It’s always important to have a strategy when you’re breeding thoroughbreds. In the case of Manhattan Melody, the best strategy seems reasonably obvious.
The performance of the mare’s current foals is going to be a key factor in increasing her value, but it also makes sense to find a stallion on the rise so that if the Toronado, Charm Spirit and Turn Me Loose offspring turn out to be unremarkable, then we still have a chance to make a decent profit on breeding a foal from her.
Also, there seems to be little point spending a heap of money on the 2022 service fee as the mare has yet to prove herself.
So what stallions are clearly “on the rise” and still affordable?
A horse I’ve a lot of time for is Derryn. His 2YOs are looking promising; many of them are good physical types who should improve with age. There are also a heap of his progeny out there: he has 59 2YOs and another 68 yearlings to follow.
It’s too early to say exactly what bloodlines will suit our mare best, but there does seem to be a strong likelihood that Sir Tristram will suit both the Manhattan Rain and the Broad Brush aspects of her pedigree. Many of Derryn’s foals to date do seem to throw to Lonhro to a reasonable extent, so he does appear to be worth serious consideration.
