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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Newtownanner Stud

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Hanzly Albina of Newtownanner Stud.

“I don't take this lightly at all,” said Albina, who is both general manager of Newtownanner's Kentucky farm and North American bloodstock manager of the operation. “It's a ton of fun when it works out. For me, the physical is what I'm shooting for as I can't predict performance. We want to produce what we would buy in a sales ring, want to produce as nice a horse as we can, whether it's to sell or to race. We raise them all as if we were going to race them all, then if we sell, we're confident we're selling the best product we can.

“Some people are traditionalists and breed to race or breed to sell, but there's not really a difference anymore. At the end of the day, everyone is technically a seller–unless you keep every single foal, you're going to see the marketplace, and that goes for either a filly or a colt. You'll eventually either breed your mare or market your stallion, so you must consider these things. I find there's a lot of commonality among the guys who do the best with this.”

Wamathaat (8, Speightstown–Special Me, by Unbridled's Song), to be bred to Into Mischief

We bought her from Tattersalls (220,000gns) in 2019 and brought her over here. At the time we bought her, I thought it was a family that was on the uptake and it has rewarded us. She's a half to Gina Romantica, Gift Box, Stonetastic, Special Forces. It looked like a family that was exploding. She's a very good-looking mare. She has a 2-year-old Twirling Candy filly we sold to Mike Akers last year (FTSAUG, $385,000) and a Candy Ride (Arg) colt that is very nice.

She went to Into Mischief last year and this year is going to go back to him. It's hard to go wrong with Into Mischief. (MGISW) Gina Romantica obviously has continued to run very well and so we kind of wanted to bring that out of her. We tried the Candy Ride with her and there will probably be more of him in her future, maybe some Gun Runner in there, but for right now we went to Into Mischief and we'll see what happens.

Toni Tools (10, Roaring Fever–Patine, by Smart Strike), to be bred to Gun Runner

We bought her for $330,000 at the (2023) Fasig-Tipton Mixed Sale. She is the dam of Candied, a Grade I winner of the Alcibiades. She's going to Gun Runner. It's a natural inclination from a body perspective, plus we get a little more consistency from Gun Runner than Candy Ride (sire of Candied). She's a young mare and deserves to be bred to the best sire out there; she warrants the money. This is her time.

Toni Tools as a 2-year-old on the track | Sarah Andrew

Flourish (17, Distorted Humor–Viviana, by Nureyev), to be bred to Into Mischief

She's the dam of (MGSW & GISP) Fulsome, an Into Mischief millionaire. She's going back to him for obvious reasons. She has an Into Mischief sister to Fulsome on the ground and basically this is the third year in a row we've gone to him with her.

Kosmo's Buddy (19, Outflanker–Vaulted, by Allen's Prospect), to be bred to Gun Runner

She's the dam of (Horse of the Year) Knicks Go. She recently had a Paynter colt and will be going back to Gun Runner. It was more of a physical match for us. She's not the biggest mare in the world, but she transfers a lot of the stallion through. I think if you breed her to a strong stallion, that is pretty bulletproof for her. Gun Runner is the horse for me and is the hot stallion right now. This mating was more of a physical one than from a pedigree perspective. In the past we'd bred her to Justify and Ghostzapper, trying to follow the Awesome Again, but we think Gun Runner makes a lot of sense as she brings out a lot of the stallion. We all try to figure it out; you develop your theories and see what has validity or not.

Kadira (19, Kafwain–Raw Gold, by Rahy), to be bred to Tapit

This is the dam of Paola Queen, winner of the Test. She is going to Tapit. We loved Flatter (sire of Paola Queen) and he was very generous to us, but he's gone. We sold one Flatter filly out of Kadira and retained another. She's in foal to Tapit and going back to him, because of the Pulpit/A.P. Indy factor. She has very beautiful foals and he will be a good match. When the mare has already proven herself, it makes my job easy.

Malibu Pier (17, Malibu Moon–Blue Moon {Fr}, by Lomitas {GB}), to be bred to Forte

She's the dam of Malibu Stacy, who was Grade II placed, and Coasted, who was Grade-I placed in the Breeders' Cup. She's an older mare, but we bred her to Medaglia d'Oro and got a nice filly. She's in foal to Jackie's Warrior now and is going to be bred back to Forte. I thought the body types matched well. We like the Medaglia d'Oro (yearling) filly very much and with Forte a first-year sire we wanted to breed to and it being a very hard season to get a hold of, we wanted to make sure we used it well.

Meg Fitz (9, Tapit–Meguial {Arg}, by Roy), to be bred to Justify

This is a Tapit mare we bred. She's in foal to Olympiad right now; we'll go back to Justify because she's a half-sister to (GISW) I Want Revenge, more than a half-sister. Her first foal is a Mendelssohn, who was second in the Kentucky Jockey Club (Real Men Violen). We're excited about the Olympiad. She had a Speightstown sell for $600,000 at Saratoga last year and has been very generous to us so far, so we're going to Justify since that's a Scat Daddy line. She brings the best out of every stallion we've bred her to and has beautiful foals.

Kateri (12, Indian Charlie–Sue's Good News, by Woodman), to be bred to Cody's Wish

She's a mare we've had her entire career; again, very generous to us. She's a stunning mare, an Indian Charlie mare. We sold a Tiznow out of her for $420,000 as a 2-year-old, a Curlin for $725,000. Obviously, her best racehorse to date is (GSW & GISP) Souper Sensational (by Curlin). We bred her to Curlin again and are retaining that 2022 colt to race. He's in training with Robbie Medina. She has a yearling filly by Curlin and went back to him again. That would have been four years in a row to Curlin if we went this year, so we're going to Cody's Wish. She puts a great body on a horse and we thought he was a standout physically. If you went to see that horse, you bred to him.

Shopit's 2021 colt in the sales ring | Fasig-Tipton

Shopit (9, Yes It's True–Shop Here, by Dehere), to be bred to Into Mischief

Dam of (SW & MGISP) Shoplifted. It's probably not that interesting, but we just breed her to Into Mischief every year since it already worked. She has amazing foals.

Afleet Maggi (17, Afleet Alex–Mindset, by Coronado's Quest), to be bred to Nyquist

Dam of Grade I winner Dream Tree. We bought her, have an Uncle Mo filly out of her that I was pretty happy with. She went back to Uncle Mo, but aborted. This year, we went to Nyquist. With him taking off last year, we think he's now done enough to warrant being bred to her.

Fancier (13, Bernstein–Princess Pegasus, by Fusaichi Pegasus), to be bred to Flightline

She is the dam of (GISW) Get Her Number by Dialed In, which is the Mineshaft/A.P. Indy line. She has a Tapit colt and is back in foal to Tapit, but this year we'll be breeding her to Flightline. We typically wouldn't breed a mare of this caliber to a second-year sire; we'd go to a proven or a first -year sire, but he's going to defy the odds. He has a lot of buzz, a lot of industry support, and looks exactly what you think a horse of his race record is going to look like. I think he'll defy the trend; I don't think he'll have the usual slump of a second and third year. We're seeing if we can improve the Tapit we have with him. We think he's a good fit for this mare.

Go Go Princess (4, Justify–Kosmo's Buddy, by Outflanker), to be bred to Mage

She's more than a half to Knicks Go and we're going to breed her to Mage. The reasoning is she's a very typical Justify, she's an even leggier version of him. I think from a body perspective, she is a beautiful mare and we had a little flexibility on who to breed to. We're very excited about Mage at Airdrie. A first-year Derby winner is one of the soundest bets in our sport. We're actually sending two to Mage.

The post Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Newtownanner Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Kateri Proving a ‘Souper’ Purchase for Newtown Anner

In his early days in the Thoroughbred business, Hanzly Albina served the Foustok family's Buckram Oak Farm as assistant farm manager and later managed Four Roses Thoroughbreds for the same operation.

“As a young person in the business, you don't get to do a lot, but you get to study a lot,” Albina recollects.

The horseman is now applying that and other knowledge he's acquired over the years as an advisor to Maurice and Samantha Regan's Newtown Anner Stud, the breeders of 'TDN Rising Star' and GII Rachel Alexandra S. presented by Fasig-Tipton hopeful Souper Sensational (Curlin).

The broodmare band at Newtown Anner numbers around 65, split between their Versailles, Kentucky, farm on a little more than 1000 acres that once belonged to Standardbred operation Brittany Farm on Pisgah Pike. The couple also maintains a farm in Millbrook, New York, as well as a farm in Ireland.

On behalf of Newtown Anner, Albina and partner Nick Sallusto went to $167,000 for then 4-year-old Kateri (Indian Charlie), in foal to Paynter, at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton February Sale. In signing for the mare, Albina was drawing upon the lessons he gleaned from one of Thoroughbred breeding's legends.

“I am big fan of John Nerud and I try to learn about everything he did and how his thought process worked. This is a family that connects to him–Cozzene is down the page,” Albina explained, referring to the 1985 Eclipse Award-winning turf male that was campaigned by Nerud. “Now, I'm not one of these guys that is going to breed mares based on sixth and seventh generation, but the short answer is, there was a lot going on in the first dam [Sue's Good News] and it was a beautiful first dam. There was a lot of beauty in the family and I thought I could work with that. She was a beautiful Indian Charlie mare. I loved the fact that it was Indian Charlie, because it goes back to Caro (Ire),” sire of the aforementioned Cozzene.

Albina was well-acquainted with the Caro-line, as Buckram Oak raced the sire's son Siberian Express, a $320,000 purchase out of the 1984 Keeneland July Sale by Mahmoud Foustok. Siberian Express was, in turn, the sire of In Excess (Ire), who was bred and raced through part of his career by Mahmoud Foustok's brother, Ahmed.

“It's been proven time and time again that this European influence of Caro coming through, for whatever reasons, has been very good for American racing and keeps on coming up.”

Kateri foaled a colt by Paynter the day after her purchase and Albina was pleased with what he saw.

“I thought the Paynter was a pretty good horse,” he said. “I kind of gave her a pass being her first foal, she wasn't a spectacular sort of specimen. Then we went to Tiznow and that was a magnificent horse. We took it to auction and no one wanted the horse. Nick and I decided we weren't going to let this beautiful horse go, Tiznow was a little cold. So we tried to sell him again and the same thing happened, we didn't get the money we wanted. Nick took the horse down to Florida and started prepping him. He went to the sale and that's when Red Oak bought in and we raced it together.”

Bought back for $275,000 at Keeneland September in 2018, the Tiznow colt was led out unsold on a bid of $175,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Connections' faith in the colt was rewarded when he fetched $420,000 at the OBS April Sale in early 2019.

“He was a stunning horse and the money we got from the 2-year-old sale kind of validated what we thought about the mare,” Albina said. “Since I held the Tiznow in high regard, I said, 'Now it's time to make a move with this mare' and overbreed her a touch. We made a jump to Curlin, he was a stallion we really liked at the time. He was much cheaper than he is now and physically, we loved him.

He continued, “In [Kateri's] second dam you have Easyfromthegitgo (Dehere), Deputy Minister-line, similar to Curlin on the bottom, and it had worked on the pedigree with Conquest Curlgirl [a daughter of Easyfromthegitgo's GSW half-sister Sue's Good News]. Typically I look for something a little closer, but it was close enough to where I was OK with it and the physical really worked.”

Kateri dropped her Curlin filly Mar. 28, 2018, and she was as straight-forward as could be, Albina remembers, as she grew up and as she was prepped for a date in the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“What stood out about her was how unremarkable the process was,” he said. “She was always a very good-looking horse, always well-balanced, there were never any issues. She got to the sale and looked beautiful, took it all in stride, never any hiccups. It's not always that way. I don't remember her ever being sick, I don't remember any issue with her. She got to Saratoga and we had a very good sale. She was our highest-priced horse that year.”

The Kateri filly caught the eye of the team at Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation, who were extended to $725,000.

“This was the best horse we had for Newtown Anner that year,” he said. “We thought about keeping her, but we set a line on her and if we get more than our number, we'll let her go and if not, we'll race her. That's kind of the exercise we do with all our horses.”

Albina, who consigns yearlings with Ron Blake as Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, also sold Peter Brant a Quality Road filly for $525,000 that year. Now named Boston Post Road, that full-sister to MSW & GSP Top Quality was a maiden winner at first asking at Gulfstream Park Feb. 7.

Albina said that the philosophy of Newtown Anner is to “breed the horses we typically don't go out and buy.”

“Then we test the market and we trade,” he explained. “For [Souper Sensational], our reserve would have been very high and if someone paid it, they could have her and if not, then she comes back and we get to keep a nice horse. We aren't going out there and buying million-dollar horses or consistently paying $500,000 and $600,000 for horses. If we can sell the ones that bring in excess of what they're worth, that's kind of the goal. The stuff we don't like, we put little to no reserve on and move them on. We just try to make good decisions and I think offering all our yearlings at auction is a mechanism by which we can keep ourselves sharp and that we're making good business decisions.”

After graduating and earning her 'Rising Star' at first asking, Souper Sensational added a facile success in the Glorious Song S. at Woodbine last October. The chestnut exits a good second when trying two turns and dirt for the first time in the Jan. 16 Silverbulletday S., and Albina believes she'll continue to improve from here.

“I think she's going to get better and better with distance,” he said. “We'll let her show us. I'm not worried about any surface with her, I think her action tells me she can be very good on the dirt. I think she got a little unlucky in her last start, but she finished well. Some people are disappointed when they finish second, but I think the races she has to win are ahead of her. I'm very pleased with everything she's done so far.”

While Souper Sensational has done her part to enhance her page, the family remains live elsewhere. Kateri's Grade I-winning half-sister Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow) is not only the dam of the Japanese-based, UAE Group 3-placed Serein (Uncle Mo), but also of $2.5-million KEESEP graduate Tatweej (Tapit), a hugely impressive allowance winner at Aqueduct Feb. 4. Another half-sister, Tiz News (Tiznow), is the dam of 2020 Trapeze S. runner-up Tiz Splendid News (Maclean's Music), who has returned to the worktab at Keeneland for trainer Wesley Ward. Tiz News changed hands for $190,000 in foal to Curlin's champion son Good Magic at KEENOV last fall.

Albina reports that Kateri's foal of 2019, a colt by Maclean's Music, was ticketed for last year's Saratoga Sale, but was sadly put down after suffering a freak injury. The agent said that Souper Sensational's yearling full-sister “resembles her sister greatly and we're very excited about her” and will be aimed at one of the major yearling sales later this year. Kateri is currently carrying to American Pharoah on a later cover and is booked back to Curlin for this year.

The post Kateri Proving a ‘Souper’ Purchase for Newtown Anner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bloodlines Presented By ThoroughbredAuctions.Com: Souper Sensational Extends John Nerud’s Legacy

Becoming the 70th stakes winner for sire Curlin (by Smart Strike), Souper Sensational won the Glorious Song Stakes at Woodbine on Oct. 17 by four lengths. Now unbeaten in two starts, Souper Sensational became the ninth winner of the race for trainer Mark Casse and the seventh winner of the race for jockey Patrick Husbands.

Bred in Kentucky by Newtown Anner Stud, Souper Sensational was sent through Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale at Saratoga in 2019, and for $725,000 the good-looking chestnut filly sold to Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation.

The filly is out of the unraced Indian Charlie mare Kateri, who was purchased by Sallusto and Albina, agent, on behalf of Newtown Anner Stud for $167,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton February mixed sale in Kentucky. The mare was in foal for the first time on a cover to Paynter, sold on Feb. 8, and foaled the next day. Consigned to the Fasig-Tipton November sale, the Paynter foal was an RNA at $155,000, then repeated that experience the next year at the Keeneland September yearling sale for an RNA price of $85,000. That youngster became the gelding Karamojo, who has not won in two starts but is still in training.

The mare's second foal, Hedonistic (Tiznow), experienced a similar situation at the sales, going through the ring at the 2018 Keeneland September and Fasig-Tipton October sales for $275,000 and $175,000, respectively, as an RNA. Then in 2019, Hedonistic sold at the OBS April sale for $420,000 to Red Oak Stable and Newtown Anner. In his only start, the colt ran fourth in a maiden special later that year.

Both in the sales ring and again on the racetrack, Souper Sensational experienced a much different result than her elder siblings. Now a stakes winner and unbeaten racer at two, she will be encouraging buyers and equine evaluators to look kindly upon her subsequent siblings.

In addition to the horses above, Kateri is the dam of a 2020 yearling colt by Maclean's Music and a weanling full sister to Souper Sensational. Most recently, the mare was bred to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Kateri is out of Grade 3 stakes winner Sue's Good News (Woodman) and is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow) and multiple stakes winner Bulletin (City Zip). They trace back to Souper Sensational's fourth dam Mochila (In Reality), a stakes winner who was second in the Grade 1 Ruffian and third in the G1 Beldame.

Mochila was a half-sister to champion Cozzene (Caro), and both were bred by the legendary trainer John Nerud. A winner of the Breeders' Cup Mile as a 5-year-old, Cozzene retired to stud in Kentucky at Gainesway Farm and became an important sire, getting 92 stakes winners.

In addition to Cozzene and Mochila, Nerud bred both Grade 2 winner Movin' Money (Dr. Fager) and her stakes-winning full sister Ivy Road from the Prince John mare Ride the Trails. Nerud acquired Ride the Trails from breeder Joseph Roebling, who bred her from the Sir Gaylord mare Wildwook.

The unraced Ride the Trails was Wildwook's second foal. Her third was Laramie Trail (Swaps), who won the 1975 Gotham and Bay Shore Stakes, then became a useful sire in South America. Wildwook's fifth foal was Western Wind (Gallant Man), who ran third in the 1976 Futurity and in the 1977 Blue Grass Stakes, both Grade 1 races.

When I spoke to John Nerud several years ago about his breeding experiences, he mentioned the acquisition of Ride the Trails.

“Training and racing in New York, you got to know Joe Roebling and his racehorses pretty well,” Nerud declared. “He was a man who was very much a tremendous individual and an unusually perceptive breeder.

“Roebling loved his racehorses, and none of his families was stronger than that one from Portage (War Admiral),” he continued. “She was a full-sister to Blue Peter, who was the top 2-year-old colt [in 1948], and she wasn't a top racehorse herself. But she was a producer.”

Indeed, Portage was the dam of four stakes winners: Rainy Lake (Royal Charger), Pack Trip (My Babu), Black Mountain (Tudor Minstrel), and Wyoming Wildcat (Gallant Man). The mare's daughters, however, have earned Portage even more lasting fame with successive generations of quality that include such as Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen, Preakness winner Timber Country, Dixie Union, and Dubai Millennium.

“There was a lot of ability in this family,” Nerud continued, “and yet the greatest thing about them, from a trainer's point of view, was that you could train weight on them. Most horses, if you train them and really start getting into them, they lighten up. They lose weight, lose strength, and lose speed. But this group of horses love their training and racing. They get stronger with more racing, and they are tough and sound. I love them.”

If Souper Sensational continues this family history, she should have a fascinating career ahead, both on the track and, sometime in the future, at stud.

The post Bloodlines Presented By ThoroughbredAuctions.Com: Souper Sensational Extends John Nerud’s Legacy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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