California Breeding

First, the CHRB was put in a no-win situation. To paraphrase Board Chairman Dr. Gregory Ferraro, half of the state was going to be mad at the CHRB regardless of how they voted. And frankly, it is very sad that it even came to that, as I will explain in more detail momentarily. While it is clear that the recent letter sent by Craig Fravel did not sit well with them, it seems that the Board understood the ramifications of not having racing in the North. Meaning that it would...

California's Rancho San Miguel will host an open house and stallion show Saturday, Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. while featuring an informational program for both current and prospective Thoroughbred owners and breeders, the farm said in a release Friday. In addition to a parade of the farm's nine-horse stallion roster, the free event will also offer horse husbandry seminars, networking opportunities, a catered lunch, and giveaways, including a stallion season raffle. The farm's newest addition to the stallion roster is the undefeated Bolden (Square Eddie), who will stand...

Two weeks after an initial company announcement on the closure of Golden Gate Fields at the end of the year, The Stronach Group (TSG) issued details Friday on their plans for consolidating racing operations at its Southern California racing and training facilities, Santa Anita and San Luis Rey Downs. The plan--shared via Zoom during a press briefing lasting about 30 minutes--appeared large on big-ticket promises though short on specifics in other key areas, including the broader industry impacts from the closure of Golden Gate Fields. The following details were divulged...

Thoroughbred owner and breeder John C. Harris will be honored at a charity fundraising dinner hosted by the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation. The event will take place Thursday, August 17, 2023, at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, in Rancho Santa Fe, CA, located just a few miles east of Del Mar Racetrack. "We're delighted to honor John, not only for the accomplishments of his Harris Farms Horse Division, one of the country's leading racing stables and utmost influential owner/breeder operations, for which he has been inducted into the California...

Harris Farms' GISW Cistron (The Factor) sired his first reported foal, a filly born at the California farm Jan. 30. A fourth-generation Harris Farms homebred, the filly is out of Patriot Mission (Acclamation). The mare's extended family includes MGISW and young sire City of Light (Quality Road). Cistron will stand his second season at Harris Farms for $3,500, live foal.

Taylor Made has occasionally partnered with other farms in stallion ventures, most notably with WinStar on Speightstown and Tiznow. However, they are dipping their toes into the California stallion market for the first time with Grade I winner Mo Forza (Uncle Mo--Inflamed, by Unusual Heat) in partnership with Tom and Nancy Clark's Rancho San Miguel. The millionaire turf star--whose name roughly means "strength" in Italian--was retired for 2022 to the 210-acre farm in San Miguel, a sleepy and small Spanish mission town in the famed Paso Robles wine region of...

Moquest (Uncle Mo--Seeking Gabrielle, by Forestry), a full-brother to champion Nyquist, will stand the 2022 breeding season at Milky Way Farm in California. Moquest will stand for $4,500 LFSN. An injury during training prevented the $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase from making it to the races. Bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms, the 3-year-old will be supported in the breeding shed by his owners, EAS Alliance LLC. Last year, Uncle Mo's sales yearlings averaged $270,915 including two yearlings that sold last year for $1.6-million and $1.1 million. His juveniles averaged...

In the unlikeliest of places, far from the rolling hills of Kentucky or any of racing's other hallowed grounds, there's a connection to racing lore. Located in the high desert of California--west of the Mojave Desert, inland from the Pacific Ocean, and due north of Los Angeles--is the sprawling mountain community of Tehachapi. It was here that Hall of Famer Swaps was bred and raised on Rex Ellsworth's ranch. Swaps, of course, had that glorious rivalry with Nashua in 1955 and was named Horse of the Year in 1956. But...

Mo Forza (Uncle Mo--Inflamed, Unusual Heat), a Grade I winner and $1 million-plus earner, has been retired from racing and will commence his stallion career in 2022 at Rancho San Miguel in California as the property of Taylor Made Stallions and Onofrio Pecoraro. The 5-year-old, who will represent Kentucky-based Taylor Made Farm's first foray into California's breeding industry, is the first son of Uncle Mo-North America's 2010 Champion juvenile colt and the sire of the Grade 1-siring stallions Nyquist and Laoban--to stand on the West Coast. Mo Forza's introductory fee...

Harris Farms resident stallion Tizbud (Cee's Tizzy--Cee's Song, by Seattle Song), the California-bred sire and full-brother to Hall of Famer Tiznow, was euthanized July 20 due to an overall decline in health. Tizbud was pensioned in 2018 at Harris Farms, where he was foaled, raised and stood at stud. Tizbud was bred by Cecilia Straub Rubens and raced for Cee's Stable LLC under the tutelage of trainer John Sadler. Owner Pamela C. Ziebarth stood Tizbud at Harris Farms, where he sired Grade I winner Tiz Flirtatious as well as popular...