Taylor Made Stallions’ Grade 1 winner Idol, winner of the 2021 Santa Anita Handicap (G1), sired his first reported foal when a colt bred by Bill Johnson’s Stonegate Stables was born in New York on Wednesday, Jan. 3, the farm announced today. The strapping colt is produced from the Mineshaft mare Meteroic Matron, a full sister to multiple stakes winner Mine Over Matter and a half-sister to stakes-placed runners Chestertown Slew and Motor Patrol.
“This is the best foal that this proven mare has ever produced,” said Bill Johnson. “He has excellent size and bone. For a January 3rd baby, we have size, bone, and a very strong foal. We love the sire’s pedigree. We specifically bred this mare to Idol to get to a son of Curlin and double up the A.P. Indy. The plan worked. We are pleased to have bred the first Idol. We will be returning.”
A full brother to multiple Grade 1 winner and Eclipse Champion Nest, Idol is a son of two-time Horse of the Year and perennial leading sire Curlin out of the stakes-winning A.P. Indy mare Marion Ravenwood. Idol registered the biggest win of his career in the Santa Anita Handicap, where he ran a 102 Beyer Speed Figure in defeating a contentious field that included Grade 1 winners Maxfield and Express Train, as well as graded stakes winners Independence Hall and Tizamagician.
Idol broke his maiden in his second career start at three, getting seven furlongs in 1:22 flat at Churchill Downs. Next up, he set a Churchill Downs track record in just his third lifetime start, winning a 1 3/16-mile allowance race by 5 ¾ lengths in 1:55.97.
Bred in Kentucky by Leonard Riggio’s My Meadowview LLC, Idol hails from a strong and active family replete with black-type. His full sister Nest, who banked $2,172,675 in her sensational racing career, was Champion 3-Year-Old Filly of 2022, and his half-brother Lost Ark is a multiple stakes winner of $541,600. Idol bred 128 mares in his initial book in 2023, and stands for $10,000 S&N as a Repole Stable/Taylor Made Stallions Venture.
For more information on Idol, contact Travis White at (859) 396-3508, or Brock Martin at (270) 498-3722, or visit www.taylormadestallions.com.
