Beauty N Balance

When BTE Stables closed on our Paris, Kentucky property in November of 2020, one of the first priorities was purchasing a broodmare with a similar foaling date to Becca’s Diamond, the first BTE Stables broodmare. As with many plans in 2020, ours pivoted at the sale and we ended up purchasing 3 broodmares (Steely Magnolia, Hidden Princess, and Beauty N Balance).

The original BTE Stables broodmare band

Selling towards the end of the last day of book 3, Beauty N Balance was the last mare we purchased out of the sale. With a first dam and multiple half-sisters who were producing, her pedigree had many opportunities for improvement. In foal with her third American Freedom colt, and unplaced herself on the racetrack, we thought she might be one to fall through the cracks and sell for less than we felt she was worth. Her 2019 American Freedom colt, a strong weanling with a great walk, sold for $20,000 as the hip before her. BTE Stables was able to acquire Beauty N Balance for $12,000.

At the time of purchase, Beauty’s grade 2 winning half-sister Tiz Midnight had an unnamed yearling by Mastery. That filly was named Midnight Memories and is now a graded stakes winner herself. Additionally, half-sister Tension had a weanling colt by Into Mischief who was named Rocket Can and is now a graded stakes winner who’s name you may recognize from the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

Beauty N Balance’s first foal is still unnamed and unraced. Her second colt by American Freedom is graded stakes placed earner of $195,966 American Blaze, most recently seen running in stakes company at Century Mile.

Conspiractherapist, winning on debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Beauty’s third colt, fondly known as “Beast” around the farm, was retained by BTE Stables and named ConspiracTherapist. Beast was sent to trainer Susan Cooney in Virginia to be started under saddle. In the summer of his two year old year, he went through one of his many growth spurts, and it was decided he would benefit from some time off. He came back to the farm and spent the summer hanging out with our OTTB gelding herd. He returned to training with Pavel Matejka in Lexington. Though he always enjoyed running, even as a foal, and displayed athleticism, he took a long time to mature mentally. He finally made his first start May 30, 2024 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Beast put forth a strong show, winning under a hand ride and earning a 92 E figure. He came out of the race in excellent shape, making us optimistic about his prospects. He took a big step up and raced Jul 13 in the Caesars Handicap. Though he didn’t hit the board, he ran well and we are still optimistic about his future.

When selecting our first stallion for Beauty, we looked to her pedigree to find a proven stallion with success in the family. Though there was a level of commercial sacrifice, the decision to breed to Midnight Lute was an easy one. Beauty’s half sister is graded stakes winning track record setter Tiz Midnight (by Midnight Lute). With 9% stakes horses from runners, Midnight Lute is a consistently steady sire with the ability to throw a superstar. The resulting colt was sold by BTE Stables at the Fasig Tipton October Yearling Sale for $20,000. “Gaston” was pinhooked to the OBS April Two Year Old Sale, where he sold for $185,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and has been named Dark Lute. He is currently breezing at Saratoga and we are excited to see his future on the racetrack.

For her next breeding, we looked for an option from the Awesome Again/Ghostzapper sire line, that was free of Tiznow. The Awesome Again/Tiznow cross has been very productive, and Beauty is out a a Tiznow mare, allowing us to create a similar cross. Freshman stallion Mystic Guide was the perfect option, as he checked all of those boxes. Unfortunately, Beauty did not produce a live foal from this cross.

When choosing a stallion for 2025, there were many options for sire lines demonstrating success within the immediate family. Because we were looking for a commercial option for Beauty, we did not breed back to Mystic Guide in his second year. With the success of American Blaze and ConspiracTherapist, as well as the Tapit influence for Rocket Can, the decision was made to look to the prolific Tapit sire line. Tapit son Essential Quality’s first crop weanlings were a strong group at the sales, and he physically looks to be a good cross for Beauty. There is a long way to go before foaling season 2025, but we are extremely excited for this foal.

Through her production, and that of her half-sisters, Beauty N Balance has increased exponentially in value since her purchase, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.