Planned 2026 Foals: Why Knicks Go and Zandon Were Chosen for Lady Dyanaformer and My Audubon
With three strong foals already on the ground in 2025, Horse Husband Stables has turned its attention to the future—specifically, the mares’ 2026 foals. These matings were secured last fall and reflect months of thoughtful planning, driven not just by pedigree and nicking reports, but by real-world observation of each mare’s production and how their previous foals have developed.
This year, two mares will return to the breeding shed, while one mare transitions into a well-deserved retirement. Let’s break down what’s next—and why.
🌿 Surprise: Final Foal, Lasting Legacy
Elusive Surprise was purchased in foal at the 2024 Keeneland November Sale, with the full intention that her 13th foal—A Dozen and Won (Thirteen)—would be her last. She will remain at Horse Husband Stables to raise him, and following weaning, she’ll retire permanently to the sanctuary herd at Mareworthy Charities.
Surprise descends from the same female family as Weekend Surprise, the dam of A.P. Indy—one of the most important sires in American breeding history. That places Thirteen in a rare maternal lineage known for producing classic distance talent and breed-shaping sires.
📬 Help support mares like Surprise at www.mareworthy.com/donate
Sidebar: The Influence of A.P. Indy and Weekend Surprise
A.P. Indy remains one of the most influential sires in the history of American Thoroughbred breeding. Winner of the Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic, he was crowned Horse of the Year in 1992 and went on to become a breed-shaping stallion. His impact has endured through his sons—like Pulpit, Malibu Moon, and Flatter—as well as through his daughters and grandsons, including the likes of Tapit and Zandon.
Just as vital to his legacy is his dam, Weekend Surprise, a blue hen mare whose own contributions to the breed go far beyond A.P. Indy. By Secretariat and out of Lassie Dear, Weekend Surprise is the dam or granddam of multiple stakes winners and sires. She passed down not only physical class and stamina but also a distinctive mental toughness and soundness that breeders still seek today.
Elusive Surprise, the matriarch retiring this year, descends from the same female family—making her 2025 colt, A Dozen and Won (Thirteen), a direct inheritor of this rare and potent maternal line. The 2026 matings featured here, both influenced by A.P. Indy’s line through Zandon and echoed by the standards of Weekend Surprise, reflect a deliberate effort to preserve and build upon that legacy.
Understanding Nicks, Families, and Contracts
Before diving into the matches, it helps to understand a few key concepts in Thoroughbred breeding:
What Is a "Nick"?
A nick is a measure of how well a particular sire line (typically a stallion and his male ancestors) crosses with a specific broodmare sire line (the dam’s sire and his ancestors). Nicking systems like TrueNicks and Werk eNicks analyze historical data to determine how often specific cross-patterns produce successful racehorses. These are graded (e.g., A++, A, B, etc.) based on performance metrics and statistical overperformance.
A nick rating is not a guarantee—it simply reflects how well similar crosses have worked historically. It should be one tool in a larger breeding toolbox.
📄 Full TrueNicks and Werk eNicks reports available at the bottom of this post.
What are Female Families?
In Thoroughbred pedigrees, the female family traces the direct maternal line of a horse, from dam to granddam to great-granddam, and so on. These lines are numbered using Bruce Lowe's system (e.g., Family 1-x, 4-r), which categorizes maternal lines based on their historical success in producing stakes winners. Some families have become renowned for passing on traits like stamina, soundness, or broodmare quality.
It’s also important to understand that in the Thoroughbred industry, half-siblings are only considered such if they share the same dam. Two horses by the same sire but out of different mares are not technically regarded as half-siblings—because stallions can breed hundreds of mares each season, while a mare produces only one foal per year. This distinction emphasizes the unique influence of the dam and her female family in shaping each foal’s potential. These are classified using Bruce Lowe numbers (e.g., Family 1-x, 4-r), and certain families have a long track record of producing stakes winners or superior broodmares.
How Breeding Contracts Work
LFSN Contracts: Short for Live Foal Stands and Nurses, an LFSN contract is the most common breeding contract. It means the stallion owner does not receive the stud fee unless the foal stands (is able to stand on its own) and nurses the dam normally. It protects the mare owner from paying for a foal that doesn’t survive birth or fails to thrive in early life.
No Guarantee (NG): A less common contract where the stud fee is due regardless of whether the foal survives. This may be offered at a discount or with elite stallions whose demand exceeds supply.
Pay Out of Proceeds (POP): In a POP agreement, the mare owner does not pay the stud fee up front. Instead, the foal is sold at public auction, and the stallion owner is paid out of the sale proceeds. If the foal does not reach a minimum sale price, there may be a negotiated minimum or the contract may be void. POP agreements are often used to give breeders access to top stallions without upfront cost, while giving stallion farms upside on commercial foals.
Foal Share: A mare owner and stallion owner agree to share ownership (and sometimes expenses) of the resulting foal instead of paying a stud fee. This is more common at the elite commercial level and typically negotiated privately. The foal is sold, and profits are split.
Season Shareholder Rights & Brokers: Stallion seasons are often sold or leased to individuals or entities known as season shareholders. These individuals hold the right to breed one mare to a specific stallion each season. They may use that right themselves, lease it out, or offer it through a season broker, who facilitates stallion access for breeders who don’t have direct shares. Brokers often help negotiate favorable terms (such as LFSN, POP, or foal share) and provide market access to in-demand stallions.
With that foundation in place, let’s explore how these principles apply to our current breeding plans., let’s explore how these principles apply to our current breeding plans.
Lady Dyanaformer x Knicks Go: Power Meets Balance
Lady Dyanaformer
Knicks Go
To better visualize this pairing, here's a side-by-side comparison of how Lady Dyanaformer and Knicks Go align:
Together, this pairing builds on shared structural strengths while allowing Knicks Go to reinforce early-maturing, muscular traits already present in Lady Dyanaformer’s offspring.
This planned mating not only builds on Lady Dyanaformer’s early success as a broodmare, but also connects meaningfully back to the legacy of A.P. Indy—highlighted in the introduction through Elusive Surprise. Knicks Go, while not directly related to A.P. Indy, hails from the same Deputy Minister male line that helped shape much of modern American dirt racing. His sire Paynter is by Awesome Again, who was out of a Deputy Minister mare.
Meanwhile, Lady Dyanaformer descends from the female family of Lady Shirl, a prolific turf-producing line known for class and stamina. Together, this match continues a lineage of thoughtful crosses that balance brilliance and durability—much like the Weekend Surprise family behind A.P. Indy himself.
Lady Dyanaformer, a bay mare by Vertiformer out of Lady Macjazz, has already proven her ability to produce correct, athletic foals. Her 2024 colt by Paynter, now a yearling, is balanced, well-muscled, and shows strong gaskin development, correct leg structure, and an intelligent demeanor. Her 2025 filly by Country Grammer is elegant and leggy with an uphill build and scopey angles at just seven weeks old. From these two foals, it’s clear that Lady Dyanaformer consistently contributes excellent shoulder construction, powerful hind end angles, and depth through the heartgirth.
Enter Knicks Go, the champion gray son of Paynter. With a body type that emphasizes compact power and tactical speed, Knicks Go brings a different kind of brilliance to the table. One of the most compelling reasons for this match is his direct connection to Paynter. Lady Dyanaformer's first foal, Lord Paycasso, is by Paynter and has impressed with his balance, muscle, correctness, and mental composure. By selecting Knicks Go—Paynter's most brilliant and commercially proven son—we hope to recreate and enhance the success of that first cross. He reinforces her already short-coupled frame by adding muscle and compact power through the back and loin, resulting in even stronger balance and core strength.
The Nick
According to TrueNicks, the Knicks Go x Lady Dyanaformer pairing rates an A++ with a variant score of 7.73. This is based on the highly successful Awesome Again (Paynter's sire) x Dynaformer cross. Historical runners on this cross include multiple graded stakes winners such as:
Stately Victor (G1 Blue Grass)
Wolfie’s Dynaghost (G2SW)
Our Flash Drive, Theodora B., Varenka (G2SWs)
Werk eNicks also rates the cross an A+, with a 928% improvement over the average. This nick excels at producing sound, versatile runners with stamina and speed, particularly those capable of performing on both dirt and turf at distances from a mile to 9 furlongs.
📄 Full TrueNicks and Werk eNicks reports available at the bottom of this post.
The Conformation Match
Knicks Go is expected to amplify Lady Dyanaformer’s strengths:
Reinforces her deep shoulder and gaskin with compact, muscular power
Reinforces her already short-coupled frame by adding muscle and compact power through the back and loin, resulting in even stronger balance and core strength
Adds early maturity and commercial appeal to her scopey, correct frame
Horse Husband Stables intends to keep the resulting foal to race. However, if Knicks Go's first crop begins performing well on the racetrack—and early signs are promising, as one of his 2-year-olds already sold for over $500,000 at a 2-year-old sale—and Lord Paycasso (Lady Dyanaformer's 2024 colt by Paynter) proves exceptionally talented once he debuts, there may be significant commercial interest in this foal.
Notably, the Knicks Go foal would be 75% genetically similar to Lord Paycasso, sharing the same dam and being sired by Paynter's most accomplished son. If Lord Paycasso validates the potential of this cross on the racetrack, buyers may see the Knicks Go foal as a proven commodity—especially if Knicks Go’s progeny establish early racetrack success.
In Thoroughbred breeding, commercial value refers to a foal’s projected appeal and potential price in the sales ring, particularly as a yearling or 2-year-old in training. It is shaped by a combination of pedigree, conformation, sire success, dam production record, and physical maturity. If this cross produces a well-balanced, early-maturing, correct foal by a stallion gaining momentum and out of a proven mare, it could make for a compelling sales prospect.
Anticipated Foal: Balanced, powerful, and mentally sharp. Likely gray. Ideal for dirt or turf at 1 mile to 1 1/8 miles. Excellent broodmare residual value if a filly. Strong commercial upside if market signals align.
My Audubon x Zandon: Classically Bred, Structurally Sound
My Audubon
Zandon
To understand why this match works so well, here’s a side-by-side breakdown of Zandon and My Audubon:
This pairing introduces more length and athletic elasticity to My Audubon’s strong, classic base, with Zandon contributing refinement and classic distance influence.
While Lady Dyanaformer’s match builds on Deputy Minister’s influence, My Audubon’s pairing with Zandon brings the A.P. Indy legacy directly into focus. Zandon is a great-grandson of A.P. Indy through Flatter (by A.P. Indy), making this a cross deeply rooted in one of the most reliable classic-distance sire lines in American breeding.
This connection reinforces the theme introduced with Surprise’s retirement—one of honoring and extending the legacy of A.P. Indy through careful, purposeful matings that blend stamina, balance, and long-term potential.
My Audubon, a chestnut mare by Melbourne Cup winner Americain (by Dynaformer) out of Queen of Money (by Corporate Report), is a compact powerhouse with a deep barrel, correct limbs, and a strong hip. Her frame is well suited for carrying substance, and she brings a unique blend of European turf stamina and dirt-style strength.
We chose Zandon as her 2025 mate because of his uphill, elegant build and his proven ability to carry speed over a route of ground. By Upstart out of a Creative Cause mare, Zandon brings A.P. Indy stamina and class in a conformationally correct package.
The Nick
The TrueNicks rating for this match is a B (variant score: 1.71), and Werk eNicks gives it a C+ based on the A.P. Indy x Dynaformer cross. While not as statistically dominant as the Knicks Go pairing, the cross still falls within favorable territory.
It’s worth noting that most runners on this nick are durable, later-maturing types that can run all day. Stakes winners from similar crosses include:
Catch a Thief
Flatter This
Fashion Faux Pas
📄 Full TrueNicks and Werk eNicks reports available at the bottom of this post.
The Conformation Match
This pairing combines stamina, scope, and soundness:
Zandon adds length and elasticity to My Audubon’s already substantial, well-balanced frame without sacrificing her structural strength
Reinforces her excellent shoulder with a matching sloped angle
Adds elasticity through the topline, which balances her natural density
Both contribute strong hind ends and mental composure
Background & Female Family Value
My Audubon sold for $100,000 as a yearling, reflecting the commercial appeal of her pedigree and physical. The 2025 Zandon foal will be her sixth foal, and although her production is still early, she already has two starters and one winner, with her oldest only five years old. Her potential as a broodmare is underscored by her own dam, Queen of Money, who produced 12 foals—all 12 starters—11 winners, including two blacktype winners and three additional blacktype-placed runners.
In Thoroughbred racing, blacktype refers to stakes-level performers—those who win or place in races significant enough to be printed in bold (black) type in sales catalogs. A blacktype winner is a stakes winner; a blacktype placer is a horse that finished 2nd or 3rd in such a race.
Queen of Money’s progeny earned over $1 million worldwide while racing in Canada, France, and the U.S., topped by Quiet Cash (by Real Quiet), who earned $355,541. Her 2006 colt by Distorted Humor sold for $875,000 as a yearling. My Audubon was Queen of Money’s final foal, and with this deep, international-producing female family behind her, any foal she produces carries significant long-term value.
Anticipated Foal: Uphill, correct, and built for classic distances (8.5 to 10 furlongs). Best suited for owner-racing programs or second-career versatility. If a filly, she offers strong long-term value as a broodmare.
Comparing the Daughters of Dynaformer Sons
Although both Lady Dyanaformer and My Audubon are by sons of Dynaformer, their ideal matches depend on their distinct builds and what they tend to produce. To see how these two mares align with their chosen stallions, here's a quick side-by-side comparison of what each pairing emphasizes:
It’s worth noting that both Lady Dyanaformer and My Audubon are daughters of sons of Dynaformer—a sire renowned for producing tough, durable racehorses with exceptional bone, stamina, and mental grit. This shared influence raises a fair question: why pair Lady Dyanaformer with Knicks Go and My Audubon with Zandon instead of the other way around, especially when the nicks would appear comparable on paper?
The answer lies in their individual body types, movement styles, and what they tend to produce.
Lady Dyanaformer, while substantial and powerful, has consistently produced foals with balanced, correct frames that lean slightly toward stretch and scope. When paired with a stallion like Paynter, her colt developed a short back and a dense hind end—traits Knicks Go amplifies. Knicks Go reinforces and sharpens her natural balance with his compact frame and front-end strength, resulting in a cross that is both physically synergistic and statistically elite.
My Audubon, on the other hand, is a mare with greater substance and depth, closer to a classic Dynaformer build. She thrives when paired with stallions who bring refinement, uphill balance, and a touch of elasticity, which Zandon supplies in spades. His A.P. Indy/Flatter lineage contributes class and scope without overwhelming her natural power. While the statistical nick isn’t as flashy as the Knicks Go match, it creates a complementary phenotype with long-term potential.
So although both mares carry Dynaformer blood, it’s their conformational nuances and production tendencies—not just pedigree—that determined these specific pairings.
Comparing Zandon and Knicks Go
To further appreciate the strategy behind the 2026 matings, it helps to see how these two stallions stack up side-by-side:
Both stallions offer unique strengths—and both reflect thoughtful connections to the broader legacy of A.P. Indy and Weekend Surprise. Whether for early performance or classic distance potential, each was chosen to complement the physical and genetic traits of his respective mare.
While Knicks Go and Zandon may seem to come from very different performance profiles, they share more in common than initially meets the eye. Both are Grade 1 winners who excelled around two turns and have pedigrees anchored by influential American Classic sires.
Knicks Go is by Paynter (Awesome Again) and out of a daughter of Outflanker, bringing together the powerful Deputy Minister and Relaunch lines. He is best known for his front-end speed and tactical brilliance, especially over 8–9 furlongs.
Zandon is by Upstart (Flatter, a son of A.P. Indy) and out of a mare by Creative Cause (Giant’s Causeway). He excelled as a closer with class and stamina, often running well from off the pace in elite company up to 10 furlongs.
While their racing styles differ—Knicks Go is a pace-controlling powerhouse and Zandon is a sustained-finishing router—they both possess strong hip structure, correct limbs, and mental toughness. Zandon likely adds more scope and length, while Knicks Go contributes compact power and early maturity.
How Closely Related Will the Foals Be?
Both Lady Dyanaformer and My Audubon are daughters of sons of Dynaformer (Vertiformer and Americain, respectively). This means their resulting foals will both carry Dynaformer in the grandsire position on the dam’s side, but the foals themselves will not be closely related.
Despite this shared influence, the two foals will not be considered particularly close relatives. Here’s what they’ll have in common:
Dynaformer: Appears as the maternal grandsire in both matings
Blushing Groom: Appears in both pedigrees via Rahy and Arazi (in Lady Dyanaformer and My Audubon, respectively), and again through Zandon’s bottom line
Mr. Prospector and Seattle Slew: Appear in multiple locations through Knicks Go (via Awesome Again and Tiznow lineages) and Zandon (through A.P. Indy and Wild Applause)
So while there are shared ancestors—particularly Dynaformer, Blushing Groom, and Mr. Prospector—they appear at 5+ generations removed and on different axes of the pedigree. The two foals would not be classified as "related" in any close breeding sense (e.g., siblings, 3/4-siblings, etc.). Their shared influences are valuable, but sufficiently distant to offer distinct phenotype outcomes.
Comparing the Hypothetical Foals
With these pairings, each resulting foal brings something distinct to the table. Here’s how they compare on projected type and potential:
What Color Will the 2026 Foals Be?
While performance and conformation are top priority in Thoroughbred breeding, many fans love to guess what color the foal will be. Based on coat color genetics, here's what we might expect:
Knicks Go × Lady Dyanaformer
Knicks Go is gray, and gray is a dominant gene. That means:
There’s a 50% chance this foal will turn gray (even if born bay or black).
If the foal does not inherit the gray gene, its coat color will reflect the underlying genetics—most likely bay or dark bay, given Lady Dyanaformer’s coloring.
🧬 Summary:
~50% chance of a gray foal
Otherwise, likely bay or dark bay
Zandon × My Audubon
Zandon is dark bay, and My Audubon is chestnut. Chestnut is recessive, so a foal must inherit the gene from both parents to be chestnut.
We don’t know for sure whether Zandon carries a hidden chestnut gene, so:
🧬 Summary:
Most likely: bay or dark bay
Chestnut is possible (if Zandon carries the recessive gene)
Gray is not possible in this match, since neither parent is gray.
Could the Resulting Foals Be Bred to Each Other?
A natural question arises: if one resulting foal is a colt and the other is a filly, could they be bred to each other in the future? From a pedigree standpoint, the answer is yes—this would be an inbreeding to Dynaformer at the 3x3 level, since both Lady Dyanaformer and My Audubon are by sons of Dynaformer (Vertiformer and Americain, respectively).
What That Means Genetically
The foals would not be considered closely related in modern breeding terms, but mating them would intentionally concentrate Dynaformer’s influence.
Other overlapping ancestors include Blushing Groom, Mr. Prospector, and Seattle Slew, though these would appear more distantly (5x5 or further).
The resulting foal would carry multiple lines of proven stamina, bone, and soundness—but careful conformation screening would be essential.
Scenario 1: Knicks Go Colt x Zandon Filly
Physically, this match could work well. The colt would likely be shorter-coupled and muscled; the filly would bring more scope and elasticity.
The pairing could produce a very balanced foal with a blend of power and length.
Scenario 2: Zandon Colt x Knicks Go Filly
This reverses the dynamic. The colt would bring stretch and scope, while the filly would likely contribute compact strength.
A possible result is a medium-framed foal with tactical versatility, able to handle 8–9 furlongs with efficiency.
Bottom Line
Breeding the offspring to each other would not only be pedigree-safe, it could be strategically beneficial for reinforcing Dynaformer’s best traits. However, it should only be pursued if both individuals prove sound, athletic, and mentally suited for breeding—just as with any close-line mating.
Final Thoughts
These two matches showcase different types of breeding strategies:
Knicks Go x Lady Dyanaformer is a commercial and performance-driven pairing that blends speed with scope, backed by one of the strongest nicks in the industry.
Zandon x My Audubon is a long-view mating, focused on durability, structure, and long-term versatility.
Both crosses reflect the philosophy at Horse Husband Stables: breed with purpose, honor the mare’s strengths, and build horses who are worthy of thriving in both the racing world and beyond.
Whether you’re new to Thoroughbreds or have spent decades studying them, we hope this look behind the curtain at our decision-making offers a deeper appreciation for the art and science of breeding the next generation of athletes.
💬 Have thoughts about these pairings or experience with similar crosses? We’d love to hear from you—drop a comment below or tag us on social media.
