WinStar Farm’s Heartland, a son of Justify out of the Cat Thief mare Sambuca Classica and a half-brother to Classic Empire, sired his first reported foal on Friday, Jan. 16, when a colt out of the Champali mare I Love Nola was born at Katierich Farm in Midway, Ky. The colt, whose dam is a half-sister to stakes-placed Love Boot, the dam of stakes winner and graded stakes-placed Made to Love Her, and hails from the family of multiple stakes winner True Love’s Secret, was bred by Rattner Bloodstock LLC.
“Nice foal, strong, healthy 136-pound colt,” shared George Barnes of Katierich Farm. “If the rest of our foals look like this, we’ll be in good shape.”
Martha Rattner added, “He is a leggy colt with good bone and a great hip. He looks very much like Scat Daddy (sire of Justify) and we are thrilled with him. He is sentimental to us because we were the owners of Train Robbery (Cat Thief’s dam) in her later years. Our farm is named after her and we are dedicated to taking her pedigree forward. We are thankful for the opportunity WinStar provided us for breeding I Love Nola to Heartland. We are also thankful for Katierich Farm and their excellent care with our broodmares. We have another mare in foal to Heartland that is due in April.”
Named a TDN Rising Star, Heartland flashed his brilliance with a head-turning career debut at Del Mar at two. He blitzed his foes in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight, overcoming trouble at the start to win going away impressively by two lengths from Slider who captured the Speakeasy Stakes and placed in the San Vicente S. (G3) in subsequent starts. Heartland’s final clocking of 1:03.20 was the fastest time of any juvenile at the distance at Del Mar or Saratoga in 2023 and earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.
Owned by CHC Inc., Siena Farm, and WinStar Farm, and trained by Bob Baffert, Heartland was a $575,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale graduate. He is a son of Justify, racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner, Horse of the Year, Champion 3-Year-Old Male, and Hall of Fame inductee. Heartland is a half-brother to Classic Empire, the 2016 Champion 2-Year-Old Male, a Grade 1 winner at two and three, and a Grade 1-producing sire, and to stakes winners Anytime Magic and Uptown Twirl.
For more information on Heartland, who stands the 2026 breeding season for $10,000 S&N and bred 123 mares in his initial book, contact Liam O’Rourke, Olivia Desch, or Ben Hanley at 859-873-1717, or visit www.WinStarFarm.com.
