b4breeding

Michele Carson is a long-time breeder, for many years in partnership with Tony Milina, and is one of the few who try to survive without an additional income. She describes herself as “crazy” for trying but it is a passion that endures and by focusing on quality she has had a good degree of success. Again, her word for it is “lucky” and while that is true of how she and Tony came to get the founding mare Cinnamon Toast, it is much more than luck that grabs an opportunity and builds it into a successful family.

While Michele is still breeding from that family, she also has added a few more mares along the way including Black And Royal (by Elsu) one of the last foals of Spirit Of Venus; the trotting mare Strapless (by Straphanger); and more recent purchases being: the Christian Cullen mares Panforte (the dam of Grumpy Possum racing successfully as Ima Grumpy Possum in Australia) and Divine (who is a daughter of the very good broodmare Sokys Sunday). Michele is also now a co-owner the trotting mare Aspiring Monarch (who is an unraced full sister to Royal Aspirations).

Her cornerstone broodmare has been Toast Of New York, a New York Motoring daughter of Cinnamon Toast, and subsequently her two daughters Bury My Heart and Follow My Heart – and potentially the youngest daughter Show A Heart, currently a small but lovely striding 2yo by Big Jim.

Of those, Bury My Heart was very successful on the racetrack and has been a gem in the breeding barn to date, producing the very good Texican as her first foal.

Bury My Heart is an In The Pocket mare, and Michele has stuck to the In The Pocket cross with Bettor’s Delight for the next four foals – and the mare is due to give foal late this season to the sire again before possibly trying Somebeachsomewhere.

Texican is now doing his racing in North America – and just last weekend added another 1st to his list, bringing his total earnings to $549,104, a best time of 1:50.3 and 24 wins. He is competitive in very good quality fields, and has developed from a winning 2yo in New Zealand to a successful all aged pacer in the United States.

Texican N takes personal best in 2014

Here is the write-up of his latest win from Harness Racing Update newsletter:

Texican N, from post position No. 3, won the weekly pacing feature. Sitting pocketed to 17-10 choice Michael’s Power (Bartlett), he then held off a three-hole The Real One (Pat Lachance) by a nose in 1:52.3. The favorite decided to retake from the eventual winner (:27, :56.2, 1:24.4) passing the first substation, but faced in the lane. Frankie’s Dragon (Sears), Michael’s Power and Take it Back Terry (Brennan) came away with the lesserloot. For second choice Texican N, a 7-year-old Down Under Bettor’s Delight gelding trained by Peter Tritton (three winners Saturday) for owner Harry von Knoblauch, it was his fourth win in 22 ’15 tries.

1-Texican N (g, 7, Bettor’s Delight–Bury My Heart, by In
The Pocket) O-Harry von Knoblauch. B-Mrs M Carson, NZ.
T-Peter Tritton. D-Eric Carlson, $24,000, Lifetime Record:
88-24-16-10, $549,104.

The mare’s 2010 foal was a compact but attractive full brother to Texican who went through the yearling sale ring as “Derringer” and sold for $22,500 but was immediately renamed Strawberry Heart by owner Strawberry Pastoral Ltd. He has ended up in Australia after looking like he had early potential but hasn’t gone on with it.

Michele didn’t give up on the mare or the name! After missing to Art Major, she sent the mare back to Bettor’s Delight for another colt – and named him Derringer once again. A Derringer is the pistol that the wilder ladies of the West used to hide in their knickers and garters in case of trouble! The colt looks promising, having sold for $75,000 at the 2014 yearling sales, qualified as a 2yo and having just three starts for a 2nd for trainer Mark Jones – the last start was an eye-catching 4th at Addington yesterday (Friday 8 August 2015) where he was badly checked and ran on very well.

The latest foal from Bury My Heart is the Bettor’s Delight filly Capture My Heart who is entered for the 2016 yearling sales at this stage, but it will depend on what the mare foals this season.

Toast Of New York’s daughter Follow My Heart, a 4yo Mach Three mare, has just started on a breeding career and is in foal to Betterthancheddar – a son of Better’s Delight from a Hall Of Fame mare Lady Ashlee Ann.

Another daughter, Toast To Cullen, is a broodmare for Biddlecombe Equine Ltd and has done a very solid job so far.

Toast Of New York’s last foal is a colt by Sir Lincoln who has just turned a yearling and is a nice attractive type, Michele says.

Toast Of New York is a 24yo and in great nick – the dam of 14 registered foals, and now enjoying her retirement.

Michele’s trotting mare Strapless was on the market briefly with a Angus Hall foal at foot, but Michele retained them in the end and the result is the talented Angus Bolt. Michele has since bred the mare twice to Majestic Son.

She has also bred and sold a Majestic Son filly  from trotting broodmare Aspiring Monarch, and the mare is back in foal to the same sire for co-owner Shane Hayes – on an alternate foals breeding arrangement.

Black And Royal is another broodmare Michele has – although she may look to moving her on in future – and was one of the first Elsu mares to have a yearling in the sales. That was the Mach Three gelding Jack Black who has 5 wins to date in Australia. Since then there is a 4yo Christian Cullen gelding Hard N Fast who was bought  for $40,000 by Paul Court and has been at workouts and trials as a 3yo but yet to get to the races.

Game Of Thrones filly by Christian Cullen from Black And Royal

This year her Christian Cullen filly Game Of Thrones sold for $25,000 at the yearling sale to Australian interests. A Well Said colt was sold to John Street for $10,000 at this year’s weanling sale, and the mare is foaling this season to Raging Bull, a horse that Michele saw in the flesh as a racehorse and regards as one of the finest looking horses she has seen.

It’s not all plain sailing as a breeder, and Michele can vouch for that.   She lost four foals in one year in 2013, all potentially very commercial including a Somebeachsomewhere foal from Bury My Heart. The emotional and financial hit was hard, and the reasons were random and varied – two born dead, one with a twisted leg and one with an inoperable growth. So the highs of successful results are always tempered by others that are just average and some that are simply tragic.

Still, she keeps going.

As an industry, we are lucky to have “crazy” people like Michele Carson who are very astute and passionate breeders and who provide quality racehorses year after year.

Toast to you, Michele!