Why mixers are cool

[Tammy Stawicki]

So I'll admit I've become pretty frustrated with my thoroughbreds of late. Now that sounds selfish of me to say as I know that I've had some horses players out there can only dream of but the vast majority of my thoroughbred success of late has come with stewardbreds, and its only so exciting paying a bunch of money to get a good horse.

In contrast to that I've won the Steward's Cup Juvenile fillies two years in a row now with fillies tracing back to when I first got into paints. Thats cool! In comparison on the thoroughbred side of my 11 mares 3 are stewardbreds, 5 were bred by me out of leased mares or steward breds, 2 I bred the dam, and 1 I created the 2nd dam. Those aren't families I've carefully cultivated through the generations those are mares I'm constantly buying in an attempt to get good stock.

So here are my cool paint ladies stories...

I started playing the sim in year 22. I didn't jump on mixers right off the bat it wasn't until year 24 that I decided to give it a whirl picking up some Arabians. Arabians and waiting until horses were 3 to run was not for me so I soon dispersed my new Arabian herd and started looking out for paints. Growing up I had learned to ride at a paint barn so I thought this was fitting. This was year 26. As mixers had been around awhile at this point they weren't just being put up for sale from the game so I scoured the sales page looking for decent horses, created some horses, and put out posts hoping for horses to lease (I still do that last one to this day).

One mare I picked up early on was Aunt Sally. I got her out of AJ in year 28. She had a 4:1-0-1 record. Her first two foals were nothing special and I can't tell you today why I thought she was worth picking up, but I'm glad I did. Truthfully outside her first foal I didn't have all that much success with her, but that first foal was special. Golden Fields. She wasn't a superstar by any stretch of the imagine but she won 5 races two of them stakes and a little over $100,000. Where she really shined was as a broodmare. She produced 3 stakes winners, 2 for me and one on a swap. One of those stakes winners was another slightly over $100k mare who is still in my broodmare band and just produced her first stakes winner. The other was one of my first real stars Campos De Oro an earner of $375,000 during her career from year 39-41. She won 9 stakes races and finished out her career with a 2nd in the Steward's Cup. I'll admit she was a bit of a disapointment as a broodmare with her first 3 foals being nothing special, then she finally produced a stakes winner... for someone else on a swap. My first stakes winner out of her was In Your World she wasn't a world beater but she was part of my first paint sire's En Fuego's first crop so that was exciting. She finally produced a horse with her ability in her 7th foal Bandoline. My steward's cup winner of this year. Campos De Oro passed away this year while foaling but I still have a stakes yearling out of her and this year's foal to let her continue to build her legacy as a mare.

Last year's steward's cup winner doesn't trace back quite as far but is still a multigenerational story. In year 34 I leased some mares from Meagan D'Amoure. One of them was I'm Loving It. She was a solid filly on the track with $77,000 or so in earnings and had produced to stakes winners (though neither had cracked the 100k mark). My foal out of the lease Armastus wound up being her highest earner with $159,280 and 2 stakes wins. Armastus has to date produced 3 stakes winners for me (she still has a yearling and foal yet to run). Her 2yo colt Baeda is a fun horse in his own right as a freak galloper who has won 5 of 7 lifetime (though disappointed in the steward's cup). Her highest earner to date was also a fun mare Once a Dream an earner of $446,640. She was born a year after the aforementioned Campos De Oro (needless to say that was an exciting few years in my barn). She had 7 stakes wins and also finished her career with a 2nd in the Steward's Cup. She also won the grade 1 painted oaks at 3. Though this story doesn't involve Armastus's stakes winners instead it involes one of ther other daughters Dashuri. A filly who never won a stakes but did win 8 races and around $80,000. She's a blue hen mare but her first few foals were nothing to write home again. Then she produced Acanthus. Acanthus won 5 stakes races last year including the Steward's Cup and Grade 2 Slow Danger Stakes. That was good enough to earn her the simmy has 2yo champion paint. She has seemed to lost a step this year but has still managed 2 more stakes wins and some placings. She currently has $570,000 in earnings. I'd be remiss if I left my discussion of Dashuri without mentioning that her yearling is the 2nd fastest paint yearling 300 yard worker and fastest filly. Made more exciting because she's by my second paint stud Colored Spotlights.

I hope you've all enjoyed my trip down memory lane. It was fun for me to write and research my old bloodlines. I think it also goes to show that at least in mixed breeds with some time and patience you can build up a nice little barn. These two steward's cup winners traced back to a $100 AJ mare and a $10,000 lease.

[Chris Everett]

I feel for you Tammy. Never could keep up with my own TB but like you I do have a family line that has produced sc/stakes winners out of an unassuming mare. Been trying to fire up my enthusiasm for the game. Still working on it. Good luck with your new crop of babies.

[Jo Ferris]

So true, my barn is a very similar story. Had TBs, but never really clicked like with mixers