CHC’s American breeding season came to a successful close at the end of May with 14 healthy foals born at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Kentucky.
The foal crop this year is a healthy representation of CHC’s stallion portfolio, including some new faces, such as Heartland. A CHC homebred, Heartland made just one start, but it was ultra-impressive, earning ‘TDN Rising Star’ honors in the process. Unfortunately, he suffered a career-ending injury after that start. However, given his royal pedigree and immense promise on the racetrack, CHC and WinStar sent him to the shed in the hopes he could follow in the illustrious footsteps of Maclean’s Music and Malibu Moon, successful stallions with similar resumes.
Tactical Joke’s 2026 Heartland colt
CHC bred two maiden mares to the young stallion and were well rewarded. Tactical Joke produced a mini replica of Heartland with her chestnut colt. The unraced Flight or Fantasy, a half-sister to millionaire Talk of the Nation, had a bay filly that looks more like her dam, showing the stallion’s range.
“We are very happy with what we are seeing from Heartland so far,” said CHC’s Regional Manager of the Americas Christie DeBernardis. “He is producing very nice physicals, passing on his strong shoulder and hip. They are quite balanced and athletic foals.”
Justify
CHC’s Triple Crown winner Justify made his mark on our breeding season with a big, beautiful chestnut filly out of Moonlight Sky, a half-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman. CHC colorbearer and multiple Grade I winner Life is Good, whose first crop has come out running this spring, was also represented in CHC’s 2026 foal crop with two colts and a filly. GI Cigar Mile hero Americanrevolution also carried the home team silks, and he has a lovely filly out of Sunday Psalm in this year’s group, giving us our first foray into the New York breeding program.
Young GSP mare Lady Aces has proven her value yet again with a beautiful Quality Road filly and one of our new additions from last year’s Keeneland November sale, Lovely Ride, foaled a colt by that Lane’s End stallion.
Our other new acquisition from last year’s breeding stock sales, Tammy Tap Tap Tap, had a petite filly by Practical Joke. CHC acquired that Coolmore stallion’s full-sister Always a Joker two years ago and her second foal for us did not disappoint in a strapping McKinzie colt.
Cozze Up Lady produced the first CHC homebred to win a Grade I in American in Kimari and this year she had a very nice full-brother to that millionaire filly. Let Her Inspire U carried the CHC red and yellow to a stakes win and almost a half-million dollars in earnings. Her first foal was a knock-out Not This Time filly last year and two weeks ago she produced an equally nice filly by Liam’s Map.
Rounding out this year’s crop is a filly by the elite Gun Runner, whose long list of accomplishments includes topping the first four sessions of last year’s Keeneland September sale. The filly is out of multiple stakes winner Falconet, who is owned in partnership with WinStar.
“Overall, we had a great breeding season with all 14 foals that we were expecting hitting the ground healthy, which is our first priority,” DeBernardis said. “We have some wonderful mares that have been with us a long time, who continued to reward our faith in them this year. Our younger mares have also proven themselves with their produce this year. We are lucky to be invested in several top stallions, many of which we raced and we’ve been able to match them with mares with the right pedigrees and physicals to bring out the best in them.”