2021 first-crop yearling sires | Horse Racing Free Tips

City of Light Book 3 Yearlings Keeping Busy at Keeneland

If City of Light was considered to be in demand after the close of Book 1 at the Keeneland September Sale, his yearlings were perhaps even more challenging to get ahold of by the end of Book 2.

First a colt by the first-crop stallion out of the graded stakes-producing mare Ghostslayer (Ghostzapper) brought $1.05 million late in the second session of the auction on Tuesday, selling as Hip 376, but then the next day another colt by the Lane's End sire, Hip 612 out of SP Anchorage (Tapit), brought down the house when he sold for $1.7 million. The purchase for Woodford Racing, Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds marked the colt as the current sale topper after the first four sessions.

Through the initial pair of Keeneland September books, 28 City of Light yearlings sold for a gross of $12,535,000 and a $447,679 average. Eight of those offering brought at least $500,000.

So far this year, 42 of the 47 City of Light yearlings to have gone through the ring have sold to average $398,690.

“The September Sale results for City of Light so far have been astounding,” Lane's End's Allaire Ryan said. “I think it's a testament to the type of physical that he throws and the quality that he puts into all of his foals. The market is really reflective of the individuals that are out there. If you have a nice individual, whether it's in Book 1 or Book 5, you're going to do well with it. That sort of quality is what is sought after, whether it's by end users or people looking to resell. City of Light has had a fantastic sale so far and we're happy to ride on that momentum throughout the second week.”

Winner of the 2018 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and 2019 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., City of Light has 19 sons and daughters slated to go through the ring this weekend for Book 3 of the catalogue with more to come in the following sessions.

Several consignors representing City of Light yearlings spoke on the quality they've seen in their offerings and the demand the youngsters have had from potential buyers since they stepped onto the sales grounds.

Hip 612, a City of Light colt out of Anchorage (Tapit), fetches $1.7 million at the Keeneland September Sale. | Keeneland

Hip 1393: City of Light colt out of Azure Spring (Open Forum)

Consigned by Columbiana Farm, Hip 1393 is a half-brother to MGSW Selcourt (Tiz Wonderful) as well as six other winners. As inspections started to slow in late afternoon on the first day the colt was available for buyers to visit, Columbiana's Kathy Berkey said the colt had already been shown 98 times that day.

“He's been very popular and we've always liked him,” Berkey said. “He's so well balanced, so athletic and such a lovely walker. Knowing the mare the way we do, we've raised all of her foals and when she gets a good one, you can tell from the beginning that it's going to be a good one. Selcourt was a superstar and this is a really nice colt too. We're thrilled to have him here and we hope he runs to his looks.”

Hip 1408: City of Light filly out of Betty Draper (Street Cry {Ire})

Hip 1408 is the second foal out of the Street Cry mare Betty Draper, a winner in France and a half-sister to stakes winners Modern (Tiznow) and City Plan (Street Sense).

Romain Malhouitre of Runnymede Farm said that the filly was foaled and raised at Runnymede before attending the 2020 Keeneland November Sale. After selling for $130,000 to Hubert Guy Bloodstock, she was sent back to their farm to prepare to go through the ring as a yearling.

“She's a lovely filly who stands over a lot of ground and she's very athletic,” Malhouitre said. “What we love the most is the way she moves. She's very fluid and efficient when she moves. She's been amazing all her life. She has plenty of bone and a good mind. She's got that look that most of the City of Light yearlings have, so we are very pleased to be able to present her to the market.”

Hip 1458: City of Light filly out of Dixie Victory (Dixie Union)

Presented by Lane's End, Hip 1458 is out of the winning Dixie Union mare Dixie Victory, a daughter of GI Prioress S. winner and stakes producer Friendly Michelle (Artax). Dixie Victory was purchased with this filly in utero for $240,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale.

“This filly is beautifully-balanced,” Allaire Ryan said. “She's a perfect package to look at. She moves well. She has a great range of motion and she's keen-looking, too, with a pretty head and eye. She's the type that I think would suit any end user or a pinhooker.”

City of Light filly out of Flatbow sells as Hip 1884. | Woodford Thoroughbreds

Hip 1884: City of Light filly out of Flatbow (Broken Vow)

Beth Bayer of Woodford Thoroughbreds is high on City of Light after a son of the young sire was a popular offering for their consignment in Book 2. Hip 1059, a colt out of SP Fashion Runaway (Old Fashioned), sold for $485,000 to Whisper Hill Farm.

“We love all our City of Light yearlings,” Bayer said. “He's stamping his horses and it seems like every one of them has a great walk, great attitude and a good body and shape. Everything about them is spot-on racehorse attitude.”

Hip 1884 sells in the sixth session of the Keeneland September Sale with Woodford Thoroughbreds. The April-foaled filly hails from the family of MGISW Classy Cathy (Private Account).

She's a very nice, precocious filly,” Bayer explained. I really like her attitude. Every time you bring her out to show her, she's always on. She wants to do her job and go forward. She stands up nicely, has a big walk and does everything perfectly for us.”

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Mo Town on Track to Become Uncle Mo’s Next Sire Prodigy

When 2020 came to a close, Ashford Stud's GISW Mo Town (Uncle Mo – Grazie Mille, by Bernardini) sat in prime position to see his best book yet as his first crop became yearlings and he began his third year at stud. Sons of Uncle Mo were at the forefront of breeders' minds as esteemed young stallions Nyquist and Laoban finished one-two in the freshman sire standings and were both represented by Grade I winners, while another Uncle Mo prodigy in Outwork ended up a close fourth on the same list.

“Obviously what Uncle Mo has done not only as a sire, but now as a sire of sire, has certainly helped the momentum behind a horse like Mo Town,” said Coolmore's Adrian Wallace. “Certainly with what Laoban, Nyquist and Outwork have done, we're starting to realize now that Uncle Mo is very much on the way to creating a sire line all of his own.”

While all three of the aforementioned young sires saw either an increase in stud fee or held the same fee in 2021, Mo Town's stud fee decreased from $10,000 to $7,500 and breeders jumped at the chance to get in on the easily-accessible value into the Uncle Mo sire line.

“Certainly we're seeing the benefit of that in his third year as he covered more mares this year than he ever covered before,” Wallace said of Mo Town, who saw 144 and 108 mares in his first two books. “This year, he got over 200 mares. I think that shows you how well his foals have been received and how good his yearlings look, but also how well Uncle Mo is doing himself as a sire of sires.”

A $200,000 Keeneland September purchase, Mo Town broke his maiden at second asking by seven lengths at Belmont before taking the 2016 GII Remsen S. He returned to the winner's circle at three in an allowance on the turf at Belmont and then again tried the grass to claim the GI Hollywood Derby over eventual Eclipse Champion Channel Maker (English Channel).

“Mo Town was a very good racehorse on both surfaces and he was precocious,” Wallace noted. “He managed to do what we all want them to do in being successful on dirt at two and then to go on and win a Grade I at three is very important as well.”

The dual graded stakes winner is out of the winning Bernardini mare Grazie Mille, who herself is a daughter of GIIISW and GISP Molto Vita (Carson City) and is a half-sister to two stakes winners. Wallace said that physically, Mo Town is an equal representation of both sides of his pedigree.

“While Mo Town does look quite like Uncle Mo in some respects, I think there's a lot of Bernardini in him,” Wallace explained. “He's got much more of a short back and he has a great hip and shoulder. He has all the qualities you would want in Bernardini, who obviously was a great sire in his own right but a great broodmare sire as well, and then he has the strength and scope of Uncle Mo.”

Wallace said that Mo Town's first few crops have trended strongly towards the look of their sire.

“We're seeing a lot of him in them,” he said. “Uncle Mo certainly stamps his stock and Mo Town does as well. They're very balanced, scopey-looking horses. They've got a lot of quality. He's getting the good hip and shoulder and the lovely top line. His action is another thing that's going to sell them.”

Hip 2242, a colt out of Closing Move, sells with Gainesway. | Ray Gladwell

Last year, 22 of 31 Mo Town weanlings sold to average $41,318. His top weanling, a son of the winning Broken Vow mare Mybrokenhome, went to Davant Latham for $185,000 at the Keeneland November Sale. That colt returned to the auction ring a few weeks ago at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and brought $300,000.

Earlier this summer at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, another son of Mo Town sold for $100,000 off the stallion's $12,500 initial stud fee. The colt out of All Day Donna (Value Plus) went to Brick City Thoroughbreds.

Mo Town will be well-represented at the Keeneland September Sale, which begins Monday, Sept. 13, with over 40 yearlings cataloged.

Wallace said that one Keeneland-bound yearling that he has heard high praise for already is Hip 2242. The March-foaled colt is out of Closing Move (Bernardini), who hails from the family of GIISW Stanford (Malibu Moon) and successful Coolmore sires Tale of the Cat and Johannesburg. The youngster was purchased as a weanling for $75,000 by Stella Stables at the Keeneland November Sale and is slated to return to the same ring with the Gainesway consignment.

“[Gainesway's] Brian Graves told me that he is one to keep an eye on,” Wallace said. “He said the colt has progressed very, very well.”

Wallace explained that he believes Mo Town's progeny will appeal to a wide array of buyers on the Keeneland grounds due in large part to Uncle Mo's recent insurgence of talented performers on turf with the likes of this summer's GII Del Mar Mile S. winner Mo Forza, another son of Uncle Mo to have captured the GI Hollywood Derby at three, as well as last year's GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint champion Golden Pal.

“The great thing about Uncle Mo is that he was perceived very much as a dirt horse himself, but I think we're now starting to see the versatility of the Uncle Mo line,” Wallace said. “It should come as no surprise because if you go further back in the sire line he has two French Classic winners in Siberian Express and Caro (Ire). It's something that is very important because it opens you up to so many more buyers at a yearling sale.”

“Mo Town yearlings will appeal to buyers in that we know Uncle Mo is becoming, in a very short period of time, a sought-after sire of sires,” Wallace said. “Uncle Mo's first three proper stallions have done very, very well. They've got the precocity and they've shown that they can get it done, so now it's up to Mo Town.”

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Undefeated Army Mule in Demand with First Yearlings

The first yearlings from GISW Army Mule (Friesan Fire-Crafty Toast, by Crafty Prospector) may have surprised a few people when they proved to be a hot commodity at the first three major yearling sales of the year.

Army Mule began his stud career in 2019 at Hill 'n' Dale Farms with a modest $10,000 stud fee after just three career starts, but at this year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, two representatives from his first book of mares brought $400,000-first a colt out of stakes winner Made Me Shiver (Maclean's Music) and then a successfully-pinhooked half-sister to GISW Volatile (Violence). A few days later at the Fasig-Tipton New York Bred Sale, the half-sister to GIISW Wells Bayou (Lookin At Lucky) brought $300,000.

Already this year, 16 of 22 Army Mule yearlings have sold to average $164,375. Despite his unassuming $7,500 stud fee today, Army Mule is one of six members of his stallion crop to have surpassed a $150,000 yearling average heading into the Keeneland September Sale.

“All the right people like the horse,” said Hill 'n' Dale's John Sikura. “I've heard a lot of very good comments from people who really pay attention, so I think there's a very good buzz. We try to be realistic but in the end, the genetic switch is on or it's off. You need the volume of foals on the ground, you need to raise them as well as you can and then they'll either run or they won't. He's poised for success and hopefully they'll be as successful as he was on the racetrack.”

According to Sikura, the key to Army Mule's recent achievements has been the support from Hill 'n' Dale and the young stallion's other shareholders.

“I like to take the approach that when we like a horse, we go all the way,” he explained. “We like to think that we're on board and we're helping drive the success rather than be passive and just passengers in seeing if they can run. If you keep that confidence throughout, it exudes to when people call and ask about the horse. To ensure his success, we bought mares at auction for that purpose. St. Elias has been a great partner and Craig Bernick, through our Elevage partnership, also owns an interest in the horse.”

St. Elias Stables, who campaigned Army Mule through his Grade I-winning career, was a force to compete with when an Army Mule yearling was in the ring at the two recent Saratoga sales. The racing operation of Vinnie Viola purchased both the aforementioned $400,000 yearlings at the Select Sale and the colt out of Made Me Shiver was bought in partnership with West Point Thoroughbreds. Days later, St. Elias took home another pair of Army Mule yearlings at the New York Bred Sale, purchased for a combined $285,000.

Jacob West, who acted as agent for St. Elias in their four new purchases, said Viola had been keen on landing a few Army Mule yearlings as they were preparing their Saratoga shopping list.

Army Mule colt out of SW Made Me Shiver fetches $400,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. | Fasig-Tipton

“Vinnie gets behind a lot of his horses that go to stud, but with Army Mule in particular, he was as brilliant as a racehorse could be,” West said. “When you've raced a horse, he goes on to be a stallion and you get to follow them along in their careers, it's hard not to be biased and go out and support them. But [the two Select Sale purchases] stood on their own merit. We paid $400,000 for them and obviously if we weren't there to buy them, someone else would have bought them within the $300,000's. I think that speaks volumes to what the market thinks of Army Mule and the chance he has.”

While the son of Friesan Fire is making headlines this summer with his yearlings, it was just last year that he could only fill a book of 47 mares in his second season at stud.

“Army Mule is a horse that, initially, there was maybe a little bit of resistance against,” Sikura admitted. “People talked about Friesan Fire, but when you peel the layers of the onion, you see that Friesan Fire is by A.P. Indy and that his dam was a champion in Australia. She is by Dehere and [his sire] Deputy Minister is hugely influence both as a broodmare sire and a sire.”

Sikura may not be overly surprised that buyers have been impressed with Army Mule's yearlings physically. He noted that Army Mule himself is a picture of a horse.

“Physically, he's impeccable,” he said. “He's very athletic, beautifully-made, well-balanced and very fast looking. He has quality, great muscle type and a beautiful head and eye.”

Bred by Hope Hill Farm, Army Mule was a $35,000 yearling that turned heads six months later as an $825,000 2-year-old purchase at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale.

“I remember Donato [Lanni] was telling me, 'You wouldn't believe this horse. He's the best horse in the sale,'” Sikura recalled. “He was going on and on about this Friesan Fire horse that was an absolute complete freak and little did I know until after the fact that it was Army Mule.”

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Army Mule broke his maiden on debut at Belmont, defeating the rest of the field by 8 1/2-lengths and earning 'TDN Rising Star' status. He followed up that effort the following year at four with a 7 ½-length romp at Gulfstream and crossed the wire just :0.75 off the track record. In his stakes debut in the GI Carter H., the speedy bay drew away from the field in the stretch to win by over six lengths and earn a 114 Beyer Speed Figure. He was forced to retire soon after due to a chipped knee.

Army Mule colt of August Snow (Tapit) sells as Hip 2201 at the Keeneland September Sale. | Katie Ritz

“I think that horses either show ability or they don't,” Sikura explained of their decision to stand Army Mule. “It's unfortunate that horses are running very fast and sometimes, of no fault of their own, they get hurt. If a horse can be brilliant and have near track-record performances in their first three starts, think of how much untapped talent is still left with a horse like that. If you're brilliant and the fastest horse in training in your first couple of starts, I think that's a great indicator of immense quality.”

Army Mule looks to continue with his accomplishments in the sales ring at the Keeneland September Sale. The first-crop sire has 25 yearlings cataloged for the upcoming auction.

Sikura said that the type of yearling his offspring represent should appeal to a wide array of demands within the marketplace.

“I think they're more of a Mr. Prospector type,” he said. “They're medium-sized, very fast-looking, very round and with lots of bone. It's what the pinhookers want and it's what the commercial market wants–quality, early speed that sustains.”

Sikura added that he wouldn't be surprised if Army Mule's yearlings are tough to get ahold of next year once his first group of runners hit the racetrack.

“Just think of the many brilliant racehorses, like Candy Ride (Arg), Maclean's Music and Constitution, that as soon as their first crop ran, their stud fee tripled or quadrupled immediately,” he said. “Any time you get in on them in the beginning and you buy before the entire public is aware of the horse, you have great value and you have a chance to buy a really good horse for a lot less that you would the next year should they be successful.”

West is also looking forward to the Keeneland September Sale, where he says he will be scouring the sales grounds for more promising yearlings from Army Mule.

“He was an incredibly fast horses and all three of his races were basically jaw-dropping performances,” he said. “He fits the mold of what John Sikura and Hill 'n' Dale have done with standing stallions that showed brilliancy. From the weanlings we saw in November to the yearlings we see now, he looks like he's passing along his athleticism and his conformation. We're pretty excited about them and are excited to see what the September catalogue has to offer. Hopefully he's the next big stallion out there.”

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Oscar Performance Yearlings Exhibit Sire’s Best Qualities

With the Keeneland September Sale fast approaching, Gray Lyster of Ashview Farm is looking forward to showcasing his colt by Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy-Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire}). Bred by Colts Neck Stables, the bay catalogued as Hip 892 is a half-brother to the talented MGSW Venetian Harbor (Munnings). The sibling duo is out of the stakes-placed mare Sounds of the City (Street Cry {Ire}), who hails from the family of champion sprinter Safely Kept (Horatius).

“He's actually the fifth generation of the family that we've raised here at Ashview,” Lyster said. “He's a really nice medium size and an unbelievable mover. You can see the Oscar Performance in him, but you can also see the mare and the half-sister Venetian Harbor. They all kind of come together. He looks really racey and his walk is smooth and powerful at the same time.”

But Lyster continued in saying that the yearling's best characteristic is his eye-catching balance, a factor Lyster puts heavy weight upon when determining a yearling's probability of future success.

“His whole body moves together and he's fluid,” he explained. “Everything matches. His hip matches his shoulder, which matches his neck. It's all tied in well together. For me, balance is the most important thing. I think that's what you see in the paddock of these big races. You see all different shapes and sizes, but you always see a balance of the whole horse tied together in front of you.”

Champion Oscar Performance is represented by his first crop at this year's yearling sales. When Price Bell of Mill Ridge Farm was asked to explain some of the qualities he has noticed in the multi-millionaire's first few crops, their consistent balance was the first factor he noted.

“The yearlings and foals that we have on the farm have all had great balance,” he said. “They're nice movers and they really get their hind leg under them well. The way their neck ties into their shoulders, they look like really good racehorses. Time will tell until they get into the gate, but at this stage they certainly exhibit the qualities that we really hoped for.”

Oscar Performance colt out of Sounds of the City will sell as Hip 892 with the Ashview Farm consignment. | Katie Ritz

Bred and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Amerman, Oscar Performance was foaled and raised at Mill Ridge Farm. Bell said the son of Kitten's Joy was well-regarded physically as a youngster and that those traits came to fruition when Oscar Performance went on to prove himself on the racetrack.

“Physically, he's a very imposing horse, especially for a turf horse,” he said. “Oftentimes we don't think of [turf horses] to be very physical, but to stand into him, he's over 16.1 hands. Because he's so well proportioned, you have to really stand into him to see just how big he is. He has a very straight hind leg, which I think helped him accelerate quickly and I think that's a little atypical of some turf horses.”

Campaigned by Amerman Racing, Oscar Performance broke his maiden at second asking as a juvenile. That 10 1/4-length win at Saratoga gave him the 'TDN Rising Star' nod. From there, the Brian Lynch trainee took the GIII Pilgrim S. by six lengths followed by a winning, front-running effort in the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“His win in the Breeders' Cup was really something to marvel,” Bell said. “He broke from the 13 hole, beat everyone to the turn, dictated a quick pace and then accelerated down the stretch to really put a good group of horses away. In fact, Channel Maker (English Channel) was in that field and could now be one of the best turf horses in the division today.”

At three, Oscar Performance reeled off consecutive victories in the GIII Pennine Ridge S., GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. and GI Secretariat S. while also placing in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. The following year, he shortened back to a mile in the GIII Poker S. and broke a 20-year-old track record to win by 1 ½ lengths in a final time of 1:31.23. He made it to the winner's circle again at four in the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile S. and retired later that year with earnings of over $2.3 million.

“Oscar Performance was a brilliant racehorse–arguably Kitten's Joy's most brilliant racehorse,” Bell said. “He happened to also be running when Roaring Lion was running and I think the two of them would compete for that title. He competed in all of his races without Lasix or race-day medication and as the standards of racing adjust to medication-free on race day, it will be interesting to see if that has an effect on his offspring.”

Oscar Performance began his career at stud in 2019 with a $20,000 initial fee. He held the same fee the following year and bred 234 mares in his first two seasons.

Bell said the Mill Ridge team did not shy away from the fact that Oscar Performance was a top performer on the grass when promoting their new stallion to breeders, noting that he believes the buying market is finally beginning to seek out turf runners.

“I think the investment that America is making in turf racing attracts buyers to him,” Bell explained. “You no longer have to make excuses for turf horses. If nearly 50% of races are run on turf and the current turf stallions in America are aging, Oscar Performance is a great opportunity to take advantage of the shift into turf racing.”

With eight youngsters sold from 12 offered at last year's weanling sales, Oscar Performance's first crop averaged $52,000 and placed their sire among the top 10 first-crop weanlings sires by average. His top lot, a closely-related half-sister to MGSW Kitten's Point (Kitten's Joy), brought $140,000 at the Keeneland November Sale.

Hip 801, a filly out of Maya Princess, sells with the Mill Ridge consignment at the Keeneland September Sale. | Katie Ritz

This summer, Mill Ridge consigned a filly at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale that sold for $180,000 to agent Bo Bromagen. The yearling is out of the Street Sense mare Wild Silk, who hails from the family of GISW Joking (Distorted Humor) and MGSW Fed Biz (Giant's Causeway), as well as blue hen mare Yarn (Mr. Prospector).

“She was an outstanding physical,” Bell noted. “She wasn't the biggest filly, but she had such a presence and such an athletic move to her that she really picked up momentum the longer people had to look at her.”

Oscar Performance will be represented by 33 yearlings at the upcoming Keeneland September Sale. Bell said he is especially looking forward to presenting Hip 801, a filly bred on the same cross as their aforementioned star Saratoga yearling. This September-bound youngster is a daughter of Maya Princess (Street Sense), who has already produced the stakes-placed filly Mariah's Princess (Ghostzapper).

“This filly has always had a nice presence about her,” Bell explained. “Physically, she's very smooth and she's a really flashy kind of filly. She's correct and moves with an athletic, cat-like walk. She's light on her feet and she's always willing to do something new. If she's getting on a van or going into a new barn, she is willing to just drop her head and take it in.”

Bell continued in saying that many of the Oscar Performance yearlings at their farm have that same easygoing temperament.

“They all have really great presence of mind and they're confident horses,” he said. “They kind of take a deep breath, take it all in and then go to the task at hand. They have a very nice, laid-back temperament that oozes confidence and class.”

Bell said he has high hopes for Oscar Performance and his yearlings heading into the Keeneland September Sale and is confident that the strong support from breeders in the early days of the Mill Ridge stallion's career will lead to his offspring's success in the auction ring.

“It's an outstanding group [going to Keeneland September] representing a lot of top breeders,” he said. “Two of the last three Eclipse award-winning breeders are shareholders in Oscar Performance in George Strawbridge and John and Tanya Gunther. It's a diverse group of breeders and they've been raised at great farms, so they should be given every chance.”

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