NEWS
West Coast: Leading breeders
Posted: Saturday, December 08, 2001
Success of California-bred Horse of the Year Tiznow proves breeders cannot buy success
Tiznow has not only served as a great inspiration to racing for his will to win, he has also given hope to all small-time breeders that Lady Luck could smile upon them as well.
The photogenic colt gave his late owner-breeder, Cecilia "Cee" Straub-Rubens, leadership for the first time as a top money-winning breeder in California by about the margin of his neck victory in the 2000 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
Straub-Rubens, who died three days after Tiznow's first of two consecutive Breeders' Cup Classic victories in November of last year, recorded earnings of $4,044,378 as a breeder of 14 starters, eight winners, and three stakes winners, according to statistics based on the 12-month period from October 1, 2000, through September 30, 2001. About three-quarters of that total were provided by the reigning Horse of the Year.
In another breathtaking Tiznow photo finish, the total barely shaded perennial California leaders John and Betty Mabee, whose mammoth operation amassed $3,981,044 during the period under review.
Straub-Rubens's fairy tale story involved a breeding operation with one modestly bred stallion, Cee's Tizzy, and eight broodmares. The 14-year-old stallion stands at Harris Farms near Coalinga, California, where his stud fee doubled to $15,000 this year. Most of the broodmares are also boarded there.
Michael Cooper, financial adviser to Straub-Rubens and co-owner of Tiznow, heads Cee's Stable, a racing partnership formed with her children, Pamela Ziebarth and Kevin Cochrane, following her death.
"One of the real joys of the game is it's about 98% luck, so everybody has a shot," said Cooper. "Just look at the two top older horses in earnings this year: Captain Steve, by (Fly So Free), a stallion with a $7,500 fee, and Tiznow.
"The big guys have proved you can't buy success," continued Cooper. "That's the beauty of the game. It happens all the time. Look at Best Pal. It's like the guy who puts $2 down on a 30-to-1 shot and hits once in a while. That's why we're all here."
Following is a look at the leading breeders of the West Coast, arranged roughly according to the size of their states' industries.
California
Straub-Rubens bred two other stakes winners during the past year, Cee's Elegance and Ceeband, longshot winner of the Triple Bend Breeders' Cup Invitational Handicap (G2) at Hollywood Park.
Cooper said Straub-Rubens's legacy includes 27 Thoroughbreds, including seven broodmares, five weanlings, five yearlings and seven two-year-olds. One of the two-year-olds, an unraced colt named Tizbud, is a full brother to Tiznow and Budroyale, another multimillionaire she bred. Cee's Song, the dam of Tiznow, was sold at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale for $2.6-million.
John and Betty Mabee, although somewhat quiet by the high standards they have established, bred seven stakes winners, including Notable Career, a filly by Avenue of Flags who won the Oak Leaf Stakes (G1) in October 2000 at Santa Anita Park. The San Diego couple, who owns Golden Eagle Farm near Ramona, was represented by 154 starters, including 82 winners. Other Mabee-bred stakes winners were Annual Rainfall, Avenue of Style, Crowning Meeting, Favorite Funtime, Full Moon Madness, and Wild and Wise.
Marty and Pam Wygod, who live in Rancho Santa Fe and own River Edge Farm near Buellton, finished third in the state for the period under review with earnings of $1,854,086. They bred 77 starters, 37 winners, and six stakes winners, including the brilliant colt Officer and graded winners Feverish and Hoovergetthekeys.
John Harris, owner of the giant Harris Farms complex, was a close fourth with $1,733,665 earned by 77 starters. The breeder of 44 winners, including stakes winners Image of Glory and Top of Our Game, took on added responsibility during the year after being appointed to serve as a commissioner on the California Horse Racing Board.
Robert H. Walter Family Trust finished fifth with $1,594,879, a large portion of which was from the earnings of Lazy Slusan, a mare who won the Santa Margarita Invitational (G1) and Milady Breeders' Cup (G1) Handicaps.
Carl and Olivia Cannata, owners of Lakeview Thoroughbred Farm, bred multiple Grade 1-winning mare Gourmet Girl, a mare by Cee's Tizzy who led them to earnings of $983,552 with triumphs in the Apple Blossom (G1) and Vanity (G1) Handicaps. The Cannatas bred 31 starters, 14 winners, and additional stakes winner Candelotto, a gelding by Cee's Tizzy.
Straub-Rubens was not the only successful dreamer in California. Nick Cafarchia, an Italian-born baker from Pasadena who entered the sport 20 years ago with one mediocre mare, was counting the dough after breeding two Grade 2 stakes winners that traced to that humble beginning. Road to Slew, winner of the Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap (G2), and Rare Charmer, winner of the Buena Vista Handicap (G2), both on the Santa Anita turf, led Cafarchia to breeder earnings of $848,380 to rank ninth in California for the 12-month period that ended on September 30.
Another brilliant California-bred performer was Golden Ballet, who won four graded stakes, including the Las Virgenes Stakes (G1) and Santa Anita Oaks (G1), to almost single-handedly give breeders Jerry Dutton and Vladimir Popovich earnings of $666,610.
Washington
With 28 years of service, Guy Roberts is the longest-standing member of the board of directors of the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association. "I got interested in Thoroughbred breeding years ago through a state program in which my three daughters, 4-H members at that time, each got a broodmare," said Roberts. "With membership declining in the state, I think we need to do something like that again to get new breeders interested."
Roberts and his wife, Barbara, who live in Sunnyside, were the leading breeders in Washington for the 12 months under review with earnings of $493,208 from 55 starters, including 34 winners. Roberts owns a produce business, raising apples, cherries, pears, and grapes at six locations in the Yakima Valley, and packing apples, potatoes, and asparagus, as well.
"I started playing with horses around 1964 or '65, first with Quarter Horses, before getting interested in Thoroughbreds through the broodmare program," Roberts said. "Currently, the horses are scattered among three places that total about 100 acres. Two years ago, I had 96 horses, including 34 broodmares, but I am down to 13 broodmares and three stallions: Petersburg, by Danzig; Ihtimam, by Mr. Prospector; and Gumboy, an old horse (by Gummo).
"Breeders in the state reducing their numbers seems to be a trend," continued Roberts. "It started when Longacres shut down. Everyone is losing money. But I enjoy it, and will never get out entirely.
"I sell most of my horses," Roberts said. "My big excitement now is a filly I ran named Cocktails Anyone, who earned (more than) $240,000. She has her first baby on the ground, a Washington-bred colt by Free House from his first crop."
One Washington-bred who achieved Grade 1 glory in the period under review was Tali'sluckybusride. She was bred by the state's fifth-ranked breeder Dr. Michael Konecny, who bred his Lord At War (Arg) mare, Springhurst, to Delineator for $3,000 and sold the resulting foal, Tali'sluckybusride, as a yearling for $23,000 at a Washington sale to Californians Ron and Susie Anson. In September, she won the $250,000 Oak Leaf Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita.
Arizona
Triple AAA Ranch is about as safe a bet to be Arizona's leading breeder as a bond of that rating. During the 12 months under review, the Glendale ranch recorded breeder earnings of $688,576.
"We have two places about eight miles apart, one 60 acres, the other 25," said owner Richard Owens. "We have about 30 broodmares and three stallions: Society Max, Fool the Experts, and Chanate."
Owens, a retired framing subcontractor, is the father of R. Kory Owens, a trainer with 18 horses at Turf Paradise and 11 on the Southern California circuit.
"We just started selling at the Arizona sale the last two years," said Kory Owens of horses bred at the ranch.
Triple AAA was represented by 42 starters, 29 winners, and the stakes winners Chuichupa, Coyote Lakes, Dunson, Jomax, O'Hara, and Rocky Bar. Coyote Lakes, a gelding by Society Max, won the Gallant Fox Handicap (G3) in January at Aqueduct.
Colorado
Willard Burbach said he is called by his proper first name in the Thoroughbred industry and by Willy in the cattle business, and he is a state leader in both.
A prominent cattleman who owns a 90-acre farm near Greeley, Burbach was the leading Thoroughbred breeder in Colorado for the period under review with $185,364.
"I always had a few Quarter Horses around; I bred one and ran her colt," said Burbach of his introduction to breeding and racing before he purchased his first Thoroughbreds in 1990.
Burbach, a member of the board of directors of the Colorado Thoroughbred Breeders' Association for five years, generally ships his broodmares to Kentucky to be bred and returns them to Colorado to foal. He currently owns eight broodmares, four yearlings, and seven foals.
Burbach bred 15 starters, nine winners, and four stake winners-Make the Deposit, Moonlight Maverick, Personal Beau, and Tangarae Tango. Make the Deposit, by Deposit Ticket, won the CTBA Lassie Stakes in August at Arapahoe Park near Denver. Burbach's broodmare band is led by Hempen Cutie, dam of multiple Arapahoe stakes winner Moonlight Maverick.
"My numbers will probably go down a little bit," said Burbach. "I have more horses than I can market in this area."
Idaho
Billingsley Creek Ranch has been Idaho's perennial leading breeder for 15 years and during the 12 months ending on September 30 led the state once again with earnings of $722,701, the highest figure at any state in the West Coast region outside California. Billingsley Creek owner Donnie McFadden expects those numbers to decline significantly.
"We had stallions and a commercial breeding operation until 1996, but we have been phasing out," said McFadden of the Hagerman facility. "I sold most of the breeding stock and relocated the four stallions. I'm down to 12 Thoroughbred and five Quarter Horse broodmares. We probably had 30 Thoroughbred and 50 Quarter Horse broodmares a few years ago.
"It's a great place to raise a family, but we're so isolated and don't have enough broodmare power to support the stallions," explained McFadden. "The state doesn't offer breeder incentives, and we can't get legislative help.
"Since 1996, we bred some mares in California and Kentucky," he continued. "Takin It Deep, our first California-bred, won the California Derby this year and, after seeing the results of the California-bred program, we're going to foal more and more in California.
"Other breeders are just getting out of the business," said McFadden, who is saddened by the plight of the state. "The feed in Idaho is exceptional, and the summer pastures are strong. We're the only large breeder in the state.
"We're attracting customers for breaking and training," said McFadden of use of the 715-acre property along Billingsley Creek. "We have a similar program to (trainer) Michael Dickinson, although we don't quite have his facilities. But we have wonderful trails, and the horses become very relaxed because they are exposed to elements like pheasants and deer."
Billingsley Creek Ranch became successful in both Thoroughbred
and Quarter Horse circles after McFadden and his wife, Judy, moved to Idaho from California in 1969, became involved in horses with their children through 4-H, bought the stallion Staff Writer in 1979, and began winning races with both breeds in the 1980s.
McFadden takes particular pride in Here's Lookn Adder, an 18-year-old daughter of Superbity the ranch owned. "Here's Lookn Adder is closing in on $1-million (in progeny earnings), a record for Idaho," said McFadden. "When she was a yearling, a flock of geese startled her and ran her into a fence. She was cut up pretty badly, and we had to open up her chest to patch her back up.
Here's Lookn Adder has produced five stakes winners, including Takin It Deep, by Beau Genius. Her first foal, the Murrtheblurr mare Lookn At a Blurr, is the dam of stakes winners Lookn East and Lookn Mighty Fine.
During the period under review, Billingsley Creek Ranch also was represented by stakes winners Eminent, Fadski, It's all a Blurr, San Diego Pete, and Schuyler Road.
Montana
Just as California lost its top breeder, Montana lost its as well when perennial leader Robert Stuart of Ronan died in January. Stuart and his wife, Susan, again set the pace with 12 starters, seven winners, and earnings of $78,543 for the 12 months under review, but their stock was dispersed at an April sale.
Randy Hovet, who managed the Stuarts' farm from 1995-2000, said that Black Mackee, a 25-year-old son of Captain Courageous who was the state's leading sire for nine out of 11 years, was moved in April to the Oklahoma farm of the couple's son, Clinton, who trains at Remington Park.
The Stuarts' Montana Thoroughbred operation occupied 160 acres of a 1,000-acre cattle ranch.
Oregon
Michael Stafford of Prineville, Oregon, and his three brothers own Stafford Ranches, three sprawling sites with about 3,000 beef cattle. Since he became involved in Thoroughbred breeding 17 years ago, Stafford has set aside about 150 acres for the family's Thoroughbred operation. He and his wife, Amy, led the state during the period under review with 26 starters, 17 winners, four stakes winners, and the earners of $206,821.
"We have 17 broodmares and two stallions, Abstract and Boutinierre," said Stafford, a member of the Oregon Thoroughbred Breeders Association. "We usually run our yearlings through a sale each year, but we're busy buying a restaurant this year and didn't put our horses in."
The Staffords' stakes winners were Abrupt, Alyssa Lou, Hurricane Rylie, and Tate Man. By Abstract, Hurricane Rylie won the Oregon Futurity at Portland Meadows in December 2000. "Hurricane Rylie got Horse of the Meet at Portland Meadows last year," said Stafford. The Staffords race the homebreds they do not sell with trainer Jonathan Nance, a brother-in-law and co-owner, at Portland Meadows.
"I hope Magna is committed to Oregon," said Stafford about the burgeoning Frank Stronach empire. "They are leasing Portland Meadows and the greyhound park and own all the dates. I hope they build a new track."
Utah
Clementine Farms stands for much more than being Utah's leading Thoroughbred breeder during the 12 months under review with 13 starters, five winners, and earnings of $68,440. The success of the ten-acre facility near Lehi can be primarily attributed to its teenage help.
Lee Caldwell, who bought the property nearly three years ago, is director of an adolescent treatment center for troubled teenagers named Turnabout-Stillwater Academy. Those 45 teens work with the horses at Clementine.
"It's great therapy for the kids," said Caldwell. "They participate in all aspects, from cleaning the stalls to foaling the mares. They learn things about themselves as they feed, vaccinate, and worm the horses. They take great pride when a foal they worked with wins a race."
Caldwell bought the farm from Roger Peters, who named it after his mother and for several years stood the successful Utah sire Four Seasons before the stallion was exported to New Zealand and died.
"I was taking care of a couple of his horses," Caldwell said, "and he asked me if I would take care of some more, and I said, 'Yes, if we could use the horses to work with the kids.' Roger gave us the opportunity to get involved."
Lloyd and Pam Atkinson manage Clementine, home to 100 horses, 60 of which belong to Caldwell. "We start the horses here at the farm and send them to trainer Anthony Saavedra at Santa Anita," continued Caldwell. "He gets them going and either runs them under our racing name, R S R Equine, for Rising Sun Ranch, or sells them.
"We have 20 broodmares but had as many as 50," concluded Caldwell. "In January, Roger donated 40 of his Thoroughbreds to our school. We're trying to get a stallion donated to us."
Steve Schuelein is a Southern California Thoroughbred Times correspondent.
