By Sue Finley
After compiling Peter Brant's mating plans two years in a row, it's pretty clear that there may be no other owner/breeder who spends more time on this. And why not? With one of the deepest, most impressive broodmare bands in the business, mating his mares is both a big responsibility and a labor of love. He shared his system with us.
“I go by three or four major things,” said Brant. “The mare's race record in terms of distance, speed, turn of foot, whether they don't have much of a turn of foot, if they're just stayers and gallopers. And then I do the same with the stallions, and then I nick them with the ones I have chosen. Some nick really well, and some don't. You have to handicap that really well; for example, if it's an American or European-bred stallion standing in Japan, there might not be any existing examples of that nick. So, I do the nicks, then I do the physicals–if the horse turns out, is weak behind, doesn't have a good shoulder, has a really good girth. I try to complement the type. The head and eye are very important. And then I hope for the best! You try to get the best stallion cross, get the very best mares to the very best stallions, and for the others, the ones who complement them more. For the best mares, we try to get to the very best stallions we can. We try to breed to the stallions we've raced–Raging Bull, Sottass, Demarchelier. The first year, we'll send them six or seven mares, the second year, maybe five; and the third year, sometimes more and sometimes less, depending upon what they need.”
“It takes a long time,” he continued. “I usually start working on it at Saratoga, and I finish right about now. But I think it's made a difference. If a mare is proven and I really like the horse she's thrown by that sire, I normally will go back to that sire.”
With all that in mind, here are Brant's matings for his mares in America. See today's TDN European edition for mating plans for his mares in Europe, or click here to read it online.
BOSTON POST ROAD (5, Quality Road-Lemon Bay, by Bernardini) to be bred to Life Is Good
We have just retired Boston Post Road this year. She's a dirt horse who won the Pumpkin Pie Stakes this fall. She's got a nice turn of foot. She's a great miler and I like to breed like kinds, miler to miler. Life is Good is a mile to a mile-and-an-eighth horse, and I like the cross with Into Mischief and Quality Road.
CAFE AMERICANO (7, Medaglia d'Oro-Roxy Gap, by Indian Charlie), will be bred to Into Mischief
She a horse with a lot of ability by Medaglia. She's a turf mare, and I normally would have chosen him for a dirt horse, but then we won the Queen Elizabeth with Gina Romantica (Into Mischief) and I see Into Mischief is getting good grass horses, too. And, the nick and the conformation complement each other.
DUNBAR ROAD (7, Quality Road-Gift List, by Bernardini) will be bred to Into Mischief
Dunbar Road was second in the Breeders' Cup Distaff in 2021, and she won the Alabama in 2019. She's a dirt mare, a mile-and-a-quarter mare, and I thought he would complement her.
ENCHANTED ROCK (19, Giant's Causeway-Chic Shirine, by Mr. Prospector) will be bred to Early Voting
Enchanted Rock is the dam of Verrazano and I wanted to breed her to a younger horse, so I'm breeding her to Early Voting. She's by Giant's Causeway, and that crosses well with Gun Runner (to whom she was bred in 2022). Early Voting won the Preakness, and he had a lot of speed, but also could carry it. She's 19, she's the dam of several stakes winners, King Ranch breeding, and I wanted a younger horse for her.
PAID UP SUBSCRIBER (m, 11, Candy Ride {Arg}-Shriek, by Street Cry {Ire}) to be bred to Quality Road
I have a filly out of Paid Up Subscriber by Quality Road who looks like our best two-year-old filly so far. Her name is Round Hill Road, so we're going back to him.
REGAL GLORY (7, Animal Kingdom-Mary's Follies, by More Than Ready) will be bred to Into Mischief
Regal Glory (last seen winning the GI Matriarch S. on Dec. 4) is retiring, and again I'm breeding like kind to like kind. She was a mile, mile-and-a-sixteenth, mile-and-an-eighth horse with a great turn of foot, great speed, great speed ratings, and a solid-looking, beautiful mare. I was on the fence between Gun Runner and Into Mischief, and I went with him. I like both stallions a lot.
WOW CAT (8, Lookin At Lucky-Winter Cat {Chi}), by Cat Thief), to be bred to Gun Runner
She's a multiple Group 1 winner who was second in the Breeders' Cup Distaff and we really like her foals.
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