TDN Mare Visits: Godolphin’s Stonerside Farm

[Wandering Eyes]

In this first installment of the TDN’s newest video series, Associate Editor Christie DeBernardis toured Godolphin’s historic Stonerside Farm near Paris, Kentucky. Purchased by Sheikh Mohammed in 2008 from Bob and Janice McNair, the stunning 2,000-acre facility is home to some of the operation’s top former racemares and producers. On this visit, we checked in with MGISW Wedding Toast (Street Sense) and her Tapit colt, as well as two of the farm’s most well known retirees: Sahara Gold (Seeking Gold) and Ascutney (Lord at War {Arg}).

Godolphin purchased Wedding Toast’s dam Golden Sheba (Coronado’s Quest) as a part of package of McNair mares bought with the farm. Out of GISP Mari’s Sheba (Mari’s Book), the chestnut mare was a half-sister to MGISW and multi-millionaire Congaree (Arazi) and SW & GISP Sangaree (Awesome Again).

Wedding Toast was the first of Golden Sheba’s foals to make the races and proved to be special early on, earning the ‘TDN Rising Star’ distinction when graduating at second asking at Saratoga in July 2013. The Kiaran McLaughlin pupil’s first graded score came in the GIII Comely S. later that year. In 2015, the bay went on a hot streak, winning Belmont’s GII Ruffian S., GI Ogden Phipps S. and GI Beldame S. and was retired at the end of that stellar season.

“Wedding Toast has transitioned very well to her life as a broodmare,” said Stonerside manager Gerry Duffy. “She was a very accomplished mare on the racetrack. She won two Group 1s, both at Belmont.”

Wedding Toast produced her first foal, a colt by Dubawi (Ire), in 2017 and did not have a foal the following year.

“Dubawi is one of the world’s leading sires and is very much an international sire,” Duffy said. “So, the idea was to take come of our top U.S. mares, send them to Dubawi and see if he could produce with these U.S. mares. Her 2-year-old, who is in training with Charlie Appleby, was a very nice yearling, typical Dubawi, strong-bodied, well-made, medium-sized horse with a really nice, athletic walk.”

{"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Godolphin's Stonerside Farm","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/350152871.sd.mp4?s=6f2657a99b15979cf84bb736a2e9243101d47651&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/348675161.sd.mp4?s=253587d32f2adb0786021b8d242dbe6f2f326475&profile_id=164","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"}

Wedding Toast foaled a chestnut Tapit colt Apr. 7 of this year and was bred back to that Gainesway stallion.

“We’re absolutely delighted [with the Tapit colt],” Duffy said as we watched Wedding Toast grazing peacefully in her paddock as her rambunctious colt ran and played around her before settling at her side. “There is a bit more scope than his brother, but he’s well-balanced, well put together. He is a smart, intelligent-looking horse. He is very proud.”

He continued, “So, we are excited about him. We like him so much, we are sending the mare back to Tapit. If we can get something as good as this guy, we will be in good shape.”

When asked what made the team choose Tapit for Wedding Toast, besides the obvious, Duffy said, “She’s a Street Sense mare and has a lot of size and scope. So, physically, I think she is a good fit for him as Tapit tends to get medium-sized horses. She is out of Golden Sheba, who is a Coronado’s Quest mare, and Tapit has had a lot of success with Mr. Prospector line mares, of which she is.”

After visiting Wedding Toast, Duffy drove me down the farm’s beautiful winding roads to the section of the property that houses their retirees. At 22-years-old, Sahara Gold looked a picture as she exited the barn, standing regally before me. She stared towards the doors she had just exited and let out a loud whinny in search of her best friend, who was none other than Ascutney. The 25-year-old was brought out to join her paddockmate, who was immediately soothed by her elder’s presence.

Sahara Gold, a daughter of GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint victress Desert Stormer (Storm Cat) and $1.45 million KEEJUL RNA, carried the Stonerside colors to victory in the 2000 GII Beaumont S. Her second foal Idaho (A.P. Indy) was purchased by Godolphin for $3.1 million at Keeneland September and they went to $3.4 million for her next foal GSW Sahara Heat (A.P. Indy) at the following year’s renewal of that auction.

Godolphin acquired Sahara Gold with the purchase of Stonerside and she produced her best foal right off the bat for her new owners in Better Lucky (Ghostzapper), who went on to win two Grade Is and earn over $1.2 million. She produced a Grade III-placed colt in her first foal Kentucky Wildcat (Tapit), who is 3-years-old. Sahara Gold produced her final foal, the now-2-year-old Desert Legacy (Tapit), in 2017 and has been pensioned since.

“We have Sahara Gold and Ascutney, two very important mares to the farm,” Duffy said. “We are very hopeful Sahara Gold’s genes will continue through her daughter, Better Lucky, who is in production. Hopefully she can be a producer of a lot of good ones for many years to come.”

While Sahara Gold has the imposing presence of a mare, who knows she is royalty, Ascutney is a bit more humble with a quieter, softer way about her. The dark bay seems more than happy to defer the spotlight to her companion, though she is quite accomplished in her own right.

A Grade III winner on turf, Ascutney is a full-sister to MSW & GSP Words of War, who is the dam of MGSW & MGISP E Dubai (Mr. Prospector) and half to GISW No Matter What (Nureyev), who produced European champion Rainbow View (Dynaformer); GSW & MGISP Just As Well (A.P. Indy); and graded winners Utley (Smart Strike), Wissahickon (Tapit) and Winter View (Thunder Gulch).

Stonerside purchased Ascutney for $775,000at the 2000 Keeneland January Sale carrying her second foal by Wild Again. That foal was Grade III winner Gigawatt, who earned over $500,000. In 2005, she produced Raven’s Pass (Elusive Quality), who carried the Godolphin blue to a series of victories in Europe, including the G1 QEII S. and captured the 2008 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic before taking up stallion duties in Europe at the operation’s Kildangan Stud. Ascutney had her final foal in 2013 and has been enjoying the retired life in Stonerside’s lush green pastures since.

“Ascutney is the dam of Raven’s Pass and he was obviously a Breeders’ Cup champion racehorse,” Duffy said. “John Gosden trained him and he was a very important stallion for us in Ireland. He came through and sired his first Group 1 winner last year in Royal Marine. So, we’re hopeful that he may be a Classic performer this year.”

After posing politely for photos, Sahara Gold and Ascutney were led to their vast field of lush Kentucky blue grass to rejoin their herd, which is comprised of other pensioned Godolphin mares. They swarm their compatriots in welcome, each looking bright and happy in their golden years.

“We have 15 retirees here,” Duffy said. “Every mare is so important in their own way, aside from the big stars. They’ve served us well, both through their careers on the race track and through the progeny they have produced, so it is our duty to take care of them. They are groomed, fed and live outside most of the time. Our job is just to keep them healthy, keep them sound, keep them happy and ensure that they live out a very happy retirement.”

 

The post TDN Mare Visits: Godolphin’s Stonerside Farm appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article