Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: China Horse Club

With the 2022 breeding season underway, we continue to feature a series of breeders' mating plans. Today we talk to China Horse Club's U.S. Representative Fabricio Buffolo.

CARA MARIE (m, 10, Unbridled's Song — Miss Kilroy, by A. P. Indy) to be bred to Uncle Mo

This mare is a beautiful individual from a European female family that was developed by the late Stonerside operation. They raced her second dam Miss Caerleona (FR) (Caerleon).

This year she goes back to Uncle Mo, which will be the same cross that produced her second foal GIIISW and GISP Girl Daddy. She also has a top-class yearling filly by Uncle Mo, so it's a cross that has been working.

COZZE UP LADY (m, 13, Cozzene — The White Lady, by Johannesburg) to be bred to Charlatan

This is a very nice, straightforward mare. We couldn't have been happier with such a nice comeback to the races this month for her second foal Kimari (Munnings) after selling for $2.7 million last November. Fingers crossed she defends her title in the GI Madison S. at Keeneland this spring.

This mare has a very nice Constitution yearling colt. Cozze Up Lady has proven herself already and now we can try something new. She goes to Charlatan–a horse with plenty of speed that proved to be popular amongst breeders. This cross has a similar characteristic to the cross that produced Kimari, as both Munnings and Charlatan are sons of Speightstown.

EMBELLISH THE LACE (m, 10, Super Saver — Expanse, by Distant View) to be bred to Quality Road

Embellish the Lace is a good-looking mare. You look at her and it's one of those cases where it makes sense that she was a top racehorse, winning a Grade I with just a few starts. She has produced two seven-figure yearlings at the sales, one filly by Tapit called Tap the Faith that won first time out and was fifth in a Grade II as a 2-year-old last year and another filly by Into Mischief that is currently a 2-year-old.

She was already covered by Quality Road this year; it was tried last year but unfortunately, she didn't get pregnant.

MOONLIGHT SKY (m, 9, Sky Mesa — Vargas Girl, by Deputy Minister) to be bred to Curlin

This mare is a stakes-placed half-sister to the great Abel Tasman (Quality Road), who gave so much joy to China Horse Club. We are excited about her, as her first foal Urban (Quality Road) was second in a Grade III already in her 3-year-old campaign. She could be a special mare for sure as the family is live with many updates.

This year she is in foal to Tiz the Law and is going to Curlin. His record with some specific A. P. Indy-line mares is impressive. With A. P. Indy mares, he has had 20% stakes winners to runners, including three Grade I winners. Looking at Bernardini mares, he has had 21 runners and eight stakes winners including five at the graded level. It's worth trying with a Sky Mesa mare as long as both physicals fit together.

YELLOW AGATE (m, 8, Gemologist– Lemon Sorbet, by Lemon Drop Kid) to be bred to Constitution

This mare gave China Horse Club a fantastic thrill by winning the 2016 GI Frizette S. in the red and yellow colors.

She is in foal to Quality Road and will be visiting Constitution this year. Constitution is a sire that has been doing well and should reach new heights with his progeny, having bred fantastic books of mares lately. Tiznow, the sire of Gemologist, has had 11 runners when his daughters crossed with Constitution and the mating has produced GISW Tiz the Law as well as MSW and GISP Never Surprised.

LAST FULL MEASURE (m, 14, Empire Maker — Lazy Slusan, by Slewvescent) to be bred to Quality Road

I think that Last Full Measure is what every breeder aspires to have. She is the daughter of a Grade I winner and she herself is a Grade I winner and producer as the dam of  Valiance (Tapit).

This year she is in foal to Constitution. A stoutly-made mare and quite strong overall, she could use some scope and Quality Road seem to be a good fit physically.

SAMBUCA CLASSICA (m, 18 Cat Thief– In Her Glory, by Miswaki) to be bred to Quality Road

This is the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile S. winner and sire Classic Empire. She has produced several other stakes horses in Uptown Twirl (Twirling Candy), Anytime Magic (Fusaichi Pegasus) and Exclamation Point (Concord Point). In partnership with WinStar, we have a full-brother to Classic Empire called Harvard (Pioneerof the Nile) who could be another stakes horse on her resume.

She is currently in foal to Improbable and will be covered this year by Quality Road. Quality Road has had plenty of opportunities with Storm Cat-line broodmare sires and has produced 11 stakes winners. She is a neater type and should benefit from his scope.

IOTAPA (m, 12, Afleet Alex– Concinnous, by El Corredor) to be bred to Not This Time

This mare was quite versatile at the track having won Grade I races over the dirt and synthetic. On the breeding side, she has always produced good-sized foals like herself.

She went to Improbable last year and is close to foaling. This year she is visiting Not This Time, who has had six graded winners so far and five of those are out of Mr. Prospector-line mares.

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].