Stonehaven Steadings

Sweet Seraphine (Quality Road) sounded the drum late and scored her first black-type in the Wilton Stakes at the Big A on Sunday afternoon. As a juvenile, the filly debuted in third at Ellis Park in early August before heading to the sidelines. The bay came off the bench to don cap and gown by a nose at Churchill Downs May 24. The 6-5 choice here took an awkward step at the start which put her several lengths off the speed up the backstretch. Chasing the pace into the far...

1st-Churchill Downs, $118,575, Msw, 5-24, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:35.89, ft, nose. SWEET SERAPHINE (f, 3, Quality Road--Venetian Sonata, by Bernardini) debuted as a 2-year-old at Ellis Park last August, finishing a respectable third just 1 1/2 lengths behind a pair of classy fillies in last weekend's GIII Miss Preakness Stakes winner Echo Sound (Echo Town) and Evanescence (Munnings), who ran third in the GII Eight Belles Stakes on Kentucky Oaks day to start the month. Not seen since that effort and now coming off the nine-month layoff, the 2-1 favorite...

4th-FG, $55K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 2:30 p.m. ET. A $1.15 million buy for Mike Rutherford during Keeneland September, BUNDLE (Volatile) makes her debut for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Bred by Three Chimneys, the gray is out of MGISW Love and Pride (A.P. Indy), who is responsible for a pair of stakes winners in Princesinha Julia (Pioneerof the Nile) and Bella Runner (Gun Runner). Bundle's third dam, GISW Cara Rafaela (Quiet American), produced generational sire Bernardini (A.P. Indy). TJCIS PPS 4th-GP, $94K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 1:47 p.m. ET....

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...

4th-ELP, $71K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 2:21 p.m. ET. PUBLISHER (American Pharoah), a $600,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale grad, debuts for owners Gus King and The Estate of Brereton C. Jones. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the bay colt is the first registered foal out of GSP Indian Pride (Proud Citizen), who is a half-sister to Canadian Horse of the Year Biofuel (Stormin Fever) and Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Tu Endie Wei (Johar). Also to the post is first-time starter--trained by Cherie De Vaux--So Sandy (Omaha Beach), who was initially a 2022...

4th-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:38 p.m. ET. Bred by Stonehaven Steadings & Leah O'Meara, LESLIE'S HUMOR (Kantharos) makes the races for LSU Stables. Initially sold for $125,000 at the Keeneland September Sale, the chestnut RNA'd for $110,000 at OBS April before going for $500,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale in June. The second to race for La Titina (Distorted Humor), the 3-year-old filly's younger half-brother by Not This Time was purchased for $310,000 last September at Keeneland by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds. Granddam and MGISW Ask the Moon (Malibu...

Today we'll consider some of the sires standing between $10,001 and $19,999. For a long time, I called this the Lookin At Lucky zone. But don't worry, we won't be deploring his neglect yet again: he's staying in Chile, where they evidently appreciate him rather more. Plenty of horses in this bracket have recently relinquished their brief window of commercial opportunity, and are now hanging around to discover whether they might join the very small group whose first runners generate a fresh vogue. Even with the newcomers out of the...

Over the same surface where her half-brother Corniche (Quality Road) earned GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile stardom en route to Champion 2-year-old colt honors, it was Llorona (Mendelssohn) who effortlessly broke her maiden in the Friday opener at Del Mar's seaside oval. For her handiwork, the dark bay filly became a newly-minted 'TDN Rising Star'. The Richard Mandella trainee at odds of 2-5 broke alertly and vied for the lead with two others up the backstretch. As the far turn arrived, Llorona clearly had more to give and at the quarter...

The time Corniche, a $1.5-million OBS topper and 'TDN Rising Star', spent on the track might have been brief, but it was bright. Undefeated in three starts at two and a dual Grade I winner, he was simply better than the rest. "Corniche was always a dominating colt on the farm and so good looking as a foal," said Leah O'Meara of Stonehaven Steadings, who co-bred the Juvenile winner. "We always had high hopes for him. He gave us the first round of excitement when he breezed so well and...

With the breeding season underway, the TDN staff is continuing the '2023 Mating Plans' series, presented by Spendthrift Farm, to find out what stallions breeders have chosen for their mares this year, and why. Here Aidan and Leah O'Meara of Stonehaven Steadings talk us through their plans for the year. Before getting into their individual mares, Aidan discusses their process for drawing up the farm's mating plans each year. We usually begin our matings by drawing up a short list of stallions that we intend to use for the coming...

By Christie DeBernardis & Jessica Martini LEXINGTON, KY--Demand remained high as did the competition for quality individuals, both mares and weanlings, as Book 2 of the Keeneland November Sale concluded with its second of two sessions Wednesday. The third day of selling at Keeneland was highlighted by the million-dollar sale of GSW Proud Emma (Include). In foal to Charlatan, the chestnut was purchased by Jane Lyon of Summer Wind Farm, who also purchased Tuesday's $1.45-million session topper Park Avenue (Quality Road). Proud Emma will visit Lyon's homebred superstar Flightline (Tapit),...

Jim and Dana Bernhard continued adding to the broodmare band at their newly acquired Pin Oak Stud Tuesday at Keeneland, making their most expensive purchase of the auction when going to $1 million to acquire Sweet Sami D (First Samurai) from the Stonehaven Steadings consignment. The 6-year-old mare sold in foal to Gun Runner. The couple have now purchased six mares at the two-day old auction. Earlier Tuesday, they paid $700,000 for the mare Querelle (Violence).