2024 Paynter - Buff’s in Love Individual Foal

Why We Bought This Horse

UPDATE 3/2/24: Buff's In Love foaled a healthy colt, who has been nicknamed "Butterfinger".

• Buff’s in Love was covered on February 23, 2023, by Paynter and checked in and confirmed in foal on April 7, 2023.   Our anticipation is that this foal will be Maryland-bred.
• This is a 2023-2024 Individual Foal Offering and is subject to the WVS Individual Foal Program Addendum to the Wasabi Ventures Stables Thoroughbred Management Agreement.    
•   Highlights of the program:
  • Fixed Price on the Offering - No Ongoing Bills
  • Limited Exposure - Like WVS Racing Programs, there is no chance for Future Expenses. If the Foal offering loses money, WVS absorbs those costs
  • Finite Time - The Foal Offering will be liquidated at the time of his/her weaning from the mare, so you know when an offering ends.  Because you are not buying the mare, you have a finite time period of commitment (e.g. 6 to 18 months)
  • Reduced Risk - WVS will only open a Foal Offering once a mare has checked in foal to the chosen stallion
  • Perpetual Breeders Bonuses - Even after the foal is sold, a Club member can continue to earn breeding bonuses for the racing life of the horse.
  • You can watch a video about this program by visiting here. 

The BASE PRICE of this foal is $29,600

• Mare Lease $2,000
• Stallion Fee - $6,000
• Vanning Expense - $2,000
• Boarding and Sales Fee Estimate - $17,000
• Vet Estimate - $2,000
• Registration Fees (Jockey Club and State Fees) - $600

We’ve said it before, and often, but when planning the first mating for an unproven broodmare, picking a proven stallion tends to be our favored tactic because it gives the breeder a better take on the mare’s potential, rather than breeding her to a young stallion that might himself be a flop and thus give no real clue as to what the mare herself might be able to accomplish.  Stakes-placed 2YO and $220k-earner Buff’s In Love gets a shot with her second proven stallion in as many matings when she goes to the G1W and sire Paynter in 2023.

Buff’s In Love raced 44 times from 2YO through 6YO, winning 5 races and placing another 13 times.  Her victories came in her juvenile debut at 5-1/2 furlongs (by 4-1/2 lengths, becoming the first winner for her sire, Buffum), and then in optional claiming races at 5 furlongs (as a 3YO at Delaware and as a 6YO at Pimlico) and 5-1/2 furlongs (as a 4YO on turf at Monmouth), and a claimer going 5 furlongs on turf at the Meadowlands in her second-to-last career start.  Though her wins all came sprinting, she had enough class and stamina to finish 3rd going as far as 7-1/2 furlongs.  Buff’s In Love earned black-type as a 2YO when she finished 3rd in the Maryland Million Lassie, and she also finished 3rd in the Small Wonder Stakes at 2YO and the Peach Blossom Stakes at 6YO.

Although her deep, Maryland-based female family has not seen many attempts with Awesome Again/Deputy Minister-line stallions like Paynter, we are confident in this pedigree pairing given that (1) Paynter has sired two of his top three runners both out of AP Indy-line mares like Buff’s In Love (namely G2Ws Lazy Daisy and Miss Leslie, plus a SPW out of a mare by Bernardini, the sire of Buffum), (2) Awesome Again-line stallions with Not For Love mares like Buff’s In Love’s dam rate an “A+” on TrueNicks and have accounted for G1W Starship Truffles (plus a SPW and another winner by Paynter himself), and (3) Awesome Again-line stallions with Cozzene-line mares like Buff’s In Love’s second dam Who’s Cozy rate an “A” thanks to the likes of G1W Toccet.

This is also a mating that we love physically, too.  Paynter is a very stout, strong-bodied horse with plenty of leg but slightly close-coupled, whereas Buff’s In Love is similarly stout and compact but could use that infusion of leg that Paynter brings to the matchup.

We also think that Buff’s In Love’s speed and precocity will complement Paynter’s contribution perfectly, and cannot wait to see their foal in 2024!