TOBA July Member of the Month

Many breeders and owners find their “heart horse,” their equine soulmate. And if they’re really lucky, that animal might even become a winner. In the case of Terri Wells and her “heart horse” Navajo, this beloved mare even produced a South American champion! Navaja Merkel, a daughter of Navajo, received the title of champion older mare in Peru for 2025. Wells grew up near to legendary horsewoman Mary Lou Whitney’s farm on Bryan Station Road in Lexington, Ky. She would ride her bike to that nursery and admired the beautiful location. After relocating to California, Wells eventually returned to the Bluegrass State. She and her husband, Dennis, went on to found Five Miles North Farm, so named because historical reports located the property five miles north of Lexington. In setting up Five Miles North, Wells learned a lot from industry veterans, many of whom became dear friends. She counseled, “Just my biggest advice is to go to your TOBA seminars and your classes and learn what’s coming, learn all the nuance,” adding that it’s an excellent networking opportunity and chance to make “friends that you always have and they will help you all along the way.” She recommended would-be horsemen pay heed to others who have invested years in the game, “to make sure that you know people who have been successful in the business for a really long time and listen to them. “They know what they’re doing and even they have hard days. So just know that to be prepared for bad days that come makes it a little easier, but everyone has hard days. But if you love it, chase your dreams and take advice and get to know people who have been in it for a long time because they know what they’re doing.” Such friends and experts include the likes of Gregg and Denise Falk of Chestertown Farm, New York, as well as fourth-generation Kentucky horseman Finn Green. Wells also spent a memorable few hours with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who told her she wouldn’t be happy until she owned horses herself. Wells fell in love with a daughter of Union Rags named Navajo. The Wellses were investors in the filly, who campaigned for Woodford Racing; the chestnut filly went on to win one race from six starts and earn $72,299. However, Wells decided to make Navajo a permanent part of the family at the January 2019 Keeneland Horses of All Ages sale; as an agent for Five Miles North, Empire Thoroughbreds purchased Navajo, then four years old, for $42,000. Navajo’s first foal was Nitroman (by Accelerate). A homebred for the Wellses, the gelding won first time out in 2022. In 2021, they sent Navajo to 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) victor Mendelssohn, a son of Scat Daddy out of blue hen mare Leslie’s Lady (making him a half-brother to legendary sire Into Mischief and superstar racemare Beholder). The 2016 Broodmare of the Year, Leslie’s Lady was owned by Fred Mitchell; Wells recalled, “Fred Mitchell’s daughter, Robin Mitchell Arroyave, and her husband are really good friends of mine since we were in high school together.” The resulting Mendelssohn-Navajo foal was eventually named Navaja Merkel. But before she received that moniker, she had a special barn name. Wells recalled, “Her barn name was Nanette because she was born on my mom’s birthday and my mom’s name, we called her ‘Nanny.’ So we called the horse Nanette and that was her barn name. But she’s always been super-special and super-sweet, super-sweet.” At the 2022 Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale, a weanling Navaja Merkel sold for $45,000 to Horseology. At the following year’s Keeneland September sale, the yearling filly hammered for $14,000 to TLS Farm. She made her way down to South America, where she has thrived ever since. She races for successful owner Roberto Guevara Aguirre’s Stud Todo lo Sabe, and she was at her best in 2025. She won the likes of the Clásico Antinoo. Clásico Reina Isabel II, and Clásico César A. del Río Suito (G3), held at Monterrico Racetrack, en route to divisional honors. And she’s continued her winning ways in 2026; on February 28, she annexed the Clásico Felipe Pardo y Barreda (G3); with regular rider Rito Almanza aboard for trainer Luis Quimper, Navaja Merkel pushed her record to ten wins from twelve career starts. How did Wells describe the experience of cheering on—albeit from afar—a horse she bred with a connection to a dear friend? She summited it up beautifully, saying, “Very special. Very, very special.”