The horses rang in the frigid New Year while celebrating their birthday. As most of you know, Thoroughbreds turn a year older on January 1st. As with people, the ones that get most excited are the youngsters.

Now-yearlings welcoming their birthday supper.

Weanlings become yearlings and see their first big change when they are separated by gender.  The yearlings become 2-year-olds and they have been seeing the biggest changes – which started about three months ago, when they were saddle broke and started learning how to be a racehorse.

It’s exciting to see their progress under tack and get those reports on how their attitudes are adjusting to their job (who likes it and who doesn’t).  And now that they’re two, they can start racing soon.

Empire Diva 16 (known on the farm as Valentino) under tack.  Isn’t he gorgeous?

We hope to dub 2018 as the Golden Year, because Goldencents’ first crop of foals are 2-year-olds now, and will start racing.  As you know from pictures we’ve posted, they are beautiful.  They seem to have all the makings of racehorses, and we certainly hope that is the case.

We’ll update you more very soon on the horses at the track, but will use this post to introduce you to the Foaling Mares because babies are going to start arriving before you know it!  We have eight mares due to foal in February and three more due in March. They are, in order of last cover date:

Penumbra – a Malibu Moon mare out of a half-sister to millionaire GYGISTAR who was purchased from the Keeneland November Sale in foal to Broken Vow.

First Shift – a War Front mare out of G3 stakes winner WATCH, who is a full sister to G3 stakes winner (and stakes producer) WAR THIEF.  Most exciting for the home team is that Watch is by LORD AT WAR (ARG), who is buried on Rosecrest / Wilshire Farm.  (Click here for complete story.)

Diamond Stilettos (dam of the flashy Goldencents filly in 2017 that we dubbed “Pave”) and Empire Diva (dam of “Valentino” in 2016 and another Goldencents colt in 2017) come next.

Hit the Limit – by Uncle Mo, out of a half-sister to Kentucky Oaks winner SUMMERLY, she was purchased in foal to Palice Malice at the Keeneland November Sale.

Golden History – dam of 2015 colt by Sky Mesa and a sweet 2016 filly by Goldencents.

Caradini and Mingo (more below) sharing an eskimo kiss at feeding time.

Caradini – by Bernardini, out of millionaire Somethinaboutlaura.  This will be her first foal.

Suzy Malibu – by Malibu Moon, out of Danzig withwolves (a Danzig daughter of G1 winner Strategic Maneuver).  This is her first foal as well.

Flaming Slew – a Grade I stakes-placed daughter of Slew City Slew, purchased at the Keeneland November Sale in foal to Constitution.

Get Back Anne (her first foal is a Goldencents filly born last year) and Bellezza Rosso (dam of Travieza, a 2016 colt by Goldencents and a flashy 2017 filly by Goldencents) take us into April.

The first eight are mares due in February.  Add to that seven others that are not pregnant currently, but will be bred this year.  They come inside and we turn on the lights to gradually lengthen the hours of light so that their bodies think it’s becoming spring and it is time for them to start cycling and be ready to breed.

Also add Joesgoldenholiday, who is back at Rosecrest Farm after an unfortunate tendon injury at the track in California.  The three-quarter-sister to GOLDENCENTS shipped in from warm California, so she is wearing our heaviest blanket and also comes into the barn at night.

New Year’s Day photo… aka why we’re glad to have the expectant mommas in the barn.

So that should be 16 girls/ladies coming in the barn every night, but…. NO… there are actually 18 coming in.  It’s becaues of BF’s!!!  Yes, even horses have their best friends.  In just a matter of days, Daddy’s Diva became “Joe’s” best friend.  To keep Daddy’s Diva from running the fenceline and getting very, very agitated, she comes into the barn and has a stall across from Joesgoldenholiday.  Both are, as a result, very happy and content.  Each just turned three, but seem a little immature to breed, so they will wait until next year.

Aaaaaaand Get Back Anne is not due until early April, so would not usually be coming into the barn.  BUT her BF is Diamond Stilettos (they really bonded when their Goldencents babies were born about the same time last year).  Anne was SO stressed when Diamond Stilettos was going to the barn without her, that we had to calm her down by bringing her into the barn as well.

Stop presses… we have a new lady in the barn, and that makes NINE due in February.  Hot Attraction, a graded stakes-placed Pulpit mare in foal to Carpe Diem and due in early February, was purchased in the Keeneland January Sale and added to our broodmare band.

Mingo and Chuck, when Mingo was still lap size!

Last, but certainly not least, we have another new member of the Rosecrest Family….Mingo!  Three months ago, he literally walked down Main Street to Lil’s Coffee House, where Chuck was there for a cup of coffee but came home with a puppy as well!

We took this adorable guy to the vet and found no chip, had him checked out and he was pronounced a little under nourished (at 11 pounds), but nothing some TLC wouldn’t cure.

Chuck with Mingo, about 30 pounds later. Fast friends.

As you can see, he’s grown even faster than the horses and now weighs in at over 50 pounds!  He thinks he’s part horse, loves the mares and you can catch him eskimo-kissing his BF’s….and, yes, there are many.

Chuck’s kind of happy to have him around, too.