WinStar Farm's Heartland , a son of Justify out of the Cat Thief mare Sambuca Classica, sired his first reported foal Jan. 16 when a colt out of the Champali mare I Love Nola was born at KatieRich Farms near Midway, Ky. The colt was bred by Rattner Bloodstock.
"Nice foal, strong, healthy 136-pound colt," said George Barnes of KatieRich Farms. "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."
Heartland flashed brilliance in his only career start at Del Mar, where he won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight by two lengths in 1:03.20, the fastest time of any 2-year-old at the distance at Del Mar or Saratoga Race Course in 2023, according to WinStar's research.
Owned by CHC, Siena Farm, and WinStar, and trained by Bob Baffert, Heartland was a $575,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase. He is a half brother to 2016 champion 2-year-old male Classic Empire, a grade 1 winner at 2 and 3 and a grade 1-producing sire.
Heartland stands at WinStar for $10,000 stands and nurses.
