November 2010 $5.00
NOVEMBER 2010
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED
VOL. 133 NO. 5
Magali Farms: An Upscale Experience
Thoroughbred Farms In California
by RUDI GROOTHEDDE
©Ron Mesaros Photos
“We like to think of ourselves as the Nordstrom’s of the California Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry,” said Rich Sulpizio, the owner of Magali Farms in Santa Ynez with his wife of 38 years, Gaby. She added, “You can’t do what we do here and be the cheapest, but that’s because we’ve always strived to do the best for our clients, which means doing the very best for the horses.” Rich continued, “We have loyal customers. They appreciate the service we offer and are willing to pay for it.” Using the majestic mountains of the Santa Ynez Valley as it backdrop, the picturesque 238-acre farm has become one of California’s premier Thoroughbred facilities since this popular couple purchased it in December of 2001. Formerly known as Mandysland Farm and then Magness Racing Ventures, its lush irrigated pastures and manicured landscaping makes it blend in with all the many beautiful horse farms, estates and wineries located in a region boasting a clean, comfortable and quality environment. “What originally brought us here to the valley was the desire for a second home in a rural area,” said Rich, retired President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the San Diego-based wireless communications giant Qualcomm Inc. He then added how Tom Hudson, the Michigan native who has been the Farm Manager at Magali since day one, came into the picture. “After finding our getaway home, we decided to invest in some land for a vineyard. That original
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40 acres, which remains pretty much undeveloped to this day, is where Gaby and I met Tom when he came over to explain how the irrigation system worked.” Rich joked that he then made the mistake of asking about the property next door. “Tom actually had a business plan with him.” After some discussion between Gaby and Rich, they decided to purchase all 238 acres and go into the Thoroughbred business and haven’t looked back since. The Sulpizio’s, who grew up together in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel and enjoyed going to the races at nearby Santa Anita Park, remain delighted with their decision. “We love it up here; it’s a perfect horse location,” Rich said. “But the thing I’m most proud of doing over the last nine years, is building and maintaining a profitable commercial horse business. We run our operations efficiently and professionally and take care of our customers so they want to keep coming back. So far, so good!” Tom added, “If you want the best care for your horse, we’re the place to be as that’s what we do.” Lifelong horse lover Gaby, whose full name is Maria Gabriela but was called “Magali” as a little girl in San Jose, Costa Rica, continued, “I’ve fallen in love with the breeding side; the checking of the mares, the foaling of the mares and am thrilled with what we’ve accomplished as a whole. I know that Tom’s knowledge of nutrition and safety, combined with the care he and Continued on next page
Rich and Gaby Sulpizio with Tom Hudson (left)
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Decarchy Retired to stud at Magali in 2004, this grade I-placed winner of the 2002 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (grade II) covered 49 mares this year and will stand for a $4,000 Live Foal fee in 2011. As a son of Distant View and the staff gives the horses, are a big part of why Toussaud, the 2002 Broodmare of the Year by we’ve been very successful.” El Gran Senor, 13-year-old Decarchy is a halfOriginally from Kenilworth, Utah, Rich brother to the successful sires Empire Maker concluded, “What’s important to us is that we and Chester House and his four racing crops can have some fun, we can have a nice boast more than $3.7 million in earnings. business, and we can employ more than forty California’s leading first-crop sire of 2007, people; it’s a rewarding situation to be in.” and leading second-crop sire of 2008, as well Included in the fun part of the business for as the leading third-crop sire of Cal-breds Rich and Gaby is the Magali Syrah wine that last year, the 15.3-hand stallion has average is produced from the grapes they grow at their earnings per starter of more than $35,000 as 23-acre home just a few miles away. the sire of 2010 stakes winners Quisisana Stud Success Atticus ($317,098) and Antares World ($285,458), A lot of that success for this full-service the latter of whom ran second in this year’s American Oaks facility has been with their stallions and the current roster (grade I), as well as Harlene who won the $250,000 Snow at Magali Farms is a strong and growing one. Confident Chief Stakes in 2008. about the 2011 breeding season, Tom said, “Because of the Tom said, “Decarchy is the most balanced horse I think legislation that just passed which increases purses for next I have ever seen. His progeny are runners year, I think the industry is on the upswing from the start, showing more and more qualand we’re going to be up a little.” He added ity as they mature.” that this boost should also help the CaliforGood Journey nia-bred program which already offers more With a book of 44 mares in 2010, his than $40 million in annual restricted purses fourth year as a shuttle stallion between and incentive awards. Magali Farms and Lindsay Park Stud in Tom, who handles all the breeding deciAustralia, where he retired to stud in 2003, sions, then confirmed that all of next year’s this 14-year-old Nureyev son is represented by stud fees will be similat to those in 2010, progeny earnings of more than $2.2 million because the aim is to get more mares to each and an Average Earnings Index (AEI) of 1.37. of the stallions. “Conformation-wise, all our A grade I winner of $1,733,058, Good Jourstallions are incredibly good,” he said. “Body is Decarchy ney is out of the European champion Chimes way over pedigree in my opinion, because it’s hard to fix them if they’re born crooked, even with today’s of Freedom, a dual grade I-winning daughter of Private technology. Now, to sell the stallion, people are looking at a Account, and is already the sire from his first local crop of page, so he has to have a great race record, have been sound Farallon, an 8 1/2-length winner on her debut at Golden Gate Fields on Aug. 26. His first Australian crop includes the and have a good pedigree.” group I-winning filly Grand Journey (Aus) Atticus and the colt Sound Journey (Aus), now a dual This 18-year-old Nureyev son has been one group II winner after his victory in the of Magali’s mainstays since relocating from Oct. 23 Patinack Farm Crystal Mile, and he Kentucky for the 2005 breeding season. Out of stands for a fee of $5,000 Live Foal in 2011. the multiple group-winning Secretariat mare “The best deal we’ve done in years, Athyka, the grade I-winning millionaire has farm-wise, was him,” said Tom of Good sired the earners of more than $11.3 million Journey who stands 16 hands. Rich added, from 10 crops of racing age, including 2010 “Our deal with Lindsay Park is that we grade II-placed stakes winner Bruce’s Dream, share fifty-fifty in all stud fees from both 2009 grade II-placed dual stakes winner hemispheres. It’s proved to be a great deal!” Strawberry Tart and 2008 stakes winner Lucky Tom continued, “Wait until November or Primo, all from his first California crop. With Good Journey December when this horse is going to make average earnings per starter of more than some noise as they need a distance of ground and they $39,000, the sire of grade I winner High Fly ($927,300) need to mature.” among his 28 stakes horses stands for a fee of $3,000 Live Lit de Justice Foal next year. As Magali’s foundation stallion, this 20-year-old son of “He’s a super strong horse, and his babies are very deterEl Gran Senor and Kanmary (Fr), a group I-placed groupmined runners,” said Tom of the 16-hand stud owned by winning daughter of Kenmare (Fr), is the sire of 46 stakes Pablo Suarez.
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earners of more than $25,000 and include horses among his earners of more than the 2008 stakes winner Bellsblade. Owned by $20.3 million from 11 crops of racing age, Arlene Brown, Richard Kritski and trainer including graded stakes winners Hour of Mike Mitchell, he will stand for a $1,500 Live Justice and Injustice, multiple graded Foal fee next year. stakes-placed stakes winners No Parole “I think he’s under-appreciated,” said Tom. and Silver Bird and Cal-bred stakes win“Shezabigbroad, the only racehorse that Magali ners Bestdressed, Lit’sgoodlookngray, really owns right now, is by him and she’s big, Dotsy Jean, Gambler’s Justice and Maidbeautiful and a great mover.” ens Justice. Sixteen-hand Lit de Justice Olmodavor was voted the Eclipse Champion Sprinter During the latter part of October, it was of 1996, after winning the grade I BreedLit de Justice confirmed that this leading third-crop sire in ers’ Cup Sprint Stakes in his final career start for lifetime earnings of $1,397,649 and now boasts Canada was going to relocate to Magali Farms for the 2011 breeding season. By A.P. Indy, out of the grade I-winning El average earnings per starter of more than $64,000. “Lit de Justice gave credit to the Magali name when we Gran Senor mare Corrazona, grade I-placed dual graded stakes winner Olmodavor will stand for a fee of $5,000 purchased him from Kentucky late in Live Foal. Standing 16.1 hands, he is the sire of 2002,” Tom said. “We had to remove a caneight stakes horses among his earners of more cerous tumor from him this year, but he’s than $2.3 million, including 2010 stakes winner not officially pensioned so we are offering Brickyardtradition, 2009 grade II-winning twofree breedings to try and get a couple of year-old Zlatan and 2008 juvenile stakes winners mares to him; he deserves it.” Mr. Broad Blade High Mist and Miss Dixie Dancer. “We are honored to have the chance to A resident of Magali since 2004, this stand an Adena Springs stallion,” Tom said. 14-year-old Broad Brush son who stands “They run a first-rate operation with world16.3 hands and is out of Highland Blade’s class breeding stock and we’re excited about graded stakes winner Miss High Blade this partnership and the opportunities that has parlayed his grade II-placed, stakesMr. Broad Blade Olmodavor will bring to California breeders.” winning racetrack career into progeny earnings of more than $720,000. From seven limited Continued on next page crops overall, Mr. Broad Blade’s runners boast average
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at Magali after relocating from New York. Standing 16.3 hands, he is owned by Magali in partnership with Milt Policzer and his fee for 2011 will be $3,000 Live Foal. “He’s a tremendous horse,” said Tom. “If Roi Charmant you want to breed classic-distance horses, he’s Relocated to Magali Farms for his second the one to consider. It’s a disappointment season at stud in 2011, this nine-year-old by that he hasn’t really got the support of local Evansville Slew and the winning Seattle breeders just because he’s not likely to sire one Dancer mare Cantina was a dual graded of those fast, early types.” stakes-placed winner from the ages of two to On Oct. 22, grade I winner Global Hunter eight. Roi Charmant equaled track records on (Arg) arrived at Magali to recuperate from both dirt and turf from five to 6 1/2 furlongs Roi Charmant surgery that was done at nearby Alamo Pintaand is owned by Dr. Bruce Zietz. He stands do Equine Medical Center to repair midline fractures of 16.2 hands and his fee next year will be $1,500 Live Foal. both sesamoids and a dislocated fetlock in his right foreleg Tom said, “Roi was a very tough, hard-knocking racewhich he had suffered at Hollywood Park on July 4. The horse and was extremely fast. I believe he’s going to produce seven-year-old son of Jade Hunter, out of the very early, very fast two-year-olds. He’s group I winner Griffe de Paris (Brz), is owned owned by a longtime client and we think by Shawn Turner and Monty Pyle who are he’ll be a success.” considering standing him at the farm should Ten Most Wanted he fully recover from his career-ending Winner of the grade I Travers Stakes in injuries. 2003, this 10-year-old son of Deputy ComReady To Run mander, out of the Criminal Type mare Besides handling the covering of nearly 120 Wanted Again, earned $1,718,460 and now mares by its resident stallions and the foaling of has 2010 stakes winner Tenth Power and a similar number of babies this year, Magali three other stakes horses among his three Farms also offers its clients the best in breaking, crops of racing age, including the multiple training, lay-ups and sales preparation. stakes-placed winner Karakorum Fugitive Ten Most Wanted A custom-built, 43-stall deluxe barn ($173,890). During 2009, Ten Most Wanted with wide aisles, a spacious tack room and four indoor wash was the leading second-crop sire in California with more bays is the centerpiece of the 40-acre Training Center than $1 million in earnings, when he stood his first season
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Rich said, “Our dozen or so trainers who are clients tell us that when Tom ships a horse to them at the track, they can be in a race within four to five weeks,” and Tom added, “If you can send a two-year-old to them from here who can run in five to six weeks, instead of three months, that’s a big saving.” A great example of this is California Nectar who came up to Magali after an Aug. 28 start at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and then returned for a win at Hollywood Park just 36 days later on Oct. 3. Top Quality With all of its other facilities, it’s easy to see why Magali Farms was honored as the 2008 TOBA (Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association) State Breeder of the Year for California. Located alongside the farm’s administrative offices, the main barn is home to the farm’s stallions and also features six deeply bedded foaling stalls, all equipped with a state-ofthe-art surveillance camera system, a large breeding area with shredded rubber footing, palpation chutes and a fully equipped laboratory, and a hand walking area that provides an ideal dust-free, low-impact surface for the horses. Magali’s newest barn, built in 2004, has 48 stalls and the property also numbers 40 outside day pens (20x20 to 20x40 feet in size). Its many paddocks and pastures—ranging in size from two to 20 acres and divided according to age group or pregnancy status—each has a covered feeding shelter furnished with automatic waterers. “No fence touches another one on the property,” said Tom of the 11 miles of the highest quality of four-rail wood and mesh fencing that Continued on next page
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which also encompasses a five-furlong track, full-size starting gate, viewing stand and huge infield arena. Built by Dennis Moore, the dirt and silt sand track features sixdegree banked turns and is now taken care of by Richard Tedesco. Daily maintenance and bi-annual resurfacing keeps the ultra-safe surface conditioned and supple with a good cushion. The stalls, like the 100-plus others in the property’s additional three barns, are spacious, well-ventilated and lighted by large windows, overhead fans and an automatic fly control system to keep the equine residents safe and happy. “We have fans on every single stall and coolers in every barn,” said Tom. “The barns are all insulated, as we run water on the roof on all hot summer days. I want the horses to always be comfortable.” There’s also a 60-foot round pen, a six-horse EquiCiser, numerous outside covered stalls and 20 individual grass turnout paddocks where the horses can enjoy “down time.” Overseeing all of the training horses every day is Jerry Lambert, the regular jockey for the immortal Cal-bred of the 1960s, Native Diver, while the farm also employs a trio of top-notch exercise riders. “We are able to get the horses very fit here before they go down to the track,” said Tom. “Taking the time to give them plenty of ground work ensures a proper foundation. When a two-year-old goes down to a trainer they have been galloping up to two and a quarter miles at a pretty good clip every day, with breezes of up to a half-mile on the weekends. Once they get used to their new surroundings, they are all ready for at least a three-eighths of a mile workout.”
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provides a sturdy yet safe environment for the horses. The farm is irrigated by elevated water cannons situated on the perimeter of each pasture in the wide alleyways that allow for easy care and maintenance, while all the drinking water on the farm comes from a domestic well that is tested every 30 days for nitrates. Rich, Gaby and Tom are very proud of their staff, many of whom are now like family to them, as well as the eight homes on the property utilized by more than a dozen of this experienced group. “Tom runs the farm but our ace in the hole is Tom’s wife, Gayle, who runs the office,” said Rich. “Gayle is the eyes and ears of the farm,” added Gaby, “while we refer to Katie Fisher, who has helped Gayle run the office since February of 2003, as ‘radar’ because she knows what we’re all thinking before we even put it into words.” Tom said, “All my head guys, all my grooms, about ten to fifteen of them, they’ve been here since the beginning,” and Rich concluded, “We pay good salaries and we offer medical benefits. Three years ago, we got a nice letter from the county of Santa Barbara
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saying that they thought our employee housing was the best in the valley.” The success of Magali Farms over the years can also be attributed to its marketing policy and a relatively new product called Alua Paddock Pro Farm Management Software. “For marketing, we advertise where we feel we get the best value for our money and our daughter Tricia helps us with this, while Tom also goes to the track a lot to liaise with trainers,” said Rich. “Our youngest daughter Teri does all our web design and her husband Norm Hamson is the founder, with Gaby and me, of
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as long as we can continue to offer that quality services we’ve come to be known for.” Tom added, “It’s been an incredible pleasure working for Rich and Gaby and I hope I don’t have to work for anyone else for the rest of my life. The Magnesses taught me to treat all of the horses as if you owned them. Nowadays, because saving money for our clients is so important, we really think twice about all our costs. One of the reasons why Magali Farms is so profitable is because the horses we’ve bred and stallions we stand have earned such lucrative breeder and stallion bonuses for us.” “We probably wouldn’t have this farm if Tom wasn’t running it because we trust him,” said Rich. “Whatever is right for a horse, he’ll do it. He doesn’t give himself enough credit for what the wonderful job that both he and the staff do for us. We’ve had a good, loyal group of clients over the years, and we love our operations; if Tom keeps doing what he’s doing, we’ll be fine.” Rich concluded, “We welcome prospective clients to contact any of our current clients to find out what they think of Magali Farms because their opinion is more important than what we think of ourselves. Our initial investment may have been for the land, but we have come to love the Thoroughbred business.”
MAGALI FARMS FACT-FILE Owners: Rich & Gaby Sulpizio Farm Manager: Tom Hudson Address: 4050 Casey Avenue, Santa Ynez, California 93460 Telephone: (805) 693-1777 Fax: (805) 693-1644 E-Mail: info@magalifarms.com Website: www.magalifarms.com Services: Breeding, Boarding, Breaking, Training, Lay-Ups & Sales Preparation
Stallions: Atticus (Nureyev) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Live Foal Decarchy (Distant View) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,000 Live Foal Good Journey (Nureyev) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Live Foal Lit de Justice (El Gran Senor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Private Treaty Mr. Broad Blade (Broad Brush) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 Live Foal Olmodavor (A.P. Indy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Live Foal Rio Charmant (Evansville Slew). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 Live Foal Ten Most Wanted (Deputy Commander) . . . . . . . . $3,000 Live Foal Thoroughbred Population (October 2010):
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Alua Software. Harris Farms here in California and Vinery in Kentucky also use this low-cost computer software to run their businesses. Our office staff says that they now have extra time to work on other things.” Tom confirmed, “It’s one of the best things we’ve ever done as it has saved us so much time and money.” The farm also benefits from the services of Alamo Pintado, located just a five-minute drive away in Los Olivos. Dr. Doug Herthel, owner of Alamo Pintado, has put together an excellent staff of veterinarians. “It’s a huge advantage to our farm as Dr. (Ed) Hamer is an incredible repo vet and the best field vet we could ever have,” said Tom. “He can check seventy-five mares with ultrasound between eight o’clock and noon; I don’t think there are a lot of vets who can do that. During foaling season, we have three to four people here every night checking on the pregnant mares. One of them drives the farm all night long with a floodlight making sure the mares are safe. That, and the job that Alamo Pintado does for us, sets us apart from everyone else.” Rich added, “It’s a great feeling knowing we have the resources of Alamo Pintado supporting us.” Last but not least is the farm’s nutrition program that was developed right from the start by Tom and nutritionist Steve Jackson (Ph. D.). “Quality feed has always been most important to us, so that’s why we have always taken grass samples from the pastures and core samples of the hay and analyzed them quarterly to help formulate a complete, balanced grain,” said Tom. “When Steve looks at all the horses, he tells us that we are hard on him by wanting to change the grain again and again as he feels we are ahead of the curve, even with many of the well-managed farms in Kentucky that we are often compared to. I know our nutrition program is really good, but I always want to do better.” So Magali’s constant commitment to caring for its horses can be summed up by Tom’s words. “When we send mares back from being bred, people always say, ‘What do you do with these horses? How do you get them looking so good?’ It’s obviously the nutrition and care. Every horse in these pastures gets bathed once or twice a week, while twice or three times a week they get fly spray put on them and their feet get dressings put on them. There’s nothing better for them than lots of TLC.” More Of The Same When asked about the future, Rich’s answer was simple, “More of the same for us. I like our business model; I think it works well because it’s pretty unique in that we are here for our customers as opposed to owning our own mares. Taking care of our customer’s horses so they continue to trust us and continue to use our services, is what makes a substantial business. With just under 300 horses on the farm right now, Magali has room to grow but Gaby cautiously commented, “Of course we have the facility and staff to handle more horses but we want to grow smartly. We only want to grow
Stallions…………….8 Broodmares………..94 Weanlings………….62 Yearlings…………..66 Horses In Training…24 Lay-Ups…….……..23 Others……………..19 TOTAL……….….296
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