Charlotte Weber's broodmare band features proven performers

Even before Win Approval became the dam of a Breeders' Cup winner, she already had attained elite status in Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Stud broodmare band. Earlier in the year, she had joined Sultry Sun as the second Live Oak broodmare to produce Florida-bred graded stakes-winning millionaire half brothers.

Sultry Sun, a Grade 2-winning Buckfinder mare, got the ball rolling by producing a pair of three-time Grade 1 winners from her first two sons: the Majestic Light gelding Solar Splendor and the Cox's Ridge horse Sultry Song. Live Oak eventually bred Sultry Song to Win Approval, a winning With Approval mare, and the resulting foal was Revved Up, who won 17 of 34 starts, including three graded stakes races, and earned $1,294,803 through December 11. Her second foal, Miesque's Approval, won this year's NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (G1); the Miesque's Son horse has won 12 of 39 starts and has earned $2,645,879.

Live Oak bred both Sultry Sun and Win Approval, and Buckpasser was an influence in each on the sire side. He is the sire of Buckfinder and the broodmare sire of With Approval.

"Mares like Sultry Sun and Win Approval are the kind of foundation broodmares all breeders dream about," said Weber, who has owned and operated the 4,500-acre Live Oak Stud in Ocala since 1968. "I'd like to think that these mares are just the beginning of more good things to come for our breeding and racing program."

Weber purchased the Damascus mare Sunny Dame for $56,000 at the 1971 Keeneland July selected yearling sale and raced her to one victory from just five starts. But she went on to produce Sultry Sun, stakes winner and stakes producer Lien, and two other stakes producers for Live Oak.

Sultry Sun was well represented on the racetrack in 1991 and '92 when her progeny won six Grade 1 races. Solar Splendor won the 1991 Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (G1) and the '91 and '92 Man o' War Stakes (G1), and Sultry Song won the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1), Woodward Stakes (G1), and Whitney Handicap (G1) in '92. The 1992 Man O'War and Woodward victories occurred on September 19 at Belmont Park.

Solar Splendor has lived his retirement from racing at Live Oak. Sultry Song stood in Kentucky at Claiborne Farm and Millennium Farms before standing the current Southern Hemisphere season in Argentina.

Sultry Sun, who is also the dam of Grade 3 stakes winner and sire Strategic Mission, by Mr. Prospector, was pensioned in 2006. Her last foal was El Sultry Sun, a 2005 colt by Eltish.

Live Oak acquired the Gulf-Weed mare *Geneva II, the third dam of Miesque's Approval, in 1971. In 1974, the multiple stakes-winning Argentine-bred mare produced the Hoist the Flag mare Negotiator, who finished second in the '76 Matron Stakes (G1) and produced Win Approval.

Win Approval has a 2006 Running Stag filly and is in foal to Live Oak's homebred Grade 1 winner High Fly, who stood his first season in '06 at Live Oak.--JoAnn Guidry