NO

VEM

BER

20

10

CA

LIF

OR

NIA

TH

OR

OU

GH

BR

ED

VO

L. 1

33 N

O. 5

November 2010$5.00

“We like to think of ourselves as the Nordstrom’s of theCalifornia Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry,”said Rich Sulpizio, the owner of Magali Farms in SantaYnez with his wife of 38 years, Gaby. She added, “You can’tdo what we do here and be the cheapest, but that’s becausewe’ve always strived to do the best for our clients, whichmeans doing the very best for the horses.” Rich continued,“We have loyal customers. They appreciate the service weoffer and are willing to pay for it.”

Using the majestic mountains of the Santa Ynez Valleyas it backdrop, the picturesque 238-acre farm has becomeone of California’s premier Thoroughbred facilities sincethis popular couple purchased it in December of 2001. Formerly known as Mandysland Farm and then MagnessRacing Ventures, its lush irrigated pastures and manicuredlandscaping makes it blend in with all the many beautifulhorse farms, estates and wineries located in a region boast-ing a clean, comfortable and quality environment.

“What originally brought us here to the valley was thedesire for a second home in a rural area,” said Rich, retiredPresident and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the SanDiego-based wireless communications giant QualcommInc. He then added how Tom Hudson, the Michigan nativewho has been the Farm Manager at Magali since day one,came into the picture. “After finding our getaway home, wedecided to invest in some land for a vineyard. That original

40 acres, which remains pretty much undeveloped to thisday, is where Gaby and I met Tom when he came over toexplain how the irrigation system worked.” Rich joked thathe then made the mistake of asking about the property nextdoor. “Tom actually had a business plan with him.” Aftersome discussion between Gaby and Rich, they decided topurchase all 238 acres and go into the Thoroughbred busi-ness and haven’t looked back since.

The Sulpizio’s, who grew up together in the Los Angelessuburb of San Gabriel and enjoyed going to the races atnearby Santa Anita Park, remain delighted with their deci-sion. “We love it up here; it’s a perfect horse location,” Richsaid. “But the thing I’m most proud of doing over the lastnine years, is building and maintaining a profitable com-mercial horse business. We run our operations efficientlyand professionally and take care of our customers so theywant to keep coming back. So far, so good!”

Tom added, “If you want the best care for your horse,we’re the place to be as that’s what we do.” Lifelong horselover Gaby, whose full name is Maria Gabriela but was called“Magali” as a little girl in San Jose, Costa Rica, continued,“I’ve fallen in love with the breeding side; the checking ofthe mares, the foaling of the mares and am thrilled with whatwe’ve accomplished as a whole. I know that Tom’s knowl-edge of nutrition and safety, combined with the care he and

www.ctba.com CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVENBER 2010 19

Magali Farms:An Upscale Experience

by RUDI GROOTHEDDE

Thoroughbred FarmsIn California

Continued on next page

COVER

STORY

©R

on M

esar

os P

hoto

s

Rich and Gaby Sulpizio with Tom Hudson (left)

the staff gives the horses, are a big part of whywe’ve been very successful.”

Originally from Kenilworth, Utah, Richconcluded, “What’s important to us is that wecan have some fun, we can have a nice business, and we can employ more than fortypeople; it’s a rewarding situation to be in.”Included in the fun part of the business forRich and Gaby is the Magali Syrah wine thatis produced from the grapes they grow at their23-acre home just a few miles away.

Stud SuccessA lot of that success for this full-service

facility has been with their stallions and the current roster at Magali Farms is a strong and growing one. Confidentabout the 2011 breeding season, Tom said, “Because of the legislation that just passed which increases purses for nextyear, I think the industry is on the upswingand we’re going to be up a little.” He addedthat this boost should also help the Califor-nia-bred program which already offers morethan $40 million in annual restricted pursesand incentive awards.

Tom, who handles all the breeding deci-sions, then confirmed that all of next year’sstud fees will be similat to those in 2010,because the aim is to get more mares to eachof the stallions. “Conformation-wise, all ourstallions are incredibly good,” he said. “Body isway over pedigree in my opinion, because it’shard to fix them if they’re born crooked, even with today’stechnology. Now, to sell the stallion, people are looking at apage, so he has to have a great race record, have been soundand have a good pedigree.”

AtticusThis 18-year-old Nureyev son has been one

of Magali’s mainstays since relocating fromKentucky for the 2005 breeding season. Out ofthe multiple group-winning Secretariat mareAthyka, the grade I-winning millionaire hassired the earners of more than $11.3 millionfrom 10 crops of racing age, including 2010grade II-placed stakes winner Bruce’s Dream,2009 grade II-placed dual stakes winner Strawberry Tart and 2008 stakes winner LuckyPrimo, all from his first California crop. Withaverage earnings per starter of more than$39,000, the sire of grade I winner High Fly ($927,300)among his 28 stakes horses stands for a fee of $3,000 LiveFoal next year.

“He’s a super strong horse, and his babies are very deter-mined runners,” said Tom of the 16-hand stud owned byPablo Suarez.

DecarchyRetired to stud at Magali in 2004, this grade I-placed

winner of the 2002 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (grade II) covered49 mares this year and will stand for a $4,000 Live Foal

fee in 2011. As a son of Distant View andToussaud, the 2002 Broodmare of the Year byEl Gran Senor, 13-year-old Decarchy is a half-brother to the successful sires Empire Makerand Chester House and his four racing cropsboast more than $3.7 million in earnings.California’s leading first-crop sire of 2007, and leading second-crop sire of 2008, as wellas the leading third-crop sire of Cal-breds last year, the 15.3-hand stallion has averageearnings per starter of more than $35,000 asthe sire of 2010 stakes winners Quisisana($317,098) and Antares World ($285,458),

the latter of whom ran second in this year’s American Oaks(grade I), as well as Harlene who won the $250,000 SnowChief Stakes in 2008.

Tom said, “Decarchy is the most balanced horse I thinkI have ever seen. His progeny are runnersfrom the start, showing more and more qual-ity as they mature.”

Good JourneyWith a book of 44 mares in 2010, his

fourth year as a shuttle stallion between Magali Farms and Lindsay Park Stud in Australia, where he retired to stud in 2003,this 14-year-old Nureyev son is represented byprogeny earnings of more than $2.2 millionand an Average Earnings Index (AEI) of 1.37.A grade I winner of $1,733,058, Good Jour-ney is out of the European champion Chimes

of Freedom, a dual grade I-winning daughter of PrivateAccount, and is already the sire from his first local crop ofFarallon, an 8 1/2-length winner on her debut at GoldenGate Fields on Aug. 26. His first Australian crop includes the

group I-winning filly Grand Journey (Aus)and the colt Sound Journey (Aus), now a dualgroup II winner after his victory in the Oct. 23 Patinack Farm Crystal Mile, and hestands for a fee of $5,000 Live Foal in 2011.

“The best deal we’ve done in years,farm-wise, was him,” said Tom of GoodJourney who stands 16 hands. Rich added,“Our deal with Lindsay Park is that weshare fifty-fifty in all stud fees from bothhemispheres. It’s proved to be a great deal!”Tom continued, “Wait until November orDecember when this horse is going to make

some noise as they need a distance of ground and theyneed to mature.”

Lit de JusticeAs Magali’s foundation stallion, this 20-year-old son of

El Gran Senor and Kanmary (Fr), a group I-placed group-winning daughter of Kenmare (Fr), is the sire of 46 stakes

20 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVENBER 2010 www.ctba.com

Thoroughbred FarmsIn California Cont’d.

COVER

STORY

Atticus

Decarchy

Good Journey

©R

on M

esar

os©

Ron

Mes

aros

©p

hoto

byS

par

ks.c

om

horses among his earners of more than$20.3 million from 11 crops of racing age,including graded stakes winners Hour ofJustice and Injustice, multiple gradedstakes-placed stakes winners No Paroleand Silver Bird and Cal-bred stakes win-ners Bestdressed, Lit’sgoodlookngray,Dotsy Jean, Gambler’s Justice and Maid-ens Justice. Sixteen-hand Lit de Justicewas voted the Eclipse Champion Sprinterof 1996, after winning the grade I Breed-ers’ Cup Sprint Stakes in his final careerstart for lifetime earnings of $1,397,649 and now boastsaverage earnings per starter of more than $64,000.

“Lit de Justice gave credit to the Magali name when wepurchased him from Kentucky late in2002,” Tom said. “We had to remove a can-cerous tumor from him this year, but he’snot officially pensioned so we are offeringfree breedings to try and get a couple ofmares to him; he deserves it.”

Mr. Broad BladeA resident of Magali since 2004, this

14-year-old Broad Brush son who stands16.3 hands and is out of Highland Blade’sgraded stakes winner Miss High Blade has parlayed his grade II-placed, stakes-winning racetrack career into progenyearnings of more than $720,000. From seven limited crops overall, Mr. Broad Blade’s runners boast average

earners of more than $25,000 and include the 2008 stakes winner Bellsblade. Owned byArlene Brown, Richard Kritski and trainerMike Mitchell, he will stand for a $1,500 LiveFoal fee next year.

“I think he’s under-appreciated,” said Tom.“Shezabigbroad, the only racehorse that Magalireally owns right now, is by him and she’s big,beautiful and a great mover.”

OlmodavorDuring the latter part of October, it was

confirmed that this leading third-crop sire inCanada was going to relocate to Magali Farms for the 2011breeding season. By A.P. Indy, out of the grade I-winning ElGran Senor mare Corrazona, grade I-placed dual graded stakes

winner Olmodavor will stand for a fee of $5,000Live Foal. Standing 16.1 hands, he is the sire ofeight stakes horses among his earners of morethan $2.3 million, including 2010 stakes winnerBrickyardtradition, 2009 grade II-winning two-year-old Zlatan and 2008 juvenile stakes winnersHigh Mist and Miss Dixie Dancer.

“We are honored to have the chance tostand an Adena Springs stallion,” Tom said.“They run a first-rate operation with world-class breeding stock and we’re excited aboutthis partnership and the opportunities thatOlmodavor will bring to California breeders.”

Continued on next page

COVER

STORY

www.ctba.com CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVENBER 2010 21

Lit de Justice

Mr. Broad Blade

©R

on M

esar

os©

Ron

Mes

aros

©R

on M

esar

os

Roi CharmantRelocated to Magali Farms for his second

season at stud in 2011, this nine-year-old byEvansville Slew and the winning SeattleDancer mare Cantina was a dual gradedstakes-placed winner from the ages of two toeight. Roi Charmant equaled track records onboth dirt and turf from five to 6 1/2 furlongsand is owned by Dr. Bruce Zietz. He stands16.2 hands and his fee next year will be $1,500 Live Foal.

Tom said, “Roi was a very tough, hard-knocking race-horse and was extremely fast. I believe he’s going to producevery early, very fast two-year-olds. He’sowned by a longtime client and we thinkhe’ll be a success.”

Ten Most WantedWinner of the grade I Travers Stakes in

2003, this 10-year-old son of Deputy Com-mander, out of the Criminal Type mareWanted Again, earned $1,718,460 and nowhas 2010 stakes winner Tenth Power andthree other stakes horses among his threecrops of racing age, including the multiplestakes-placed winner Karakorum Fugitive($173,890). During 2009, Ten Most Wantedwas the leading second-crop sire in California with morethan $1 million in earnings, when he stood his first season

at Magali after relocating from New York.Standing 16.3 hands, he is owned by Magaliin partnership with Milt Policzer and his feefor 2011 will be $3,000 Live Foal.

“He’s a tremendous horse,” said Tom. “Ifyou want to breed classic-distance horses, he’sthe one to consider. It’s a disappointment that he hasn’t really got the support of localbreeders just because he’s not likely to sire oneof those fast, early types.”

On Oct. 22, grade I winner Global Hunter(Arg) arrived at Magali to recuperate fromsurgery that was done at nearby Alamo Pinta-

do Equine Medical Center to repair midline fractures ofboth sesamoids and a dislocated fetlock in his right forelegwhich he had suffered at Hollywood Park on July 4. The

seven-year-old son of Jade Hunter, out of thegroup I winner Griffe de Paris (Brz), is ownedby Shawn Turner and Monty Pyle who are considering standing him at the farm shouldhe fully recover from his career-endinginjuries.

Ready To RunBesides handling the covering of nearly 120

mares by its resident stallions and the foaling ofa similar number of babies this year, MagaliFarms also offers its clients the best in breaking,training, lay-ups and sales preparation.

A custom-built, 43-stall deluxe barnwith wide aisles, a spacious tack room and four indoor washbays is the centerpiece of the 40-acre Training Center

22 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVENBER 2010 www.ctba.com

Thoroughbred FarmsIn California Cont’d.

COVER

STORY

Roi Charmant

Ten Most Wanted

©R

on M

esar

os©

Ron

Mes

aros

©R

on M

esar

os P

hoto

s

which also encompasses a five-furlong track, full-size starting gate, viewing stand and huge infield arena. Builtby Dennis Moore, the dirt and silt sand track features six-degree banked turns and is now taken care of by RichardTedesco. Daily maintenance and bi-annual resurfacingkeeps the ultra-safe surface conditioned and supple with agood cushion.

The stalls, like the 100-plus others in the property’sadditional three barns, are spacious, well-ventilated andlighted by large windows, overhead fans and an automaticfly control system to keep the equine residents safe andhappy. “We have fans on every single stall and coolers inevery barn,” said Tom. “The barns are all insulated, as werun water on the roof on all hot summer days. I want thehorses to always be comfortable.”

There’s also a 60-foot round pen, a six-horse EquiCiser,numerous outside covered stalls and 20 individual grassturnout paddocks where the horses can enjoy “down time.”Overseeing all of the training horses every day is Jerry Lambert, the regular jockey for the immortal Cal-bred ofthe 1960s, Native Diver, while the farm also employs a trioof top-notch exercise riders.

“We are able to get the horses very fit here before theygo down to the track,” said Tom. “Taking the time to givethem plenty of ground work ensures a proper foundation.When a two-year-old goes down to a trainer they havebeen galloping up to two and a quarter miles at a prettygood clip every day, with breezes of up to a half-mile onthe weekends. Once they get used to their new surround-ings, they are all ready for at least a three-eighths of a mileworkout.”

Rich said, “Our dozen or so trainers who are clients tellus that when Tom ships a horse to them at the track, theycan be in a race within four to five weeks,” and Tom added,“If you can send a two-year-old to them from here who canrun in five to six weeks, instead of three months, that’s a big saving.” A great example of this is California Nectarwho came up to Magali after an Aug. 28 start at the DelMar Thoroughbred Club and then returned for a win atHollywood Park just 36 days later on Oct. 3.

Top QualityWith all of its other facilities, it’s easy to see why Magali

Farms was honored as the 2008 TOBA (ThoroughbredOwners and Breeders Association) State Breeder of the Yearfor California.

Located alongside the farm’s administrative offices, themain barn is home to the farm’s stallions and also featuressix deeply bedded foaling stalls, all equipped with a state-of-the-art surveillance camera system, a large breeding areawith shredded rubber footing, palpation chutes and a fullyequipped laboratory, and a hand walking area that providesan ideal dust-free, low-impact surface for the horses.

Magali’s newest barn, built in 2004, has 48 stalls and theproperty also numbers 40 outside day pens (20x20 to 20x40feet in size). Its many paddocks and pastures—ranging insize from two to 20 acres and divided according to age groupor pregnancy status—each has a covered feeding shelterfurnished with automatic waterers. “No fence touchesanother one on the property,” said Tom of the 11 miles ofthe highest quality of four-rail wood and mesh fencing that

Continued on next page

COVER

STORY

www.ctba.com CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVENBER 2010 23

©R

on M

esar

os

provides a sturdy yet safe environ-ment for the horses. The farm isirrigated by elevated water can-nons situated on the perimeter ofeach pasture in the wide alleywaysthat allow for easy care and main-tenance, while all the drinkingwater on the farm comes from adomestic well that is tested every30 days for nitrates.

Rich, Gaby and Tom are veryproud of their staff, many ofwhom are now like family tothem, as well as the eight homeson the property utilized by morethan a dozen of this experienced group. “Tom runs the farmbut our ace in the hole is Tom’s wife, Gayle, who runs theoffice,” said Rich. “Gayle is the eyes and ears of the farm,”added Gaby, “while we refer to Katie Fisher, who hashelped Gayle run the office since February of 2003, as‘radar’ because she knows what we’re all thinking beforewe even put it into words.” Tom said, “All my head guys,all my grooms, about ten to fifteen of them, they’ve beenhere since the beginning,” and Rich concluded, “We paygood salaries and we offer medical benefits. Three yearsago, we got a nice letter from the county of Santa Barbara

saying that they thought our employee housing was thebest in the valley.”

The success of Magali Farms over the years can also beattributed to its marketing policy and a relatively newproduct called Alua Paddock Pro Farm ManagementSoftware. “For marketing, we advertise where we feel we get the best value for our money and our daughter Tricia helps us with this, while Tom also goes to the tracka lot to liaise with trainers,” said Rich. “Our youngestdaughter Teri does all our web design and her husbandNorm Hamson is the founder, with Gaby and me, of

24 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVENBER 2010 www.ctba.com

Thoroughbred FarmsIn California Cont’d.

COVER

STORY

©R

on M

esar

os

©R

on M

esar

os

Alua Software. Harris Farms here in California and Vineryin Kentucky also use this low-cost computer software torun their businesses. Our office staff says that they nowhave extra time to work on other things.” Tom con-firmed, “It’s one of the best things we’ve ever done as ithas saved us so much time and money.”

The farm also benefits from the services of Alamo Pintado, located just a five-minute drive away in LosOlivos. Dr. Doug Herthel, owner of Alamo Pintado, hasput together an excellent staff of veterinarians. “It’s ahuge advantage to our farm as Dr. (Ed) Hamer is anincredible repo vet and the best field vet we could everhave,” said Tom. “He can check seventy-five mares withultrasound between eight o’clock and noon; I don’t thinkthere are a lot of vets who can do that. During foalingseason, we have three to four people here every nightchecking on the pregnant mares. One of them drives thefarm all night long with a floodlight making sure themares are safe. That, and the job that Alamo Pintado doesfor us, sets us apart from everyone else.” Rich added, “It’sa great feeling knowing we have the resources of AlamoPintado supporting us.”

Last but not least is the farm’s nutrition program thatwas developed right from the start by Tom and nutrition-ist Steve Jackson (Ph. D.). “Quality feed has always beenmost important to us, so that’s why we have always takengrass samples from the pastures and core samples of thehay and analyzed them quarterly to help formulate a com-plete, balanced grain,” said Tom. “When Steve looks at allthe horses, he tells us that we are hard on him by wantingto change the grain again and again as he feels we areahead of the curve, even with many of the well-managedfarms in Kentucky that we are often compared to. I knowour nutrition program is really good, but I always want todo better.”

So Magali’s constant commitment to caring for its horses can be summed up by Tom’s words. “When we sendmares back from being bred, people always say, ‘What doyou do with these horses? How do you get them looking sogood?’ It’s obviously the nutrition and care. Every horse inthese pastures gets bathed once or twice a week, while twiceor three times a week they get fly spray put on them andtheir feet get dressings put on them. There’s nothing betterfor them than lots of TLC.”

More Of The SameWhen asked about the future, Rich’s answer was simple,

“More of the same for us. I like our business model; I thinkit works well because it’s pretty unique in that we are herefor our customers as opposed to owning our own mares. Taking care of our customer’s horses so they continue totrust us and continue to use our services, is what makes asubstantial business.

With just under 300 horses on the farm right now, Magali has room to grow but Gaby cautiously commented,“Of course we have the facility and staff to handle more horses but we want to grow smartly. We only want to grow

as long as we can continue to offer that quality serviceswe’ve come to be known for.” Tom added, “It’s been anincredible pleasure working for Rich and Gaby and I hopeI don’t have to work for anyone else for the rest of my life.The Magnesses taught me to treat all of the horses as if youowned them. Nowadays, because saving money for ourclients is so important, we really think twice about all ourcosts. One of the reasons why Magali Farms is so profitableis because the horses we’ve bred and stallions we stand haveearned such lucrative breeder and stallion bonuses for us.”

“We probably wouldn’t have this farm if Tom wasn’trunning it because we trust him,” said Rich. “Whatever isright for a horse, he’ll do it. He doesn’t give himself enoughcredit for what the wonderful job that both he and the staffdo for us. We’ve had a good, loyal group of clients over theyears, and we love our operations; if Tom keeps doing whathe’s doing, we’ll be fine.”

Rich concluded, “We welcome prospective clients tocontact any of our current clients to find out what theythink of Magali Farms because their opinion is moreimportant than what we think of ourselves. Our initialinvestment may have been for the land, but we have cometo love the Thoroughbred business.”

COVER

STORY

www.ctba.com CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVENBER 2010 25

MAGALI FARMS FACT-FILE

Owners: Rich & Gaby SulpizioFarm Manager: Tom HudsonAddress: 4050 Casey Avenue, Santa Ynez, California 93460Telephone: (805) 693-1777Fax: (805) 693-1644E-Mail: info@magalifarms.comWebsite: www.magalifarms.comServices: Breeding, Boarding, Breaking, Training,

Lay-Ups & Sales Preparation

Stallions:Atticus (Nureyev) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Live FoalDecarchy (Distant View) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,000 Live FoalGood Journey (Nureyev) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Live FoalLit de Justice (El Gran Senor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Private TreatyMr. Broad Blade (Broad Brush) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 Live FoalOlmodavor (A.P. Indy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Live FoalRio Charmant (Evansville Slew). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500 Live FoalTen Most Wanted (Deputy Commander) . . . . . . . . $3,000 Live Foal

Thoroughbred Population(October 2010):

Stallions…………….8Broodmares………..94Weanlings………….62Yearlings…………..66Horses In Training…24Lay-Ups…….……..23Others……………..19TOTAL……….….296

©R

on M

esar

os