Oatsee, the 2011 Broodmare of the Year, delivered a filly from the first crop of unbeaten champion Frankel on Thursday, March 27 at Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, Ky.
The 17-year-old Unbridled mare is boarded at Darby Dan for Leonard Riggio’s My Meadowview LLC, which purchased her for $1.55 million at the 2008 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. The mare was shipped to England to be covered by Frankel, who stands at owner-breeder Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor Stud near Newmarket, England.
A strategic alliance for Thoroughbred racing and breeding between Irish, British and French promotional bodies announced earlier this year will be called “Destination Europe,” aimed at attracting top-level investment into European racing.
The organization was formed in February when Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, Great British Racing International and the French Racing and Breeding Committee joined forces to promote racing on the continent.
The British Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association has identified “alarming and potentially serious issues” regarding the supply base and production of foals within Great Britain, following a report released March 25.
An economic impact study commissioned by the TBA found that the British breeding industry accounts for $464,320,387 per year (281 million British pounds) and 86,000 jobs. The study indicates that many British breeders, smaller farms in particular, are often operating at a loss, which could jeopardize the future Thoroughbred supply for the races.
Evelyn Benoit’s decision to get into the stallion business has single-handedly boosted the broodmare power in Louisiana. To support her homebred Star Guitar at stud, Benoit has built a band of broodmares that includes Desert Rose Drive, a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner and producer Take Charge Lady; Love That Dance, an eight-time stakes winner who earned $641,094 while racing on the East Coast; and Good Mood, a Grade 3 winner bred in Ireland.
The economic conditions facing freshman sires of 2014 when they first entered the breeding shed in 2011 weren’t pretty.
The bloodstock market was in the midst of a deep tailspin. Yearling prices had hit rock bottom the previous year, and the number of mares being sent to the breeding shed was falling precipitously – down 11 percent from 2009 to 2010. At the end of the 2011 breeding season, the population of mares bred in North America had fallen another 10 percent.
What is the most propitious balance between racing ability and pedigree in choosing a stallion? Over the long haul, demonstrated racing ability wins, but can be very expensive for breeders to buy.
Among stallion prospects with less-than-championship race records but outstanding pedigrees, it can also be difficult to determine just how talented a horse was. Would Mr. Prospector with his two track records or Danzig with his unbeaten record have been champions had their careers not been interrupted and then stopped by ankle chips and slab knee fractures, respectively?
The West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association has named Giovanni Boldini, a Grade/Group 1-placed runner in the U.S. and Ireland, the 2013 West Virginia-bred Horse of the Year.
The announcement was made on Sunday at the organization’s annual awards banquet, at which the War Front colt also received honors as the state’s co-champion 2-year-old male with Amherst Street.
What Now, a half-brother to Preakness Stakes winner Oxbow, will relocate to R Star Stallions at Richwine Farm in Anderson, Ind., BloodHorse reports.
The 7-year-old Distorted Humor horse will stand for an advertised fee of $500. He entered stud last year at High Point Stables in Lynn, Ind.
