Regardless of what happens on May 7 in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Taiba became the horse of a lifetime for breeder Bruce Ryan and deliveryman Zach Madden, owner of Buckland Sales, in becoming the first Tier 1 winning horse they have bred and sold, respectively, .
Son of Zedan Racing Gunman delivered an impressive performance on April 9 at Santa Anita . Park where he caught the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) in his second start. The pony coached by Tim Yakteen went from 0 to 100 points in the Road to Kentucky Derby series and is currently eighth in the standings.
“I’m leaving Keeneland and I had to pull over to watch it on my phone… I popped out, I was alone and it was amazing,” Madden said. I’m so proud of the horse, it’s great. “
Madden deposited the pony as an aspirational item for Ryan at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky in October 2020, where longtime partners Randy Hartley and Dean De Renzo bought him for $140,000. Hartley/De Renzo then lured Taiba to the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream in 2021 Selling selected 2-year-olds in training, selling him for $1.7 million to agent Gary Young.
“We’ve had 2nd grade winners, 3rd grade winners, multiple bet winners, and all that stuff but this is just a little bit different,” says Madden. “It’s the culmination of a lot of things, the work of my team, the people that I represent; it makes you see the forest through the trees.
“At the time, we were very emotional. He brought in $140,000, nothing worth judging but his 2-year-old price tag is very high. He deserves it.”
Madden says he remembers the pony as “straight out” and “on top,” remaining undisturbed throughout the uproar of the mall.
“He’s the type of guy where at the sale nothing bothers him; the vets come in to check out the horse or show off at the sale for three or four days… He’s always been the one. someone special to us and even more.”
According to Madden, the foal’s conformation was another positive attribute that contributed to his early success on the track.
“He’s just what you think of when you think of a jockey,” Madden said. “He’s fit, healthy, and not too big or too small.”
Taiba when longing at Bruce Ryan’s farm
Ryan had been a regular Buckland customer when Taiba was offered for sale in 2020, but Madden said he still appreciates the opportunity and is still “floating on cloud nine”.
“It was crazy how it all turned out, it’s nice to put that feather in our hats and I don’t take it for granted,” Madden said. “I know every horse isn’t a 1st place winner but man, when it happens it’s a crazy, surreal feeling.
“This is why we’re all doing this, chasing that dream and for the prospect of a horse that’s going to have a really good shot on the first Saturday in May that makes waking up a little easier,” he said.
Taiba is the first ranked winner bred by Ryan, who has raised and raised horses for over 30 years. The founder of Ryan’s All-Glass, a commercial custom glass company in Cincinnati, started with Quarter Horse but soon discovered he had a better chance of making money with Thoroughbreds.
One of Ryan’s first crossbreeds was a kitten yearning to be named Kiosk , whom he bought privately from Eutrophia Farms in Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Sale in 2001 after she was acquired for a final price of $6,700. When Ryan went looking for a coach, he and Tim Hamm decided to race the Kiosk together and kick off a 15-year partnership.
The Kiosk became the winner of five bets with the amount of $115,649 and will become little by little as successful as a broodmare. She produced eight winners from eight to the race led by her star performer Needmore Flattery a daughter of Flatter won nine black bets on the way to $732,103.
At the end of Needmore Flattery’s racing career in 2016, Ryan began scaling back his breeding and racing operations. He and Hamm split some of the horses they owned and bought each other on others. Ryan kept Needmore Flattery as mother hen and after a year bred with Ashford Stud’s Uncle Mo found a statistically strong match with Three Chimneys Farm’s freshman boar and 2017 Horse of the Year Gunman .
Ryan recalls: “We looked at different tracking systems and stats and they all showed that the Gun Runner was a good horse.
The mating produced Taiba, who was actually born at Millennium Farms near Lexington and then moved to Ryan’s ranch after he met the requirements to be a registered Kentucky half-breed.
“When the pony was born, Tom Hamm (the stallion nomination director) with the Three Chimneys came out and said, ‘This horse looks just like its dad.’ When we looked at the pony, we thought it looked like a mare,” Ryan said.
Tim Hamm says what the foal inherits from the stallion and his pulsation is even more apparent on the track.
“The way he hangs his head when he’s actually running is the way (Needmore Flattery) runs, she puts her head down and runs with the same style. What’s interesting is that Gun Runner runs the same way. I guess he does. there was a double- Hamm said.
According to Ryan, the dazzling finishing kick Taiba showed in the Santa Anita Derby mirrors what Needmore Flattery shows in most of her races.
“He did everything his mother did. She wouldn’t turn on the flame-retardant vests until this past 16th, and he did it comfortably and easily,” Ryan said. “The mare will lie near the front, maybe three lengths and sit back, and then from the 3/16 to the eighth column, she’ll say goodbye.”
Ryan no longer owns Needmore Flattery, after selling her for $195,000 at Keeneland’s November 2019 Livestock Share Sale to Yeguada Centurion, a ranch owned by Leopoldo Fernández Pujals. Uncle Moly that the mare brought with her when she was sold was born in Ireland.
However, he still has many ties to his family and is racing against a winning sister with Needmore Flattery named Flatter her again who won the Southern Park Stakes on March 26 at Mahoning Valley Racecourse.
Ryan said: “She seems to be maturing and I think there are some better races for her ahead as we take her to some other track. “We’ll see how she does this year. We’ll probably take her straight to Gun Runner by the end of next year.”
Ryan also has a stallion, Need more Mo, is the first pony of Needmore Flattery, the son of Uncle Mo, who enrolled this year at the Poplar Creek Horse Center near Bethel, Oh. He is standing for $1,500.
As for Taiba, Ryan said he and his wife Mary both expected great things from him, but certainly never expected 1st grade to succeed so quickly.
“When we raised it, everything we did with it was easy. It’s very good. It’s very playful and you can tell how smart it is when you come in contact with it,” Ryan said. “Honestly, I was shocked when he jumped to 1st grade. His works were always close to bullets and so I knew he was preparing for a big race but 1st grade has Looks like a big jump. It’s clear he’s ready.”
