Sometimes a mating makes so much sense one year, there’s no reason not to repeat it again the following season. For 2025, that’s the case with both of the Wasabi broodmares Calling All Angels (currently in foal to Up to the Mark) and Giving Spirit (currently in foal to Nashville).
- To start, you can read the full text of last year’s recommendation for Calling All Angels here:
Housatonic Recommended Matings for 2024 – Calling All Angels
Likely Eclipse Champion Turf Male Up to the Mark is one of the first-year stallions for 2024 that we are most excited about. Originally a $450,000 yearling purchase by Mike Repole & St. Elias Stables, he was highly thought of as a juvenile (he reportedly outworked eventual graded winner Wit at Saratoga as a juvenile prior to experiencing a series of mi…
In the intervening year, Up to the Mark was in fact named the Eclipse Champion Turf Horse of 2023, and he quickly booked full at Lane’s End, ultimately covering 164 mares in his first season at stud. His first in-foal mares averaged over $100k at the ‘24 mixed sales. Calling All Angels’ ‘21 half-sister Shy Hi Bye became a winner, which is noteworthy because Shy Hi Bye is a full-sister to the G3W Duhail, and thus from the same sire-line as Up to the Mark, as are their dam’s next two foals by No Nay Never — any one of which could provide another big update for this pairing before Calling All Angels delivers her second Up to the Mark foal in 2026!
- Then, you can read the full text of last year’s recommendation for Giving Spirit here:
Housatonic Recommended Matings for 2024 – Giving Spirit
Our friends at Wasabi recently acquired the young mare Giving Spirit just days after her 3YO half-brother Maycocks Bay won an allowance race at the Fair Grounds for Godolphin and trainer Mike Stidham, earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. Maycocks Bay is a son of Speightstown, one of the leading sires of the last decade or so, and a renowned sire-of-sires. …
In the intervening year, Nashville remained extremely popular, covering (coincidentally) 164 mares in his second season at WinStar while his first weanlings wound up averaging over 4.5x his stud fee at the ‘24 mixed sales (for 20 sold). Speightstown’s status as a sire-of-sires remained solid thanks to a huge year for Munnings, as well as big early sales for the offspring of his sons Charlatan and Olympiad, while Prince of Monaco added a pair of G1-placings to his resume and retires to Claiborne Farm for a $30k stud fee in ‘25.
Giving Spirit’s half-brother Maycocks Bay (by Speightstown) unfortunately went to the sidelines after his impressive allowance victory in January and missed the big 3YO races, but he returned on December 7th with an impressive allowance win at the Fair Grounds going 1-1/16 miles, and trainer Mike Stidham expects a big ‘25 for him — so all the more reason to put Giving Spirit back in foal to an exciting son of Speightstown again this coming year!
