The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Brendan Jacobson of Wimberley Bloodstock.
HOLIDAY SOIREE (15, Harlan's Holiday–Try to Remember, by Include) to be bred to Gun Runner.
Holiday Soiree was a talented racehorse who won the Shine Again S. at Saratoga and placed in the GI Humana Distaff at Churchill. She is the dam of Vahva (Gun Runner), who won the GII Raven Run S. and GIII Charles Town Oaks last year. She is a gorgeous filly with lots of tenacity and determination. Cherie DeVaux trains her, and her connections are excited about what 2024 will bring. I like the linebreeding to Storm Cat on this mating; it is the same cross as Echo Zulu, Gunite, and Pappacap. You also have female family linebreeding back to foundation mare, Alanesian. I am a big fan of linebreeding to superior females. Based on the above, I decided to send her to Gun Runner for 2024.
Holiday Soiree descends from a powerful female family cultivated by Ned Evans, and she might become a foundation mare for us. It will be tempting to keep the fillies out of her to race and add back to the broodmare band. We are commercial breeders, so it will be a tough decision on what to do if a filly is born.
Currently, Holiday Soiree is pregnant to City of Light, who has a lovely physical, and his offspring are having great success on the track and sales ring. Her newly turned 2-year-old filly is by City of Light and was a $400,000 purchase for Belladonna Racing. The filly's connections report she is doing very well and at the top of the list each week. Holiday Soiree is also the dam of Signal From Noise (Arrogate), who ran second in the Lady's Secret S. I purchased this mare in November at Keeneland and am very excited to have her in the broodmare band.
GETTING LUCKY (6, Pioneerof the Nile–Lucky Number, by Smart Strike) to be bred to War of Will.
I purchased Getting Lucky in 2022 at Keeneland in foal to Bolt d'Oro. We now have a lovely Bolt d'Oro colt and will sell him at an upcoming auction as a yearling. I am excited to see how he does in the auction ring. Getting Lucky got a break from being a mother this year; however, we look forward to breeding her to War of Will in 2024. I am a big fan of what this sire did on the track, winning a Grade I on turf and dirt. He won the Preakness at 3 and at 4 he won the GI Maker's Mark Mile.
War of Will is an absolute bargain at his current $25,000 stud fee. His yearlings averaged over $100,000 in 2023, over a 4X multiple of his stud fee. Not only was he an excellent racehorse, but he is doing a great job as a stallion. He is very fertile, with an 80% live foal rate in his first year and an 82% live foal rate in his second year. War of Will looks like a promising heir to carry on War Front's legacy.
We think this sire is the perfect match for Getting Lucky, who descends from a deep Phipps female family, with mares like Get Lucky, Dance Number, Numbered Account, and Intriguing in the pedigree. The female family continues the excellent branch of the great foundation mare La Troienne.
TOBAGO (8, Pioneerof the Nile–Caroni, by Rubiano) to be bred to Flightline.
Tobago is one of my favorite mares; she is a good mother from an excellent family. She is out of Caroni and is a half to GSW Mo Tom (Uncle Mo), MGISP Beautician (Dehere), Don'tforgetaboutme (Malibu Moon), and MGSW Red Ruby (Tiznow). All of whom had successful racing careers.
Caroni's offspring have gone on to earn $2,348,994 in career earnings. Tobago's nephew, Crupi (Curlin), just placed in the Pegasus World Cup. I purchased Tobago in the fall of 2020 at Keeneland and am excited to get into this family.
Last year, we sold her yearling colt by Tapit privately to Winchell Thoroughbreds. He was a lovely specimen and precisely what you would expect a Tapit colt to look like.
As mentioned above, I am a big fan of linebreeding back to superior females. In this case, we are linebreeding back to Ruby Slippers. She has a really nice Essential Quality yearling colt on the ground, which will go to auction this year. I liked what I saw with the Tapit and Essential Quality, so I thought we would continue down the same path. She will be going to Flightline this year.
With these matings, you get the linebreeding back to Ruby Slippers, but you also get the magic Tapit-Empire Maker cross, which produced 31% stakes winners. We don't have a lot of data yet on Pioneer of the Nile as a broodmare sire, but if he is anything like his dad, Empire Maker, then we will be in good shape.
KIRTAN (6, Cairo Prince–Sweet Pistol, by Smart Strike) to be bred to Nyquist.
Kirtan is a half-sister to GISW/MGSW Faiza and is carrying a foal by Girvin, so she has a 3/4 to Faiza in her belly. Faiza sold for $4 million at Fasig-Tipton November Sale last year and is a beautiful individual. Kirtan and Faiza are attractive females, and I would expect their foals to be beautiful, too.
I am a big fan of Girvin and will be breeding more mares to him. It will be interesting to see what his offspring can accomplish with his move to Airdrie. I would say his mare quality has improved, and there is a big chance you will see more graded stakes winners coming in the future.
This will be the first foal for Kirtan, and I wanted to return to a proven stallion and give her every chance to succeed as a broodmare. Kirtan will be going to Nyquist in 2024, and I think the two will complement each other very well. The cross has produced horses like Outwork and A Mo Reay.
SHESA MYSTERY (Verrazano–Mystery Itself, by Pulpit) to be bred to Not This Time.
We purchased GSP Shesa Mystery at the Keeneland November Sale and we were delighted she was in foal to Life is Good. He was a sound and brilliant racehorse, and we believe his offspring will be highly sought after in the sales ring.
Shesa Mystery comes from a strong female family; every dam going back to 1919 has produced stakes winners or stakes placed racehorses. She just had her first foal, and we are encouraged that this foal gives us a shot at continuing the trend. She is a beautiful mare and I hope her offspring take after her in the looks department.
Since she was bred to an unproven stallion for her first foal, I wanted to get her to a proven stallion for the second. Not This Time really improves his mares and what he has accomplished at stud made him a top match.
Not This Time's dam, Miss Macy Sue, was linebred back to foundation mare Aspidistra through Ta Wee. That seemed to work well because we now have two outstanding sires in Liam's Map and Not This Time. I thought adding some more Aspidistra to the pedigree would make some sense.
Shesa Mystery goes back to Aspidistra through the legendary Dr. Fager. Physically, they make a top pair and will complement each other very well.
HONORIFIQUE (Honor Code–Double, by Exchange Rate) to be bred to Elite Power.
We purchased Honorifique at the Keeneland November Sale while she was in foal to Quality Road. This will be her first. Honorifique is out of Doubled, who won the Sorority S. and placed in three other black-type races.
Doubled is out of Mayan Milagra, who produced Tapit full-siblings GSW Dancinginherdreams and Good Pick Nick. The former won the GII Pocahontas S. and placed in two others at that level. Good Pick Nick placed in the GIII Pegasus S.
Honorifique | Coady Photography
Mayan Mialgra is out of Dhaka, bred by Allen Paulson, and she was a fast racehorse. Dhaka won or placed in five black-type races. Not only could she run, but she also produced a graded stakes placed gelding and two black-type winners.
I really like Honorifique's female family and think she has a real chance to continue the tradition of producing stakes winners.
Like her mother, SP Honorifique showed talent on the racetrack. She is an attractive filly with lots of potential as a broodmare. Since her first foal will be by Quality Road, obviously a superstar stallion, I thought it would be worth a gamble to go to an unproven stallion for her second.
I wanted to breed a mare to Elite Power this year; she was the perfect match. He has an outstanding physical and showed so much brilliance on the track. He has all the qualities to become a top sire, and his offspring will be highly regarded in the sales ring.
FROSTED OATS (Frosted–More Oats Please, by Smart Strike) to be bred to Practical Joke.
Frosted Oats is a beautiful mare who showed talent on the track, earning over $140,000 and winning multiple races. She was a $250,000 yearling campaigned by MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm.
Her half-sister is Peace and War (War Front), who won the GI Darley Alcibiades S. and placed in the GIII Delaware Oaks and the GI Cotillion S. Peace and War sold for $1.45 million at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale.
Since this is her first foal, we wanted to get her started on a solid footing and thought Practical Joke would be a terrific fit. He is a very attractive stallion, and his offspring excel on the track.
Practical Joke has started 2024 off strong, already siring four black-type winners–tied for second place with Quality Road. We think these two will make a top pair and produce a foal who will do well in the sales ring and on the track.
MY FIRST PEARL (6, First Samurai–Pearly Blue, by Empire Maker) to be bred to Bolt d'Oro.
SP My First Pearl was a talented a racehorse. She is a half-sister to the 2023 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner, Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}). I really think this family is on the upswing, and I am delighted to have her in the broodmare band. This filly needed to go to a stallion that matched her physically, and we thought Bolt d'Oro would be a top match.
Bolt's offspring are winning on turf and dirt, and I think he is a stallion to keep your eye on. This will be her first foal, and we are hopeful this mating will get her off to a good start as a broodmare.
FASHION WEEK (10, Speightstown-Theyskens' Theory, by Bernardini) to be bred to Liam's Map.
I purchased Fashion Week in 2019, pregnant to Into Mischief, now named New York Strong. He was a $250,000 purchase by Peter Brant. She has also produced a $90,000 Catholic Boy and a $170,000 Uncle Mo. She has a Nyquist yearling on the ground who will go to auction this year, and she is in foal to Golden Pal. Everything she produces is attractive, so we are encouraged to see one of her offspring go on to do big things.
Fashion Week has a lot of linebreeding in her pedigree, so I thought an outcross would do her well. She is currently in foal to Golden Pal, who is an outcross with her, and we are going to breed her to Liam's Map, who is as well. Liam's Map is a very handsome individual whose offspring are doing well on the track and the sales ring. He is also a good value at a $40,000 stud fee. His 2023 yearling average was over $120,000, over a 3x multiple of his stud fee.
Fashion Week needs to be mated with a stallion with some speed. Liam's Map and Golden Pal both ran 126 e-figure races, and I am hopeful their genetics will add some speed to her offspring.
HARVEST (6, Street Sense–Cleaning, by Hard Spun) to be bred to Mitole.
I purchased Harvest in 2022, pregnant to Knicks Go, and he has turned out to be a handsome individual. He looks like what a racehorse should look like. I am impressed with what I have seen so far. He will be going to auction this year, and seeing him go through the ring will be a thrill.
Harvest is currently in foal to Upstart, which I am a big fan of and I think is great value. Airdrie has something special with Girvin and Upstart; they both improve their mares and produce winners. They are both great value at $30,000.
For 2024, we will be breeding Harvest to Mitole. Mitole already has SW Ice Cold out of a Street Sense Mare, and they make a top match physically. He is also a great value at $15,000, and we know he can produce runners.
I look forward to seeing Harvest continue being a good mother and Mitole excel at stud.
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