Tag: foals

Wertheimers Acquire Wildenstein Family’s Dayton Investments Bloodstock Portfolio

Wertheimer et Frere have purchased the entirety of the Wildenstein family's Dayton Investments bloodstock, including 'TDN Rising Star' and G3 Prix Penelope heroine Pensee Du Jour (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). She was due to race in the Ballymore Thoroughbred Racing colours in the G2 Prix de la Nonette on Sunday, but will instead carry the blue silks with white sleeves and seams of Alain and Gerard Wertheimer.

A storied operation since the 1920s, the Wildenstein family's bloodstock have produced a slew of stars on an international scale, including a quartet of G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners. Current flagbearers for the breeding programme are four-time Group 1 winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr})–an €420,000 yearling at the Arqana October Yearling Sale–and three-time top-level winner-turned Darley stallion Persian King (Ire) to name just a few.

“We confirm that we have recently acquired all the horses belonging to Dayton Investments,” a spokesperson for Wertheimer et Frere told Jour de Galop on Thursday evening. “This is a rare opportunity to integrate many elements of exceptional quality into our broodmare band, such as the dams of Classic [winners] Persian King and Paddington, the winner of the [2014 G1] 1000 Guineas Miss France (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), as well as horses-in-training, including Pensee Du Jour. The yearlings and foals also join the Wertheimer et Frere squad.

“We hope to continue to develop the success of the great families of Dayton Investments who, since 1923, have been among the most important families in the European stud book and have notably produced four Arc de Triomphe winners. The main lines that will thus join the stable are from iconic mares such as Albertine (Fr), Madelia (Fr) or even Petroleuse (Ire).”

A yearling and horses-in-training dispersal was conducted for the Wildenstein family by Goffs during the 2016 Orby Sale.

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Advancements in Equine Reproduction Examined at KTFMC Meeting

LEXINGTON, KY–As the calendar turns over to June and the 2023 breeding season nears its close, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Manager's Club (KTFMC) focused its monthly meeting on advancements in the equine reproductive field and how the latest research, as well as new treatments and diagnostic tests, might have practical application for farm managers at this point in the breeding season and on into next year. Held Tuesday evening at Copper Roux in Lexington, the event featured presentations from three equine veterinarians.

Dr. Emma Adam, who specializes in equine veterinary outreach for the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center, provided an update on this year's breeding season. She discussed several issues that have been problematic for breeders this year and pointed out how farm managers can be involved in advancing research efforts addressing those concerns.

While Rotavirus was not nearly as prominent this year as it was during the outbreak in Central Kentucky in 2021, Adam said that some farms were hurt by the diarrheal disease in 2023. She explained that there is work being done this summer to test a new vaccine that would protect against the most recent strains of the virus and said that they are seeking the help of local farms as researchers are collecting blood samples from foals that developed Rotavirus this year.

“That is going to help us identify antibodies that naturally responded to the infection and [help us] move forward with the idea of producing synthetic antibodies that could potentially help us in the face of not having that vaccine to hand quite yet,” she said.

Current research efforts are also going toward addressing Nocardioform placentitis and Leptospirosis. Adam said that research is being conducted on mares that developed Nocardioform placentitis and initial results suggest that an early-warning diagnostic test may be available in the future. Meanwhile, a new serovar has been identified in North America for Leptospirosis and a number of asymptomatic horses are testing positive for the bacterial disease across Central Kentucky.

For managers that dealt with Nocardioform placentitis this year, or if they know of or suspect the presence of Leptospirosis on their farm, Adam urged horsemen to contact the Gluck Center's research team.

“This summer, if you have mares that don't have a good reason for being empty, please give us a call,” Adam said. “We would love to test them free of charge to try and see if these mares are potentially carriers of Lepto. We're only as good as the data that we get. When we get those samples into our diagnostic lab, that is the material we can use to help you not just from a practical basis of diagnosing and getting the material for us to do research on, but when we have those numbers, we can go to the grant funding agencies and say we need some money because this is 'this big' of a problem.”

Adam also shared that recent research on fescue is focused on its presence in pastures throughout the winter months. Fescue toxicity in mares is a common concern in the spring, but Adam noted that ergovaline–the alkaloid produced by fescue that causes the symptoms of fescue toxicity in mares–can be present in pastures year-round.

“In the winter, we normally think that our fescue isn't growing and that we don't have ergovaline to worry about in our pregnant mares,” she said. “That absolutely is completely and totally not the case. We had lots of farms this winter where the only thing growing was fescue and that fescue is hotter than Hades, so it has plenty of ergovaline.”

During the evening's second presentation, Dr. Maria Schnobrick of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital discussed a new service that Rood & Riddle is offering to promote the regression of endometrial cups.

Endometrial cups, which form on the uterine wall at around 35 days of gestation to promote pregnancy, secrete eCG (equine chorionic gonadotropin) and prevent the mare from normal ovulation. These cups persist until 100 to 150 days of gestation regardless of the viability of the embryo.

Schnobrick and her colleagues have made progress in developing a treatment for regressing these endometrial cups when a mare loses a pregnancy so that she can return to a normal cycle in a shorter amount of time. Schnobrick said that current treatments, like laser treatment, have inconsistent results and only about a 50% success rate. However, she has found promising results from using Settle, an immune stimulant that is used to treat endometritis.

In an experiment conducted in collaboration with Dr. Carleigh Fedorka and Dr. Mats Troedsson, 16 mares were aborted at 40 to 45 days of gestation. One week later, they received their first injection of Settle. After another week, they received a second injection. The experiment produced statistically significant results when, an average of 23 days after their first treatment, 80% of mares were cycling normally compared to 33% of mares in the control group.

Schnobrick said that this year, she had three mares that experienced pregnancy loss at 60 days and were able to get back in foal after receiving this treatment at Rood & Riddle. She noted that she has also seen positive results when treating mares that have retained endometrial cups from the previous breeding season and are not cycling regularly.

Hagyard Equine Medical Institute's Dr. Kristina Lu presented on advancements in diagnosing endometritis using N-acetylcysteine and she also discussed the benefits of pregnancy monitoring at this stage in the breeding season.

According to Lu, the current methods for diagnosing endometritis through a swab culture or a lavage of the uterus produce inefficient results. She noted that about half the time, a mare can have endometritis but test negative in a swab culture.

Lu's research efforts have gone toward using N-acetylcysteine to help break up mucus and free bacteria from the endometrium in order to better test for the presence of infection. In one experiment, 59 mares were diagnosed for endometritis. Using a lavage diagnostic test, 81% tested negative. But when the same mares were tested after receiving acetylcysteine, only 27% tested negative.

Lu also discussed the importance of pregnancy monitoring and the benefits of compiling a list of “problematic mares” ahead of next year's breeding season.

She explained that placental abnormalities from this year's foaling could be one of the strongest indicators for potential issues ahead of next year's foaling season. A mare could have a normal foaling, but a slight issue with her placenta–like evidence of subtle ascending placentitis or if the cervical star did not rupture regularly–could prove to cause problems down the road.

“This mare is raising her hand saying, 'The next pregnancy, I might not be normal,'” Lu explained. “So this mare might go on your list. She's definitely one that is worth watching in the future.”

Also during Tuesday's KTFMC meeting, information was presented on the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation's Irish National Stud Scholarship. Learn more here. Also, Godolphin USA's Charities Manager Katie LaMonica discussed this year's Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards. Nominations for those awards are open now through July 16 and can be accessed here.

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2023 Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Paul Manganaro

With the breeding season underway, the TDN staff is continuing the '2023 Mating Plans' series, presented by Spendthrift Farm, to find out what stallions breeders have chosen for their mares this year, and why. This week Paul Manganaro talked us through his plans for the year. Manganaro said that he owns most of his mares in partnership with a group of close friends.

DREAM YOUR DREAMS (m, 10, Tapit – Takesmybreathaway, by Gone West) to be bred to Into Mischief

I have a long history with this mare's family. I owned her dam with my father. She's an elegant, two-turn type of filly who didn't show much on the racetrack, but has a genetic pool that is second to none. Her female line goes back to the great Numbered Account (Buckpasser) and she is a half-sister to Grade I winner Frost Giant (Giant's Causeway).

I was looking to put a little more speed and substance into her and thought that using the old Bull Hancock theory — breed the best to the best and hope for the best – really pertained to this mating.

SMUGNESS (m, 4, Gun Runner – Claire's Song, by Unbridled's Song) to be bred to Street Sense

Smugness is another one that I am very familiar with her family. She's from the family of GISW Hard Not To Love (Hard Spun) and champion Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d'Oro). We purchased her third dam Hard Knocker (Raja Baba) as a yearling. We raced her and produced several foals out of her, including Smugness's second dam Chimichurri (Elusive Quality).

This mare will be going to Street Sense. My good friend of 40 years John Williams taught me a lot about the importance of good conformation. Now that I'm doing a lot more racing, I realize that you have to have a sound structure to have a chance, so I place a lot of emphasis on that aspect. This is a wonderful physical match combined with the fact that this is her first foal and I always like to use a proven stallion with a young mare.

Roadrunner's Honor is in foal to Maxfield and will visit Justify this year | courtesy Paul Manganaro

ROADRUNNER'S HONOR (m, 6, Honor Code – Wild Idle, by Seeking the Gold) to be bred to Justify

This Grade III-placed mare is from a strong female family. Her second dam is 1996 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies champion Storm Song (Summer Squall). She has a Munnings yearling filly and is in foal to Maxfield for this year.

This year she will go to Justify. This mating breeds type-to-type on physical and I believe that Justify is one of the future stars of the stallion shed. With a $100,000 stud fee this year, I'm hoping that by the time she drops her foal, he is worth substantially more than that.

ON MY WAY (m, 17, Giant's Causeway – It's Our Time, by Seeking the Gold) to be bred to Jackie's Warrior

This mare comes from a deep Manganaro family. My family purchased her second dam Leo's Lucky Lady (Seattle Slew) as a yearling, raced her and bred everything out of her. We kept a few of her daughters including It's Our Time, the dam of On My Way.

We sold On My Way as a yearling and then I bought her back two years ago. She was in foal to Vino Rosso at the time and she was already the dam of GSW King Zachary (Curlin). We sold the Vino Rosso colt for more than we bought the mare for and now she has a Quality Road yearling and is in foal to Twirling Candy.

We chose Jackie's Warrior for her this year. This is another mating that matches up really well physically. I gave it a five-out-of-five rating. This family tends to need some speed and if Jackie's Warrior can't provide speed, I don't know who can.

ENCHANTED JASMINE (m, 9, War Chant — Sharaiji Blossom, by Saint Ballado) to be bred to Olympiad

We purchased this mare at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton February Sale as a maiden mare. She's a half to Grade II winner Dothraki Queen (Pure Prize) and under the second dam, her pedigree includes a champion in Hong Kong and a champion grass mare in Canada.

We are going to breed her to Olympiad. I bought a share in Olympiad. With his physical presence, durability and consistency, I think he'll be a really good match for this mare.

JANE MAST (m, 4, Distorted Humor – Coming Attraction, by Tapit) to be bred to Bolt d'Oro

Jane Mast had a world of talent. She ran twice, including a very impressive maiden win at Saratoga. Unfortunately an injury forced her to retire early. She's from a superb Phipps family. Her third dam is My Flag (Easy Goer).

We're excited to have the opportunity to breed her to Bolt d'Oro. It's a good match on pedigree and physical. With the start he got off to in his freshman year, we're hoping that he can provide her that early development and class.

RED ROSES TOO (m, 4, Nyquist – Wishful Splendor, by Smart Strike) to be bred to Not This Time

We purchased this mare's second dam Kaylem Ho (Salem) at the end of her career. We bred her to Smart Strike, which produced this mare's dam Wishful Splendor, who was a stakes winner herself and produced Grade II winner Juanita (Mineshaft).

Red Roses Too is currently in foal to Maclean's Music and for this year we are going to go with Not This Time. It's a really good physical match. There's a lot of soundness and consistency in this female family. Wishful Splendor had 14 foals to race and 12 winners, including several stakes winners. Kaylehm Ho had 15 winners from as many to race. We're breeding their soundness and consistency with the quality and class that Not This Time can provide.

SO HONEST (m, 8, To Honor and Serve — French Park, Ecton Park) to be bred to Nashville

So Honest comes from the family of MGISW Palace (City Zip). She's one of our better-looking mares and is the winner of over $64,000. We've had a little bit of bad luck with her. She came up empty in her first year, then she had a City of Light that is now two, and then she was empty the next year. This year she is in foal to Nyquist and will be going back to first-year sire Nashville.

I didn't really plan on considering Nashville for her, but when I was at WinStar and they pulled him out of the stall, I knew I had to make it happen. If he can reproduce himself physically, he will be very popular in the commercial market. I don't think you can train speed into a horse. You have to provide it through the genetic pool and this horse should do that for her.

Interested in sharing your own mating plans? Email garyking@thetdn.com.

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2023 Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Machmer Hall

As we approach the opening of the 2023 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. Today we spoke with Carrie Brogden at Machmer Hall.

We mate by physical mostly–negative traits to positive traits and vice versa. We try to add speed where there is none and we do not believe in like-to-like matings. We do not use nicks, but we do like successful crosses like Twirling Candy with Unbridled's Song. This is a sample of our matings planned for our 82 foaling mares and 32 maiden and barren mares.

 

ASTRAY (m, 9, Bernardini – Away, by Dixieland Band) to be bred to Life Is Good

This young stakes producer's Into Mischief filly sold for $720,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. She is about the prettiest Bernardini mare you will ever see. I am a big fan of her pedigree and we currently own her niece, too!

She is currently in foal to Hard Spun and we figured that now that we have bred her to several proven stallions, we could revert back to a first-year. She is booked to Life Is Good for 2023.  Life Is Good is an absolute stunner and has a heart the size of Texas.

BECCA'S ROCKET (m, 5, Orb – Idoitmyway, by Unbridled's Song) to be bred to Jackie's Warrior

Becca's Rocket was one of the prettiest and fanciest yearlings we had the year we sold her even though her sire was fast falling out of favor. I watched her hit the board in 13 of her 20 starts, including multiple stakes, and she won over $250,000. We bought her back privately as a broodmare prospect to rejoin Machmer Hall as a broodmare.

For her first foal she is booked to the super good-looking, super talented horse Jackie's Warrior. As Mark Toothaker said to me when I sent her over, “Well, this is a no brainer.” And that is exactly how I felt!

CAMPAIGNING (m, 4, Nyquist – Azalea Belle, Dixie Union) to be bred to Upstart

We bought this Nyquist filly carrying her first foal by Classic Empire at the 2022 Keeneland November Sale. She was a $500,000 yearling herself, so her looks match her sales price.

Since she is only a half-sister to a stakes-placed filly [GIII Iowa Oaks runner-up Aurelia Garland (Constitution)], but she has a nice family, we wanted to be mindful of the stud fee we put in her. She is booked back to Upstart, who only had 19 named 2-year-olds for 2022 and STILL held his own big time. We are thinking that with his bigger and better crops coming down the pipeline, he seems like great value to start a young mare off right.

Heidi Maria, the dam of last year's GII Sorrento S. winner Vegas Magic, will go back to Good Magic in 2023 | Benoit

CLAIRE'S SONG (m, 15, Unbridled's Song – Chimichurri, by Elusive Quality) to be bred to Medaglia d'Oro

Claire's Song is currently in foal to Essential Quality and we have booked her back to Medaglia d'Oro for 2023. We sold her Medaglia d'Oro colt in Saratoga for $625,000 last year and the yearling full-sister is just as nice of a physical as he was. It's hard to not go back to him with this three-time stakes-producing Unbridled's Song mare considering her half-sister produced Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot and Grade II-placed Solemn Tribute, both by Medaglia d'Oro.

DISTURBINGLY HOT (m, 17, Unbridled's Song – Diablo's Blend, by Diablo) to be bred to Sharp Azteca

Disturbingly Hot is currently in foal to Kantharos and is booked back to Sharp Azteca. We were lucky enough to be his yearling consignor, so I knew what a gorgeous horse he was at that point in his life. We took a breeding right from that faith and honestly I think he has shocked everyone. He was a very fast horse and his progeny seem to be good minded and sound, much like him!

FISCAL LITERACY (m, 4, Uncle Mo – City Sister, by Carson City) to be bred to Twirling Candy

Fiscal Literacy is currently in foal to Maxfield, who is just a ten physical. With a first dam that fills an entire page of horses that run and sell great, we bought this mare as a yearling with some significant vetting issues eyeing to keep her as a broodmare.

If there are two sires that have made Machmer Hall, one would be Twirling Candy (the other is Into Mischief), so we booked this big, fancy girl back to Twirling Candy. She has strong hocks like he needs and we love the idea of alternating between proven and unproven stallions in these types of mares. We hope it will turn out for the long run.

HEIDI MARIA (m, 15, Rockport Harbor – Third Street, by Salt Lake) to be bred to Good Magic

Heidi Maria is a stakes winner that we bred and sold as a yearling only to buy her back privately as a broodmare prospect. She is currently in foal to Collected, who just had a lovely first-time starter [Cuvier] of Pletcher's win at Gulfstream Park that we bred, so fingers crossed! She is the dam of Good Magic's Grade II-winning filly Vegas Magic, so it only made sense to book her back to this exciting son of Curlin.

LADY BELLAMY (m, 9, Bellamy Road – Hot Spell, by Salt Lake) to be bred to Aloha West

We bought this mare in foal to Good Magic along with her West Coast colt at foot in 2020. She is currently in foal to Tiz the Law, who I am a HUGE fan of and am taking a punt on him throwing the talent he had by his brilliant sire Constitution.

This mare has a Gift Box yearling (we have 5 yearlings by our homebred stallion) and we have booked her back to GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Aloha West. Aloha West is a very pretty, mid-sized horse. He's light on his feet and correct. Lady Bellamy is a massive mare with bone like tree trunks.

I am hearing great reports about her Good Magic colt with Boomer Bloodstock, so hopefully by the time he runs we will have a lovely Aloha West! This is the first mare owned in partnership with some of our best friends who have never had a Thoroughbred. So far she has had great luck!

LAID BACK LADY (m, 11, Hold Me Back – Sheena's Gold, by Fast Gold) to be bred to Early Voting

Laid Back Lady is currently in foal to Twirling Candy. The only reason we own this mare is because I bought her from a client who had to liquidate his entire broodmare band due to a family illness. and we took her over. We did the mating on her first foal who she was in foal to when we acquired her and that Twirling Candy filly, Always At Ease, just became stakes placed in California–just missing the stakes win!

She is booked back to Early Voting, a first-year stallion and the Grade I-winning son of emerging supersire Gun Runner.

LADY FALCON (m, 5, Super Saver – Sluice, by Seeking the Gold) to be bred to Epicenter

We just purchased this mare in November in foal to her second baby by Practical Joke. I am a huge fan of her family. I have drooled over the progeny of her dam, Sluice, and her half-sister, Mushka (Empire Maker), over the years. She's a big, coarse, plain mare with a lot of substance and she has my favorite thing from her female family–that walk!

We booked her to first-year sire Epicenter, a Grade I-winning son of Not this Time. She will have two proven-sire foals ahead, so we like to change it up with a new sire.

LAYREEBELLE (m, 17, Tale of the Cat – Voodoo Lily, by Baldski) to be bred to Jack Christopher

Layreebelle is currently in foal to one of the greatest values of our time in my mind, Candy Ride (Arg). She is the dam of two graded stakes winners and her daughter is also a graded stakes producer. She is a Machmer Hall homebred and was named after my children (Layne- Reece- Isabelle). She has been so good to us since she injured her shoulder in a paddock accident as a yearling.

Her dam, Voodoo Lily, died of old age after being a retired baby sitter on our farm for many years. She was the grandmother of up-and-coming sire Justify. I am hearing great reports of Layreebelle's Into Mischief 2-year-old colt who is down in Ocala after selling at the Saratoga Sale to Bradley Thoroughbreds.

We have exclusively bred this mare to proven sires her entire life and since we have now retained one of her daughters, who is booked to Tapit for her first foal, we decided to take a shot on a first-year stallion with Jack Christopher, who was bought by one of my favorite people in the industry and a great judge, Liz Crow.

Special Me's daughter and future Grade I winner Gina Romantica practicing her conformation pose as a yearling | courtesy Carrie Brogden

LINE OF VISION (m, 8, Court Vision – Gold Lined, by Numerous) to be bred to Bolt d'Oro

Line of Vision is a small-but-mighty stakes winner by Court Vision. We ended up having so many big mares with our Unbridled's Song crew that we added a few of the 15'1 to 15'2 types this year. We got them for good value because they could really run but did not have the height a lot of buyers want.

We bought this mare in foal to Tiz the Law and while that might not be the physical mating I would have chosen, we were very happy with the price and both parents' racetrack accomplishments.

We have booked her back to champion freshman sire Bolt d'Oro, who seems to throw size and stretch no matter what mare he is bred to. His 2-year-olds were impressive at all the sales I attended in 2022 and they came through in their performances. I would certainly think with how they are built that they would stretch out and it also bodes very well for his half-brother Global Campaign, who we were lucky enough to sell as a yearling for WinStar!

MISS SHOP (m, 20, Deputy Minister – Shopping, by Private Account) to be bred to Authentic

Miss Shop was a grand old Grade I-winning, graded stakes-producing girl when we bought her. Her Into Mischief filly we sold last year at Keeneland September was one of my most favorite yearling fillies of the year, so we decided to repeat that breeding. Miss Shop is currently in foal to Into Mischief, but with his stud fee going out of our farm's comfort zone and us still being his biggest fan, we figured to book her back to the next-best thing: his gorgeous, well-priced son Authentic.

I tell you, those Authentic babies I saw at the sales were just beautiful! We have four yearlings by him and I am delighted with every single one. Miss Shop is one of three mares we have booked back to Authentic.

SPECIAL ME (m, 17, Unbridled's Song – Delta Danielle, by Lord Avie)

Special Me is currently in foal to Twirling Candy and is due in March. This little lady is the foundation of Machmer Hall. She has produced Grade I winners Gift Box (Twirling Candy) and Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), plus Grade II winners Special Forces (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Stonetastic (Mizzen Mast). She was our first mare to produce a homebred million-dollar yearling. She has a yearling full-brother to Gina Romantica this year. She is 17 years old now and this is one mating that is TBD. She has proven that she can go to a plethora of sire lines and have success. We figure that we will wait until she foals safely to make the decision for her next mating. It is a big choice!

Interested in sharing your own mating plans? Email garyking@thetdn.com.

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