Mating Plans: Jason Hall

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have Jason Hall.

“My partners and I typically breed to sell, primarily at the 2-year-old sales,” said Hall, “but if we have one that looks the part, we'll sell the occasional weanling at Keeneland November. That being said, if we feel like the market is being overly critical and we see some blue sky by going to the races with one, we're not afraid to go that route. We like mares that demonstrated some degree of talent, and we focus heavily on physical compatibility between the stallion and mare.”

AFFIANCED (m, 5, More Than Ready–All Star Heart, by Arch), to be bred to Authentic

We purchased Affianced at the recent Keeneland November Sale from Claiborne Farm for $50,000 in foal to First Samurai. A former $410,000 Keeneland September yearling, Affianced is a stellar physical with exceptional balance. While she doesn't have the type of racing credentials we typically pursue, she flashed enough talent in her Santa Anita maiden score to prompt our interest. She's out of a GII-winning Arch mare and is a half-sister to California stakes horse Eccentric Spinster (Distorted Humor). Her progeny will catalog well, so we decided to swing hard and send her to Authentic, who will undoubtedly be a source of commercial home runs. Authentic adds a lot of leg to the equation, something you always have to be mindful of with the More Than Ready influence. As tremendous as he's been as a sire, More Than Ready isn't known for adding leg to his mares.

BACK AT THE RANCH (m, 9, Artie Schiller–Major Allie, by Officer), to be bred to Justify

We purchased Back At the Ranch very inexpensively at the conclusion of her career shortly before her half-brother, Cistron (The Factor), won the GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar. She herself won early sprinting at Belmont for Wesley Ward, and went on to win four of 14 and earn $103,185. With the Grade I update under her first dam, we felt like she warranted a season with Improbable last year, and Justify this year. At this stage, I don't think we have to remedy any physical shortcomings while planning her matings, but of course, that could change when her first foals arrive. She's a big, strong mare with lots of balance and curb appeal, so we can go in a lot of directions with her. Justify is as good a physical specimen as we've ever laid eyes on, so on paper at least, this foal should be a standout individual.

BE A LADY (m, 9, Cindago–Storm Hearted, by Lion Hearted), to be bred to More Than Ready

Be a Lady is probably the tallest horse we've ever owned. I believe the farm measured her out at 17.1 after we purchased her for $35,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale. She earned $186,995 sprinting in Southern California, comes from an active family (she's a full-sister to California stakes winner and track record holder Wake Up Nick), and her sire is off to a stellar beginning as a broodmare sire. We kept her with a bigger stallion her first season (Violence), as even big mares can throw a pony their first year. But since then, we've kept her with small/medium types. Given the quality we've seen in her Violence and Jimmy Creed foals, we felt like she warranted an opportunity with an elite sire like More Than Ready, who usually benefits from mares with a lot of leg and scope.

CHU AND YOU (m, 11, You and I–Bronze Charmer, by Volponi), to be bred to Temple City

My wife purchased this mare's Temple City yearling for $27,000 at Keeneland September in 2020. Now named Boise, he won the Gold Rush S. at Golden Gate in December and will run in the El Camino Real on Feb. 12. We were really high on him from the start. So much so that we reached out to his breeders and purchased his dam privately. Rather than overthink things, we decided to send her back to Temple City this year to get a full-sibling to Boise. Chu and You isn't very big, but of course, Temple City and the Dynaformer influence usually compliment smaller mares quite well. You couldn't ask for a better physical than Boise, so we're bullish on going to the well again. At the recent Keeneland January sale, we acquired Chu and You's half-sister, Attyia (Dialed In), who will also visit Temple City this year.

PATTITUDE (m, 10, City Zip–Dancinandsingin, by A.P. Indy), to be bred to War of Will

Within months of acquiring her at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Mixed Sale, two new stakes winners emerged in her immediate family: Army Wife (Declaration of War), who won the GII Black-Eyed Susan S., and Ellamira (Street Boss), who won the Golden Gate Debutante. Pattitude was already a half to [GSW & MGISP] Scherzinger (Tiz Wonderful) and to the dam of [GSW & GISP] Kitten's Roar (Kitten's Joy), so it's an extremely active family that will really light up a catalog page. Like a lot of City Zips, it's usually best to keep them with stallions that are solid through the hindquarters and have plenty of size/leg, which is why we sent her to Flatter last year and will send her back to War of Will in 2022.

ROLL YOUR EYES (m, 13, Popular–Officer Lea, by Nodouble), to be bred to Mineshaft

At the very end of her career, we acquired Roll Your Eyes for nothing more than a ham sandwich. She was a smallish mare with a top line that had gotten progressively softer during her racing days, but we liked her California stakes form early in her career (she had finished second in the Wine Country Debutante S. at Santa Rosa as a 2-year-old), and she was particularly strong through her forearm, gaskins, and hindquarters. We've gotten nothing but stunning foals from her thus far including a stakes horse (Film Study {Custom for Carlos}) and recent maiden special weight winner in California, Fascinated (Majesticperfection). She's currently in foal to Vekoma and will visit Mineshaft in 2022. Mineshaft is a sire that is well respected in all circles and usually benefits from more powerfully built mares like Roll Your Eyes.

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: [email protected].