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City of Light Ready to Shine in Saratoga with First Yearlings

First-crop yearling sire City of Light (Quality Road – Paris Notion, by Dehere) was a physical standout long before he joined the Lane's End stallion roster.

In 2015, the son of Quality Road bred by Ann Marie Farm topped the sixth session of the Keeneland September Sale by a landslide when he sold for $710,000 to Mark Reid of Walnut Green. It was the largest ticket price for a Keeneland Book 3 horse since 2007.

Allaire Ryan recalls watching City of Light develop at Lane's End Farm in the days leading up to his purchase.

“Physically, by the time the sale came around, he was a stunning individual,” she said. “He started out with a big, rangy, raw frame and truly blossomed as he came into himself over the course of sales prep. By the time Book 3 rolled around, he was in prime placement to be received by end users and pinhookers. Anybody that looked at him, he was a horse that stayed on your short list.”

A similar thought was had by breeders a few years later when he first began his stud career at Lane's End in 2019. The Breeders' Cup champion and multi-millionaire filled a 146-mare book in his first year off a $35,000 stud fee. When his fee was increased to $40,000 the following season, he bred the same number of mares.

“He's been overwhelmingly supported at stud,” Ryan said of the young stallion who was just as popular this year holding a $40,000 stud fee. “As far as getting off to a good start, we couldn't be happier with how he's done thus far.”

And just as City of Light blossomed during sales prep as a yearling, Ryan said the eye-catching bay has bettered himself physically as he's let down as a stallion.

“He's a better-looking version of himself now and I also say quite frequently that he's a better-looking version of his sire,” she said. “He's got Quality Road's size, substance and frame, but he has a lot of style and presence to himself as well. He has really matured into a beautiful-bodied stallion.”

Campaigned by Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr., City of Light captured the GI Malibu S. as a sophomore in his first start against stakes company. The Michael McCarthy pupil returned at four to annex consecutive wins in the GI Triple Bend S. and GII Oaklawn H. After placing in two Grade I competitions in his next starts, he took the 2018 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and then capped off his career the following January with a 5 3/4-length victory over a sloppy track in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S.

“The fact that he's a Grade I winner at three, four and five is pretty remarkable,” Ryan said. “He was just a classy individual from the get-go. He had the drive, determination and class factor to rise above the competition.”

City of Light's first crop of weanlings were well received last year with 20 of 23 sold to average $190, 875 and place their sire at the top of the first-crop stallion ranks behind only Triple Crown winner Justify in terms of weanling average.

His top lot, a colt out of the Into Mischief mare Breaking Beauty, was the highest-priced weanling of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale when he was purchased by Oxo Equine LLC for $600,000. Larry Best's Oxo Equine purchased another top-priced member of City of Light's first crop at the Keeneland January Sale, going to $400,000 for a filly out of I'll Show Me (Bernardini) from the family of champion Proud Spell (Proud Citizen).

“In last year's market there were a lot uncertainties, but we were certainly encouraged by the support buyers showed for his first-sale yearlings,” Ryan said. “Consistent support from end users and pinhookers is always encouraging, especially for a new stallion, so to receive that kind of support certainly made us feel like we were heading into the right direction coming into the yearling sales season.”

At last month's Fasig-Tipton July Sale, four of five City of Light yearlings sold, fetching $230,000, $180,000, $170,000 and $80,000, with another failing to meet her reserve at $120,000. His top-priced yearling, a filly out of Grand Sofia (Giant's Causeway) from the family of Grade I winners Rail Trip (Jump Start) and Palace Malice (Curlin), was the highest-selling yearling of the auction of any first-crop sire.

City of Light colt out of stakes winner Adorable Miss sells as Hip 33 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. | Lane's End Farm

Ryan said the physicals City of Light is throwing lend to the yearlings' commercial appeal in the sales ring.

“City of Light is a very dominant stallion from a physical standpoint,” she said. “He's extremely consistent in what he's throwing. Like him, they have size and beautifully-balanced frames. They have scope and a bit of style and elegance to them. A City of Light yearling comes out and they have presence. They catch your eye. On top of that, they use themselves beautifully. They have a tremendous range of motion and they cover the ground effortlessly with their stride. So from a commercial aspect, they have everything you want in a yearling prospect.”

The young sire has seven first-crop yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale on Aug. 9 and 10. Lane's End will be representing two of those youngsters.

The first, a colt selling as Hip 33, is a son of dual stakes winner Adorable Miss (Kitten's Joy), a full-sister to GIIISW Noble Beauty.

“He's a homebred here for the farm and has been a forward individual from day one,” Ryan explained. “He's got size, length, scope and a quality frame. He has a handsome head and eye, beautiful length to his neck and a nice range of motion. He carries himself effortlessly for a big, two-turn sort of colt.”

The second Lane's End-consigned City of Light, a filly selling as Hip 154, is out of the A.P. Indy mare Modesty Blaise, a daughter of Group I winner and Grade I producer Chimes of Freedom (Private Account). The filly is a half-sister to stakes winners High Noon Rider (Distorted Humor) and Poupee Flash (Elusive Quality).

“This filly oozes class and quality,” Ryan noted. “She has the residual value in her female family to back her up so I think heading into the sale, she'll be very well-received.”

Full brother to dual graded stakes winner Travel Column sells as Hip 209 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. | Chris Welker

Chris Welker has been on the ride of a lifetime over the past year as the co-breeder of dual graded stakes winner Travel Column (Frosted). The filly's half-brother by American Pharoah, now named Corton Charlemagne, brought $1.25 million at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. This year, Welker is looking forward to offering their half-brother by City of Light as Hip 209 at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“What don't I like about him?” Welker asked about the colt that will be consigned with Denali Stud. “As he's gotten older, he reminds me a lot of City of Light. This colt has a very good mind, a beautiful walk and he's very smooth. He has a beautiful head on him and is everything I had hoped he would be.”

In addition to producing MGSW Travel Column, the colt's dam Swingit (Victory Gallop) is also responsible for MGISP millionaire Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday).

Regarding the decision to send Swingit to City of Light, Welker said, “We loved the way he was bred and the races he won were brilliant. He was a brilliant horse. The first time we saw him run, I got really excited about how beautiful he was. At that time Swingit wasn't what she is now so the timing was perfect that when he went to stud, her offspring had done what they've done and we were able to [breed to him].

With just one week until her colt is set to go through the ring in Saratoga, Welker is growing more and more excited to find out how he will be received by the market.

“I feel really, really good but at the same time I want to be realistic because you can't start thinking crazy,” she said. “He's a little bit of Travel Column, a little bit of the American Pharoah colt and a lot of City of Light. You just see more and more of the City of Light in him, which to me is really, really exciting. I think City of Light is such an exciting stallion prospect and it will be fun to see what his babies will do.”

City of Light's other yearlings at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale include a half-brother to GISP Mr. Crow (Tapizar), a half-brother to GIISW Merneith (American Pharoah) out of SW Flattermewithroses (Flatter), a half-sister to GIIISW Share the Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) out of three-time stakes winner Belle of the Hall (Graeme Hall), as well as a son of stakes-placed Sca Doodle (Scat Daddy).

View City of Light's full Saratoga Select Sale roster here.

The Lane's End sire also has three yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Sale. View their pedigrees here.

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City Of Light’s First Yearlings Shined At Keeneland January Sale

City of Light got off on the right foot commercially with a strong performance from his first weanlings during last year's November mixed sales in Kentucky. Now that we're on the other side of the flipped calendar, the Lane's End resident has continued to show up at the top of the lists with his debut yearlings at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, completed earlier this week.

The 7-year-old son of Quality Road was the leading first-crop yearling sire of the Keeneland January sale by both gross and average sale price.

Over the course of the four-day sale, City of Light saw eight newly-turned yearlings change hands for revenues of $1,225,500 and an average of $153,188. His average was more than double the next-closest first-year sire with more than one horse sold during the January sale: Mendelssohn, who moved five yearlings for an average of $67,800.

The most expensive offering of City of Light's January draft was Hip 660, a bay filly out of the unplaced Bernardini filly I'll Show Me who sold to Larry Best's OXO Equine for $400,000. She was the second-most expensive yearling of the overall sale, and she was the highest-priced youngster of the auction's second session.

I'll Show Me is a half-sister to champion Proud Spell, stakes winner No Distortion, and Grade 3-placed Proud Pearl. Lane's End consigned the top filly, as agent.

Best's purchase displayed continued high-level support for City of Light after he bought the stallion's most expensive offering during last fall's November sales, as well. At the Fasig-Tipton November sale, Best landed a colt out of the winning Into Mischief mare Breaking Beauty for $600,000.

The commercial performance by City of Light's foals so far is a strong endorsement from a marketplace that has been high on the stallion since he was just a stallion prospect. He was booked full for his debut season at stud prior to his farewell victory in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, and Bill Farish of Lane's End said the farm had to turn away another book's worth of mares after the window closed.

Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, speaking at the Lane's End Press Pass event earlier this month, said he has a share in City of Light as a breeder, and he was happy with the two homebreds he had by the 7-year-old stallion.

“It wasn't a surprise to me that his foals looked so good because I have found through the years that these magnificent-looking stallions like Alydar, Secretariat, Deputy Minister, they have the gene strength to reproduce themselves,” Ryan said. “When they're really good physicals, it seems to be pretty common that they all transmit that to their offspring and this was no exception in this horse. His foals were very well-grown. They have size, substance, quality, strength, and they had an aura of class and presence about them.”

Between the initial mare bookings and the Keeneland January sale, breeders showed their respect for City of Light by making him one of the top weanling sires of 2020, first-crop or otherwise.

City of Light saw 23 weanlings go through the ring last year for revenues of $2,592,000 and an average of $216,000. That placed him fifth among all North American sires by average weanling sale price, and second only to Triple Crown winner Justify among first-crop sires. He was also second to Justify by weanling gross among all sires.

“It wasn't a fluke, it wasn't just that one or two were big-selling horses,” Ryan said. “They were consistently well-made, well-conformed, quality horses.”

Bred in Kentucky by Ann Marie Farm, City of Light is out of the unraced Dehere mare Paris Notion, whose runners also include stakes-placed Pointsman and Exotic Notion. Champion turf mare Fiji is in his extended family, along with Irish filly classic winner and Grade 1 winners Java's War, Careless Jewel, Subordination, Cacoethes, and Fabulously Fast.

Racing for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr. and trained by Michael McCarthy, City of Light won six of 11 starts during his on-track career, earning $5,662,600, and he picked up Grade 1 wins in each of his campaigns from ages three to five. He took home the G1 Malibu Stakes as a 3-year-old, then won the G2 Oaklawn Handicap and G1 Triple Bend Stakes before capping off his 4-year-old season with a triumph in the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Churchill Downs. His swan song came in the 2019, G1 Pegasus World Cup, where he prevailed through stormy weather and sloppy footing to go out on a high note.

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Major Dispersals Drive Overall Gains At Keeneland January Sale

The resiliency of the Thoroughbred industry was highlighted this week at Keeneland's January Horses of All Ages Sale, which ended today with gross sales of more than $45 million, boosted by a number of prominent dispersals: 21 in-foal broodmares from Canada's acclaimed Sam-Son Farm; 39 mares, yearlings and horses of racing age from Lane's End, agent for the Complete Dispersal of the Estate of Paul Pompa Jr.; and 41 mares, yearlings and horses of racing age from Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency, agent for the Dispersal of Spry Family Farm.

At the auction, held Jan. 11-14, a total of 963 horses sold for $45,522,100, for an average of $47,271 and a median of $15,000.

The 2020 January Sale, which covered five sessions, had 1,050 horses sell for $40,453,300, for an average of $38,527 and a median of $13,000.

The Pompa Dispersal recorded sales of $6,790,200, and the Sam-Son Dispersal had sales of $6,733,000. The two dispersals generated the auction's 11 highest prices.

During Tuesday's second session of Book 1, the Sam-Son and Pompa offerings produced two horses each sold for the sale-topping price of $925,000. Gainesway Farm paid the amount for Danceforthecause, a daughter of Giant's Causeway in foal to Twirling Candy, from Sam-Son. Peter Brant's White Birch Farm went to $925,000 for the Animal Kingdom mare Regal Glory, a multiple graded stakes winner for Pompa, via phone bidding with a Keeneland representative.

“The continued stability of the market is a testament to the hard work of all our sales participants, who have adjusted their operations and their expectations to meet the challenges of this unprecedented time,” Keeneland president, CEO and interim head of sales Shannon Arvin said. “The Sam-Son and Pompa dispersals are the legacies of two wonderful operations, and they infused a lot of positive energy into the January Sale. Dispersals are always bittersweet, but we are honored that their families and connections entrusted Keeneland to present these dispersals and showcase their excellence.”

As it did for the 2020 September Yearling and November Breeding Stock Sales, Keeneland held the January Sale with extensive COVID-19 protocols for the health and safety of participants. Consignors were able to post videos and photographs of their horses on Keeneland.com to assist remote buyers in evaluating the catalog offerings. Buyers in attendance could bid from the outdoor Show Barn just behind the Sales Pavilion to permit greater social distancing, while others who did not attend could participate in the bidding by internet or phone.

Via the internet, buyers purchased 109 horses for gross sales of $3,106,900.

“This is our third sale during this uncommon time, and we thank our consignors, buyers and agents for their perseverance and for adapting to the changes we have had to make,” Keeneland director of sales operations Geoffrey Russell said. “As a result, the January Sale was able to provide a steady marketplace. Foals sold well, as did quality broodmares. As we've seen for quite some time, there is a competitive market for a nice horse.”

Keeneland director of sales development Mark Maronde echoed those sentiments.

“The pandemic has been difficult, but trade didn't stop,” Maronde said. “Buyers who were not able to attend found ways to participate. We now look forward to welcoming everyone back to Keeneland, hopefully soon, under more normal circumstances.”

On Day 2 of the sale, the Sam-Son Dispersal offered members of coveted female families nurtured for generations by the multiple award-winning breeding and racing operation founded in 1972 by the late Ernie Samuel. Six horses sold for $400,000 or more. Joining Danceforthecause in that group were Deceptive Vision (sold to Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa for $900,000), Southern Ring (purchased by Phil Schoenthal, agent for Determined Stud for $875,000), Mythical Mission (Shimokobe Farm/Polo Green Stable, agent, $575,000), Fun in the Desert (Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, $530,000) and Theatric (Greg and Caroline Bentley, $400,000).

To help promote the dispersal, Sam-Son conducted a broodmare parade three days before the horses sold. Keeneland director of auctioneers Ryan Mahan and announcer Kurt Becker hosted the event, which Keeneland produced and livestreamed on its website.

“Keeneland was very good to us and the (Samuel) family was grateful for the show that was put on,” Sam-Son Farm manager Dave Whitford said. “Our courtyard (barn area) was wonderful; we could not have asked for better. We were very well received with people looking at our mares. We got a lot of compliments and were very pleased. The people who bought our mares also were very pleased.”

Whitford said the January Sale was a fitting showcase for the mares.

“We talked about waiting until November 2021, but of course we would have to foal all the mares and get them back in foal,” he said. “That would have delayed the process. We were confident we would stand out in January. We were very pleased.”

Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa's two purchases from Sam-Son are half-sisters out of Canadian champion Eye of the Sphynx, by Smart Strike. Deceptive Vision is an 11-year-old daughter of A.P. Indy in foal to War Front who is a full sister to Canadian champion Eye of the Leopard and stakes winners Hotep and Desert Isle. Fun in the Desert, a 10-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor, is the dam of Canadian champion Desert Ride. In foal to Candy Ride (ARG), she is carrying a full sibling to Desert Ride.

During the second session, Schoenthal, agent for Determined, purchased three members of the Sam-Son and Pompa Dispersals among the five horses they acquired through the ring for $2.12 million to be the sale's leading buyer. Their most expensive acquisition, the aforementioned Southern Ring, is a Grade 3-winning daughter of Speightstown in foal to Into Mischief. She is out of stakes winner Seeking the Ring, by Seeking the Gold, and from the family of Canadian champion Catch the Ring.

Into Mischief was the sale's leading covering sire by average (with three or more sold) with three in-foal mares averaging $531,667.

Held during the second and fourth sessions of the sale, the Pompa Dispersal included six horses that brought $500,000 or more.

“Mr. Pompa's program has been meticulously managed and it shows,” Lane's End sales director Allaire Ryan said. “It is nice to see the top agents and buyers giving these horses the respect they deserve. Mr. Pompa would be pleased.”

Among the highest-priced Pompa horses was stakes winner Beautiful Lover, a 5-year-old daughter of Arch sold to Moyglare Stud Farm for $650,000. A half-sister to Grade 2 winner Zivo, Beautiful Lover is scheduled to return to racing.

Schoenthal, agent for Determined, purchased two horses from the Pompa Dispersal. They paid $570,000 for Off Topic, a 5-year-old Grade 1-placed daughter of Street Sense consigned as a racing or broodmare prospect. She is from the family of Grade 1 winners Miner's Mark, Traditionally and My Flag.

They also spent $320,000 for Sustained, an 11-year-old, graded stakes-placed daughter of War Front in foal to Connect. Out of Sweetstorm Amy, by Lemon Drop Kid, Sustained is the dam of Grade 3 winner Turned Aside, who won the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship (L) in November and sold to West Point and DJ Stable, L. E. B., agent, for $725,000 during the final session.

Selling to BBA Ireland for $500,000 from the Pompa Dispersal was Regal Glory's dam, Mary's Follies, a 15-year-old daughter of More Than Ready. She also is the dam of Grade 3 winner Night Prowler and Japan Group 3 winner Café Pharoah.

Horses of racing age from the Pompa Dispersal highlighted the final day of the January Sale. The session topper at $875,000 was Carillo, a 3-year-old colt by Union Rags who won his career debut Jan. 8 at Aqueduct and was purchased by Lauren Carlisle, agent. She said the colt would resume his career with trainer Tom Amoss.

“He's an exciting 3-year-old colt and hopefully he improves off (his first) effort and we will try to go longer with him,” Carlisle said. “We didn't want to spend that much but if you're in the market for a 3-year-old colt before (the Kentucky Derby) you're going to have to spend. We're happy to get him.”

Other top sellers from the Pompa Dispersal on the final day were the aforementioned Turned Aside ($725,000), Untreated (sold to Steven W. Young, agent, for $300,000), debut winner Spirit Maker (David Ingordo, $200,000), winner Perceived (DJ Stable, $140,000) and Grade 3 winner Country Grammer (WinStar Farm, $110,000).

West Point's Terry Finley said Turned Aside would be sent to trainer Mark Casse in Ocala, Florida.

“It is very rare to find a horse like this (to buy),” Finley said. “(Turned Aside's former trainer) Linda Rice did a great job with him. I got to know Paul about 10 years ago. He was a kind and classy guy, and you never heard a cross word about Paul Pompa. I hope we can carry on his legacy. He built a beautiful program. They won and they did it in style. I was a huge fan. We in the industry are heartbroken and sad that we don't have Paul around anymore. We will do our best to sustain his legacy.”

Held on the first and third days of the auction, the Spry Dispersal resulted in total sales of $1,405,900, led by Sand Hill Stables' purchase of the Maclean's Music yearling colt Mac's Prize on opening day for $200,000. He is out of the Tapit mare Heavenly Tap, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Instilled Regard and from the family of champion Heavenly Prize and Grade 1 winners Oh What a Windfall, Good Reward and Persistently.

Acquiring seven horses for $1,654,000, Larry Best's OXO Equine was second among buyers at the January Sale by expenditures. Best purchased the three highest-priced yearlings: a colt by Munnings, who topped the opening session at $475,000, along with a $400,000 filly from the first crop of City of Light and a $320,000 filly by Speightstown.

Hunter Valley Farm, agent, consigned the son of Munnings. Lane's End, agent, sold the filly by City of Light, and Buck Pond Farm, agent, consigned the daughter of Speightstown.

City of Light was the sale's leading sire of yearlings with eight horses selling for $1,225,500.

On Thursday's final session, 255 horses sold for $5,729,000, for an average of $22,467 and a median of $7,000.

Lane's End, agent, was the January Sale's leading consignor, selling 78 horses for $8,741,200.

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Enthusiasm For Dispersals Energizes Day Two Of Keeneland January Sale

Two prominent dispersals – 20 broodmares, yearlings and horses of racing age sold by Lane's End, agent for the Complete Dispersal of the Estate of Paul P. Pompa Jr., and 21 in-foal broodmares owned by Sam-Son Farm, the acclaimed breed-to-race operation in Ontario – fueled brisk commerce on Tuesday's second day of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.

A horse from each dispersal sold for $925,000 apiece to lead the session. Via phone bidding with a Keeneland representative, Peter Brant's White Birch Farm paid the amount for the third horse in the ring, Regal Glory, a multiple graded stakes winner for Pompa. Later in the day, Gainesway Farm purchased Danceforthecause, in foal to Twirling Candy, from Sam-Son to equal the price.

On Tuesday, Keeneland sold 247 horses for $23,319,400, for an average of $94,411 and a median of $40,000.

A total of 453 horses grossed $35,414,800 through two sessions of the four-day sale, for an average of $78,178 and a median of $37,000.

“The power of the dispersal was very obvious today with nine of the top 10 prices paid for horses from the dispersals,” Keeneland director of sales operations Geoffrey Russell said. “These dispersals are bittersweet, but we appreciate the trust they put in Keeneland to put the show on today.

“The opportunity, especially with the Sam-Son Dispersal, to get into these mares has been limited over the years,” he added. “People are hungry to get into these strong female families. The same is true for the mares owned by Mr. Pompa. Breeders are looking for blue skies ahead and they have to have the product to produce yearlings to sell.”

The Pompa Dispersal generated sales of $4,037,000 and included four horses sold for $400,000 or more. Co-highest priced Regal Glory, a 5-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom out of graded stakes winner Mary's Follies, by More Than Ready, won the 2019 Grade 2 Lake Placid and G3 Lake George and captured the 2020 G3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf in her most recent start. She was cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect.

White Birch acquired another Pompa horse when it paid $260,000 for Proper Mad, whose 3-year-old Union Rags colt, Carillo, won his career debut on Jan. 8 at Aqueduct. From the family of Grade 1 winner Dunbar Road, Proper Mad is an 8-year-old daughter of Bernardini and the Unbridled mare Private Gift who is in foal to Connect. Carillo is scheduled to sell here Thursday when the Pompa Dispersal continues with 19 horses.

Pompa, a widely respected horseman and businessman who died in October 2020, had a successful association with Keeneland. In 2007, he paid $190,000 for future Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner and champion Big Brown at Keeneland's April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He also campaigned Night Prowler to win the 2015 G3 Transylvania at Keeneland and raced Fanny Freud in partnership with Stephen Yarbrough and Anthony Grey to win Keeneland's 2010 G2 Beaumont.

The Sam-Son Dispersal was the session's leading consignor with sales of $6,733,000 that featured six horses bringing $400,000 and more. The dispersal represented a closing chapter in the story of the multiple Eclipse Award- and Sovereign Award-winning operation founded in 1972 by the late Ernie Samuel and still run by his family. Sam-Son bred and raced horses that earned four Eclipse Awards and 84 Sovereign Awards along with 44 graded stakes winners.

Over the years, a number of Sam-Son horses raced at Keeneland, and the farm received the distinguished Keeneland Tray during the 2005 Spring Meet to recognize its graded stakes success – a milestone that only 20 owners have reached in track history.

The dispersal was especially emotional for the Sam-Son team at Keeneland.

“With the business of the game and trying to get everything ready – we have worked so hard to do this – we haven't really given ourselves time to absorb it all,” Sam-Son manager Dave Whitford said. “I think after the sale is when it is really going to sink in.

“There is pressure to do things right for the (Samuel) family,” he continued. “They have been doing this for 50 years, and we don't want to mess that up. There is a great legacy, and we have felt that pressure. It is (all) bittersweet, for sure.”

Danceforthecause, who sold to Gainesway Farm for $925,000, is a 10-year-old daughter of Giant's Causeway who has produced Grade 1 winner Say the Word and Grade 2 winner Rideforthecause. She is out of the Thunder Gulch mare Dancethruthestorm, a daughter of Sam-Son's Racing Hall of Famer Dance Smartly.

“She is a really beautiful mare and has been such a good producer already,” said Gainesway director of bloodstock and racing Alex Solis II, who signed the ticket. “I feel this is the best Sam-Son family there is with Dance Smartly as the second dam and Smart Strike right there on the page.”

Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa paid $900,000 for another Sam-Son mare, Deceptive Vision, and went to $530,000 to acquire her half-sister Fun in the Desert. Both are out of Canadian champion Eye of the Sphynx, by Smart Strike.

Deceptive Vision is an 11-year-old daughter of A.P. Indy in foal to War Front. She is a full sister to Canadian champion Eye of the Leopard and stakes winners Hotep and Desert Isle.

Fun in the Desert, a 10-year-old mare by Distorted Humor, is the dam of Canadian champion Desert Ride. In foal to Candy Ride (ARG), she is carrying a full sibling to Desert Ride.

The session's leading buyer was Phil Schoenthal, agent for Determined Stud of Maryland, who purchased five horses for a total of $2.12 million. Topping the acquisitions at $875,000 was the Sam-Son mare Southern Ring, a Grade 3-winning daughter of Speightstown in foal to Into Mischief. She is out of stakes winner Seeking the Ring, by Seeking the Gold, and from the family of Canadian champion Catch the Ring.

For Determined, Schoenthal purchased two horses from the Pompa Dispersal. They went to $570,000 for Off Topic, a 5-year-old Grade 1-placed daughter of Street Sense consigned as a racing or broodmare prospect. Out of Off Limits, by Include, she is from the family of Grade 1 winners Miner's Mark, Traditionally and My Flag.

They paid $320,000 for Sustained, an 11-year-old, graded stakes-placed daughter of War Front in foal to Connect. Out of Sweetstorm Amy, by Lemon Drop Kid, Sustained is the dam of Grade 3 winner Turned Aside, who won the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship in November and is scheduled to sell here Thursday.

Another top-priced horse from the Pompa Dispersal on Tuesday was stakes winner Beautiful Lover, a 5-year-old daughter of Arch sold to Moyglare Stud Farm for $650,000. Consigned as a racing or broodmare prospect, she is out of American Skipper, by Quiet American, and a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Zivo.

Moyglare's Fiona Craig said Beautiful Lover would resume her racing career with trainer Christophe Clement.

“Hopefully the pandemic will cease so (Moyglare owner) Eva (Maria Bucher-Haefner) will be able to come over and see her race,” Craig said. “Long term we'll add (Beautiful Lover) to the broodmare band.”

At $400,000, the session's highest-priced yearling was a filly from the first crop of City of Light sold to Larry Best's OXO Equine. Lane's End, agent, consigned the daughter of the Bernardini mare I'll Show Me, a half-sister to champion Proud Spell and from the family of stakes winners Indian Spell and Dak Attack.

The January Sale continues Wednesday and runs through Thursday. All sessions begin at 10 a.m. ET.

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