardini.

There is an immeasurable quality too, Banahan said, that he credits for Godolphin USA's growing list of achievements.

“We've been very fortunate that we have some beautiful land–some of the best land, we feel, in Central Kentucky,” he said. “I also think the personnel that we have are second to none. From Gerry Duffy at Stonerside, Danny Mulvihill at Gainsborough and Rafael Hernandez at Jonabell, they have been involved in all our recent success from the foaling end of it. Paul Seitz and Benji Amezcua are our yearling managers and they do a great job raising those horses. We have a really strong team and they all play a big, big role in getting us to the winner's circle.”

Banahan said that one of the next goals he hopes that their organization can achieve is to come up with a broodmare for the record books.

“We're happy with the way it's going and I think the quality is very good,” he said. “We're fortunate that we have a lot of really young broodmares as well that have hit with some good runners at the moment. We're hopeful that maybe we can turn one of those mares into a blue hen.”

Looking ahead to Preakness weekend, Godolphin has the opportunity to make another run and maybe take one step closer to that latest goal. First Mission (Street Sense) will be a leading contender in the GI Preakness S. for Brad Cox coming off a win in the GIII Lexington S. The operation will also be represented by Comparative (Street Sense) in the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. and Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GIII Maryland Sprint S.

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‘She Looks A Bit Special’ – 72-Year-Old Breeder Excited After Newbury Romp

Barry Walters, the breeder of impressive Newbury winner Gather Ye Rosebuds (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}), has described what it means to see the filly advertise her claims for Classic glory after spending over 30 years nurturing her family. 

The Welshman sold Gather Ye Rosebuds through Charlie Vigors's Hillwood Stud at Book 2 at Tattersalls to Mick Channon on behalf of Linda Shanahan and Emily Magnier in 2020.

Seeing the filly win by almost 10 lengths on debut for Jack Channon on Friday–and earn a TDN Rising Star nod in the process–makes pouring over the family and nurturing the pedigree for over three decades worthwhile, according to the 72-year-old.

He said, “She looks a bit special after that. It has been a good old family to me and for very little money. I bought her great granddam [Brigadiers Bird (Ire) (Mujadil)] for 5,400 punts. Her first horse was a Group winner called Lady Lahar (GB) (Fraam {GB}) who bred the dam [Chelsey Jayne (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})] of Gather Ye Rosebuds. 

“The dam is also the first foal born by Galileo. I looked at Galileo as a three-year-old and he looked a very special horse. I can remember my late wife Margaret Anne saying that, if I can't breed winners out of him, I may give the job up. I've been breeding for over 30 years and my wife's family were all blacksmiths, which is how we came into horses.”

Walters revealed that Chelsey Jayne is not in foal after visiting Ten Sovereigns (Ire) in the spring. The 20-year-old broodmare has nothing else coming through, with Gather Ye Rosebuds the last foal she has produced. 

However, all is not lost for Walters, who has a half a dozen mares at home on his farm in Wales who are related to the Oaks prospect.

“Chelsey Jane would only ever breed every other year,” he explained. “When you left her empty, she'd go back in foal the following year. She was a funny mare that way. 

“It's nice to see the person we sold the horse to having a lot of luck. Everyone you sell to, you like to see them having luck.”

He added, “She's a mare who has made a lot of people money. We sold a lot of her stock and they went on to make quite a bit of money for other people down the road, which is good to see. I sold her brother [The Statesman (GB)] to Coolmore for £60,000 in 2015 and then they sold him out of training for 90,000gns. 

“The year after that, he was then sold again for 310,000gns at the horses-in-training sales to go to Australia. You need luck in life. She always produced good-looking horses and I'd say that came from Galileo.”

Walters has just 10 mares breeding on his farm in Wales and has already enjoyed notable success with Chelsey Jane given she is the producer of Channon's seven-time winner Certain Lad (GB) (Clodovil {Ire}). 

On what the future holds for his breeding operation, he added, “Chelsey Jane is in Coolmore and has been covered but is not in foal. That news came over the weekend. She went to Ten Sovereigns but unfortunately it didn't work. Some mares will breed on but she shows her age a little bit. It would have been nice to have had one last shot with her but it looks like it's not going to happen yet. Gather Ye Rosebuds is the last out of the mare but we still have a lot of the family at home.”

“There's half a dozen mares at home from the family, I'd say. We've only got 10 mares all together and went to Ten Sovereigns (Ire), Calyx (GB), Harry Angel (Ire) and a few other stallions this year. Charlie Vigors preps all of our horses and his mother did it before him. It would be nice to see a horse that you've bred win a big race. Sometimes there's not a lot of money in breeding them but, when you get a horse like Gather Ye Rosebuds, it's been well worth it.”

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