Universal Rara A Rare Commodity

Back in February of this year, I was inspecting yearlings for the Sao Paulo Breeders’ Association Select Sale with Ricardo Ravagnani in Brazil. We made a stop at Haras Cruz de Pedra, the farm of noted veterinarian Antonio Silva and his son Diego. Dr. Silva helps fine-tune and manage many of the most successful breeding farms in Brazil, and Diego, who worked for a time at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky, lives and breathes racing and breeding, just like his father.

Haras Cruz de Pedra is located just outside the city of Uruguyana, located in the remote, far southwestern corner of Brazil, separated from Argentina by the Uruguay River. There, the Silvas have a handful of mares, from which they have raised some exceptional horses. The foundation mare for the Silvas was Universal Rara (Brz) (Ramrito {Brz}). Diego emailed me Aug. 1 to tell me that she had peacefully passed away the day before. Later that afternoon, Universal Law (Brz), her 3-year-old colt by Christine’s Outlaw, won the ABCPCC Classica (G1 equivalent to the Breeders’ Cup Classic in Brazil). Saturday evening, at the conclusion of the racing festival in Sao Paulo, Universal Rara was named “Broodmare of the Year” in Brazil. In Portuguese, rara means “rare”; “one of a kind”. This is most fitting for such an extraordinary producer.

The Silvas have bred and raised three Group 1 winners from Universal Rara; champion 2-year-old colt Uareoutlaw (Brz) (Christine’s Outlaw); Uareademon (Brz) (Watchmon), winner of the G1 Gran Premio Polla de Potrillos at Maronas in Uruguay; and now Universal Law, who has won two major Group 1 races for owner Sergio Coutinho Nogueira of Haras Regina. The sadness of having lost this wonderful producer was tempered by the win, and having Universal Rara declared “Broodmare of the Year” has replaced the earlier tears of loss with tears of joy. These folks have such incredible passion for breeding and racing. It is wonderful to see them so well-rewarded. There are two more foals from this mare yet to race who may even further enhance her rarity.