As we approach the opening of the 2025 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why.
In recent years, Stonehaven Steadings has been responsible for breeding a Breeders' Cup champion and Eclipse Award winner in Corniche as well as a $2.5 million Keeneland September sale topper. Today, the farm's Aidan O'Meara discusses the mating plans for Stonehaven Steadings in 2025.
VENETIAN SONATA (16, Bernardini–Moonlight Sonata, by Carson City) and Miss Costa Rica (7, Hit It a Bomb–Five Star Daydream, by Five Star Day) to be bred to Curlin
Venetian Sonata is one of our flagship mares. All three of her daughters are graded stakes fillies and she's been one of our strongest mares in the sales theater too. Curlin's exceptional stakes strike rate with Bernardini mares has been well documented and this is a mating we did two years ago partially based off that. The resulting foal was a beautiful filly that did well last September at Keeneland in spite of a mild radiograph issue that held her back. The dream here would be for a colt with the huge pedigree to back him up.
Miss Costa Rica was a Grade II-placed juvenile and had a nice family update with Sandy Bottom (Omaha Beach) being a new stakes winner out of her sister. We unfortunately lost her first foal, an Into Mischief colt, last year but she showed she could throw the right type and we bred her back to Into Mischief off of the quality of that foal. She is a big beautiful mare, probably one of our strongest physically, and should really compliment Curlin in that department. Curlin is one of the legends and we want to make every effort to use horses of this caliber. We take these top-tier stallions for granted but the recent passing of Uncle Mo makes you appreciate the opportunity to have this caliber of stallion available and the pipeline following them is going to be light unless a few stars emerge from these recently retiring groups.
Venetian Sonata, who produced this Curlin filly that brought $425,000 as a yearling last year, will go back to the Hill 'n' Dale sire in 2025 | Jennifer M. Keeler/Yellow Horse Marketing
TRUE FEELINGS (16, Latent Heat–Grand Charmer, by Lord Avie) and STUNNING SKY (8, Declaration of War–Sky Walk, Unbridled's Song) to be bred to Into Mischief
True Feelings has been a star for us but has had a couple of years off since we nearly lost her to a bad colic a few years back. She has bounced back impressively and her Flightline colt will be one of our top three yearlings this year. She has been remarkably consistent in producing quality with a wide range of stallions. One of her better runners was an Into Mischief filly, Feeling Mischief (who coincidentally had a knockout Flightline filly sell in November) so we decided to go back to the proven cross once again.
Stunning Sky was a Grade III winner at Keeneland and was Grade II placed at Saratoga. She did her best running on turf but she is built like a dirt runner and her sire nearly won the Breeders' Cup Classic. She has shown a lot of class in her first two foals. Her Quality Road filly is probably the best filly that we'll bring to auction this year and so she continues to be strongly supported in the breeding shed with Into Mischief. These top tier sires are expensive and we really like to see a mare throwing some quality in her foals before committing to these bigger stud fees. We have generally been supporting her with stallions that have shown strong dual surface abilities such as Medaglia d'Oro, Quality Road and she is currently in foal to Justify. These stallions will hopefully increase her chances of getting some dirt runners or compliment her own turf credentials.
GREEN UP (6, Upstart–Green Punch, by Two Punch) and FIGURE OF SPEECH (8, Into Mischief–Starlight Lady, by Elusive Quality) to be bred to Nyquist
Green Up, a three-time stakes winner including the 2023 Pumpkin Pie Stakes, will visit Nyquist in 2025 | Chelsea Durand
Green Up is a new mare we bought in November. She is typical of one of the types of mares we like to try to buy. She was an accomplished dirt runner, winning three stakes against some strong graded stakes-winning fillies like Shotgun Hottie (Gun Runner), Frank's Rockette (Into Mischief) and Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) and she was Grade I-placed to Adare Manor (Uncle Mo). She's by a strong emerging sire in Upstart but you're not paying the premium on the purchase price for a bigger-name sire and some value is found there. Sometimes you just have a strong gut feeling on a mating and herself and Nyquist was one of those for us this year. It's an expensive cover for a first foal but she's a big beautiful mare that gives some confidence that she mightn't be a candidate for a small first foal. The A.P. Indy sireline has been potent with Nyquist and has played a large part in his success so far, so pedigree wise this was a no brainer. The A.P. Indy line can also be prone to passing on a little clubby foot at times so we always try to balance that in matings on either side. Nyquist and his entire line were generally good-footed and will hopefully counterbalance any recessive tendencies she might have in a foal.
Figure of Speech was a Saratoga Grade I-placed juvenile and is another one of our younger mares. She had a beautiful Gun Runner filly sell last September to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and has a very tidy Curlin filly pointing to Keeneland September for this year, so she continues to get acquainted with the big-name sires. She has a very sharp, classy physique and should complement Nyquist in that department. Although not as potent as the A.P. Indy line, Into Mischief has had a lot of success in these early broodmare stages with Nyquist too.
NOTAPRADAPRICE (11, Paddy O'Prado–Brenda's Slew, by Straight Man) and MIDNIGHT DIVA (7, Midnight Lute–Pizza Lady, by Dance With Ravens) to be bred to McKinzie
McKinzie has gotten off to the right kind of start and was the obvious up and comer to breed to this year. Prada and Diva are young, graded stakes fillies who are big, pretty-profiled mares who will both compliment his big, beautiful frame. Both are nicely conformed in front and while McKinzie throws decent-legged stock, you always have to be conscious of what the sire and grand sire of a stallion has historically thrown and breed accordingly on the conformation side of things. McKinzie offers an opportunity to help a young mare getting started at a lower price point than the bigger names, but hopefully will be well on his way to being one of the bigger names in a few years' time when sale time rolls around for this combination.
JILTED BRIDE (8, Wicked Strong–Cry At My Wedding, by Street Cry {Ire}) to be bred to Not This Time
Jilted Bride is another young mare for us currently in foal to Justify. Her first foal by Into Mischief will be one of our stronger colts this year. She was a very tough mare and ultra consistent, winning multiple stakes and multiple Grade III placings. The only time she was out of the first three was in a Grade I. She's a big mare herself, but hails from the Danzig line so we're generally looking for a stallion for her that has shown plenty of ability to put some commercial leg into their offspring. Not This Time climbed the ladder the hard way and looks set to remain at the top for many years to come.
LA TITINA (10, Distorted Humor–Ask the Moon, by Malibu Moon) to be bred to Medaglia d'Oro
Medaglia d'Oro is one in the older brigade but has shown again this year that he can still produce the big horse and support it well with additional graded stakes winners. He is the best value in the proven stallion ranks right now and still well respected in the sales arena. La Titina is still early enough in her career and has shown some quality ability so far, with her daughter topping a 2-year-old sale for $500,000. The Medaglia d'Oro/Distorted Humor combo has been responsible for some very classy horses such as Elate, Golden Sixty, New Money Honey, etc. La Titina is a pretty-profiled mare but a little offset in front and Medaglia generally can help in that department.
BECKLES ROAD (16, Smart Strike–Padmore, by French Deputy) to be bred to Constitution
Beckles Road produced this Into Mischief filly who brought $800,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale. This year the mare will visit Constitution | Jennifer M. Keeler/Yellow Horse Marketing
Beckles Road is in her mid-teens now but still showed her lasting appeal this year with another beautiful Into Mischief colt that was our top seller in September and she has another classy Gun Runner colt this time around. She is a multiple stakes producer and unlucky not to have another stakes horse or two on her resume, but commercial realities being as they are she gets a drop in stud fee but not stallion quality and should really compliment Constitution physically if her previous foals are anything to go by. The pedigree match up is solid.
DEBBY D'ORO (12, Giant's Causeway–Dashing Debby, by Medaglia d'Oro) to be bred to Twirling Candy
Candy Ride (Arg) built his career largely on the back of his success with the Storm Cat line and his son Twirling Candy has continued the family tradition himself, particularly with Giant's Causeway who is Debby's sire. She had a beautiful Candy Ride filly sell in September in Book 2 and was bred to Twirling Candy last year based off the strength of that filly as a foal. Candy Ride would have been the no brainer to breed back to this year, but unfortunately the way the commercial market treats these mid-20-year-old sires, you have to re-handicap the situation and breed to one of his more commercial sons at the price point that suits the mare. We also would be hoping that the Candy Ride filly turns out to be legit talent and helps the resulting foal come sale time in two years' time.
STEELIN' LIBERTY (7, Curlin–Steelin', by Orientate) and STEELIN' MEMORIES (5, Quality Road–Steelin', by Orientate) to be bred to Practical Joke
These two fillies are Curlin and Quality Road half-sisters to Shanghai Bobby. We held on to most of his sisters and his first one is already the dam of MGSW Canoodling (Pioneerof the Nile), so we'll see what the future holds for these two. Practical Joke is one of the few stallions in this price bracket that is still young enough to have strong potential upswing and is a very useful sire to help get a younger mare established. His upward trajectory should only continue as his bigger and better-bred crops come down the pipeline. Both fillies are powerfully built but lacking a little commercial leg, which hopefully Practical Joke can help a bit with. The Into Mischief line has been potent with Smart Strike-line mares and should bode well for Steelin' Liberty. Steelin' Memories was originally booked to Uncle Mo, but with his untimely passing she was rerouted here which, while maybe not as strong pedigree wise as the original plan, it is still a very nice combination and maybe a blessing in disguise depending on how it all works out in the long run. There are plenty of stories in the industry where good horses were conceived under similar circumstances.
FRESHMEN/FIRST RUNNERS
Most of the rest of the broodmare band will be visiting a couple of the other stand outs of the freshman class with first runners in Tiz the Law and Vekoma and also a cross section of the best of the incoming freshman sires. It's an interesting incoming class this year lacking any major stand out, but is a solid bunch of prospects overall. National Treasure was probably our favorite of the bunch and we have three penciled in for him. He showed the most consistency of the group, being a three-time Grade I winner and arguably his best performance was in defeat in the Breeders' Cup. We'll also be sending mares to Seize the Grey, Dornoch, Cogburn and Prince of Monaco. Arabian Knight and Domestic Product were two we liked too but couldn't make work pedigree wise with the mares we were looking to use. It's more mares than we would generally breed to freshman sires, but market conditions can force your hand. With breeders flooding to these freshman sires it's getting more and more difficult for young, emerging sires to get established and maintain momentum and tougher for breeders to identify a young talent that has the second and third-crop fire power behind them to build on any positive start they might gain in their first crop.
Interested in sharing your own mating plans? Email garyking@thetdn.com.
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