The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Erin Fisher of Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds.
“We have been working on upgrading our bloodstock over the last several years with a focus on good-running mares that might not have a Kentucky commercial pedigree up front, but still have the ability to create excellent racehorses and future stallion prospects. If you look at the current stallions in Kentucky, you will see that around half are out of mares with non -commercial Kentucky sires. My personal opinion is that it is time to shift focus back to creating sound-running horses that also appeal to buyers in the ring. We have always focused on what our babies will be doing at three, five, 10 and 15 years old-creating a sound horse that can be utilized in many different fields, not just racing. That being said, we at Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds have shifted our focus partly away from True Nicks and have started utilizing the G1 Goldmine match more. For us personally, I feel like G1 gives you a more complete deep dive, if you will, into the overall pedigree-putting a lot of emphasis on mom's side and how the overall group of horses in the pedigree perform when crossed. Most of our mares' current pregnancies and upcoming breedings match this.”
RICH IMAGE (7, Imaging-Richetta, by Polished Numbers) to be bred to Gunite.
We have had this mare from the beginning of her breeding career. Every foal has just gotten nicer and nicer. She throws excellent balance and size. Her first foal by Maximum Security is currently in training with Eric Reed. We have her Tiz the Law yearling filly, who is phenomenal. Anxiously awaiting her Early Voting this year and going to Gunite was a no-brainer. He is beautiful. Retired sound and moves like a well-oiled machine. Gun Runner is really hot right now and the cross was excellent. This female family is really taking off with Ruby Nell (Bolt d'Oro) now a graded stakes winner.
APPEALING WAY (10, Tizway-Turkappeal, by Turkoman) to be bred to Annapolis.
This is another mare we have had since the beginning of her breeding career. She is currently in foal to Mandaloun. She had her first foal last year by Complexity. This is a deep family with a lot of black-type. Older pedigree, but produced sound horses. She is a half-sister to Grade III winner Pink Champagne (Awesome Again) and most of the siblings were excellent runners. She crosses well with Annapolis. He was a winner at two, three and four. He's from a great dirt family but won on turf. I think he will be versatile. It was a G1 Goldmine cross.
Navy Sword will visit Goldencents in 2024 | Coady photo
SAFFRON GIRL (7, Tapizar-Mattie Camp, by Forest Camp) to be bred to Speaker's Corner.
We are breeding Saffron Beach to Speaker's Corner. This is a big, tall mare. Lots of leg. Her first foal by Spun to Run was well put together and nicely balanced. We then bred her to Speaker's Corner because it was off the charts both on G1 and TrueNicks. We are currently waiting for that foal to come and breeding her back to him seemed like a sensible idea. Speaker's Corner won some excellent races, had some excellent Beyer figures and raced into his 4-year-old year. I'm excited to see the foal coming this year. We have had this mare up for sale but she's such a nice mare that its really been a back and forth of not wanting to let her go. She has a lot to offer and is a fan favorite at the barn.
MONEY INTHE STARRS (8, Abraaj–Our Monstarr, by Demons Begone) to be bred to Yaupon.
This is a nice mare. I sent her to the sale this year and she got overlooked. I was happy to take her home. She was a stakes winner on the track and clinched Champion 2-year-old filly in Washington. She is currently in foal to Epicenter and I'm counting the days. Yaupon was well received at the sales and physically he matches her very well. Her pedigree isn't really seen here in Kentucky so its hard to find a great cross for her on paper, so for this mare we are going in a different direction than our other mares. We really liked what she produced with the Knicks Go filly she had last year and are pretty confident with what she will throw in upcoming years. Her mother was an excellent horse and Demons Begone horses are hardy runners.
NAVY SWORD (7, Bodemeister-Wooden Nickel, by Divine Park) to be bred to Goldencents.
This is a nice mare. She ran well in her company. She was a stakes winner of almost $200,000. We ran her G1 report and she really crossed well with Into Mischief sons. Goldencents is proven and is dependable to get you a good runner. This is a mare we are looking forward to having for many years and feel like we are starting her strong with a reliable sire.
DELIGHTFUL DREAMER (7, Animal Kingdom-Age of Silver, by Silver Deputy) to be bred to Jimmy Creed.
This is a mare I had been trying to get for a while. I lost her on a shake last year and was lucky enough to be able to get her this year when she retired. This is a nice family. Mom has proven to be quite fruitful on the blacktype scale. Since Distorted Humor works so well with this family we decided Jimmy Creed was an excellent choice for a first foal. He is also reliable, tried and true. Her mom produced some excellent horses on the Distorted Humor cross so we are hopeful she can do the same.
PENDOLINO (8, Honorable Dillon-Wonzit, by Tizow) to be bred to Yaupon.
We got this mare in New York. She was a hard-knocking mare who won over $200,000. She comes from the immediate family of Naughty Gal (Into Mischief). She's currently due any minute to Rock Your World. Again with Yaupon, he was a great runner, his foals have been very well received at the sales and physically, he matches her well. She has been a dream at the farm and we are excited to see what this family continues to produce.
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