Unbeaten Horse of the Year and champion older male Flightline (Tapit) was represented by his first two foals Friday evening. Juju's Map (Liam's Map) foaled a filly late Jan. 12 at Taylor Made in Kentucky and Lady Scarlet (Union Rags) foaled a colt in the early hours of Jan. 13 at Thirty Year Farm in New York. Both are first foals for the mares.
Juju's Map, owned by Albaugh Family Racing Stables LLC, won the GI Darley Alcibiades S. and was runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
“We are very happy with this Flightline filly out of Juju's Map. She has lots of leg and class to her. Juju's Map has been a great mom,” said Melissa Couture, Taylor Made Broodmare Manager.
Lady Scarlet, winner of the GIII Miss Preakness S., campaigned for owners Paradise Farms Corp and David Staudacher while racing. She was purchased for $625,000 by Thirty Year Farm at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale.
“He's a good-looking boy. A solid straightforward colt with ample bone, eager to latch on, and entertain a large audience on first day. We're equally excited that one of the first, of what we're sure will be many spectacular Flightlines, is a New York-bred,” said Kristen Esler, co-owner of Thirty Year Farm with her husband Matt.
Flightline stands for $150,000 at Lane's End in 2024.
Juju's Map welcomed her first foal, a filly by Flightline, into the world last night
We are so excited, and we are happy to say that Juju and her baby are doing great! Juju's Map, a grade 1 winner, and Flightline, the undefeated champion, produced a gorgeous looking filly… pic.twitter.com/mIqGH0XQpb
The first foal for 2022 Eclipse Award-winning champion 3-year-old male and GI Runhappy Travers S. winner Epicenter (Not This Time) arrived at Twin Creeks Farm on Saturday when the stakes-placed Peaceful (Declaration of War) produced a quality filly.
“Excited about our new Epicenter filly out of Peaceful! Day one has us impressed, and we're big fans of the sire,” said Randy Gullatt.
The Coolmore stallion will stand the 2024 season for $40,000.
There is no denying that the stallion market is becoming increasingly difficult with appetites for stud prospects growing. There is also no questioning that the support a young stallion receives in their first few years is paramount to their success. Most stallions are an easy sell in their first year with many being oversubscribed and then numbers falling off in the years leading up to that first crop hitting the track. However, one stallion whose numbers and support could very likely stay consistent throughout those primitive years is Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), given the number of influential breeders that are involved in his ownership.
Although standing at The National Stud in England, Lope Y Fernandez is owned by Whitsbury Manor Stud, Nick Bradley and the Newmarket-based operation as well as Coolmore, for whom the horse raced, retaining an interest. It may seem a slightly unusual set up given that Whitsbury Manor Stud have a successful stallion operation themselves, but as Ed Harper explains, when the right prospect presents itself you cannot let it pass you by.
“We really weren't planning on buying a new stallion last year,” said Harper. “We were having a busy year at Whitsbury and we wanted to give Sergei Prokofiev another year in the limelight. But when I went and saw Lope Y Fernandez, I just thought, 'this is a horse we need to get involved with.'”
At a similar time, Bradley, who is best known for his successful racing syndicate, was seeing a worrying trend in the British stallion ranks.
“The year prior to Lope Y Fernandez being available, I was noticing a post-Brexit trend that all of these top racehorses were going to stand, primarily, in Ireland,” noted Bradley. “I spoke to a lot of UK breeders and I said, 'Come on, we need to get ourselves organized here.' And Ed Harper was listening.”
Once it became apparent that the Group 1-placed son of Lope de Vega was available to buy the wheels were set in motion.
“I got talking with The National Stud and Nick Bradley and thought, 'you know, can we put a group together,'” explained Harper. “So we are the major shareholder, the National Stud owns 25% and Nick Bradley owns a nice portion as well, with Coolmore staying in too.”
From The National Stud's perspective this structure seems a no brainer with Joe Bradley citing, “We're stronger together,” when asked about being involved. “To incorporate really prominent breeders such as Whitsbury Manor, who have had the most unbelievable year, and Nick Bradley to really support the stallion means he will have every chance.”
In the last few weeks, we have seen several foals by the stallion on social media platforms and it appears that Lope Y Fernandez is passing on his good looks.
“One of his best qualities is the way he walks,” said Joe Bradley. “He's such an athletic horse. He stands over 16hh and physically he's just a very imposing horse.”
Of the first few that have hit the ground Nick Bradley has a number that have had his team “waxing lyrical,” with one colt in particular having “a great shoulder, great hip and a great action to go with it.”
Aside from the mares that will be sent to Lope Y Fernandez by his owners as well as the wider breeding population, it may not be surprising to hear that all the operators are already looking ahead to the foal and yearling sales.
“We're probably going to send in more mares this year, his second season,” said Harper. “I think we've got 25 on the list to send him this season and we'll be buying foals as well the in the ring.
All three entities were busy at the recent Tattersalls February Sale buying mares to send to Lope Y Fernandez, but Bradley is thinking further down the line.
“I'll be out there trying to buy the best fillies for Nick Bradley Racing,” said Bradley. “Last year, we had seven stakes winners, so if a couple of them could be by Lope Y Fernandez in years to come, that'd be great.”
This unique situation is not lost on those involved with it as Harper points out, “I've never been involved in a stallion that's not just had the supply side of the mares helping him, but actually the demand side buying the progeny as well, which is fairly unique for a commercially priced horse.”
As the old sayings go, there is strength in numbers and teamwork makes the dream work. For Lope Y Fernandez both sayings seem to be meeting each other in the middle. As the breeding season rolls on, it is not inconceivable to expect Lope Y Fernandez's foals to stand out during a social media scroll or to imagine his second and future books being just as large as his first.
Multiple Group 2-winning sire A'Ali (Ire) welcomed his first reported foals in the past few weeks, among them a colt out of dual Group 3 winner Maureen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who was fourth in the G1 Coronation S.
“Maureen was an obvious type of mare for A'Ali and we're delighted with the end result”, said Newsells Park Stud's General Manager, Julian Dollar, where A'Ali stands. “This colt is less than two days old, but came out very strong, balanced and well put together. Our hope was always that A'Ali's foals would be in the same model as himself and so far from everything we're seeing and hearing, that's exactly what we're getting.”
Breeder Eugene Daly of Longview Stud had two mares produce A'Ali foals last week. Luminesce (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}), from the family of Group 1 winner Mohaather (GB), foaled a bay filly, while the winner Moddy Poddle (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) produced a bay colt.
Daly said, “I've been very impressed with both of the A'Ali foals born on the stud. They're quality individuals with great strength and very much in the mould of their sire. Having seen him again at the recent TBA stallion parade at Tattersalls last week, I'm looking forward to supporting him again this year.”
Another A'Ali new arrival is a colt out of Eric Cantillon's mare Maajmeh Dawn (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), herself a half-sister to Listed Dee S. hero Viren's Army (Ire) (Twirling Candy).
Cantillon said, “This is a good colt foal. Strong, correct and with plenty about him. I like him so much I've decided to send the mare back to him again this year and another mare besides.”
The son of the late Society Rock (Ire) won the G2 Norfolk S., G2 Prix Robert Papin, and the G2 Flying Childers S. at two, before adding the G3 Sapphire S. and G3 Coral Charge S. at three. The recipient of 116 mares in his first season, he stands for £5,000 at Newsells Park Stud this year. A unique breeding incentive scheme is also being offered by Newsells Park.
Juju's Map welcomed her first foal, a filly by Flightline, into the world last night
