Florida breeder Courtney Meagher represented by two stakes runners on Fair Grounds card.

BY BROCK SHERIDAN

With 10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to her credit already, Florida-bred Taken by the Wind looks to improve her position on the leaderboard Saturday at Fair Grounds in the $150,000 Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday for six 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-70-yards. The Silverbulletday offers 42 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points with 20 to the winner, 10 to second, six for third, four to fourth and two points to the fifth-place finisher.

Trained by Kenneth McPeek for Magdalena Racing, Terry Bradshaw, Graham Leveston and Raasi Stable, Taken by the Wind was bred in Florida by Courtney Meagher of Citra, Florida. In partnership with the Speightstown Syndicate, Meagher also bred Otago, who runs in the next race at Fair Grounds, the $100,000 Colonel E. R. Bradley Stakes for 4-year-olds and older schedule to run a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the grass.

Taken by the Wind is undefeated in two starts, having won a maiden $75,000 optional claiming by three lengths at Saratoga in August and the Grade 3 Pocahontas at Churchill Downs on Sept. 13. In the one-turn mile Pocahontas, she was stuck behind horses coming out of the far turn, found a seam at the top of the stretch then left her rivals to win by five-and-a-quarter lengths.

 

“I had no idea the filly had that kind of talent,” Meagher said. “Then I watched the race at Saratoga and I thought okay, I have some talent here. Then she went in the Pocahontas and me being the [small breeder] I said okay, well we’ll see. I watched the race in my living room and I’m sure the neighbors across the street heard me screaming. That was exciting.” 

“When she won the first two races and I saw that she was a contender for the Breeders’ Cup [Juvenile Filles], I said what are the chances a little breeder like me having two Breeders’ Cup horses.” Meagher said.

Meagher and her husband Chad Meagher bred Florida-bred Mom’s On Strike, a multiple graded stakes-winner of $594,550 who finished eighth in the 2018 Filly and Mare Turf. “Ultimately, [Taken by the Wind] didn’t make it to the Breeders’ Cup, so that didn’t come into fruition – but it still could. So that filled my heart. I’m a small breeder. I have four mares,” Meagher said.

An earner of $180,710, Taken by the Wind is by Rock Your World out of Up for Grabs, by First Samurai. 

Meagher purchased Up for Grabs for $3,000 out of the Thoroughstock consignment at the 2013 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Fall Mixed Sale. Up for Grabs has since produced seven starters from nine foals. Five are winners including stakes-winning Florida-bred Running Memories, by Double Diamond Farm stallion Bahamian Squall.

“[Up for Grabs] is from the same family as Mom’s On Strike’s dam,” Meagher said. “Love From Mom [by Mr. Prospector], is the second dam on both Up for Grabs and Mom’s Deputy [the dam of Mom’s On Strike.] I bought them from the same consignment and I bought them from the same farm. And I’ve had both mares for years.”  

Meagher sold Taken by the Wind for $70,000 in July of 2024 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale where she was purchased by McPeek as an agent in the name of Walking L Thoroughbreds. Walking L dispersed then McPeek as an agent bought her for $20,000 the following October at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.

“She was just a striking filly. She was always, always a standout of the four I had that year,” Meagher said. “Big walk, just a good looking filly. 

“I decided I wanted to try her for the July Sale and so Taylor Made helped me make that happen. I got $70,000 for her and was extremely happy and even more thrilled that she went to Kenny McPeek. Kenny McPeek has bought a couple of other horses that I’ve bred. I don’t think he knows me, I think it was just luck. I respect where he puts his horses. He always thinks of his horses first.”

Taken by the Wind is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line and will be ridden from post four by Brian Hernandez Jr. 

She will be joined in the starting gate by 2-1 morning line favorite Atropa with Jose Ortiz named to ride, Dancin in Old Town and jockey James Graham, White Smoke with Flavien Prat aboard, Luv Your Neighbor will have Axel Concepcion in the saddle and Ben Curtis rides Pashmina.

“What I’m really excited about is the FTBOA is going to pay Breeders’ Awards outside of Florida. So hopefully she’ll win some races here and I’ll get some checks,” Meagher said. 

For the calendar year 2026, the FTBOA has begun paying export incentives for Florida-breds who win out-of-state races—up to $7,500 per win in Grade 1 stakes. Florida-bred winners of Grade 2 or Grade 3 races will receive $5,000 while winners of non-graded stakes outside of Florida will produce breeders’ awards of 15% of earnings up to $4,000. Breeders of Florida-bred maiden special weight and allowance winners outside Florida will receive 15% of earnings up to $3,000.  

“And the [fun] thing is, I have Otago, who is a Speightstown son out of Mom’s Deputy, in the [Colonel E.R.] Bradley Stakes in the race after [the Silverbulletday]. So go Florida-breds. He’s had some stakes success here at Tampa [Bay Downs]. He won a stakes on the Florida-bred day.”

A winner of the $100,000 Equistaff Sophomore at Tampa Bay Downs in 2023, the Kelsey Danner-trained 5-year-old also counts last year’s $104,000 Cliff Hanger at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the Monmouth Park turf among his stakes wins. 

Last year Otago was also second in both the $150,000 Monmouth Park Stakes (Listed) going a mile-and-an-eight on the turf and in the $145,000 Artie Schiller (Listed) over a mile on the Aqueduct turf during the Belmont at Big A meet on Oct. 11. In one start since the Artie Schiller, Otago was seventh in the $247,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes (Listed) over synthetic at Turfway Park on Dec. 21.

Otago is owned by Crowns Way Racing, NBS Stable, Edward Delava and Eli Diamant. He has five wins, five seconds and two thirds from 21 starts with earnings of $366,025.

Axel Concepcion will ride Otago from the outside post 11. He is 20-1 on the morning line.

Return to the January 14 issue of Wire to Wire