Heartland 2026

Note: We have just have one share of the Heartland breeding available for 2026.

Now every once in a while—and I mean rare, like a sober uncle at a family reunion—something happens that makes you stop, tilt your head, and go, “Well… I’ll be damned.” You feel the ground shift just a little, like the universe nudged your boot and said, Pay attention, son.That was Heartland.

At first glance, he didn’t come with fireworks and a brass band. Just another young colt, one start, did what he was supposed to do. But real brilliance? That ain’t loud. That sneaks up on you. That’s somethin you feel in your gut before you ever start countin Beyers and split times.

The summer of 2024, Elliott Walden from WinStar pulls me aside—real quiet-like, the way horsemen do when they’re either about to confess somethin or cost you some money. He leans in and asks, “What do you think of Heartland?”And you don’t ask a man that unless you’re already halfway convinced yourself.

Here’s a once-raced maiden winner. Beautiful horse. Regal. Carries himself like he knows who he is. And oh yeah—half-brother to Classic Empire. That Classic Empire. Elliott had that look in his eye—the “I know somethin the rest of y’all ain’t caught up to yet” look. Markets hate that look.

Then he starts namin names. Malibu Moon—two starts. Maclean’s Music—one. Both brilliant. Both went on to make stallion barns real happy. So why not Heartland? Bloodlines? Check. Body? Built like a statue that lifts weights. Ceiling? Somewhere north of common sense.

Sure, he had an injury. But here’s the thing folks forget—injuries ain’t always a verdict. Sometimes they’re just life redirectin traffic. If injuries killed greatness, half the Hall of Fame would be sellin used cars.

Elliott asks me if I could tell how fast Heartland went six furlongs in that debut. I smiled, ‘cause yes—of course I could. But that wasn’t the point. The clock tells you how fast. It don’t tell you how.

It was the rhythm. The efficiency. The way the horse carried speed like it was borrowin a cup of sugar, not fightin for its life. There was intent there. Confidence. Presence.

You don’t measure future stallions just by numbers and charts. You measure ’em by how they walk into your mind and refuse to leave. By whether they make you pause and think, Now hold on… this one might be different.

And every once in a while, the ground shifts.And if you’re lucky—and payin attention—you feel it.

So I dug. I analyzed. I obsessed. What began as curiosity became conviction. The more I unearthed, the more undeniable it became. This was no ordinary project. This was legacy. I put together a presentation—meticulous, thorough, convincing—and before long, I realized: I didn’t want to *recommend* Heartland. I wanted to *join* him. https://www.winstarfarm.com/flipbook/heartland/

Click on Heartland for a wonderful brochure.

So we made the deal. Two mares. A grandson of Justify—yes, the *great* Justify. Into Mischief may object, and I’ll accept my scolding from the king, but sometimes you don’t follow the market—you lead it. So we made the deal for all three of my three mares to go Heartland. Yay!

The mares an Afleet Alex half to the consistent Mizzen Max, has a good foal already, a 3yo with potential, Banksy's, who debuts on Friday in the 5th race at Oaklawn Park and Dialin Sis, a Dialed in mare, both mares have 2yos for 2026, a Beau Liam colt, half to Banksy's and a Creative Cause colt, both of them are forward,

See Banksys in our Video Library especially the December 20th works.

Click on image ~ Scroll down to Library and search Banksys

These two mares have been dropping some very attractive foals, as their Tom's D'etat yearlings have a very good look to them, correct, good balance and angles.

Potential racehorses are about being individual athletes, their catalog breeding page is secondary to their individuality. The catalog page is like crack cocaine to some, even makes the individual secondary, hence those big auction prices, and please don't get me started on auction prices.

The mares are due to drop our firsts of the Heartlands in the next 45 days, then right back to Heartland for a 2027 foal.

I love going to the first two breeding seasons of a stallion, the early bird gets the worm, because if you wait and see, then success is contagious, stud fee goes up and there goes the value. Also, the best season for a stud, even the great Inot Mischief, is that they are affordable in the first two seasons, look at him now.

I believe in Heartland, i am persoanlly invested in his first two seasons.

Breeding’s not a gamble, my friend. It’s an *act of faith*. And Heartland… well, he might just be the horse who justifies it.

Last March, our shares of Heartland sold out in less than 24 hours, since where can we get Justify blood, well in Heartland, thats where.

Contact me at Bruno@racingwithbruno.

Bruno