The mare who produced 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome will be offered at the Fasig-Tipton November sale, owner Perry Martin said.
Love the Chase will be sold through the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment in foal to Tapit. Actually, the first mare of the year confirmed in foal to North America's leading sire.
"I’m keeping 10% of California Chrome , so that means I’ll need some mares, which means I can’t keep everything," Martin said. "I plan on selling her and using the proceeds to buy other mares. I’m also breeding horses with the idea of breeding to Chrome.
"For tax purposes, what we are doing is a 1031 exchange, which is basically exchanging assets. This is mostly used for real estate but you can use any asset as long as they are similar in kind, and you have window of opportunity to do that."
A key purchase for Martin's broodmare program down the road was an Ohio-bred Munnings filly now named Not a Kitten. The $60,000 buy was consigned to the Barretts March sale of 2-year-olds in training by Crane Thoroughbred Services.
"We named her Not a Kitten as kinda of a jab at Mr. Ramsey. She is in training with Art Sherman and might premier at Los Alamitos," Martin said. "Her female family is top-notch. She may not be ready to be a broodmare that first year, so I might do some foal-sharing. We brought in 22 partners on Chrome, so if they have better mares than I do, then I’ll do foal-sharing.
"I think mares by Speightstown will be a terrific cross. The A.P. Indy cross with Mr. Prospector line mares is a mega nick. Storm Cat is another line that should do well."
Martin said California Chrome, who defeated three-time champion Beholder Aug. 20 in the TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I) to run his undefeated record in 2016 to five impressive wins, remains on track for a run at the $12 million Pegasus World Cup (gr. I) Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park before retiring for the 2017 breeding season.
"We had three goals this year, and we’ve already accomplished one and are heading toward the second," he said. "The Pegasus is the third goal. I want the 'Most Accomplished Horse in the World' title. I think winning that race will put us way over the top."
The team at Taylor Made Farm, now partners in California Chrome, has a plan to handle the tight turnaround from racing to breeding when the Lucky Pulpit stallion arrives at their farm near Nicholasville, Ky.
"There is a big concern (about the timing of the Pegasus World Cup), and we tried to get them to move the race, but they have reasons for where it is," Martin said. "We have talked about this in great detail and Taylor Made believes they can get it done. They will have to do some things different than they typically do because they will have three weeks (before the breeding season starts), but they believe they can get it done."
