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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.

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

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Horse of the Year Knicks Go Settling in at Stud

Two-time Breeders' Cup Champion and newly-crowned 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go is already well underway in his first year at stud at Taylor Made Stallions. It's been a whirlwind stretch for the five-time grade I winner over the past few weeks after his final career start in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. as he traveled from Florida to Kentucky and had just a few days to prepare for the upcoming breeding season before the shed doors officially opened.

“He ran in the Pegasus on Jan. 29, shipped on the 30^th and started test breeding the next day,” Taylor Made's Brooks Taylor shared. “He bred his first mare on the eighth this month and has already bred 10 mares. He's taken to his job really well. He really didn't have any time off.”

Such a quick turnaround might bring about some apprehension for those overseeing a young stallion's career, but Taylor said most horses take it all in stride.

“There is a lot riding on it, but I think they can handle it as long as you treat them right and make it as easy as possible for them. You make sure to give them enough time outside and things like that.”

For now, Knicks Go's first book includes close to 160 mares, but Taylor said that number may increase as the season continues.

He added that the Taylor Made team is thrilled with how their new sire's first book is shaping up and explained how as they were searching for mares for him, their two main focuses were physical and race record.

“Physical is important to us,” he said. “We realize that in that first year, how they sell is really important. We want to breed the best physical that fits him. For me personally, I like Tiznow mares with him and he has about 10 Tiznow mares. We also wanted horses with a race record behind them and horses that could prove they could run. We didn't want a lot of unraced mares. It's really about trying to balance the physical with all these other different factors.”

Taylor, the son of the President of Taylor Made Stallions Ben Taylor, started his career in the industry by working on the farm at Taylor Made and spending summers gaining hands-on experience abroad in France, Argentina, Brazil and Australia. He spent several breeding seasons working with the Taylor Made stallions before moving into the office to work as a stallion sales assistant for eight years. Now 35, Taylor serves as a Thoroughbred advisor, helping clients reach their breeding and racing goals.

He also played a major role in landing Knicks Go onto the Taylor Made stud roster.

Taylor remembers first laying eyes on the colt when the talented gray was just a 2-year-old at Keeneland.

“I've known [Korean Racing Authority racing manager] Jun Park for a long time through selling seasons with him and seeing him at the sales,” he explained. “I had watched the Sanford and thought it was cool that the KRA was winning here in the U.S. I was at Keeneland for the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and remember looking at Knicks Go in the paddock and thinking, 'Man he's a pretty horse.' He ended up winning really impressively and I just remember being so happy for Jun and the KRA to see them have that success.”

Two years later at the Keeneland Fall meet, Knicks Go claimed his second win since the Breeders' Futurity. Discussions about his future stud career grew more frequent as he prepared for the GI Breeders Cup Dirt Mile.

“I had asked Jun what their plans were and he said they wanted to stand him in the U.S.,” Taylor recalled. “I told him when the time comes, we would like to have that conversation. We wanted to see how it played out. Once it looked like he was going back to the Breeders' Cup last year, we made our pitch.”

Taylor Made was of course not the only stud farm hoping to add Knicks Go to their roster.

“They told us what they wanted and we told them what we could do and we met in the middle on everything,” Taylor said. “We just got lucky I guess, but we were always ecstatic about the horse. I also talked a lot with Jun about Not This Time and I told him that the one thing we did right with him is we went after horses with 2-year-old form. I think our discussion about how important race record is and talking about how we did things with Not This Time is really what drew them to us.”

Knicks Go's accolades from the racetrack also include 2021 Longines World's Best Racehorse and along with his Horse of the Year title, he was also named champion older dirt male. The accomplished six-year-old retired with career earnings of over $9.2 million.

“It's pretty cool to have a racehorse of this caliber,” Taylor said. “It doesn't happen often. We're very blessed to have him and we got really lucky. It's one of those things where you're so excited but you don't want to go start shouting about it or anything, you just want to work hard so that they succeed, and then you can celebrate.”

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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.

The post Mating Plans: Hertrich Seeking the Long Game in a Risky Game appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mating Plans: Dixiana Farm

In this edition of our ongoing mating plans series, we spoke with Robert Tillyer, farm manager of Dixiana Farm.

“Right now we have about 50 broodmares at Dixiana Farm,” Tillyer said. “This year we are going to have around 38 foals. We usually put over 30 yearlings through the sale each year and then Mr. Shively is always happy to retain a few for his own racing stable.“

BRIELLE'S APPEAL (m, 8, English Channel – Court of Appeal, by Deputy Minister) to be bred to Gun Runner

This year Brielle's Appeal is in foal to Speightstown and then she will be visiting Gun Runner, who set a new record for progeny earnings for a first-crop sire last year. He has great colts and great fillies and I'm really excited to see Echo Zulu run again.

This mare was a graded stakes-placed winner and she was very talented. She has proven that she can get a really good physical. She had a $1.15 million Quality Road yearling at Keeneland September last year. With this mare, she's been going to proven stallions. Gun Runner is the new, hot stallion so it just made sense.

HAVANA DREAM (m, 9, Quality Road – Mayo On the Side, by French Deputy) to be bred to Yaupon

This is the half-sister to MGSW Midcourt (Midnight Lute). We kept her first foal, a Kitten's Joy colt, and he is now in training as a 2-year-old. She also has a really nice Uncle Mo yearling filly who is really leggy and looks fast.

We decided to go with Yaupon for her this year. Yaupon was a really talented horse with a lot of speed. With a young mare like her, she's been to two proven sires so now we're going to go with a new stallion.

I'M A FLAKE (m, 14, Mineshaft – November Snow, by Storm Cat) to be bred to Gun Runner

This mare is the dam of MGSW Express Train (Union Rags), who was raised here at Dixiana and recently won the GII San Pasqual S. for a second time. I'm A Flake produced the full-brother to Express Train last year. The colt is a big, strong, correct horse who moves really well.

She is in foal to Munnings this year. Munnings is very commercial and we think he will add speed to the family. She hasn't been to this sire line yet, so we are very excited to see what this mating produces and then she is booked back to Gun Runner.

JULIA TUTTLE (m, 17, Giant's Causeway – Candy Cane (Arg), by Ride the Rails) to be bred to Twirling Candy

This is the dam of GISW Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike). We have her 3-year-old Connect filly in training with Al Stall and we also have her 2-year-old Nyquist colt. She has an American Pharoah yearling filly who is pointing for the Keeneland September Sale.

Last year we opted to go with War of Will. She's already a Grade I producer and War of Will is a beautiful sire. We're looking forward to that foal and then she will be going to Twirling Candy. He's proven and I don't think she's been to that sire line before. Physically, I think he will suit her and he has been doing really well recently.

LAYLA (m, 8, Union Rags – I'm a Flake, by Mineshaft) to be bred to City of Light

The full sister to Express Train, Layla had her first foal last year, a Liam's Map colt. We're really happy with him.

This year she will be going to City of Light. We think the cross works well and he's a really popular stallion.

Revitalized (Uncle Mo) and her 2022 Munnings filly | photo courtesy Dixiana Farm

REVITALIZED (m, 4, Uncle Mo – Excited, by Giant's Causeway) to be bred to Authentic

This is a mare that Mr. Shively bought at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale for $360,000. She was one of seven mares he purchased last year. We're really excited about her. She's a beautiful mare and is a full-sister to SW Thrilled. Her 3-year-old full-sister Beside Herself just broke her maiden for Todd Pletcher, so it's a very active family.

Revitalized just had her first foal, a really nice Munnings filly. This year she will be visiting Authentic.

TIGER RIDE (m, 10, Candy Ride {Arg} – Royal Tigress, by Storm Cat) to be bred to Charlatan

Tiger Ride is one of Mr. Shively's favorite mares. She's a homebred who won the GIII Pin Oak Valley View S. at Keeneland and placed in the GI Beldame S.

She had a Tapit colt that we sold as a yearling who is now three. She also has a Tapit filly who is now two that we retained. I saw the filly last week and she looked really good. Then she has an Uncle Mo yearling colt on the ground as well.

This year, she will go to Charlatan. Again, she's been to three proven sires so we're going to try an unproven sire this year. Everyone knows that Charlatan is stunning. He was obviously very talented and John Sikura was very selective with the mares going to him, so we think he has a great shot as a stallion.

TRUE ELEGANCE (m, 9, Distorted Humor – Sealy Hill, by Point Given) to be bred to Essential Quality

The daughter of champion Sealy Hill, this mare produced her first foal in 2019. It was a Kitten's Joy filly who is now in Dixiana's racing stable. She won first out at Arlington Park last summer, beating the boys. She had a little break and just got back into training. We retained the mare's Frosted 2-year-old filly as well. She is currently in training and we really like her. The mare's yearling filly is by Ghostzapper. She looks fast and is correct. She will likely be at the September Sale.

This year the mare is in foal to Authentic. Obviously the Into Mischief-Distorted Humor mating is a proven cross, so we're excited for that foal. Then she is going to go to Essential Quality. We wanted to try a different sire line with her. He was a talented horse and is really good looking. We think he's going to be commercial and is another one that we think has a great shot as a sire.

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.

The post Mating Plans: Dixiana Farm appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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