Coal Front is new to Louisiana for 2025 just as his son Coal Battle is making some noise on the Kentucky Derby trail and his daughter Haulin Ice is coming off a season in which she won stakes at Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park to contend for 2024 Arkansas-bred of the year. “It’s been really some nice advertising from his babies here lately,” said Jay Adcock, who with a group of partners purchased Coal Front and brought him to his Red River Farms in Coushatta from Kentucky. Coal Front joins a hot roster as Red River Farms is the home of El Deal, whose daughter Free Like a Girl in August became the all-time richest Louisiana-bred, and Aurelius Maximus, who was the leading freshman sire in Louisiana in 2024 and ranked 19th in the same category in North America. Coal Front is an 11-year-old son of Stay Thirsty who earned more than $1.8 million. He arrived at Red River Farms last fall. Not long afterward, Coal Battle picked up 10 points for the Kentucky Derby by winning the Springboard Mile at Remington Park. Coal Battle added another 10 points in January, when he barreled home by four lengths in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn. “When he won at Oaklawn the other day, the phone’s been pretty good here lately,” Adcock said. El Deal has been a stalwart for the farm, getting Free Like a Girl in his first crop. The mare, who is now 6, has earned $2.1 million. She is scheduled to run Jan. 25 in the Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic at Sam Houston. “In a regional program, when you have a horse like that, when somebody says Free Like a Girl, they automatically relate it to El Deal or vice a versa,” Adcock said. “To have a signature horse like that right off the bat, that’s huge.” El Deal, a 13-year-old by Munnings, ranked sixth behind Exaggerator on Louisiana’s general sire list for 2024, according to Daily Racing Form statistics. Exaggerator led with progeny earnings of $5,226,209. El Deal’s runners earned $2,460,053 last year, with just more than $1 million of that amount courtesy of Free Like a Girl. “I would expect El Deal to get his 60, 70 mares again this year,” Adcock said. “I don’t see any reason why not. He’s a nice, consistent horse. Around here, he throws speed.” El Deal also had a sale-topper in 2024, when a full brother to Free Like a Girl brought $150,000 at the Texas summer yearling sale at Lone Star Park. Their dam, Flashy Prize, was bred back to El Deal last year for a foal due to arrive this year, Adcock said. Aurelius Maximus had three stakes winners in his first crop, including Secret Faith, a five-time stakes winner who is 6 for 7 overall. Aurelius Maximus had total progeny earnings of $723,628, which placed him 14th among all stallions standing in Louisiana. “We started him off here,” Adcock said. “He’s such a good-looking horse, and his babies have come out running.” Aurelius Maximus and Coal Front will each stand for $2,000 this year. El Deal stands for $2,500. Star Guitar, who stands at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, was third on Louisiana’s general sire list last year and led the state’s top 20 stallions in stakes winners with eight. They include the late Ova Charged, who put up North America’s second-highest Beyer Speed Figure last year, a 113, and Touchuponastar, who became a millionaire in December. Copper Bullet a new face in Texas Copper Bullet is a new face to the Texas market for 2025, coming in from Kentucky after being purchased by Marjorie Farms in Fredericksburg. The 10-year-old son of More Than Ready will stand at the facility alongside Creative Cause, who topped the Texas general sire list in 2024 with progeny earnings of $3,978,636. Copper Bullet’s first crop has just turned 4. His leading earner last year was Copper Tax, a three-time stakes winner whose victories included the Federico Tesio and Private Terms. Copper Bullet will stand for $4,000. “We’ve had him here a couple of months now and we’re very excited about him,” said Bill Tracy, farm manager of Marjorie Farms. “He’s a big, nice horse, very attractive, and his babies have been doing really well. “What we liked was his 2-year-old stakes-winning record. He was a precocious 2-year-old, showed a lot of speed, and that’s always a big seller in this end of the world. Plus, he’s big, attractive, and sound. He’s an awfully nice horse all the way around.” Creative Cause’s first Texas crop arrives this year. He bred 34 mares last season, Tracy said. Creative Cause, who is 16, is booking mares from around the Southwest and as far away as West Virginia. “He’s had some successful runners kind of all over,” Tracy said. “Runaldo ran in West Virginia, did extremely well. Mi Hermano Ramon is a stakes winner in California. It makes the phone ring when they do that. “Another little aside is his daughters have been doing very well as broodmares. One of his daughters is the dam of Zandon, a Grade 1 winner who stands at Spendthrift.” Creative Cause stands for $6,000, the highest published stud fee in Texas. Leadem Farm welcomes notable newcomers to Arkansas Leadem Farm in Leola is welcoming two notable stallions for 2025, with Irish War Cry in from Maryland and Manny Wah launching his career at the facility. They join a roster that includes American Freedom, who was the leading general sire in Arkansas last year with progeny earnings of $3,065,758. Irish War Cry ranked seventh on Maryland’s general sire list in 2024. The 11-year-old son of Curlin won the Wood Memorial and earned $1.2 million. He arrived at Leadem Farm in early November after being purchased by Bob and Tyree Wolesensky. “When we started the farm, we wanted to add a nice stallion a year, a proven one,” Bob Wolesensky said of the purchase. “It just worked out really well because our wish list had a son of Curlin or a son of Uncle Mo since we already have two really nice A.P. Indy-line stallions out there and so when he became available he kind of moved to the top of our list. “He’s proven, got some real nice runners. For example, he had two stakes winners on the same day late in December at Laurel.” Wolesensky also noted the horse’s strong female family. “The feedback for Irish War Cry has been pretty strong,” Wolesensky said of breeder interest in the horse, who will stand for $2,500. Manny Wah, a 9-year-old by Will Take Charge, is retiring to the facility for owner Susan Naylor after a career in which he won 5 of 48 starts for earnings of $1,012,499. Manny Wah’s biggest career win came in the Grade 2 Phoenix. He also will stand for $2,500. Wolesensky said the farm already has mares booked to the horse, who last raced Dec. 14. “I think he offers a lot,” Wolesensky said. “He obviously won early, broke his maiden in July of his 2-year-old year, was a stakes horse as a 2-year-old, and he placed in the Grade 3 Lecomte, so he was on the Derby trail as a 3-year-old. He then won the Grade 2 [Phoenix] and to me, that’s one of the best sprint races out there. He ran in two Breeders’ Cup Sprints, and the thing I really love about him is last year as an 8-year-old he ran two really good seconds in graded races in New York.” Wolesensky added that Manny Wah’s stakes-winning dam, Battlefield Angel, who is by Proud Citizen, also was Grade 1-placed. She is from the same mare as $1.3 million earner Lookin At Lee and multiple Grade 3 winner Blended Citizen. Late Oklahoma sire responsible for champion Eclipse Award champion Soul of an Angel’s win in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in November helped lift her late sire, Atreides, to second place on the general sire list in Oklahoma for 2024. Atreides was a son of Medaglia d’Oro and Dream Rush. “We lost him about eight months ago,” said Francisco Bravo, who had Atreides at his River Oaks Farm in Sulphur. For the 2025 season, the farm is standing a Breeders’ Cup winner in Caleb’s Posse, as well as stallions Wilburn, Excaper, and Revved Up. Flat Out led Oklahoma’s general sire list last year, with progeny earnings of $3,527,746. Mr. Trieste still in spotlight in twilight of career Corrina Corrina continues to keep her 24-year-old sire Mr. Trieste in the limelight as the 6-year-old became the all-time richest New Mexico-bred Thoroughbred in January, when she won a stakes at Sunland Park. Last year, Corrina Corrina was her sire’s chief earner, accounting for $358,290 of his $482,098 in progeny earnings that ranked him 10th on New Mexico’s general sire list led by Marking with $2,739,772. Gary Cross, who trains Corrina Corrina and trained Mr. Trieste, said he still visits his former stable star whose crop sizes have been very limited in his advanced age. Mr. Trieste is based at the Hobbs farm of Corrina Corrina’s breeder and owner, Derrick Jenkins. She has won 17 races from 33 starts for earnings of $1,166,160.