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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Mt. Brilliant Farm

With the 2022 breeding season underway, we continue to feature a series of breeders' mating plans. Today we have Cooper Sawyer, farm manager of Mt. Brilliant Farm.

MORENA (PER) (m, 18, Privately Held–Charytin {Per}, by Summing) to be bred to Liam's Map

This mare had a really nice Justify filly that we sold at the [Keeneland] September Sale last year ($375,000 to Japanese trainer Hideyuki Mori). This year she has a Constitution filly.

We are going back to Liam's Map with her this year. Morena herself was a champion in Peru and she's also the dam of Creator (Tapit), who won the 2016 GI Belmont S. We were thinking that Liam's Map, with the Unbridled's Song, would give her a little bit more turn of foot, which she needs.

We're big supporters of Liam's Map. We like the quality horse that he gets you and he's doing some really good things. She's also a really big mare, so he will hopefully tidy her up a bit. I think the biggest thing with this mating is that you'll get the natural speed from his pedigree.

SECRET SOMEONE (m, 11, A. P. Indy–Private Gift, by Unbridled) to be bred to Uncle Mo

Secret Someone was bred and raced by [farm owner] Mr. Greg Goodman, so she's a farm favorite. We kept her first filly by Candy Ride (Arg) and then last year we sold her Into Mischief colt to Mike Ryan for $1 million [at KEESEP].

Her dam Private Gift is one of our foundation mares. We have kept a lot of her fillies and raced them ourselves. We've tried to give this mare the absolute best chance we could. When she raced for us, she was third in the GIII Modesty H. and she won the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S.

This mare really hits home on a lot of levels for us, so we've tried to give her a big shot. She gives us beautiful foals. We were over the moon with her Into Mischief colt. I've been keeping up with him and he looks very fast. They're very excited about him.

Secret Someone had a Quality Road colt this year and she will be going to Uncle Mo. The Private Gift family works with so many different sire lines. We gave her Quality Road last year to hit on the line of GISW Dunbar Road (Quality Road) [out of a half-sister to Secret Someone] and the Into Mischief is the same line as MGSW Private Mission (Into Mischief) [half-sister to Secret Someone]. So we decided to go a little different route this year with Uncle Mo. He's a wonderful sire and we've done very well with him. He gives her a little bit of that brilliance you can always expect from him.

PRIVATE GIFT (m, 20, Unbridled–Private Status, by Alydar) to be bred to Into Mischief

Private Gift had a foal later in the season last year so we were not able to get her bred back. This year she is going back to Into Mischief. We were so excited with MGSW Private Mission (Into Mischief), who she foaled in 2018. She was such a beautiful filly. We sent her up to Saratoga and Donato Lanni fell in love with her.

URSULA (m, 5, Tapit–Debonnaire {GB}, by Anabaa) to be bred to Munnings

Ursula is a half-sister to G1P Hartnell (Authorized). We actually sent her dam Debonnaire back to Australia a few years ago. We had gotten several foals out of her here and we decided to keep Ursula. We did put her through a sale but we put a high reserve on her because we liked her so much, so we ended up racing her. She was very talented and ran against some top-class fillies. She ran second in two stakes at Fair Grounds.

She has a Medaglia d'Oro yearling filly and this year she had a stunning Into Mischief filly. We are sending her to Munnings this year. Ursula was talented and has some very nice foals, but we wanted to give her a bit more speed. With her international pedigree, we wanted to give her pure dirt without losing sight of her international flare as a half-sister to Hartnell. She was strictly dirt, but we wanted to give the opportunity for turf to still come through with the Speightstown line.

FAMOUS (Ire) (m, 15, Danehil Dancer {Ire}–Starlight Dreams, by Black Tie Affair {Ire}) to be bred to Tapit

Famous is a full-sister to champion Mastercraftsman (Ire). She was bred to Galileo a lot early and we bred her colt II Paradiso (Galileo) who was third in the G1 Melbourne Cup. We went away from Galileo and bred her to Bernardini, which produced stakes-placed Love Beach who is also in our broodmare band.

Famous was Group 1-placed and she has produced Classic-distance horses everywhere. This is a family we're trying to stay in. We were the underbidders on her daughter Sherbet Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid) at Tattersalls last year. There are all kinds of fillies coming up in this family so we're trying to give it a very good shot.

Famous has a Tapit yearling filly and this year she had a Quality Road filly. We have her going back to Tapit. Her yearling by Tapit is really nice so we wanted to repeat that. Tapit is a universal sire and we've done really well with him. We always say that if you're going to breed to Tapit, just get out of Tapit's way. She's a mare that has been somewhat unlucky in that she's been knocking on the door of being a superb broodmare, so we're giving her every chance we can by sending her to Tapit. We have a lot of confidence in her.

Into Mischief colt out of Superioritycomplex (Ire) sells for $1.35 million at the 2021 Keeneland September Sale | Keeneland

SUPERIORITYCOMPLEX (Ire) (m, 8, Hard Spun – Justlookdonttouch (Ire), by Galileo) to be bred to Tapit

This mare and her sister SW Abingdon (Street Cry {Ire}), who we purchased at Newmarket, are exactly what we're looking for in our program. They're mares that have older American families that have gone on to be successful in Europe and we try to bring them back here. We want to be able to take these types of mares and throw some good, old-fashioned dirt back into them and make them great American families again. This is a family that we think is knocking on the door to being a great American family.

We actually raced this mare here in America. She was fourth in a stakes at Arlington.

We first bred her to Into Mischief and got a $1.35-million colt purchased by Winchell Thoroughbreds last year. Unfortunately, she lost her Justify last year. She is now in foal to Tapit and then she will be going back to Tapit. We've been lucky with Tapit and figured it was a great opportunity to use him again. We want to breed to Tapit every chance we can get. We couldn't have been happier with the result from the Into Mischief and we have very high hopes for this mare as a producer.

LOOK ME OVER (m, 5, Hard Spun–Wasted Tears, by Najran) to be bred to Quality Road

As the half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Corniche (Quality Road), we figured we would take a flyer and send her to Quality Road. It's a pretty obvious mating. We bought her last year at the Keeneland November Sale. We love Corniche and think he has a very bright future. We've been using Quality Road a lot and really like him. The trend is your friend, so we're not going to go against it.

Look Me Over is in foal to Kitten's Joy this year and we're really excited to see that foal and then send her to Quality Road.

SKY GIRL (m, 12, Sky Mesa–Vargas Girl, by Deputy Minister) to be bred to Maclean's Music

This is the half-sister to champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road). We have done very well with her in the auction ring. We sold a Quality Road yearling for $775,000 to David Ingordo last year. She has an Uncle Mo yearling filly who is a big, Indian Charlie-looking filly and then this year, she is in foal to Nyquist.

This year she is going to Maclean's Music. We have been using him for a while. We wanted to give this mare as much speed as possible. Maclean's Music is no secret anymore and his one start was, as everyone says, jaw-dropping. We figured that the A. P. Indy coming from Pulpit with her is a really good cross with him. We've used Maclean's Music a lot recently. We like what we are seeing out of his foals, so we believe in him enough to throw this kind of mare at him.

ITHINKISAWAPUDYCAT (m, 13, Bluegrass Cat – Unbridled Run, by Unbridled) to be bred to Curlin

This is an awesome mare; she's been very good to us. She's the dam of GISW Sweet Loretta (Tapit). We have had very nice-looking foals out of her and have raced almost everything out of her. We have her Tapit colt Predicted who is doing well and is in training now. We sold her Uncle Mo filly last year and this year we have a Quality Road yearling filly who is exceptional. She has a lot of leg and she's very classy and forward-looking. We can't wait to show her to the team at Fasig-Tipton for Saratoga.

I think if we were going to be critical of this mare, she doesn't put as much substance into her foals. They're all very athletic but they're medium-sized. This year we are sending her to Curlin, who I think will give her more substance to get that top-class, superior racehorse.

We put a lot of thought into our matings with Greg, Hutton and Bo Goodman, Marette Farrell and myself. We go through so many different things. It takes a lot for us to breed to an unproven stallion. We almost always go proven. We don't care who everyone else is breeding to. We try to breed the best athlete we can to get the best racehorse. Putting that in mind, Curlin jumped out at us this year. We've used him in the past and I think he's what we're looking for to get a bit more substance out of this mare.

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First Mares Confirmed in Foal to Modernist

The first mares bred to Darby Dan Farm's MGSW Modernist (Uncle Mo) have been confirmed in foal, the farm announced Friday. Special Trip (Gemologist), a half-sister to Grade I winner Tell a Kelly and to stakes winner Wait For Nairobi, has been scanned in foal, as has Not My Problem (Connect), a daughter of champion She Be Wild.

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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Sierra Farm

Sierra Farm was founded by Ed and Sharon Hudon in 2006. Following the passing of her husband in 2018, Sharon took over the operation and the farm was recently sold to Matt Dorman's Determined Stud in December of 2021. Sierra Farm sold four mares at last year's Keeneland November Sale and the remaining mares moved to Greenfield Farm.

Sierra farm manager Mike Callanan said that of the current broodmare band, many will point to this year's Keeneland November Sale but added that Hudon may retain several to maintain a small broodmare band. Callanan said they kept that objective in mind as they prepared mating plans for this year.

“This year is a little different with the farm selling,” he explained. “We had to be a little more commercial than usual. We have one eye down the road in November because we plan to have a couple sold then, so that fact has influenced a lot of what we've done. We're trying to do the right thing by the mares but at the same time cover our bases for on down the road.”

ANGEL NUMBER (m, 6, Lemon Drop Kid – Ascending Angel, by Pulpit) to be bred to Constitution

This mare is a half-sister to GISW Nadal (Blame) and she is currently carrying her first foal by Speightstown. She is due any day. She's a big, strong, beautiful mare so physically, we think we could breed her to anything.

We will be sending her to Constitution. He is really one of the most exciting sires out there right now and she is one of our best mares. She's a young mare, so we want to give her every shot and I think no matter what way it plays out in November, we will be great there.

BSHARPSONATA (m, 17, Pulpit – Apasionata Sonata, by Affirmed) to be bred to Silver State

Bsharpsonata has been a very good mare to us. We sold a million-dollar yearling out of her and she is a multiple stakes producer. She had a late foal in 2020, so we gave her a year off last year and then bred her to Nyquist. She is due any day. She is 17 years old now, so we want to be commercial with her without putting an exorbitant amount of money into her.

We love Silver State at Claiborne. He's a big, beautiful-looking horse. She's a Pulpit mare, so a very strong, powerful-looking mare but not the biggest in the world. If you can breed her to something with a little bit of leg, I think it would really help her and you don't often get Hard Spuns with the kind of leg Silver State has. I think he's is a really nice horse.

MISCHIEFFUL (m, 4, Into Mischief – Shanon Nicole, by Majestic Warrior) to be bred to Essential Quality

This filly was stakes placed sprinting at Saratoga and she was very fast as a 2-year-old. We retired her last year and she is going to Essential Quality. We kind of had Essential Quality in mind for another mare, but Darren [Fox] talked us into sending this mare to him. Darren liked the fact that she was a fast-looking horse and physically, would suit Essential Quality. Normally we don't like to breed maiden mares to first-year sires, but I think Essential Quality was an exceptional racehorse. Physically, it ticks the box and if this horse goes to November, it will be a commercial mating.

JUMP UP (m, 14, Jump Start – Susie Joe's, by Bertrando) to be bred to Maxfield

This is the dam of SW Amy's Challenge (Artie Schiller). She's a big, good-looking mare and she has already produced a really nice horse. I think Maxfield is well-priced and he was a really nice racehorse. From a commercial point of view in whatever direction we decide to go, I like this cross a lot. We bred her to Kitten's Joy two years in a row and Amy's Challenge is by Artie Schiller, so we wanted to try something a little bit different.

SCANDALOUS SONG (m, 12, Unbridled's Song – My White Corvette, by Tarr Road) to be bred to Hard Spun

This mare is a half-sister to champion Stardom Bound (Tapit) and she is already a stakes producer. This year we will be sending her to Hard Spun. I think Hard Spun is a great value at [$35,000]. Every year he produced runners. She's a big, tall mare so I think he should strengthen her up a bit. From a physical point of view, it ticks every box that we're looking for in a mating.

Let us know who you're breeding your mares to in 2022, and why. We will print a selection of your responses in TDN over the coming weeks. Please send details to: garyking@thetdn.com.

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Mating Plans: Hertrich Seeking the Long Game in a Risky Game

Fred Hertrich III, along with partners John Fielding and Rob Tribbett, celebrated an exceptional year after their breeding program produced six Grade I winners in 2021: Americanrevolution (Constitution), Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy), Hit The Road (More Than Ready), Juju's Map (Liam's Map), Maxim Rate (Exchange Rate) and Pinehurst (Twirling Candy).

Such an achievement has led to many asking Hertrich the warranted question, 'What's your secret?'

He doesn't have one good answer other than this: “There's no magic to it, but there is a secret sauce and that sauce is luck,” he said. “Think of all the people involved in getting a horse to the winner's circle for a Grade I. One day we counted it up and guessed that 60 different individuals were involved in the process from when the mare was bred and when she foaled through when the foal went through the sale, and then the foal can take varied paths based on where it's broken, who trains it and of course the jockey. All you have to have is one glitch in that entire process and that horse may never even get to the track.”

Hertrich said he enjoys the in-depth strategic project that comes with drawing up mating plans for his commercial breeding operation each year. With over 100 mares visiting the breeding shed this year, the process is far from a one-day task.

Before breeding season begins each year, Hertrich will sit down with a panel that includes partner John Fielding, partner/advisor Rob Tribbett and Shane Doyle, the farm manager for Hertrich's Watercress Farm who Hertrich refers to as the conformation expert of the group.

As the panel makes plans for their young mares, Hertrich said their number one goal is to get winners on the mare's progeny record early in her career.

“They have to produce a horse that can run so that everyone can look and say that mare is a great producer,” he explained. “If a mare can't produce runners, it really doesn't matter how well her foals sell.”

According to Hertrich, this approach doesn't necessarily mean that an unproven mare will always visit a proven stallion.

“We do some analytics with it and while you're trying to get a runner, it may be that a first-crop sire conformationally and genetically fits that mare better than anything else. For the six Grade I winners we had, they are by five different stallions. It's not an exact science and that's why the guy with the most money doesn't always win.”

When evaluating mares that have already produced runners, he said it comes down to the balancing act of producing a horse that will have commercial appeal but can also conceivably have success on the track.

“It becomes an economic decision as to how do we maximize value of the foals from that particular mare with a mating that will give us the individual that will produce the best results,” he said. “We always lean toward [a focus on] race performance.”

Hertrich's strategy is perhaps atypical for many commercial breeders pointing their foals for the sales.

“There are some guys who just breed commercially and they're always trying to get Miss America into the yearling ring,” he explained. “That's great, except can Miss America go out and run? If she doesn't, you're only going to trick the market for so long.”

Fred Hertrich | Keeneland

Hertrich acknowledged that his program does have the luxury of not always needing to have progeny by the flavor-of-the-month sire to have success at the sales because many people seek out horses coming from his operation.

“The great thing is that over time, because of the results owners and trainers have had with us, we have built-in clients who come to the farm and want to buy from us because they know how we raise a horse and care for a horse, so they want to be involved in that process.”

While Hertrich always has his eye on the long game in this business, he acknowledges the high risk involved in the game he plays, citing how just last week they had a dystocia with one mare and ended up losing the foal but then had two healthy fillies on the ground three hours later.

“When someone says they want to go into the breeding business, I always tell them to make sure they really look at it before they get into it,” he said. “The breeding business is not for the faint of heart. How many great horses either are never foaled or get injured? It's a high-risk game.”

Hertich passed the baton to advisor and partner Rob Tribbett to discuss mating plans for a few of their top mares.

ALWAYS AUDITIONING (m, 16, Mizzen Mast – Nawal (FR), by Homme de Loi (Ire)) to be bred to Catholic Boy

Always Auditioning is the dam of GIISW Ready to Act (More Than Ready). This year we are booking her to Catholic Boy. He's a horse that we are obviously a bit biased on because we bred him, but we're big believers in him with not only the speed that he showed but also his determination and versatility. There aren't many stallion that have done what he's done on the track. This mating will produce a three-quarters sibling to Ready to Act, who of course is by More Than Ready.

BRAZEN PERSUASION (m, 11, Indian Charlie – Beholden, by Cat Thief) to be bred to McKinzie

This mare was a recent purchase of ours at the November Sale last year. She was a really good 2-year-old. She won the 2013 GIII Schuylerville S.

We are going to breed her to McKinzie, who is a horse that we really like because he was brilliant at two as a Grade I winner, but he was also durable enough to be a Grade I winner at three and four. We also love that McKinzie's dam, Runway Model (Petionville), won the GII Alcibiades S. We love to breed to those stallions that have a pedigree full of brilliance. I like this mating a lot because you're taking the brilliance of the mare, who was such a good 2-year-old, and putting it with a lot of speed from both McKinzie and his dam.

CATCH MY EYE (m, 13, Unbridled's Song – Sharp Eyes, by Storm Cat) to be bred to Curlin

This is the dam of GISW Maxim Rate (Exchange Rate). She's by Unbridled's Song, who we know is one of the best broodmare sires out there.

This year we are sending her to Curlin. Maxim Rate is a turf filly, but with matching this mare's pedigree to Curlin, we think it's a chance to produce that successful Classic-type runner. We think it's certainly within this mare's range of ability and Curlin is obviously one of the best stallions out there when it comes to getting that type of horse.

HOT CHA (m, 7, Bernardini – Hot Water, by Medaglia d'Oro) to be bred to Not This Time

Hot Cha is a young Bernardini mare that is from the family of champion Xtra Heat (Dixieland Heat). Again, I love mares that have speed in their family and there aren't too many fillies faster than Xtra Heat. This mare is a half to Hot and Sultry (Speightster), who just won really impressively at Oaklawn.

We are going to breed her to Not This Time. We think that the start he's gotten at stud with a lower stud fee was really impressive and is the mark of a stallion who could end up being a top-tier stallion after succeeding with those mares bred on a lower stud fee. As he gets these better books, I think the sky is really the limit for him.

LUNAR EMPRESS (m, 9, Malibu Moon – Holy Princess, by Holy Bull) to be bred to Liam's Map

This mare is from a really good family of stakes producers and she was very talented on the racetrack herself. She was a maiden special weight winner at Santa Anita and was fourth in the GI La Brea S. She's by Malibu Moon, who is another good broodmare sire.

We are going to breed her to Liam's Map, the sire of GISW Juju's Map that we bred in 2019. We're trying to raise runners; that's our main goal and then the commercial thing comes after that. Liam's Map certainly gives you a chance to have a great runner and they're going to be commercially-appealing horses as well.

MISS ARRANGEMENT (m, 11, Mr. Greeley – Shy Greeting (Arg), by Shy Tom) to be bred to Honor A.P.

Miss Arrangement was a maiden special weight winner on debut at Keeneland and she already had a yearling sell at Saratoga for $400,000.

We are going to breed her to Honor A.P. He's a horse that we have a lot of confidence in. He was such a talented horse and the win he had over Authentic in the GI Santa Anita Derby was really an impressive race. Like McKinzie, he's out of a top-class race mare which I think is such an added benefit when you're looking at a stallion prospect.

Nagambie's 2021 Audible filly that topped Book 5 of the Keeneland November Sale | photo courtesy Rob Tribbett

MO MUSIC (m, 4, Uncle Mo – Harmony Lodge, by Hennessy) to be bred to Authentic

Mo Music is carrying her first foal by Street Sense now. She is out of Harmony Lodge, who was another filly with a lot of speed. It's a really great female family.

We will be sending her to Authentic. With the natural speed that Authentic had and the stamina he had to carry that speed, we think it is a great match with this mare because there's already so much speed and class coming from her family.

NAGAMBIE (m, 9, Flatter – Charming N Lovable, by Horse Chestnut (SAF)) to be bred to Gun Runner

This is the dam of GISW Juju's Map (Liam's Map). She is currently in foal to Not This Time, who is the brother of Juju's Map's sire. This year she will be going to Gun Runner. Other than maybe Uncle Mo, it's hard to recollect another horse that had such a good first crop. Gun Runner was such a good racehorse and there's really no holes to him as a sire.

POLLY FREEZE (m, 9, Super Saver – Elusive Gold, by Strike the Gold) to be bred to Constitution

This is the dam of Americanrevolution (Constitution), who won the 2021 GI Cigar Mile H., as well as Bold Journey (Hard Spun), who just ran second in the Gander S. on Saturday. Polly Freeze has a really good Collected 2-year-old filly that brought $210,000 as a yearling and she is currently in foal to Frosted. She's a mare that makes a really good foal and she's from a family of really good producers.

We're going to send her back to Constitution. Some people say that he's the next great stallion, but I would say he's already a great stallion with what he's done on these lower-priced books. That's the mark of what his sire did and what Into Mischief has done that makes them a breed-changing stallion when they can succeed with a variety of mares.

Bold Journey (Hard Spun), the half-brother to GISW Americanrevolution, recently ran second in a stakes at Aqueduct for Bill Mott | photo courtesy Rob Tribbett

SUMMER ON THE LAWN (m, 12, First Defence – Summer Exhibition, by Royal Academy) to be bred to Charlatan

This is the dam of GISW Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy). She is booked to Charlatan. We were fortunate to be a part of his racing career as owners. He had so much speed and an ability to carry that speed a distance. Beyond Brilliant also has speed that can carry on both surfaces and I certainly think Charlatan could produce dual-surface runners given his pedigree.

SWEET CAUSE (m, 7, Giant's Causeway – Sweetness 'n Light, by Distorted Humor)

We are big believers in Giant's Causeway mares and Sweet Cause is from the family of MGISW Ms. Eloise (Nasty and Bold). We love mares with that type of race filly in her pedigree.

She will be booked to Catalina Cruiser. He is a horse that we really like and his first crop looked the part, which really didn't surprise us much because he is a beautiful horse. He's a big horse but he had a lot of speed for a big horse. We are going to be supporting him heavily this year.

YEAR OF PROMISE (m, 9, Gio Ponti – Shandra Smiles, by Cahill Road) to be bred to Twirling Candy

This mare is a half-sister to two Grade I winners–She's a Tiger (Tale of the Cat) and Smiling Tiger (Hold That Tiger). This year she will be going to Twirling Candy. Of our Grade I winners in 2021, two of them were by Twirling Candy. When we bred those mares he stood for $20,000 and really the best is yet to come for him.

This mare has already had a More Than Ready and a Constitution and now she will have a Twirling Candy. When we breed these young mares, we love to give them shots with these types of stallions. If she's going to be a producer, these stallions will get her there. Twirling Candy is rightfully now at that stud fee range where he's proven that he belongs. The two Grade I winners that we produced were a dirt 2-year-old and a turf horse, so that's a pretty impressive display of versatility.

Let us know who you're breeding your mares to in 2022, and why. We will print a selection of your responses in TDN over the coming weeks. Please send details to: garyking@thetdn.com.

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