When Gonçalo Borges Torrealba purchased Three Chimneys Farm in 2013, the goal for him and his family was to breed Grade I-winning horses. Since then, the farm has played a role in breeding, raising or racing the likes of Wonder Wheel, Guarana, Early Voting and Gun Runner. In this episode of Origin Stories presented by Taylor Made, Rebecca Nicholson and Tony Cissell discuss how Three Chimneys raises good horses.
00:00Since its inception, Three Chimneys Farm has played a significant role in thoroughbred breeding in
00:19North America. We've had stallions here such as Seattle Slough, Rahi, Dynaformer, and when the
00:27Torrealba family purchased this farm in 2013, Gonzalo had a clear vision to breed, raise, and race grade
00:35one winners who were performing on the world's largest stage. Philosophically, one of the things
00:40we like to do is raise the horses in an environment that provides an opportunity for them to reach
00:47their full physical and genetic potential. And the big part of that to me is horsemanship. We have a
00:54great team here. We evaluate the horses frequently, and we have wonderful pasture here.
00:59In the last decade or so, we've really seen Gonzalo's vision take root and flourish. We've had 11 grade
01:07one winners that have come through our program, either that we have raced or sold. We've had horses
01:13like champion two-year-old filly Wonder Wheel, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. We also had
01:20multiple grade one winner, Guaraná, who we campaigned to homebred for us. And we had our first classic
01:26winner in 2022 when early voting won the Preakness Stakes. Our most significant horse to come through
01:33the program has been Gunrunner. He won the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Pegasus World Cup, and was named
01:40Horse of the Year in 2017. And last year, he was inducted into Horse Racing's Hall of Fame. As amazing of a racehorse as he was, I don't think any of the
01:49us expected him to do what he's done today. Certainly looks like he is a breed shaping stallion with six
01:56sons at Stud in Kentucky already, one being Gunn Pilot, who's new to our roster this year. So we're very
02:04excited to have our first homebred here standing at the farm. We have a system of horsemanship that I
02:10think really instills a lot of confidence in the horses, confidence to one in people that are handling
02:16them. And then the situations that they get put in, they've been on a walking machine, they've been
02:20hand walked, some may have been ponied. One of the things I like to say is a stall door, is a trailer,
02:27is a starting gate. So if they've had those experiences and they've been good experiences,
02:32I think they go forward with a great deal of confidence in whatever thresholds they approach in
02:38the future. One of the things Mr. Torrealba did early on was he went out and sought mares that he knew
02:45could produce a stallion down the road or produce champions. And one of those horses he bought early
02:51on was a Mordete. And he bought her as a yearling for $1.7 million. And although she didn't go on to
02:57run, she ended up producing a Preakness Stakes winner. We also bought Pure Clan early on, who was a $4.5
03:04million purchase. And her daughter, Princessa Carolina, who is a grade one placed filly, has produced recent
03:11stakes winner Mohima, who we sold for $700,000 as a yearling. And she also produced the Keeneland
03:18Session 1 sales topper by Gunrunner, who sold for $2.2 million. Most of our horses do go to auction.
03:26We have a few that we will identify and keep. We've had great success with partnerships, obviously being
03:32Gunrunner as a major one. And most recently, we partnered with Bullard, who we brought to the sale
03:38and stayed in for a piece. I think when people see a horse bred by three chimneys, that they recognize
03:44our track record and level of success that we've had. Gonzalo always says, raise grade one winners.
03:51And I think that's true. If you're doing that, all the other ancillary things will follow. So
03:57understanding the process and the patients required to bear the fruit of that.
