Airoforce, Uncle Vinny Being Relocated to Texas

Jeff and Stacy Jeans' stallions Airoforce   and Uncle Vinny   will be relocated from Pennsylvania to Solitude Thoroughbreds in North Texas for the 2023 breeding season.

Airoforce, a 9-year-old son of Colonel John and second-crop sire, became the Jeans' first stallion when they acquired him at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. He entered stud in Indiana and then was moved to Pennsylvania because of the attractive state breeding program there. He stood the last four breeding seasons at Equistar Training and Breeding.

They acquired Uncle Vinny in 2020 when Richard Haisfield closed his Stonewall's Prestige Stallions operation near Ocala, Fla. The 9-year-old son of Uncle Mo   entered stud at Stonewall in 2017 and was relocated to Equistar after the Jeans' acquired him.

"We have had both stallions and all our mares and babies at Equistar in Annville, and we chose Pennsylvania because of their excellent breeders' awards and stallion awards. All of our horses received excellent care at Equistar, but we hardly ever got to see them as we live in Texas," said Jeff Jeans. "We have babies on the ground we have never seen, so we have been looking for a place closer to home for the past two years."

Jeans said they found three farms interested in taking their stallions and ultimately chose Melanie Martinelli and Brian McClay's Solitude Thoroughbreds because of the substantial investment they've made in the stallion barn and other farm amenities. Solitude Thoroughbreds, which opened its gates earlier this year, is a 300-plus-acre breeding and lay-up/rehabilitation operation about 50 miles northwest of Fort Worth near Alvord. The farm also stands King Zachary  and Tiz Mischief .

"With what Texas has done in the last few years to improve the Thoroughbred industry makes it a very attractive location, and we are so excited that we can visit our stallions, our mares, and our babies on a regular basis as the farm is about an hour from our home," he said.

Airoforce is a grade 1-placed, multiple graded stakes winner who captured the 2015 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) and the Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (G3T) before finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T). He retired with three wins and three seconds from 12 starts and earned $679,130. As a stallion, he has sired three winners from six starters, led by Aeroballistic , who has been in the money in five of his seven career starts. Airoforce is currently a top 10 second-crop sire in the Mid-Atlantic region by progeny earnings.

Uncle Vinny is a grade 1-placed, grade 3 winner who won the Sanford Stakes (G3) at 2 and was third in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) for Starlight Racing and trainer Todd Pletcher. He compiled a 2-1-2 record from 12 starts and earned $224,500. To date, Uncle Vinny has sired 10 winners from 13 runners. His progeny have scored multiple wins on dirt and turf. His daughter Judge Judith  has three wins on turf and has finished in the money in all seven of her turf starts. Another daughter, Mavi , has five wins on dirt.

Both Airoforce and Uncle Vinny stood for $2,500 this year.