Cal Cup

S L U Takes Bold Cal Cup Shot

PLEASANTON, Calif. (Oct. 12, 2004) -- National recognition came their way when they were cited as California’s top breeders of 2003 by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association at a banquet in Lexington, Ky.

Sheila and Larry Ullmann of Pleasanton, who are incorporated as S.L.U., Inc., appreciated the honor and hope to win it again.

All in all though, they’d still rather have Bold Badgett.

Bold Badgett, the Ullmann’s premier stallion, was 16 years old when he died in August, 2001, following surgery to repair a severe arthritic condition in his right knee.

“He was just starting to become real popular and a big book of mares was ready to go to him a few months later,” Larry Ullmann recalled wistfully. “He was standing for $2,500 and the way things were going for him, we think we could have stood him for $10,000 now.”

The horse’s arthritis prevented him from having a racing career and because it troubled him to put weight on his right leg, he wasn’t fashionable to owners of mares early in his stud career.

“But he was a good breeder right up to his last year,” Ullmann recalled. “After the surgery, he seemed OK. But when he got up, all the bone between his shoulder and his knee shattered, so we had to put him down. It was sort of the same thing that happened to Ruffian.”

Bold Badgett still is being represented in the Cal Cup at Santa Anita on Oct. 16. Two of his daughters, Market Garden, a 4-year-old filly out of Margaret’s Native and Bold Roberta, a 6-year-old mare out of Roberta Ullmann, will be in the field for the $150,000 John Deere Distaff Handicap at about 6 ½ furlongs down Santa Anita’s hillside turf course.
Cal Cup features 10 races for all divisions of California-breds with purses totaling $1.325 million. In addition to on-track, wagering on Cal Cup will be available at more than 30 simulcast locations throughout the state.

Cal Cup also will be televised by Television Games Network (TVG), which is carried on Dish and DirecTV satellite systems, as well as major cable providers.

The rich purses historically result in full fields and competitive betting races. Among the exotic wagers available are a $1 million guaranteed Pick 6 and a $500,000 guaranteed Pick 4. Those attending on track will also receive a promotional Cal Cup blanket.

Market Garden and Bold Robert ran 1-2 in Fairplex Park’s $60,000 Pio Pico Stakes on Sept. 17. Market Garden is owned by Sid and Jenny Craig and trained by Bill Spawr, while Bold Roberta, retained by the Ullmanns, is trained by Don Warren.

For Bold Roberta, the Distaff, in which she finished second to Harris Farms’ Blind Ambition in 2003, will be her last race. In a few weeks, she and her dam, Roberta Ullmann, will be sent to Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky to be bred in foal-sharing agreements.

Roberta Ullmann will be bred to 2001 Horse of the Year Point Given and Bold Roberta will be bred to Sky Mesa, who was considered a leading contender for the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Arlington Park until an injury a few days before the race knocked him out of action. Once in foal, both mares will return to their home at Buddy Johnston’s Old English Rancho in Sanger.

“After they have their babies, our plan is to breed Roberta Ullmann to Skimming at Cardiff Stud Farm and Bold Roberta to our own stallion, Royal Cat,” Larry Ullmann said.

Royal Cat, a son of Storm Cat, made news last month as the sire of the $47,000 sales-topping yearling, a colt out of Tiza, at the CTBA’s Northern California Yearling Sale.

The Ullmanns’ goal, they said, is to produce as many $100,000-plus winners as they can, turn a profit and just enjoy the game. To date, they have bred 35 runners that earned in excess of six figures.

Married 44 years, their pink and blue silks have made regular appearances at tracks in California since 1975, when they claimed their first horse.

But their places in the Thoroughbred industry weren’t solidified until 10 years ago when Buddy Johnston gave them advice that changed their lives.

“We had been breeding horses on a small level without a lot of success,” Sheila Ullmann recalled. “One day we asked Buddy what he felt we could do to make some money in this business. He said, ‘Race your horses.’ We started doing that and we’ve never regretted it.”

Johnston is the longtime owner and primary force behind Old English Rancho, the facility where the Ullmanns maintain their stallions and broodmares, and where their racehorses are foaled. At any given time, 50 to 100 Ullmann horses are in residence at Old English Rancho.

“With the premiums available to California breeders, we think it’s wonderful to breed horses in this state,” Sheila Ullmann said.
-- Larry Bortstein