Croquembouche gets a shot with a proven stallion in ’26, and one that has already worked with her female family.

For her second mating, Cabra Chica will take a shot with a leading freshman sire who we think offers a ton of value for ’26 in Essential Quality.

Thank you to Joe Nevills at the Paulick Report for asking us to contribute to his yearly feature on value sires.  You can read our thoughts here: https://paulickreport.com/news/bloodstock/the-2025-26-all-value-sire-team-bloodstock-experts-george-adams-and-jessica-tugwell-make-their-picks

With several close relatives by Giant’s Causeway that excelled on the track, Aquatic Approach will head to a son of Not This Time for the second time in three years in 2026, when she visits Arzak.

Inbreeding to the broodmare sire of the sire is a tried-and-true pattern, and Why Not Tonight will visit Johannes in ’26 on a slight variation of that theme.

We’ll stick with another Speightstown-line stallion for the young Godolphin-bred Giving Spirit in ’26, this time the exciting first-year sire Straight No Chaser.

We’ll finally give Faze the Nation a shot with a Storm Cat-line stallion in ’26 after thinking about going that direction for several years.

This recommendation will cause long-time readers flashbacks to 2019, when Munnings was the most heavily-recommended horse to feature in our write-ups.

Having produced a BTW by a son of Tapit earlier in her breeding career, that’s an obvious direction to take with Wild For Love again in ’26, this time with first-year stallion Arthur’s Ride.

For a breeder hoping to breed-to-race, but one not looking to give up on commerciality completely, Darley’s proven and precocious Midshipman is the perfect pick.

Thousand Words is off to a very strong start with Tiznow-line mares, which is just one of the reasons we’ll send C’est Mardi his way in 2026.

We remain very high on Army Mule heading into ’26, and he’ll be an excellent choice for the young Godolphin-bred mare Sharma.

Tickle the Ivories was selected specifically to be a member of the first book of mares for MG1W Maryland-bred Mindframe.

Godolphin’s most recent US graded winner demonstrates several characteristics that have led to their amazing run as the country’s best owner/breeder

We won’t reinvent the wheel with Wand Work in ’26 — she’ll visit another Distorted Humor-line stallion in proven value sire Jimmy Creed.

We’re sticking with a pattern that just worked very well by sending Itgetsgreaterlater to exciting first-year stallion Locked.

Our first mare expected to foal in 2026 is also the first to get a write-up for her next match.

The first of our 2026 Housatonic Recommended Matings will be published tomorrow, so what better time to highlight some successes achieved by past products at last week’s KeeNov sale!

The last 30 days have seen 10 winners from Housatonic Recommended Matings!

Aidan O’Brien is on pace to match his own single-season record of G1 victories, and it makes us wonder: why don’t Coolmore’s American-based runners have similar success?

On Mindframe, Future Is Now, and what their pedigrees show us about the breeding theories of the man who bred the first three dams of each.

The Storm Cat sire-line had Saratoga success through two different branches this past week.

Plenty of reasons to think that “Plan B” for Wand Work this spring can work out “A” okay!

We have a significant rooting interest again in this year’s Kentucky Derby!

Our first revision of the 2025 season will see Juddmonte-bred Prosperity shifting to NY to visit fellow Juddmonte product Honest Mischief

Hard-knocking maiden mare Cabra Chica will make an ideal match for Army Mule, who is the proven KY stallion that offers the best value in ’25

Our final Mating Recommendation of the year will feature a newly-acquired mare who we acquired specifically to send to Bucchero.

We’re supporting first-year G1W Prince of Monaco heavily this year, with some promising young mares like the $170k yearling Croquembouche

The older, thoroughly-proven Sister Dawn will be a perfect match for the young, up-and-coming Honest Mischief in 2025.

Saucily gets a match with the proven, upwardly-mobile Army Mule in ’25 after visiting a first-year sire for her first mating last year.

We identified Byhubbyhellomoney at Keeneland January as a mare specifically suited to the new Pennsylvania stallion Beren for a bevy of reasons.

Three of our “house” broodmares will be returning to our favorite Mid-Atlantic stallion in 2025 after being bred to him in 2024 as well.

The best start for a young mare is with a proven stallion, and the NY-based Lacie Be Good will get a mate who’s as proven as it gets when she visits Central Banker in 2025.

Tacitus is a young stallion that we have high hopes for, and he’s a great fit for the well-bred young Blame mare Queen Ann in 2025.

Numerous commentators have acknowledged the value that Bucchero brings to stud in NY this spring, and we’re excited to be sending Zarella his way, on the same cross that produced his G1-winning son

After taking off ’24 due to a late foaling date, Miss Malibu will get started early in ’25 when she heads for a visit with the high-ceilinged Army Mule.

From a historic Phipps family with successful relatives by Speightstown, Mischievous Mind will be a great fit for G1W Prince of Monaco.

This particular mating is all about complimentary physicals and racetrack proclivities, and should produce a heck of a racehorse!

Prosperity will visit the exciting young G1W Annapolis in ’25, from a sire-line that has worked repeatedly for her female family.

We know we sound like a broken record, but Blofeld remains the best choice — especially for a young mare — if you’re breeding to a regional stallion in the Mid-Atlantic.

Weigelia has proven one of the best and most consistent sires in the Mid-Atlantic, and his son Beren brings a similar profile to the PA ranks in ’25 when Faze the Nation will be his very first mate

Sharma’s first booking for Wasabi will be with the upwardly-mobile and extremely versatile Oscar Performance at Mill Ridge

Storm Cat-line stallions have clicked with Aquatic Approach’s female family over-and-over, and we’ll stick with that formula in 2025 when she visits Honest Mischief in NY.

With an eye towards producing a foal that will appeal to the commercial market, Wasabi mare Fee will have a date with exciting first-year stallion Muth for her maiden mating in 2025!

Most of the time, inbreeding is simply something to be noted (and occasionally avoided), but in the case of Princess Phone’s 2025 mating, inbreeding has played a large part in our recommendation.

Gun Slingin gets another big commercial shot in ’25 when she’ll be part of the first book of mares to visit the G1W 2YO Prince of Monaco at Claiborne Farm

Beren retires to stud at WynOaks Farm for the 2025 breeding season, where he will stand beside his sire, the perennial leading Pennsylvania stallion Weigelia, for a private fee.

Our friends at Wasabi got an incredible deal at 25KeeJan on the young Godolphin-bred Sharma carrying her first foal by Maxfield

As we’ve previously mentioned in this space, Army Mule’s pipeline has him poised to experience a big few years, and he’s another promising but proven option for the young American Thriller.