A world-renowned bloodstock agent and an inimitable determine within the gross sales ring, Irishman Mike Ryan has steadily constructed up an expansive resume as a breeder for the final three a long time. Ryan achieved the last word dream in 2017 when At all times Dreaming  , whom he bred in partnership along with his late buddy Gerry Dilger, received the Kentucky Derby (G1). The shrewd horseman, chargeable for sourcing 34 grade 1 winners all through his profession, elevated his standing as a revered breeder even additional Jan. 25 when his homebred filly Be Your Finest surged to a dramatic victory within the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf Invitational (G2T) at Gulfstream Park.
Ryan, who breeds underneath the moniker St. Croix Bloodstock, spoke with BloodHorse about racing his personal inventory as a business breeder, the pedigree ideologies which have helped him domesticate a profitable breeding program, and the way he believes one of the best is but to come back for the enhancing Be Your Finest.
BloodHorse: Along with being a world-renowned bloodstock agent, you’ve got achieved quite a lot of success as a breeder. When did you start breeding horses?
Mike Ryan: We have been breeding for 35 years. My best success was with Kentucky Derby winner At all times Dreaming, who I bred with my late buddy Gerry Dilger. We bred Scorching Dixie Chick. We bred Constructive Spirit. Each sisters to At all times Dreaming. Gerry and I purchased 3 or 4 mares out of the Traditional Star Dispersal in 2006 and a kind of was Above Perfection. When Gerry handed, it was the twenty fourth of February in 2020 simply as Covid was hitting. And we nonetheless have two siblings to At all times Dreaming. We have now his Curlin half-sister, Past Perfection who’s due any day now she’s in foal to Into Mischief.
BH: The place do you retain most of your mares?Join BloodHorse Each day
MR: I’ve stored most of my mares at Indian Creek for the final 12-14 years. Indian Creek has nice land, a number of the greatest land in Bourbon County. I do hold some mares in Eire too, I’ve seven there. Ballylinch boards our mares in Eire, it is a unbelievable farm.
I introduced just a few again although late in 2023, certainly one of them being the dam of Be Your Finest, Kamakura. She’s at Indian Creek now.
BH: As a business breeder, was racing Be Your Finest an anomaly for you?
MR: We’ll race every now and then. We raced Mani Bhavan, and she or he received the Spinaway (G1) (in 2008) for us. We additionally bred Extra Than Actual and we raced her. She received first trip at Saratoga and some days later Bobby Flay referred to as me and he purchased her. She received that yr’s Breeders’ Cup (2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf-G2T) for him.
We’re making an attempt to make younger mares, and we’ll hold a filly if we really feel she would not match {the marketplace}. For instance, Be Your Finest, is a beautiful filly however she’s by a sire who had fallen out of favor, Muhaarar, who has since recovered available in the market. He was just a little bit like Arrogate the place his first crop did not actually carry out after which the second crop got here alongside, and no person needed to purchase them in September. However when his first crop grew to become 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds they ran lights out. Muhaarar’s progeny did not meet expectations his first yr as a result of they hadn’t offered very properly.
Picture: Anne M. EberhardtMike Ryan appears to be like at yearlings on the Keeneland September Sale
BH: Why do you imagine it is essential to race a few of your horses as a breeder?
MR: I’ll race fillies to try to assist our younger mares as a result of we are business breeders and generally, they simply aren’t prepared for {the marketplace}. Both they are not sufficient grown, or the sire could also be out of favor. We take pleasure in racing and I might say it is an integral a part of our broodmare band.Â
When you have got a broodmare band it’s important to be ready to race a few of them as a way to assist the mares achieve success as a result of when you promote them as yearlings, they’re out of your management. You hope that they get into good palms and go to good house owners and go onto good trainers. When you promote them, you are out of the image, you’ve got misplaced that management.Â
I ship my infants to interrupt right here in Ocala with Niall Brennan, we have been collectively for 40 years, and likewise break some at Stonestreet with Niall’s brother, Ian Brennan. He had Extra Than Actual for me. I additionally ship them to Karl Keegan, who broke Be Your Finest. The fantastic thing about having your individual horses is having the ability to observe their growth. In March, April, Might, you’ll be able to actually see the development of those younger horses and work out their stage of means and know what you have got expertise and ability-wise. You may work out what racing circuits they greatest slot in whether or not or not it’s on the high stage in Kentucky or New York or that or not it’s on the Mid-Atlantic area.
BH: What do you take pleasure in probably the most about breeding your individual horses?
MR: I actually benefit from the problem of mating mares and making an attempt to breed a great horse. We do promote most of our yearlings as a result of we’re a business breeding operation and it has to pay for itself, however I take pleasure in making an attempt to purchase younger mares, whether or not as yearling fillies and even fillies off the monitor which have high quality on the feminine aspect. I am very, very strict about that. I’ve to have high quality feminine strains as a result of I’ve discovered via the years that they hold perpetuating themselves.
I take pleasure in seeing the event of foals to their yearling yr. It is very rewarding if you breed a great horse, a graded stakes horse, it is very fulfilling. And if you personal it, like Be Your Finest, it is actually, actually particular.
Picture: Courtesy of Indian Creek FarmKamakura at Indian Creek Farm
BH: How did you come to accumulate Be Your Finest’s dam, Kamakura?
MR: She was within the Tattersalls July Sale (BBA Eire bought Kamakura on Ryan’s behalf for $205,1122). She was within the Godolphin consignment. It is a household I am very aware of. (Kamakura’s second dam) Flagbird is an unbelievable mare and (third dam) Up the Flagpole as properly. If they don’t seem to be Mr. (Invoice) Farish’s greatest pedigrees, then they’re not less than from the highest two households he is ever bred. It is an ideal, nice household Mr. Farish developed: Prospector’s Deelites, Mineshaft, Runup the Colours, and Tomisue’s Delight. And now Godolphin has just a few members of it. Kamakura by no means raced for Godolphin. I introduced her again right here and put her again in coaching after which determined ‘Let’s go forward and breed her.’ And we despatched her again to Europe. Her first foal was a Kingman colt, and he was a phenomenal yearling. Having a high quality feminine line was essential to me with Kamakura as a result of she was unraced, we by no means even tried it. However her bloodlines had been robust, and normally high quality blood comes via within the subsequent technology.
Certainly one of our greatest mares, Rose of Summer time, I purchased as a yearling. She was an El Prado mare. She toed in however was a phenomenal mare. She fractured her shoulder in coaching and by no means bought to race however she had numerous pedigree, and pedigree normally goes on to repeat itself. She went on to be an amazing broodmare. She produced Summer time Entrance and Laragh. Laragh was a grade 1 winner for us, we raced her after which offered her. And Summer time Entrance was a graded stakes winner and ran second in three grade 1s.
Picture: Mathea KelleyThe 2024 Baaeed filly out of Kamakura, a half sibling to Be Your Finest, at Indian Creek Farm
BH: Final yr, Kamakura foaled a filly by Baaeed. What are your plans for that now-yearling filly?
MR: We have now two Baaeed fillies now, one out of Kamakura and one other by a mare named Sassy Little Lila (Artie Schiller). Our plan proper now’s to ship them again to Eire to Ballylinch both proper earlier than or proper after the Derby and provides them 5 months as much as the Tattersalls October Guide 1 sale. They’re each high-quality fillies and Baaeed was a superior racehorse in England, he received 10 of 11 begins. He was very properly acquired on the December sale at Tattersalls. His first foals offered extraordinarily properly. He had the second-highest common behind Frankel.
(Kamakura’s daughter is) a giant, robust filly. There’s numerous Medaglia d’Oro to her. She’s early too, she foaled on the seventh of February final yr. She’s very, very good. Loads of measurement, high quality, leg, presence, appropriate. Seeing her and the opposite filly inspired me to breed again to Baaeed as a result of I am so impressed with him.
(Kamakura is) in foal to Cody’s Want, which is thrilling and she or he’s going to be bred again to Nyquist this yr.
BH: Be Your Finest has been a stakes performer yearly she ran for you from ages 2 to five. What are you able to say concerning the journey this mare has taken you on?
Picture: Coglianese Pictures/Jeff ZamaikoBe Your Finest wins the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park
MR: It has been fairly particular from the get-go. She received impressively at Saratoga first trip. Jose Ortiz got here again to us and mentioned, ‘That is my Breeders’ Cup filly’. After which she got here again and received the P.G. Johnson (Stakes) in her second begin.
We had been just a little unfortunate together with her final yr as a 4-year-old, there have been just a few instances the bottom got here up too tender and we elected to not run. We acknowledged that she’s greatest on very agency floor. She did not have many races final yr. However 4 of her final 5 races have been excellent.
We have additionally realized she desires to be forwardly positioned. She breaks properly and it’s important to let her be forwardly positioned. She has a really excessive cruising pace, and she will speed up off her excessive cruising pace. Significantly on agency floor, she simply flies excessive of the bottom. If it has some juice in it, her acceleration shouldn’t be the identical.
Picture: Coglianese PhotosMike Ryan’s daughters, Allaire and Sarah, lead Be Your Finest into the winner’s circle after the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf
BH: She ran a career-best quantity within the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf (Equibase Pace Determine of 111). Have been you anticipating a efficiency like that from her?
MR: I assumed she would run very properly. I used to be afraid of the Shadwell filly, Raqiya, who received the Goldikova. And Sacred Want is a really good filly, she was coming off a win within the Matriarch. I used to be hopeful although. I knew she can be aggressive, and I assumed she had a superb opportunity at hitting the board. Even after that win, I really feel she’s on the enhance and I nonetheless assume there’s extra enchancment there. She’ll get a pleasant break now earlier than the Jenny Wiley April 12. She runs properly recent, she’s a simple horse to coach, and is extraordinarily low upkeep.
She’s on the high of her sport proper now. (Former coach) Horacio (DePaz) did an ideal job. After which we moved her over to Saffie (Joseph Jr.) and he is performed a wonderful job together with her.
BH: What are your targets with Be Your Finest for the remainder of the yr?
MR: Our complete objective is to win a grade 1 this yr. We’ll take a look at the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland if all goes properly. Hopefully we’ll have agency floor at Keeneland that day. We’ll take it one race at a time. Actually, the Breeders’ Cup (Filly and Mare Turf-G1T) is likely one of the greatest races on the planet for fillies, and there is all the time robust overseas illustration however agency floor is what she likes.
