LEA highlights the Stallion Spotlight feature this week on Paulick Report. The feature, by Joe Nevills, offers stud farm representatives to address breeders and answer questions as they finalize their mating decisions for the 2020 breeding season…
Now that we’ve got a few crops on the ground, what can a breeder expect from a Lea foal as a weanling? As a yearling?
Walker Hancock: He can get you a really good-looking horse. A lot of them look like him, pretty chestnuts. I think you can expect a horse with a good body, an athletic build, and good quality and substance.
Unlike his sire First Samurai, who got off to a fast start at two, Lea got better with age. Do you expect Lea’s foals to emulate their sire or grandsire in that regard?
Hancock: I think they’ll be more like Lea, getting better with age. We’ve got some that we think will be okay, they’re just bigger, stronger, slower-developing horses that might need a mile and an eighth on the grass. When things get going again, maybe we’ll see some more winners.
Bernie Sams: He’s had some winners this spring at Gulfstream, Tampa Bay, Fair Grounds that have run and been impressive, but they haven’t had the chance to run back. Now that racing’s on the slow crawl, that doesn’t help a horse like that.
Read the full interview here: https://www.paulickreport.com/news/bloodstock/stallion-spotlight-walker-hancock-and-bernie-sams-of-claiborne-farm-on-lea/