Primetime Emmy's Road Less Traveled to Breeders' Cup

Twists and turns are so common in racing that they can become the norm but once in a while a years-long plan comes together, which will be the case when Primetime Emmy (AUS) breaks from the gate for owner-breeder Matthew Sandblom in this year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T). With a start in that race, Primetime Emmy will become just the fifth Australian-bred to compete in the Breeders' Cup and the first Aussie to start in a Breeders' Cup race for 2-year-olds. While obviously Australia has a rich racing history filled with top horses, it's difficult to ship to a Northern Hemisphere race. And horses bred on Southern Hemisphere time cannot realistically start in Northern Hemisphere races for 2-year-olds. That's where Sandblom's planning made this start possible. The idea traces to 2023 when he decided to breed some of his mares on Northern Hemisphere time with the thought of possibly racing at 2 in Europe or North America. Part of the motivation for trying this for the first time is tied to Primetime Emmy's sire, Extreme Choice. Because Extreme Choice is sub-fertile, Sandblom thought breeding on Northern Hemisphere time would be a way to add a few more opportunities a year for the sire who won a pair of grade 1 sprints in 2016 and has gone on to success at stud. "He basically only serves one mare a day, and of those, he probably only gets about 35% positive tests," Sandblom said. "When you do the math on that, during the somewhat short Australian breeding season of pretty much three-and-a-half months, that only leaves 120 or even less shots to get a mare in-foal. "That results in only about 40-45 foals compared to more fertile sires who can get 120, 140 in-foal. So we thought, 'Why not push forward into the new year, and then eventually, once you get past the first of February, you're into Northern Hemisphere breeding time." While Extreme Choice has had fertility issues throughout his stud career, the son of Not a Single Doubt, and grandson of Redoute's Choice, has enjoyed success despite his small crops. He has thrown a pair of Australian champions in 2025 stayer Knight's Choice, winner of the 2024 Melbourne Cup (G1); and 2021 2-year-old colt Stay Inside, winner of the 2021 Golden Slipper Stakes (G1). From just 263 foals spread over seven crops of racing age, Extreme Choice boasts 20 graded stakes winners (8%). In breeding some of his mares on Northern Hemisphere time to Extreme Choice, Sandblom believes the sire could come up with some top runners to showcase in the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps their quality could convince some breeders to take a chance on him on Northern Hemisphere time--giving the sire a chance at larger crops. "I was pretty bullish on Extreme Choice because I ended up with just under 20% of him," Sandblom said. "I kept on increasing my stake in him because even though he wasn't the most impressive individual as a physical--he only raced at about 415 kilos, which is a pretty light, small horse. If you convert that to pounds, it's probably about 900 pounds, which is pretty light for a male horse. "But he had a lot of speed. He had a lot of acceleration. He was a real out-and-out sprinter. He won a grade 1 at 1,000 meters (the 2016 Moir Stakes at about 5 furlongs) He won a grade 1 at 1,200 meters (the Blue Diamond Stakes at about 6 furlongs)." Sandblom's latest expression of that confidence in Extreme Choice is the payment of $200,000 to supplement Primetime Emmy into this year's Breeders' Cup. She is pre-entered in the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint and made the body of the field. "It doesn't make logical sense from a straight prize money to late entry fee calculation, but I'm looking at the bigger picture; both from the filly's value and the stallion promotion," Sandblom said. "I'm trying to really lift his profile in the Northern Hemisphere. I was keen to do that, and that was part of the reason why I did supplement. "Why shouldn't European or even North American breeders send mares over to Extreme Choice? That's what I'm certainly trying to make happen." All of the numbers certainly resonate with Sandblom, an entrepreneur whose most successful venture was the launch of Mathletics.com--which encourages kids to learn math through fun competition. At one point Sandblom dipped toes in the world of book-making before migrating to Standardbred racing and breeding, and then finally Thoroughbreds--moving more into that side after an initial public offering of the popular Mathletics. As with many of the young horses entered in this year's five Breeders' Cup races for 2-year-olds, Primetime Emmy certainly has plenty of potential to deliver a big effort that would bring attention to her sire. She was shipped to France to be trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, who earlier this month sent out Daryz to a second victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) and last year landed his first Breeders' Cup win with Gezora (FR) in the Filly & Mare Turf (G1T). Primetime Emmy won on debut July 12 at Deauville, posting a 2 1/2-length victory in a 1,200-meter maiden special weight. She followed with a fifth-place finish in an Aug. 2 stakes at Deauville, before bouncing back Sept. 19 with a narrow victory in the Prix Eclipse (G3) at Chantilly. She will enter the 1,100-meter (about 5 1/2-furlong) Juvenile Turf Sprint off of that winning effort at 1,200 meters. "Her only three runs have been up the straight 1,200 so far. But we think with the pace that generally shows up, and running on tighter American tracks, should suit her well to run off the pace," Sandblom said. "She's got plenty of early speed, but she's got the acceleration that Extreme Choice puts into them that will allow her to run from a bit off the pace, and hopefully be finishing strongly." Sandblom added that Graffard has given Primetime Emmy training around the turns at Chantilly, including some moves close to full speed in those turns "because she hasn't really done that yet." Bred under Sandblom's Kingstar Farm banner, Primetime Emmy is out of the stakes-winning King's Chapel mare Princess Emmy, who already had produced nine winners from 10 starters including group 3 winner Thurlow and stakes winner Three Kings. Relative to his overall band, Sandblom views her as a solid producer and noted these types have been good fits for Extreme Choice. "Extreme Choice is such a dominant stallion," Sandblom said. "I've developed this theory that you shouldn't necessarily send him the very top mares but instead let him dominate in terms of the attributes he passes on." Primetime Emmy races under the Hollymount Stud banner, which references the farm where she was raised. Sandblom calls it more of a hobby farm compared with his main operation at Kingstar Farm, where he has about 100 mares. Hollymount Stud is home to retirees, horses who couldn't race, and in this case some foals bred on Northern Hemisphere time. Primetime Emmy will attempt to become the first Australian-bred to win a Breeders' Cup race, although a few have previously tried. The very first edition of the Breeders' Cup featured an Australian-bred runner in Strawberry Road, who would finish fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T). In October 1983 Strawberry Road won the W. S. Cox Plate (G1) at Moonee Valley in Australia and he made one more start in that country, finishing third in the Apollo Stakes (G3) in February 1984. He would then be shipped to Germany where he made two summer starts that included a win in the Grosser Preis von Baden (G1). Next up he'd be shipped to the United States where he prepped for the Breeders' Cup with a third-place finish in the Washington D.C. International (G1T) at Laurel Park. The following year, his 6-year-old season, he would race only in the Northern Hemisphere, winning a pair of group stakes in France including the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1) ahead of a third-place finish in the Turf Classic (G1) at Belmont Park and a runner-up finish to Pebbles in the 1985 Breeders' Cup Turf at Aqueduct. The other three Australian-breds made single Breeders' Cup starts, all in the Turf Sprint, with the most recent effort being Invincible Papa's sixth-place finish last year. Oleksandra finished ninth in 2020, and Starspandlebanner was 10th in 2012. In terms of the 2-year-old races, being bred on Southern Hemisphere time basically makes such a venture impossible. That's where it was imperative that the breeding that produced Primetime Emmy, Extreme Choice (AUS)--Princess Emmy, by King's Chapel occur on Northern Hemisphere time. While it's not uncommon for Australian breeders to send mares to Europe, or even North America, to be bred on Northern Hemisphere time, breeding on that time in Australia is less frequent and presents some challenges. "It can be done and done reasonably well," Sandblom said. "It wasn't ideal necessarily because I think the mares in that situation are dealing with a different climate and quite hot summers. They're not always cycling correctly. "Obviously, it's much harder when you're dealing with a sub-fertile stallion and you're getting the hang of how to do it because not many studs in Australia even try to do it." But all that effort has paid off in a Breeders' Cup horse, a dream made possible with a final $200,000 investment for the supplement to start. Sandblom will give buyers a chance to share in his rare approach by offering a 25% share in Primetime Emmy at the Keeneland Championship Sale Oct. 28 at Castleton Farm near Lexington. Sandblom is looking forward to attending that sale and then the Breeders' Cup races. "I've known them from a very young age, up close and personal," Sandblom said of Primetime Emmy and recent first out winner Extreme Dream, another daughter of Extreme Choice bred on Northern Hemisphere time. "To get all the way to France and now to America; it is pretty amazing."