mating plans | Horse Racing Free Tips

Mating Plans: Flightline’s Second Book

It's safe to say that no horse has retired to stud in recent memory with the fanfare of Flightline, who won all six of his starts by a combined 71 lengths, including four Grade Is. He was the world's highest-ranked racehorse of 2022, and earned triple-digit Beyers in all six of his starts. With an initial fee of $200,000, Flightline covered just over 150 mares in 2023 in his initial book, and those in-foal mares averaged $1,074,431 at the sales, the highest average for a first-crop covering sire in 15 years.

For 2024, his fee was reduced to $150,000, and he is expected to cover around the same number of mares this year. Bill Farish talked to us about his second book of mares.

“It is fascinating how evenly spread out it is with different sire lines. He's got five Dixie Union mares, five Into Mischief mares, six Candy Ride mares, six Medaglia d'Oro mares. He's got eight either by Empire Maker or Pioneerof the Nile, which is kind of interesting. He's got two La Brea winners, Fair Maiden (Street Boss) and Fun to Dream (Arrogate). Almost every one of his mares is either a graded stakes winner or has produced a graded stakes winner or is a half to a Grade I winner.

It's fun to go down and just see the people who are supporting him: Juddmonte, heavily, St. Elias; WinStar; Phipps Stable; Whisper Hill. There is quite a bit of Japanese participation. And we've got 10 (Lane's End) mares going to him.

He'll be right at 150 again this year. We bred him to 152 last year, just because we had a couple of people we couldn't say no to. But the goal was always to keep him right around 150.

He really is kind of funny. Last year, he walked right off the van and sort of took a look around and let the other guys know that he was there and then he really never had turned another hair. It's incredible. From the first time he was turned out to the way he handles himself in the breeding shed, he's just a very smart, very relaxed horse. I wish they were all this way. He is a very good breeder, very fertile and he's certainly one that if we wanted to go to these huge books that other people are breeding, he certainly could. I mean, he does it all, does it all very, very easily and kind of on demand.

It's really becoming the norm to drop a stallion's fee in the second year. With these larger books going to the first-year horses, they're taking so many mares out of the market that they might normally go to these types of stallions. And they're also taking, I think, a lot of mares that would go to made stallions. There's such a bonus in the yearling market when you go to sell a first-year stallion that people are opting for the lower fee and a first-year horse than the proven stallion that probably has a much better chance of getting him a runner.

But look at Into Mischief and others. It's not all about how good their book is, it's how good they are as stallions and the good ones, no matter how they start out, are going to rise to the top. I think that right now, there are fewer mares in that top-end category and more stallions in that category. So the combination of those two things, with many mares that have been bought and taken overseas that might be in that category, definitely hurts these higher price tags, the made ones.

For his second book, going down the list, we have Reunited (Dixie Union), who is the dam of Code of Honor, who won the Travers. Royal Flag (Candy Ride {Arg}), who won the Beldame and is a half-sister to Catalina Cruiser and a full-sister to Eagle (who won the GIII Ben Ali S. and was runner-up in the GI Stephen Foster) and she's a Candy Ride mare that we're breeding to him.

I think he fits a lot of mares physically because he's not a overly big horse or a small horse. He is a real kind of ideal-size stallion, so you wouldn't hesitate to breed a smaller mare to him and you also wouldn't mind breeding a larger mare to him. So physically, he fits a lot of different mares. He's got great length and conformationally, he's awfully ideal.

From a physical standpoint, I think he's open to a lot of mares. Pedigree-wise, not it's not unique to us, but with a young stallion, you want to try a lot of different things. Dirt, turf, European mares, and just all sorts of different sire lines. So, he has Ghostzapper mares, Lemon Drop Kid mares, quite a few Into Mischief Mares. And the breeders are pretty savvy about what they're breeding to them, so it's not something we really have to overly manage.

Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), for instance, who won the GII Ballston Spa, GII Lake Placid, and the GIII Gallorette and was ssecond in the GI Diana and Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup, is owned by the JS Company, Japanese interests, and she's going to him. Defining Purpose (Cross Traffic), who won the Ashland, she's owned by Northern Racing, and she'll go to him. Midnight Lucky (Midnight Lute) won the GI Acorn, and she's going to him. She's Juddmonte breeding. Mexican Gold is a Medaglia d'Oro mare. She's a group three winner, and she's a half-sister to Announce who won the Romanet.

Juddmonte's also breeding Sun Path (Munnings). She's a full-sister to Bonnie South who won the Fair Grounds Oaks. WinStar is breeding So Darn Hot (Ghostzapper), who's the half-sister to Come Dancing who won the Ballerina.

He's also covering one of the exciting kind of older mares, Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union), who's the dam of New Year's Day and Mohaymen.

We've got the GI Jaipur winner that Team Valor is breeding. She's by Animal Kingdom, and a very different kind of mare for him.

Her name is Oleksandra. We have A Song of Mine, another Ghostzapper mare who is a half-sister to Songbird.

As I said, Lane's End has 10 mares going to him, who are either ours or who we own in partnership. Among them are Salty As Can Be (Into Mischief), a full-sister to Salty.

We have Finding Fame (Empire Maker), who is a full-sister to multiple stakes winner Mei Ling.

We are breeding High Opinion (Lemon Drop Kid), who was second in the GII Ballston Spa. She is a stakes winter, and multiple graded placed. And then we're breeding a Blame mare named Acting Out who's a Listed stakes winner and graded placed. We also have a Kitten's Joy mare named Adorable Miss, who is the dam of the Battle of Normandy. There's Exotic West, a Hard Spun mare who's a stakes winner and graded placed. And there are the older mares, like Lemons Forever (Lemon Drop Kid) who won the Kentucky Oaks and who is the dam of Unbridled Forever and Forever Unbridled. And Forever Unbridled (Unbridled's Song) herself is also coming too. She was the (2017) Champion Older Dirt Female.

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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.

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Mating Plans, Presented By Spendthrift: Wimberley Bloodstock

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.

Flightline | Sara Gordon

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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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Erin Sharkey of Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds.

“We have been working on upgrading our bloodstock over the last several years with a focus on good-running mares that might not have a Kentucky commercial pedigree up front, but still have the ability to create excellent racehorses and future stallion prospects. If you look at the current stallions in Kentucky, you will see that around half are out of mares with non -commercial Kentucky sires. My personal opinion is that it is time to shift focus back to creating sound-running horses that also appeal to buyers in the ring. We have always focused on what our babies will be doing at three, five, 10 and 15 years old-creating a sound horse that can be utilized in many different fields, not just racing. That being said, we at Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds have shifted our focus partly away from True Nicks and have started utilizing the G1 Goldmine match more. For us personally, I feel like G1 gives you a more complete deep dive, if you will, into the overall pedigree-putting a lot of emphasis on mom's side and how the overall group of horses in the pedigree perform when crossed. Most of our mares' current pregnancies and upcoming breedings match this.”

RICH IMAGE (7, Imaging-Richetta, by Polished Numbers) to be bred to Gunite.
We have had this mare from the beginning of her breeding career. Every foal has just gotten nicer and nicer. She throws excellent balance and size. Her first foal by Maximum Security is currently in training with Eric Reed. We have her Tiz the Law yearling filly, who is phenomenal. Anxiously awaiting her Early Voting this year and going to Gunite was a no-brainer. He is beautiful. Retired sound and moves like a well-oiled machine. Gun Runner is really hot right now and the cross was excellent. This female family is really taking off with Ruby Nell (Bolt d'Oro) now a graded stakes winner.

APPEALING WAY (10, Tizway-Turkappeal, by Turkoman) to be bred to Annapolis.
This is another mare we have had since the beginning of her breeding career. She is currently in foal to Mandaloun. She had her first foal last year by Complexity. This is a deep family with a lot of black-type. Older pedigree, but produced sound horses. She is a half-sister to Grade III winner Pink Champagne (Awesome Again) and most of the siblings were excellent runners. She crosses well with Annapolis. He was a winner at two, three and four. He's from a great dirt family but won on turf. I think he will be versatile. It was a G1 Goldmine cross.

Navy Sword will visit Goldencents in 2024 | Coady photo

SAFFRON GIRL (7, Tapizar-Mattie Camp, by Forest Camp) to be bred to Speaker's Corner.
We are breeding Saffron Beach to Speaker's Corner. This is a big, tall mare. Lots of leg. Her first foal by Spun to Run was well put together and nicely balanced. We then bred her to Speaker's Corner because it was off the charts both on G1 and TrueNicks. We are currently waiting for that foal to come and breeding her back to him seemed like a sensible idea. Speaker's Corner won some excellent races, had some excellent Beyer figures and raced into his 4-year-old year. I'm excited to see the foal coming this year. We have had this mare up for sale but she's such a nice mare that its really been a back and forth of not wanting to let her go. She has a lot to offer and is a fan favorite at the barn.

MONEY INTHE STARRS (8, Abraaj–Our Monstarr, by Demons Begone) to be bred to Yaupon.
This is a nice mare. I sent her to the sale this year and she got overlooked. I was happy to take her home. She was a stakes winner on the track and clinched Champion 2-year-old filly in Washington. She is currently in foal to Epicenter and I'm counting the days. Yaupon was well received at the sales and physically he matches her very well. Her pedigree isn't really seen here in Kentucky so its hard to find a great cross for her on paper, so for this mare we are going in a different direction than our other mares. We really liked what she produced with the Knicks Go filly she had last year and are pretty confident with what she will throw in upcoming years. Her mother was an excellent horse and Demons Begone horses are hardy runners.

NAVY SWORD (7, Bodemeister-Wooden Nickel, by Divine Park) to be bred to Goldencents.
This is a nice mare. She ran well in her company. She was a stakes winner of almost $200,000. We ran her G1 report and she really crossed well with Into Mischief sons. Goldencents is proven and is dependable to get you a good runner. This is a mare we are looking forward to having for many years and feel like we are starting her strong with a reliable sire.

DELIGHTFUL DREAMER (7, Animal Kingdom-Age of Silver, by Silver Deputy) to be bred to Jimmy Creed.
This is a mare I had been trying to get for a while. I lost her on a shake last year and was lucky enough to be able to get her this year when she retired. This is a nice family. Mom has proven to be quite fruitful on the blacktype scale. Since Distorted Humor works so well with this family we decided Jimmy Creed was an excellent choice for a first foal. He is also reliable, tried and true. Her mom produced some excellent horses on the Distorted Humor cross so we are hopeful she can do the same.

PENDOLINO (8, Honorable Dillon-Wonzit, by Tizow) to be bred to Yaupon.
We got this mare in New York. She was a hard-knocking mare who won over $200,000. She comes from the immediate family of Naughty Gal (Into Mischief). She's currently due any minute to Rock Your World. Again with Yaupon, he was a great runner, his foals have been very well received at the sales and physically, he matches her well. She has been a dream at the farm and we are excited to see what this family continues to produce.

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