Tanca proves a productive mare for for Manfuso, Voss

Owners and breeders Robert Manfuso and Katy Voss have a long and prolific background in the Maryland racing industry. They are writing one of the latest chapters in their partnership with the broodmare Tanca, a multiple stakes producer.

The mare recorded a rarity in March, as her offspring Cordmaker and Las Setas won stakes on the same day. The two will attempt to take that to a higher level Friday in Baltimore, as Cordmaker will start in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special about a half-hour before Las Setas looks to keep her winning streak going in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.

Manfuso and Voss operate Chanceland Farm in West Friendship, Md. Manfuso formerly served as executive vice president of both the Maryland Jockey Club and Laurel Racing Association, as well as director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. Voss, a trainer, helped found the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, is a longtime board member of Maryland Million Ltd., and is a former president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. In recent years, they are best known nationally for breeding 2016 Kentucky Oaks winner Cathryn Sophia in Maryland and breeding 2015 Louisiana Derby winner International Star in New York.

Tanca raced in Manfuso’s name, with Voss as trainer. The Maryland-bred Polish Numbers mare won once from 10 starts before beginning her career as a broodmare, producing seven winners from as many starters, including three stakes winners. The first of those was Corvus, who won the Maryland Million Nursery in 2015.

Cordmaker, a 4-year-old Curlin gelding, races for Hillwood Stable, which purchased him for $150,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale. He won the Jennings Stakes at Laurel last season and took the Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Stakes at the same track in March. He then won an allowance race on April 25 at Laurel and comes into the Pimlico Special having won three of his last four outings.

Las Setas, by Seville, was a $30,000 buyback as a yearling and is now campaigned by her breeders and Wayne Harrison. She is trained by Voss. The filly finished sixth in her lone start as a juvenile, but has won all four of her starts this year, all at Laurel, including open-lengths victories in the Wide Country and Beyond the Wire stakes. The Beyond the Wire win came on the same day Cordmaker won the Harrison. She most recently won the Weber City Miss Stakes by a nose on April 20.

“The water gets a lot deeper,” Voss said of the Black-Eyed Susan. “It’s going to be a much tougher race. There are fillies in there that have run much better [numbers] than she has, but we’ll see. She’s doing well. She hasn’t missed a beat since her last race.”

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Tanca is the dam of a juvenile filly by Imagining, now named Obertas. After the mare was barren last season, she was bred to Street Sense for this year’s foal.