By Emily Shields
It is rare that someone in the racing industry is “just” an owner or “just” a breeder.
There is a constant juggling of hats that comes with the game: Exercise riders become the gate crew, farriers become bloodstock agents, and handicappers may find themselves buying into syndicates.
Although Marsha Naify’s father, Marshall, was an iconic force in the sport, having campaigned the likes of Bertrando, Manistique, and Swept Overboard, Naify herself didn’t figure to become entrenched in it. She was working for the family business, United Artists Theater Circuit, while juggling real estate, aware of the racetrack and interested in her father’s exploits, but not overly enamored with it.
When Marshall died at age80 in 2000, Naify found herself dealing with the dispersal of his equines, and despite herself, she purchased a few of them. Less than 15 years later she is one of those multifaceted industry gurus, not only breeding and racing her own horses but also sitting on the board of directors at the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA).
“For the first 10 years I was mostly into racing, but in the past five years I have switched to mostly breeding while racing some homebreds,”Naify said. “With breeding, it takes several years to get going because you have no runners until four years later. This is the first year we’ve seen the results of our breeding.”
The results are clear: Naify-bred Red Outlaw is unbeaten in five starts with $285,200 in earnings. The son of Tribal Rule has reeled off victories in the $97,450 Baffle Stakes, the $201,000 Real Good Deal Stakes, and the $100,500 El Cajon Stakes, the latter by 3 3⁄4lengths.
Naify purchased Red Outlaw’s dam, Anachristina, for $49,000 out of the Pam and Martin Wygod dispersal at Barretts in 2010. The unraced mare had already produced $759,090-earner Liberian Freighter and the stakes winner Frankelstein, but her age—Anachristina is currently 20—made her less attractive.
“I knew I would have only a few good years with her,” said Naify. “But she had proven herself, and it was a good opportunity.”
Because of her age, Anachristina stays close to home during breeding season. Home is Rancho San Miguel, where Naify boards her 21 California-based mares and also stands grade II winner Storm Wolf.
“When mares get older, it becomes harder to ship them around, so we’ve bred her to Storm Wolf the last few years,” Naify said. “She had a Storm Wolf colt born in February, and he’s actually very good on our own grade scale. Anachristina is in foal to him again right now.”
Storm Wolf (Stormin Fever—Exclusive Rosette, by Ecliptical) was just one of the horses that Naify had success with in partnership. She campaigned the colt to three wins in five starts with partner Mercedes Stable. Bruce Headley trained Storm Wolf, as well as multiple graded stakes winner Surf Cat, co-owned by Naify and Headley’s wife Aase.
Surf Cat (Sir Cat—Trust Greta, by Centrust) won six grade II races in his career, amassing $1,045,420 in earnings. His best efforts include the $361,000 Swaps Breeders’ Cup Stakes (gr. II) in 2005, which he won by five lengths, and the 2006 and 2008 editions of both the $150,000 San Carlos Handicap (gr. II) and the $150,000 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap (gr. II). Surf Cat now stands at Old English Rancho.
Despite that flashy record, Surf Cat may not have been the best horse that Naify had with the Headley family. Bruce co-owned Street Boss with Naify and Simon Yu. Street Boss earned $831,800 and in 2008 won consecutive grade I races, the $300,000 Triple Bend Invitational Handicap and the $300,000 Bing Crosby Handicap. He finished third as the favorite in the 2008 Sentient Flight Group Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) at Santa Anita.
Street Boss is now a successful sire standing at Darley in Kentucky. Naify retains a breeding right to the son of Street Cry—Blushing Ogygian, by Ogygian.
Naify has visited the winner’s circle with some of California’s classiest runners in the last decade. Her Quiet American mare Free Flying Soul won four stakes races, with her brightest moment coming via a third in the 2009 Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (gr. I) at more than 35-1.
Ryehill Dreamer won five of 13 starts, including the $150,000 American Handicap (gr. IIT) over grade I winners Sidney’s Candy and The Usual Q.T. Naify co-owned Ballingarry, who came to the United States midway through his career and earned $1,741,049 before retirement. In partnership with her sister, Christina, Naify campaigned dual grade II winner Blackdoun (Fr) and Del Mar Oaks (gr. IT) Heroine Amorama (Fr).
“I always enjoyed going to the races, but it’s even more special if you are going to see the results of your breeding,” Naify said.
Aside from her California-based mares, Naify has nine mares at Gainesway Farm and Hill ‘n’ Dale in Kentucky.
“Every once in a while I go to a sale and see something I just have to buy, and I end up retiring a filly about every year,” she said. “Things keep growing in terms of the breeding operation.”
One of the mares Naify recently purchased was stakes winner Chalula One, a Cal-bred daughter of Naify’s father’s standout Bertrando.
“I have high hopes for her Tribal Rule weanling,” Naify said. “She’s been bred back to Unusual Heat.”
Naify has also been making waves without the help of her horses. In 2007 she became the first woman to head the 15-member board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Now she is helping retired racehorses while on the board with CARMA.
“I really am a huge supporter of either properly retiring your horse or retraining it for a new career,” she said. “I think it’s an obligation when you buy a horse that once you are done racing it or breeding it you need to make sure it has a great end of life. I have my own retired horses that I keep at the farm.”
Juggling sales prep for her homebred yearlings, mating plans for her broodmares, fundraisers for CARMA, and heading out to the track to watch horses she bred run mean that Naify is constantly on the move. But the San Francisco native, who now lives in Long Beach, wouldn’t have it any other way.