2025 Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift Farm: Machmer Hall

[Wandering Eyes]

I have come to really enjoy sharing this aspect of our farm. Last year after I finished describing some of the matings and crazy ways we had found certain mares, I had myself in stitches laughing so much remembering all of the fun stories. So, once again, I will try to keep you all entertained while also sharing why and how we came up with the pairings for some of our 117 (OMG) mares. We breed solely for the physical athlete; we do not use nicks, Goldmine, x-factor, measurements, linebreeding, outcrossing, meditation, tarot cards or psychics. We do use proven crosses that are often manifested in the physical needs from the stallion and mare.

Chilled Fireball (5, Malibu Moon–Chilly Fashion, by Artie Schiller) to be bred to Twirling Candy.

We bred this filly and sold her as a yearling for $385,000, the highest-priced Malibu Moon of her year. We were not planning on buying her back since we already own her dam and her dam's half-sister, even after seeing her cataloged in foal to Twirling Candy in November.

I am walking down the halls of Keeneland during the sale and John Moynihan stops me and says, in his most animated tone, “Carrie, Carrie that filly we bought off you, Chilled Fireball, she was outworking every graded stakes winner we had in a hand ride before she started. Such a terrible shame she got hurt after her first start. She seriously had Grade I talent.” Hmmmm…the wheels start turning. We are going to buy our Grade I-talent mare back cheap with this inside information!

So, her hip number comes up and our former stunning yearling Chilled Fireball walks into the ring. The bids start flying…50k, 75k, 100k, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM…I turn to Craig and say, `oh hell, John has told everyone this story and worse yet, they all believed him!!!' A $190,000 bid later, our placed-in-one-start mare with Grade I talent comes back home to Machmer Hall. She has already foaled a strapping colt and is booked back to Twirling Candy for 2026.

Yatta (4, Yoshida {Jpn}–Final Reward, by Arch) to be bred to Nyquist.

I was working at my Mac the night before the Fasig-Tipton February sale and I hear, `ping!' Look up to see a message from one of my best friends, Rob Tribbett. “Did you look at Meg's graded stakes mare?” I replied, `no, no way I can afford her. The videos of her look unreal.' Reply: “Well, she is being announced as a cribber and you know we cannot buy them.” Cribber…the golden word of a broodmare discount. I sit straight up and a large grin overcomes my face in the spirit of Jim Carrey portraying the Grinch that stole Christmas. Rare is it that we can possibly buy a graded stakes mare with her looks in our budget unless the dreaded C word is used.

First thing next a.m. go and see this 16.2 hh cat-like walking adonis also known as Yatta. Meg tells me that they have not seen her crib at the farm or at the sale but that she was believed to be a cribber at the track, so she is being announced that way. `Fair enough,' I exclaim as I break into giddy laughter practically skipping back to the pavilion. Yatta comes home as a broodmare prospect to the tune of $175,000 and she is booked to super sire Nyquist. We have yet to see her crib.

A Nite in Cairo (5, Cairo Prince–With Pleasure, by Cape Blanco {Ire}) to be bred to Arabian Knight.

This is a young, stakes-placed mare by Cairo Prince that sold at the Keeneland November sale with Taylor Made. She was a good-selling yearling for her sire, very attractive, nice family and best of all in my mind, a stakes-placed two-year-old to boot! I only looked at her at the barn once, which is one time more than I normally do, depending on the resultant outside temperature that day at the sale. Craig, Mom and I all came up with a budget of $75,000 to buy this filly, give or take a bid.

Hip 1792 walks in the ring, I am prepared and somehow buy her for $8,000. I look to my left, look to my right…what did I miss? Colic surgery? Announced as not breeding sound? No no… just a nice stakes mare cheap. Tom Hamm, whose brother Tim trained her, comes up to me to congratulate me and I commit the ultimate consignor cardinal sin…the thing that I hate the most that buyers do to me and yet, in those shoes, here it comes. `Don't say it!' my brain is yelling silently! In my best DOH! Homer Simpson moment, I hear my mouth open and say, “I CAN”T BELIEVE I GOT HER SOOOOOOOOO CHEAP!!!”.

Immediately realizing that I have committed blasphemy in the unwritten code of consignment and buyer conduct, I close my mouth and add a sheepish grin. Well, A Nite in Cairo had a beast of a Maxfield colt and is booked back to one of the best-looking first-year sires in Kentucky, Arabian Knight.

Batucada (right) just misses to Raging Sea | Joe Labozetta

Batucada (5, Union Rags–Lady Pamela, by Tapit) to be bred to Curlin.

We bought the majority of Batucada after she became a Listed stakes winner. She is a gorgeous grey daughter of Union Rags with huge family. This filly had nine starts in 2024 over four different tracks, never missed a work, the epitome of soundness. Her last start, she gets nipped at the wire in the GII Beldame caught by GI winner Raging Sea. We decide to follow the dream of all dreams and run as an owner (yes! me!) in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

She gets to California, and this filly–whose record of soundness should go down in the encyclopedia of what we are looking for in breeding a racehorse–is flagged by the vets. Jogs 100% sound at the barn but they do not like how she is moving on the track. So what was to be one of the greatest weekends of my life was smashed into a million pieces. I literally wanted to sell the farm and liquidate all my horses the Wednesday morning when I was told that they were going to force her to scratch. That moment, that day, I hated horse racing and it took me a while to come out of it.

We cancelled our trip but all of our “friends” that were going went without Craig and me. (They had a blast.) Batucada ships back to Florida, and has two works in Palm Meadows, perfect at usual, perfect lead changes, joints tight, cold. Cannot get her off the vets list. Proactively do PET scan, CT scan, X-rays (clean) in February, but still cannot get her off the vets' list. Cannot even get the Florida vets to commit to a timeline to getting her off the vets' list. So, my sound filly is forced to retire and another horse lost to the graded stakes ranks that could be running.

Batucada shipped into our farm off the van from Florida and her joints and legs looked like she had never started a day in her life. I understand and support HISA 100% as everyone knows but there are occasions of sound horses being scratched and retired because the owners have no option and she is one of those stories. She is booked to Curlin and she deserves to go to him as she almost beat one of his greatest daughters in what I thought was going to be the beginning of a storied five-year-old year.

Rose Parade (5, Curlin–Rose Garden, by Pioneerof the Nile_ to be bred to Into Mischief.

One of the nicest agents I know, Jay Ethridge, called me about a stakes-placed Curlin filly that was a former Saratoga yearling for sale privately. Of course! What farm in Kentucky would not want one of these and the price was right, a deal was made. I got a call the next day: Tonni, Toby Kieth's sister, is having sellers' remorse. `Toby would never have sold this mare that brought him so much joy if he were alive,' she says. So I say to Tonni (who I have come to realize is just as wonderful as her brother), `Why don't we buy half and you keep half?' There was the solution that made her heart happy, and mine too. There is something so loved by him here at Machmer Hall and the connection to his family and his passion for horses I feel through Rose Parade, even as I type this.

Our new Curlin mare is going to the most incredible stallion of my generation, Into Mischief. She is one of six Machmer Hall mares being bred to him on a package of no-guarantee seasons we purchased from Spendthrift Farm.

Warm Sunshine (11, Unbridled's Song–Carolina Surprise, by Awesome Again) to be bred to Practical Joke.

Warm Sunshine '25 | Carrie Brogden

From the last crop of Unbridled's Song, what has this 15.1 hh mare not done for Machmer Hall? We bought her as a yearling and raced her. We also own her full-sister and her half-sister, both claimed into our broodmare band. Her first foal is our homebred Steal Sunshine who has won a GII and over $700,000 in his career. Next month he is taking us to the Dubai World Cup races on an invite to the Godolphin Mile. Can you believe that? His mama has already had a 139-pound Cody's Wish filly and was booked back to the late great Uncle Mo for 2026. With that stallion's untimely passing, we pivoted to the rising superstar Practical Joke. The same cross off our farm has produced the likes of Graded Stakes winners Gina Romantica, Intense Holiday, Maximus Mischief, etc.

Clear Voice (4, Kantharos–Heidi Maria, by Rockport Harbor) to be bred to More Than Looks.

We bred this filly and her entire family including most of the stakes horses in her first two dams: Sweet Whiskey, Vegas Magic, Five Sixteen and her own mother, Heidi Maria. This filly is stunning and when I say stunning I mean a 10/10 physical. Maybe an 11. David Ingordo loved her as much as we did at the yearling sale, so he bought her and Cherie trained her as we stayed in for half. Unfortunately, a physical issue stopped her from fulfilling her potential on the track so she came back to the farm.

When deciding her mating, Breeders' Cup winner More Than Looks came to the forefront and when the question of “would it work” came up, the answer was well, gorgeous to gorgeous usually gets gorgeous! Her half-sister, Family, who we also retained to race, this week just demolished a Maiden Special Weight field at Turfway, earning an 82 Beyer for her trainer, Michelle Elliott. Hopefully, she will continue on and we will have a monster update in that already wonderful family. A maiden mare, Clear Voice is booked to More Than Looks.

Sweet Lollipop '25 | Carrie Brogden

Sweet Lollipop (12, Candy Ride {Arg}–Unbridled Beauty, by Unbridled's Song) to be bred to Domestic Product.

This foaling mare has had the worst luck and none of it is her fault! Since we purchased her in foal in foal to Practical Joke for $280,000, her family has absolutely exploded! Her Practical Joke filly was absolutely lovely, and one day mare and foal come in from the paddock and Craig is like what on earth? Somehow, she has broken a piece of her head where the spine attaches, and had to be euthanized. Her next colt, by More than Ready, colics at the sale. We have to take him to the clinic overnight and were going to scratch him but buyers came to see him at the sale that loved him and were like, `bring him back! We will buy him if you guarantee his health for 30 days.' We bring him back and that horse goes on to be the stakes-placed Demain. Next filly, an absolutely gorgeous Quality Road dies of Tyzzers around 30 days of age. Next foal aborted… Good lord! 2024 rolls around and we get a magnificent Uncle Mo filly! This mare's live foal rate for stakes horses is now 100% from named foals!

Sweet Lollipop has already foaled a lovely Uncle Mo colt from his last crop and is booked back to a stallion that I literally could not find a physical fault in. There just isn't any. She is booked to Domestic Product.

Up Up Up (5, Bernardini–Lady Melesi, by Colonial Affair) to be bred to Prince of Monaco.

Up Up Up has foaled a Jackie's Warrior filly for her first foal. This mare was a homebred for us out of our grand old Lady Melesi. I have seen articles about not selling mares past a certain age and I would like to say that our purchases of Voodoo Lily, Lady Melesi, Saudia, Harbor Springs, Joop, Binalegend, Jeanie's Gift, etc.–all who have been supreme successes on our farm and all of whom died of old age retired there–would certainly counter that argument.

We bought Up Up Up's dam in foal to Oxbow for $32,000 in 2015. At that time, Lady Melesi was a stakes-winning, GI stakes-placed mare and the dam of GIII-placed Doc Cheney, stakes winner and GII-placed Seruni, GII-placed Liberated. After we purchased her, her daughter English Affair become a GIII stakes winner and Amiche, her Malibu Moon filly bred by us and sold as a $325,000 Saratoga yearling also became a stakes horse. The grand old girl died at 24 of old age on our farm. Up Up Up was her final foal and a Bernardini filly! We were thrilled, to say the least.

Her first mating to Jackie's Warrior was because I was in awe looking at that horse over at Spendthrift. We bred four mares to him for 2025 and bought a beautiful weanling by him in November and certainly will continue to support him. For her 2025 mating, I was inspired by an event in 2022: in the Saratoga sale of 2022, I was sitting at our consignment waiting for a yearling to finish top off to head to the ring. There was a colt walking back to his barn after selling that sauntered by me with his handler. This colt was so striking and held himself with such presence that I ran to our office and grabbed the catalog to see who on earth hip 56 was. The page said he was a Speightstown colt out of Rainer, and I found out subsequently that he had sold for $950,000. His image of strength and beauty was burned into my mind and when I read about the GI Del Mar Futurity winner, I looked at the results and saw he had been named Prince Of Monaco. She is booked back to this beautifully bred stallion standing his first year at Claiborne.

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