Stonehaven Steadings

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 Aidan and Leah O'Meara of Stonehaven Steadings. VENETIAN SONATA (m, 13, Bernardini--Moonlight Sonata, by Carson City), to be bred to Curlin Bernardini's talents as a broodmare sire have been impressive but his strike rate with Curlin has been hugely impressive with nearly 20% stakes winners to date. That coupled with another stellar year at the track for Curlin made this mating an easy decision. Venetian...

We've all seen those old thrillers where the sports car is twisting along a road cut into a coastal cliff, and suddenly one of the wheels is spinning over the sea far below. Well, that's pretty much how it feels when a commercial breeder decides to bring home a Book 1 yearling at $385,000. In both cases, you're putting an awful lot of trust in horsepower, admittedly in its sleekest form, getting you back on the road. Unlike Cary Grant in North By Northwest, however, you don't even have the...

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - Bidding was fast and frenetic when the first of two Book 2 sessions of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened Wednesday in Lexington, producing the auction's highest-priced offering yet when a colt by City of Light (hip 612) sold for $1.7 million to the partnership of Woodford Racing, Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds. "That was amazing," an ebullient Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said at the close of business Wednesday. "That was one of the best sale days...

By Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis OCALA, FL - A pair of million-dollar juveniles punctuated a day of lively trade in Central Florida as the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds reached its midway point with a second session Wednesday. "We certainly picked up where we left off yesterday and the action was just as good, if not better, and we hope it continues to move forward into the next two days," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "We came into the sale with some expectations given...

As we approach the end of the calendar, we turn our attention to the incoming sire class of 2021. We asked several judges who their favorite incoming sire is for next year and if there are any other stallions, new or otherwise, that have caught their eye as under-the-radar picks. AIDAN O'MEARA, Stonehaven Steadings  Authentic (Into Mischief), $75,000, Spendthrift Farm  The horse we're most excited about this year is a bit of an obvious one, but it has to be Authentic. His sire has developed into the preeminent sire of...

4th-Colonial Downs, $40,400, Msw, 8-3, 2yo, f, 5f, :57.65, ft. FEELING MISCHIEF (f, 2, Into Mischief--True Feelings {GSP, $111,205}, by Latent Heat) broke like a shot and led Some Nights (Street Boss) and 21-1 shot Bravo Regina (Congrats) through a :22.38 quarter. Clear and moving easily turning for home, the 6-5 choice pulled away with aplomb, crossing the wire a geared-down eight-length winner over Bravo Regina. Palmgirl (Commisioner) completed the trifecta. The winner is a half to Grade III-placed Royal Act (American Pharoah). Grade III-placed True Feelings--a half-sister to Flirtaious...