Which horse has taught you the most about life?
Joe Seitz, director of sales for Brookdale Farm, has had plenty of prominent horses go through the operation's sales consignment and board at the Versailles, Ky., farm, but one broodmare in particular has stuck in his memory, refusing to give up on life and greeting each new challenge with a positive attitude.
Mrs. Boss, an 18-year-old daughter of Wild Event, has been a longtime Brookdale boarder for owner Abdul Rahman Al Jasmi, following an on-track career where she was a multiple Group 3 winner in her native Brazil before being sold to race in the U.A.E.
She began her broodmare career in Bahrain, the home country of her owner, then she was moved to the U.S., where she resides today. As Seitz describes, Mrs. Boss' time in production has been turbulent, and at times even life-threatening, but the belief of her owner, and of the horse herself, has carried her on to a long-productive broodmare career.
Mrs. Boss has had two winners from three foals to race, led by Redifined, a More Than Ready filly whose stakes efforts have included a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes.
Seitz is a second-generation member of the Brookdale Farm team, following his father, owner Fred Seitz. He has been a part of the farm's staff on a full-time basis since 1997.
Prior to joining the Brookdale team, Seitz worked as a groom and assistant trainer for Carl Nafzger and Todd Pletcher. He has served on the boards of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, and the Thoroughbred Club of America, and he is a former president of the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association.
As head of the Brookdale Sales consignment, Seitz has been responsible for graduates including dual classic winner I'll Have Another, champion Vequist, Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress, Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Stopchargingmaria, and Grade 1 winner Bodemeister, among many others.
More must-reads: