Fresh from her upset at Spa, Taken by the Wind returned three weeks later to win the Pocahontas Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs by a decisive 5 1/4 lengths under Irad Ortiz, Jr. After spending a significant amount of time on the vet’s list following her Pocahontas effort, the filly returned to top form on her second debut to win the Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Track and Slot Machines By a neck on January 17th. With that, the undefeated filly placed herself as a Kentucky Oaks (G1) contender with 30 points on the leaderboard for the first Friday of May, and left her breeder dreaming of even greater successes.
“I can’t control everything, for me a lot of it is – I believe in God – and I think there’s a lot going on there, and there’s some luck going on,” said Courtney Meagher, who bred Taken by the Wind. “Her victory (in the Silverbulletday Stakes) and the opportunity to compete in the Kentucky Oaks is very special.”
Despite only having four mares, Meagher – who was named 2018 Florida Small Breeder of the Year by FTBOA – continues to maintain a standard of excellence in her breeding program at her farm near Citra, Florida.
After the death of her mother in 2009, Meagher, a lifelong rider, decided to try her hand at the Thoroughbred industry, purchasing a few mares over the years, including Mom’s Deputy, who eventually produced several stakes winners. Mother is on strike . A few years later Meagher bought the First Samurai mare up for grabs for $3,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company Fall Mixed Sale in 2013. Ten years later, she produced the bay daughter of Rock Your World, now named Taken by the Wind.
“I was looking for a mare and I happened to see Up for Grabs,” Meagher said. “She was in the Thoroughstock mission, had come from the same farm, from the same breeders (as mother’s substitute). ‘I noticed that she shared the same second mother with mother’s substitute. So. I’m like, ‘Oh, why not?’
“And so I took a chance on her, and it was really the last minute I was looking. I had looked at a few other mares, but didn’t get them, and then I just raised my hand, and I got (Up for Grabs). They were related, and that was really the driving factor: keeping it in the family. At that point, Mom’s On Strike hadn’t come to fruition yet.”
Taken by the wind as a foal at Courtney Meagher’s farm near Citra, Florida.
Meagher said Taken by the Wind stood out as the prettiest foal from her 2023 crop.
“She had a very nice, relaxed shoulder, her ears were always up; she had a great presence,” Meagher recalled. “Her walking, I always noticed her, just very catlike and easy. She was also super friendly, of course, a beautiful filly to work with.”
Meagher had the filly prepared at Beth Bayer’s farm near Ocala, Florida, and when Marshall Taylor of Taylor Made came to visit her before the 2024 Fasig-Tipton July Select Yearling Sale, Meagher said he was pleased with how well she had developed.
“She came out of the stable and he said, ‘Wow, that’s a nice filly.’”
Taken by the Wind drew a final bid of $70,000 from McPeek’s client Walking L. Thoroughbreds at the July sale, a solid price for a daughter of Rock Your World’s first crop. The son of Candy ride had spent the 2022 season at Spendthrift Farm, near Lexington, for an advertised fee of $10,000.
Just a few months later, the filly was again offered in the sales ring, this time at Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky October Yearling Sale due to a dispersal of Walking L. Thoroughbreds. Proving his confidence in the filly, McPeek secured the filly again, but this time for the bargain price of $20,000.
“When I saw he (McPeek) was the agent, I was really happy because he was having so much success at the time,” Meagher said. “I know he takes good care of his horses. He has a good team and he puts them in good places. He doesn’t race them too much. So I was very happy with that.”
The past few years have brought many ups and downs for Meagher, as most breeders are used to. In addition to industry testing, she overcame cancer in 2018 and has experienced many other successes and bumps along the way.
“When Taken by the Wind was pointed out to the Breeders’ Cup, I thought, ‘What are the odds that a small breeder like me, with my small herd, has to have two horses competing in the Breeders’ Cup?'” she said, referring to Mom’s On Strike, which had competed in the 2018 edition of the Filly and Mare Turf (G1T). “That was mind-boggling. She didn’t make it to the Breeders’ Cup, but the Kentucky Oaks, that’s no small feat.”
Meagher has booked Up for Grabs for the first-year stallion and multiple stakes winner Me, too , WinStar Farm’s millionaire son of Violence , who will hold his first season for an advertised fee of $10,000.
“I’m just going to keep going with it and pulling the plug,” she said.
Meagher hopes Oaks Lilies are in the offing for the latest filly to carry her stud’s flag.
“I’m just going to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride,” Meagher said.
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