Initially, Christian Erickson had fully considered liquidating Payson Stud's equine portfolio.As the newly appointed President of the family's trust following Virginia Kraft Payson's passing in 2023, Erickson set out to appraise the broodmare band. But any thoughts of winding things down vanished as soon as he saw Rutherienne (Pulpit) step out of the barn.The 19-year-old mare had once been Mrs. Payson's star racehorse and Erickson had treasured memories of his friend recounting stories from her wins in the GI Del Mar Oaks and GII Jenny Wiley Stakes. Though a lingering foot issue required personalized, daily care in her later years, the mare was in radiant health.“She was dappled out and absolutely beautiful,” Erickson recalled. “With her foot problem, I thought to myself, 'There is no way we're going to run this mare through a sale.' So at that point, I made the decision to revamp the portfolio and grow it. It was because of that mare.”Now, three years later, Rutherienne's granddaughter Fully Subscribed (Tiz the Law) is bringing Payson Stud back to the Breeders' Cup. Coming off back-to-back Grade I victories, the Chad Brown trainee will be one of the top contenders in the Distaff. A second-generation homebred for Payson Stud, Rutherienne earned over $1.2 million under the tutelage of Christophe Clement. A Grade I winner at three, she raced to further graded success at four and five, competing in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. As a broodmare, eight of her foals saw the winner's circle including Sweetbaby (Candy Ride {Arg}), the dam of Fully Subscribed.Like her dam and grandam before her, Fully Subscribed was a smaller foal. Her stature deterred buyers early on, leading her to go unsold as a weanling and bring only $35,000 at the yearling sales. But her commercial appeal shifted after she showed her speed at the 2024 OBS April Sale. After breezing in :10, the filly went through the ring once more, marking a lucrative pinhook when selling to Klaravich Stable for $300,000.Fully Subscribed wins the GI Personal Ensign | Sarah AndrewA debut winner at two and a dual graded stakes winner at three, Fully Subscribed has been either first or second in her five graded starts this year. In her most recent outings, she collected two 'Win & You're In' scores in the GI Personal Ensign Stakes and the GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes on Oct. 4 at Keeneland.The 4-year-old has remained at Keeneland since her 3 1/4-length victory over Counting Stars (Honor A.P.) and Immersive (Nyquist) as she prepares to take on her old rival Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) in the Distaff. The pair last met in the June 5 GI Ogden Phipps Stakes at Saratoga, when Nitrogen drew off to a 12 3/4-length score.Erickson said he is looking forward to taking on the DJ Stables-owned champion at the Breeders' Cup.“Len and John [Green] are friends and I think we need to have a friendly rivalry between those two mares,” he said. “I think they're going to be short prices and I love a rivalry. I think it's great for horse racing. Short of the Classic, it might be one of the biggest races in the two days.”Since taking over the helm at Payson Stud, Erickson has been down this road at the Breeders' Cup before, but is still looking forward to that first trip to the winner's circle. Among the operation's past recent graduates, multi-millionaire She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) collected five Grade I victories during her stellar career. The Lael Stables-campaigned turf star finished third by less than a length in the 2023 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf before returning last year to finish a heart-breaking second to Gezora (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}) in the Filly & Mare Turf.“She Feels Pretty, in my opinion, is a generational filly,” Erickson said. “I loved watching her and following her run. I was there at Del Mar last year for the Breeders' Cup. She came right past us and I thought, 'Oh my God, we're gonna win this race. We're going to win.' And then she runs second. It was painful, but what a mare.”In a short span, Payson Stud has been represented at the highest level by two standout fillies while the pipeline continues to grow. Erickson said he works closely with bloodstock agent Nathan McCauley and Gainesway Farm's Brian Graves to oversee the commercial breeding program.Christian Erickson and Summer Sweet, the dam of She Feels Pretty, last year at Gainesway Farm | Sara Gordon“For our little operation to now have a Breeders' Cup entrant for a third year, I have to give a lot of credit to Nathan McCauley and Brian Graves because they are very important to our operation,” he explained. “With how we've grown in the last four years, the numbers are staggering and it has been really fun. Last year we had five mares and now we're at eight. We're going after breeding Book 1 horses.”Although Payson Stud no longer owns the dams of their two star graduates, they have retained She Feels Pretty's 2-year-old half-sister. Hello and Goodbye (Olympiad) is in training with Kenny McPeek and put in her first work at Keeneland last month.While Rutherienne is now retired as a broodmare, she is still in great health at age 22 and resides at Erickson's sister's family farm.For Erickson, the goal is to maintain the standard set by Virginia Kraft Payson and her husband Charles. For the past four decades, Payson Stud's breeding program has seen success at the highest level. Payson was named Breeder of the Year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association in 1997, and in 2002, the program produced a Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner in Vindication (Seattle Slew).“I met Virginia when I was 21,” Erickson explained. “Now I'm 65. She bred 78 stakes winners at Payson Stud in 40 years. It's an amazing number to me. It's really important to carry on that tradition, and I think we have.”As another World Championships weekend approaches, that elusive winner's circle remains the ultimate goal for Erickson. But looking back at how it all began with Rutherienne, Erickson's decision to press forward has positioned the farm for a bright future.“Living in Lexington, I have friends coming from all over the country to go to the races,” he enthused. “I'm just walking around every day saying, 'Let's go Fully Subscribed!' I can't wait.”The post With Fully Subscribed, Payson Stud Back in Breeders’ Cup Spotlight appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.