2025 Mating Plans: Coteau Grove Farms, Presented by Spendthrift Farm

[Wandering Eyes]

Coming off its best year ever, Coteau Grove Farms now ranks among the leading buyers in the country. The operation, based in Sunset, Lousiana with a broodmare band of 63 head, was represented by four black-type winners from 71 starters in 2024 and the earners of nearly $3 million. The farm's advisor Andrew Cary of Cary Bloodstock gave TDN a sampling of the variety of stallions the operation is breeding to in 2025, both in Kentucky and in Louisiana.

ANIMA GEMELLA (8, Ghostzapper–Naive Enough, by Street Sense) is booked to Cogburn. She is a young half-sister to Coteau Grove-bred GSW Tumbarumba (Oscar Performance). We originally purchased her as a 2-year-old in-training and she won her only turf start for Graham Motion during the challenging COVID racing schedule of the spring and summer of 2020. A big, grand-looking mare, her first foal by Caravaggio (Scat Daddy) was gorgeous and sold for $100,000 at Keeneland September last year to Bob Feld as agent for Amerman Racing, the same connections involved with Tumbarumba.

Breeding Anima Gemella to an elite sprinter worked well the first time and they don't come any faster than Cogburn. A beautiful-looking horse by the elite sire Not This Time, Cogburn has a great chance to be successful at stud. Though ultimately at his best on the grass, he did break his maiden in his second start as a 2-year-old, going six furlongs on the dirt at Churchill Downs in 1:09 and change.

BAYERNESS (8, Bayern–Weight No More, by Pure Prize) is booked to Wit. She is one of our top young mares. She was a multiple SW/GSP earner of $433,823 on the racetrack for Cherie DeVaux and her first foal is an awesome Kentucky-bred yearling filly by Flightline that we will sell later this year. She is due to Horse of the Year Cody's Wish.

Bayerness is booked back to our new stallion, multiple GSW/G1 placed Wit (Practical Joke), who we own in partnership with Whispering Oaks Farm, where he will stand. Coteau Grove will be heavily supporting Wit with around 30 mares in his first season at stud. He is a great physical specimen, standing 16.2 hands, and was the highest-priced yearling by Practical Joke from his first crop. Wit was among the best colts of his generation as a 2-year-old, winning the GIII Sanford S. at Saratoga by open lengths and running a game second to Gunite (Gun Runner) in the GI Hopeful S. after a troubled start. He returned to win the GIII Bay Shore S. and place in the GI Hollywood Derby as a 3-year-old, showcasing his distance and surface versatility. Practical Joke continues to go from strength to strength in his own right and you just can't go wrong with the Into Mischief sire line in this country.

CALL TO SERVICE (9, To Honor and Serve–Game For More, by More Than Ready) is booked to Gun Runner. She has gotten off to a tremendous start to her broodmare career, as her first foal is the SW/G1SP The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso), who is working well at Gulfstream Park towards his 4-year-old debut. Her 3-year-old Acknowledge (Authentic) recently broke his maiden at Fair Grounds by 9 1/4 lengths for Repole Stable and Joe Sharp and will hopefully be another blacktype performer for the mare.

Call to Service also has a 2-year-old filly by Curlin that was retained and a Kentucky-bred yearling colt by Justify that we are hopeful will be a great sales yearling later this summer. She was bred once last year to Uncle Mo and didn't catch, so she will be ready to go early to leading sire Gun Runner.

The Wine Steward | Chelsea Durand

CILLA (7, California Chrome–Sittin at the Bar, by Into Mischief) is booked to Star Guitar. She is one of our foundation mares for the future, a Grade II winning/Grade I-placed daughter of the top producer Sittin at the Bar (Into Mischief), who herself has already produced four stakes winners from her first five foals to race, including the Grade I-winning Alva Starr (Lord Nelson) and SW/MGSP Club Car (Malibu Moon). Cilla recently transitioned to the Louisiana program and is in-foal to Gun Runner carrying her first foal. She will be bred back to top Louisiana sire Star Guitar, the sire of eight SWs in 2024, including graded winners Ova Charged and Manama Gold, as well as millionaire Touchuponastar (another Coteau Grove-bred).

ELFIN QUEEN (8, American Pharoah–Pretty 'n Smart, by Beau Genius) is booked to Wit. She boasts a quality pedigree, as she is a half-sister to four stakes winners, including Grade I winner Cupid (Tapit) and Grade III winner Heart Ashley (Lion Heart). Recent graded stakes performers from the immediate female family include Ain't Easy (Into Mischief), Kathleen O (Upstart), V V's Dream (Mitole) and Opus Forty Two (Mendelssohn). Elfin Queen's first foal is the newly turned 3-year-old filly Supa Speed (Justify), a $460,000 Keeneland September sales yearling that is now multiple stakes-placed in Southern California for Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing and trainer John Sadler.

Elfin Queen's 2-year-old colt by Into Mischief sold for $575,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and will be trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Elfin Queen is carrying a full-sibling to Supa Speed and is another of our top mares booked back to Wit for his first season. One more interesting note, the Into Mischief/American Pharaoh cross is responsible already for the exciting, undefeated Kentucky Derby hopeful Barnes.

FIREFOOT (11, Tapizar–Empty the Bases, by Grand Slam) is booked to Arabian Knight. Firefoot was a nice bargain buy for $20,000 a few years ago. Her first foal Drewmazing (Bayern) has won over $140,000 and her second foal, Freeburn (Mitole), is multiple SP and has earned $217,500 to date racing for Coteau Grove and will join our broodmare band upon the conclusion of her racing career.

Arabian Knight was an easy selection for Firefoot. He's a 10/10 physical for me and showed elite ability on the racetrack. His debut at Keeneland was eagerly anticipated and he delivered in spectaclar style reminiscent of his legendary sire who we lost too soon. I thought Arabian Knight was the best-looking horse at the 2023 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita where he ran a gallant fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic after setting very strong fractions. I'm very bullish on his future.

HIGHLAND GRACE (5, American Pharaoh–Caroline Thomas, by Giant's Causeway) is booked to Into Mischief. Highland Grace is one of our most recent acquisitions, purchased for $320,000 as a broodmare prospect at last year's Keeneland November sale.  She was Grade GII-placed at Belmont Park and was competitive against some of the top turf distaffers in her generation on several occasions. She comes from a quality family as well. Her dam Caroline Thomas won the GII Lake Placid S. and was third in the GI Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup and her granddam Bit of Whimsy won that same Grade I race at Keeneland. This is a family that rarely comes on the market, so we took advantage of the opportunity to get in by buying Highland Grace, and then were fortunate enough to acquire her 3-year-old full-sister Katherine Thomas about 30 minutes later in the same session. Hopefully they can both help each other's pages even further as the years progress. Katherine Thomas is booked to Cogburn for her first breeding this year.

Highland Grace will get every opportunity to get off to a fast start at stud with six-time leading sire Into Mischief, who has shown great versatility with his runners over the years. We think this family can produce runners that can thrive on any surface and that sort of flexibility is the name of the game now. Once again, this is the same cross of the budding young star Barnes, one that is sure to be emulated by many breeders in years to come.

NAIVE ENOUGH (14, Street Sense–Light From Above, by A.P. Indy) is booked to Oscar Performance. This is a repeat of the mating that produced the GSW/MGSP Tumbarumba, one of the gamest and toughest horses in training currently. Tumbarumba concluded a stellar 2024 campaign with an excellent fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar. He was purchased by powerhouse stable Wathnan Racing midway through last season and remains in training for 2025. Oscar Performance's ability to sire top-class horses on any surface is incredibly promising and his record of stakes horses to runners is excellent. He will be an important sire in the years ahead.

Tumbarumba | Ryan Thompson

TOUCH MAGIC (5, Lion Heart–Unifier, by Deputy Minister) is booked to Wit. Touch Magic is the dam of 2023 Louisiana Horse of the Year Touchuponastar (Start Guitar), who recently went over $1 million in career earnings with his third straight win in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds Racecourse in December.

Touch Magic has also produced the promising 3-year-old Voila Magic (Volatile), who was a 'TDN Rising Star' last fall after a debut romp at Keeneland and has progressed to be multiple stakes-placed, including an excellent second in a swiftly run Louisiana Futurity at the end of December. His future looks bright.

Touch Magic is currently in-foal to Horse of the Year Flightline and is another of our top mares slated to go to our new stallion Wit in his first season at stud.

Other Kentucky stallions we are breeding to in 2025 include: Domestic Product, Muth, National Treasure, Prince of Monaco and Vekoma.

Interested in sharing your own mating plans? Email garyking@thetdn.com.

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