by Brian DiDonato, Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis
LEXINGTON, KY–OXO Equine’s Larry Best took home the top two lots Monday during the lone Book 1 session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Early in the day he went to $1.9 million for Indian Miss (Indian Charlie) (hip 32), the dam of champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya) and last Friday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), in foal to Into Mischief and from the Hill ‘n’ Dale consignment; and towards the end of the session he paid $1.95 million for GISW turfer Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy), offered as hip 216 by Lane’s End on behalf of Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing.
With a smaller Book 1 catalog and overall sale compared to last year, 128 head changed hands Monday for $49,775,000 in gross receipts–last year’s Book 1 gross was $70,449,500 from 163 sold. The average was $388,867 (down 10% from $432,206 12 months ago), and median was $280,000 (down 6.7%). The RNA rate was 27.68% compared to 24.54% for 2019’s Book 1 session.
“We had a solid day of trade,” said Keeneland’s President-elect Shannon Arvin. “We had eight horses who sold for a million dollars or more and we were really happy with the participation. There was broad domestic and international participation. We had a lot of Japanese participation today–three of those top sellers were purchased by the Japanese. So overall, we were really happy with how the day went.”
Keeneland continues to offer the expanded bidding options it introduced for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale brought about by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and 62 bids were made over the internet Monday with over $6 million in purchases made online for nine horses.
“One of the benefits we’ve learned from internet bidding is that while the agents can go out and evaluate the horses, it’s the principal who then does the bidding,” noted Keeeneland Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. “I think that has helped both the principal and the agent. The principal might go a little bit further than the agent might have been authorized to go to. So he’s back in control. I think that’s great. It’s a great benefit of the internet. It’s a different way of doing commerce in 2020, but I think we’re all learning how to play with technology and get the best benefit out of it. Consignors were very good about providing photographs and information and videos direct to Japanese buyers who aren’t here.”
Emmanuel de Seroux, who purchased $1.85-million Cherokee Maiden (Distorted Humor) (hip 212) on behalf of Japan’s Grand Farm, said of trade Monday coming off a strong Fasig-Tipton November Night of the Stars: “The market is strong. It is difficult to get the good pedigrees. I think yesterday was very strong and today again is very strong. I thought the quality would sell because privately the horses were selling very well the last couple of months. So there was no reason for the top of the market to dip. But I think it is going to be more difficult for the average horse. But at the top of the market there are a lot of people who are ready to play. They are at home and have plenty of time to study and bid.”
The day’s top weanling was a $600,000 Justify colt purchased by agent Donato Lanni and consigned by Hunter Valley Farm as hip 21.
“It’s just like everything else; the ones they all land on seem to light up the board,” said Russell of a weanling market that seemed slightly soft. “I think the pinhookers you’ll see as they go further on into the sale will get more and more into it, and I think you’d have to expect that they will play at a little bit lower level than they have played at in the past based on the results of this year.”
Keeneland November will continue on with four more books, including Book 2 sessions Tuesday and Wednesday.
“In September, I think there was trepidation after the first two books were over where we would go and we went all the way through the sale with a very strong and vibrant market. Yes, at a lower level, but the horses were trading and moving on,” said Russell of expectations heading into the less select portions of the sale. “That’s what we hope and expect will continue here. I know they are very busy in Book 2, consignors are saying there are plenty of buyers at the barns, so let’s hope that continues.”
A Bittersweet Goodbye For Bromagen
The moments after the hammer dropped at a session-topping $1.95-million for Grade I winner Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy) (Hip 216) were bittersweet for part-owner Ashbrook Farm’s Bo Bromagen.
“I know Larry [Best] bought her, but she is still my filly as far as I’m concerned,” an emotional Bromagen said. “It is bittersweet.”
He continued, “The biggest thing for us is she is going to a good home. Larry Best treats his horses better than anybody. They live better than I do, that’s for sure. I wish him the best of luck with whatever he wants to do with her.”
Bromagen picked out Concrete Rose for just $61,000 after she breezed in :10 2/5 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale and campaigned her in partnership with BBN Racing. The Rusty Arnold pupil captured her first two starts, including the GII JP Morgan Chase Jessamine S. and suffered her only loss when eighth behind a freakish performance from Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the 2018 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies S.
Concrete Rose was a perfect four-for-four in 2019, starting with a win in the GIII Florida Oaks. She followed suit with victories in the GIII Edgewood S., GI Belmont Oaks–in which Best’s Cambier Parc (Medaglia d’Oro) finished third–and Saratoga Oaks, earning over $1.2-million.
“Obviously it’s a thrill, but nobody gets here by themselves,” Bromagen said. “I have to thank Rusty Arnold, who did such a great job with her. I am just happy that she can represent the team so well.”
Concrete Rose was consigned by Lane’s End. —@CDeBernardisTDN
Best Buys Filly Who Beat His
They say “If you can’t beat them, join them,” but in Larry Best’s case Monday it was “If you can’t beat them, buy them.” Best went to a session and likely sale-topping $1.95 million late in the day at Keeneland to secure last year’s GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. and Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. heroine Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy) as hip 216.
Consigned by Lane’s End on behalf of Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing, Concrete Rose had twice defeated Best’s $1.25-million KEESEP buy Cambier Parc (Medaglia d’Oro): when she took the GIII Edgewood S. last May and again in the Belmont Oaks. Cambier Parc, who was fourth and third, respectively, in those two heats, reached the highest level herself in both the GI Del Mar Oaks Presented by The Jockey Club and GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. Presented by Lane’s End in 2019.
“I didn’t want to go quite that high, but honestly I didn’t think I’d touch her below $2 million,” said Best after exchanging pleasantries with Concrete Rose’s trainer Rusty Arnold and BBN’s Braxton Lynch. “She’s a beautiful horse and you can’t take away that record from her. I’m just thrilled to have her. I have admired Concrete Rose for a long time. I have a multiple Grade I winner, Cambier Parc, and Concrete Rose beat her and I said, ‘Wow, what a horse.'” (Click for an interview with Larry Best)
While Concrete Rose was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect, Best said she would not race again. He had been shopping during the session for mares to send to his recently retired Instagrand (see below), but said he was not sure yet who Concrete Rose would visit this upcoming season. She may have a future date, however, with Best’s $1.05-million OBSMAR acquisition Instilled Regard (Arch), who was last seen annexing the GI Manhattan S. on July 4.
“I’d love to breed Instilled Regard to her [in 2022]–I think I’m going to race Instilled Regard one more year, but those two horses I think would meld together very well,” said Best. “She’s just an outstanding horse.”
Best Adds to Band for Instagrand
OXO Equine’s Larry Best acquired the early Monday topper, going to $1.9 million to take home 11-year-old mare Indian Miss (Indian Charlie) (hip 32). The dam of last year’s champion sprinter and GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint hero Mitole (Eskendereya) saw her value increase again at the World Championships on Friday when her 2-year-old son Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) belied 94-1 odds to complete the exacta in the GI TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, Indian Miss was offered in foal to Best’s favorite sire Into Mischief–he had previously acquired her yearling daughter by the nation’s leading sire for $525,000 at Keeneland September.
“This one has an Into Mischief, and then I’m going to breed the mare back to Instagrand,” said Best, referring to his $1.2-million FTFMAR buy, 2018 GII Best Pal S. winner and ‘TDN Rising Star‘, who will stand his first year at stud in 2021 at Taylor Made. “That’s my strategy–try to get Instagrand going, and hopefully we’ll get a nice Into Mischief foal.”
The Into Mischief–Indian Charlie cross has been a potent one, having produced this year’s GI Frizette S. runner-up and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Dayoutoftheoffice as well as speedy three-time GSW and MGISP Frank’s Rockette.
“I really want to give Instagrand a shot,” said Best. “Indian Charlie is a beautiful cross with Into Mischief. Hopefully the mare is good for three or four more… I’m betting big on Instagrand; going to give it a shot anyway. You know how that is.”
Indian Miss was acquired by WinStar Farm for $240,000 out of the Edward A. Cox, Jr. dispersal at KEENOV ’18 while carrying the aforementioned Into Mischief filly. Out of stakes-winning juvenile Glacken’s Gal (Smoke Glacken), she’s a half to Grade II winner Live Lively (Medaglia d’Oro).
Best didn’t waste much time buying another high-dollar mare in foal to Into Mischief–he paid $430,000 for hip 49, Lady Tamra (Cross Traffic), who is a half to another standout Steve Asmussen sprinter in Mia Mischief (Into Mischief). Hip 49 was consigned by ELiTE. —@BDiDonatoTDN
Cherokee Maiden a Grand Purchase
Bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux, bidding in the back show ring, made a final bid of $1.85 million to secure Cherokee Maiden (Distorted Humor) (hip 212) on behalf of Yoshiyuki Ito’s Grand Farm Monday at Keeneland. The racing or broodmare prospect, who was consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock, comes from an active family. She is a daughter of champion Folklore (Tiznow), who is a half-sister to the dam of Friday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Essential Quality (Tapit), and she is a half-sister to the dam of recent Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).
“Friday made a big difference, but she is a very nice broodmare prospect for us,” de Seroux said when asked what impact the Breeders’ Cup had on the purchase. “The pedigree is improving so much after Friday and there is more action in the family every day. We think she is a fantastic broodmare prospect. She is going to go to Japan, probably, it’s not finalized. But we will decide in the next few days.” (Click for more from Narvick’s Emmanuel de Seroux)
De Seroux, bidding on behalf of Ito’s Grand Farm, purchased GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Caledonia Road (Quality Road) for $2.3 million at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November sale.
Michael Stinson purchased Cherokee Maiden for $410,000 as a yearling at the 2018 Keeneland September sale. She was most recently third in a Monmouth Park allowance while racing for the SF Racing Group in July. She has one win in 11 starts and turned in a four-furlong work in :49.20 at Keeneland Oct. 12.
Grand Farm Family is also well-represented on the racetrack in the United States with the promising Himiko (American Pharoah) who aired by 6 1/2 lengths in a Del Mar allowance for trainer Bob Baffert Sunday. That filly, a half-sister to Bodemeister, was purchased by de Seroux on behalf of the farm for $1 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November sale.
“They don’t buy many, but they buy quality,” de Seroux said.
Ollie’s Candy Headed to Japan
Originally scheduled to sell at last year’s Keeneland November Sale, GISW Ollie’s Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) (Hip 83) was scratched by her connections, who chose to race her another year. She made it through the ring this year, however, and rewarded her owner/breeders Paul and Karen Eggert by bringing $1.65 million from Japan’s K I Farm, which bid online.
The Eggerts bought Ollie’s Candy’s GSW dam Afternoon Stroll (Stroll) for $85,000 at the 2015 Keeneland January Sale with this mare in utero. She won four of her 16 starts, topped by the 2019 GI Clement L. Hirsch S., and earned $930,151.
“I thought she would bring that with the way the market has been going on high-end mares,” said Taylor Made’s Mark Taylor. “My appraisal was $1.5 to $2 million and she was in that range. She is worth every penny. She still looks good after all the races she has run. In my mind she was only about three lengths off winning three additional three Grade Is. If she had won a couple more that she had rough trips in, she could have brought twice that.”
Ollie’s Candy was winless in 2020, but placed in five Grade I events, including a head second in the GI Apple Blossom H., a half-length second in the Clement Hirsch and another close second to GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff runner-up Valiance (Tapit) in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. —@CDeBernardisTDN
Lady Prancealot Also Bound for Japan
Grade I winner Lady Prancealot (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) (hip 48), who was a close-up fourth in Saturday’s GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf, will be heading to Japan after Naohiro Hosoda signed the ticket on the 4-year-old filly at $1.6 million on behalf of Shadai Farm at Keeneland Monday.
“She is a Grade I winner on the turf and our main racing in Japan is on the grass,” Hosoda said of the filly’s appeal. “And of course her pedigree is suitable for mating with Japan’s main sire lines–Sunday Silence, King Kamehameha. So there are many options.”
Bloodstock agents David Meah and Jamie Lloyd acquired Lady Prancealot privately on behalf of partners Jerry McClanahan, Christopher Dunn and Jeremy Peskoff in 2018. The agents were looking for fillies racing in Europe to transfer to the U.S. with hopes of gaining black-type before selling at auction.
“This was one that the plan worked out perfectly,” Meah said. “We found her in England. She was exactly what we always try to find in Europe, something that has a bit of speed that in time will stretch out and wants fast ground. We bought her after her third start–a good friend of mine, John Egan, had ridden her and when we found out she was for sale, we called him and he highly recommended her. We kept her in England for a couple of races because we tried to go the Royal Ascot route. It didn’t pan out, we didn’t make it to Ascot, but she ran well in a couple other races. And then we brought her to America and she got into [trainer] Richard [Baltas]’s program, who has done a brilliant job with a lot of horses we’ve bought. She just went from strength to strength.”
Lady Prancealot, who eventually added partners Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Craig and Josie Arntz, Donald Durando and Jules and Michael Iavarone, won the 2019 GI American Oaks, GIII Honeymoon S. and GIII Pin Oak Valley View S. On the board in 14 of 23 starts, Lady Prancealot retires with five wins and earnings of $740,841. McClanahan and Peskoff had maintained their interests in the filly up until Monday’s sale.
Asked if the filly had exceeded expectations, Meah said, “One hundred percent. Anytime you buy a horse for under $100,000 and they go on to win a Grade I, they’ve definitely exceeded expectations.”
Lady Prancealot ran a bang-up race to be fourth on championship Saturday at Keeneland.
“I thought it was her best race to date,” Meah said of her Breeders’ Cup effort. “And I think that probably enhanced buyers’ expectations. She’s proved it in California and she’s had a big win at Keeneland, but to do it against the world’s best, I think that probably pushed the needle a little bit for the buyers.”
Phillip Shelton, of Taylor Made’s Medallion Racing partnership, agreed the filly’s seven-figure price tag was likely a nod to her Breeders’ Cup performance.
“If you had asked me two days ago, I would have been surprised,” Shelton said of the filly’s final price. “But after the way she ran in the Breeders’ Cup, the strength of the market last night [at Fasig-Tipton]–anytime you have a strong market and there is a dominant buying force, it means a lot of people are not getting horses bought. I think we were expecting a strong showing today and $1.6 million was a great result for everybody. She’s a 4-year-old and there is blue sky ahead. They are going to breed her. If we couldn’t get it done we were happy to take her back and run her. We have to thank all of our [Medallion Racing] partners for putting their faith in us.”
Hosoda doubled up on mares for Shadai just a few hips later, going to $660,000 to acquire Layla Noor (Midnight Lute) (hip 51) and then went to $280,000 to purchase Olendon (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) (hip 82). @JessMartiniTDN
Spendthrift Picks Up Where It Left Off
After a night of heavy bidding across town at Fasig-Tipton and a morning welcoming GI Breeders’ Cup Classic and GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) into retirement at the farm, Spendthrift Farm General Manager Ned Toffey was back in action at the first session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Bidding on behalf of B. Wayne Hughes’s operation, Toffey went to $1.5 million to acquire Queen’s Plate winner Holy Helena (Ghostzapper) (hip 28) from the Hidden Brook consignment. The 6-year-old mare sold in foal to Quality Road.
“She’s a nice mare with a lot of ability and a lot of pedigree, so we’re excited to have her,” Toffey said. “We will sit down and have a conversation on [mating plans] and go from there.”
Bred and campaigned by Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs, Holy Helena won the 2017 Queen’s Plate and Woodbine Oaks and was named Canada’s champion 3-year-old filly. She added wins in the 2018 GII Sheepshead Bay S. and the 2019 GII Dance Smartly S., as well as the 2018 and 2019 editions of the GIII The Very One S.
Out of Holy Grace (Holy Bull), Holy Helena is a half-sister to multiple Grade I placed Holy Boss (Street Boss). Holy Grace is a half-sister to graded winners Rookie Sensation (Unbridled’s Song) and Mark One (Alphabet Soup).
“She was a very good race mare and she’s a standout in the market here,” said Hidden Brook managing partner Sergio de Sousa. “We felt confident she would get that price. It was a little over what we thought.”
Toffey returned a few hips later to purchase Kelly’s Humor (Midnight Lute) (hip 41) for $800,000. Also Monday, Spendthrift also purchased Secret Message (Hat Trick {Jpn}) (hip 112) for $625,000 Monday at Keeneland. @JessMartiniTDN
Stonestreet Scoops Up Aussie Mare in Foal to Familiar Stallion
Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings went to $1.5-million to secure talented Australian runner Houtzen (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) (Hip 31), who is carrying a foal by Stonestreet’s very own Curlin.
“She won the Magic Millions [2YO Classic], which is a hard race to win,” said Banke, standing alongside Stonestreet advisor John Moynihan. “She was a really brilliant 2-year-old in Australia–
super fast. She was in foal to my favorite stallion, so what is not to like?”
As for future matings, Banke said, “She’s by I Am Invincible, so we could send her anywhere.”
In addition to her stakes win at two, Houtzen was a multiple Group 3 winner in her native land, earning over $1.5-million. Peter O’Callaghan’s Woods Edge Farm consigned the filly for Australian owner and breeder Aquis Farm.
“We expected her to do very well,” O’Callaghan said. “She was a really talented race mare. She was a Grade I mare that didn’t win a Grade I. She was just so good looking and by a really top international sire and in foal to a top international sire. I think her looks really got her over the line. It was easy to say she was worth $800,000 to $1 million on paper, but when you looked at her, you knew she’d be better. There aren’t quite that many mares here quite as good looking as her.”
O’Callaghan said he was thrilled that she would be joining Banke’s star-studded broodmare band.
“A long-term wonderful breeder bought her and we’re very grateful for that,” he said. “It’s great for that mare to go there. They do a wonderful job and she’ll be taken care of and she deserves that. That was mare was a pleasure to have for us and a bit of a prize for us to have on the farm. We’re grateful for Aquis to have entrusted her to us and allowed us to sell her.” —@CDeBernardisTDN
Sams Strikes Early For Quality Mare
After a fury of seven-figure mares at Sunday night’s Fasig-Tipton sale, it did not take long for Keeneland to get their first $1-million dollar transaction of the November Sale with Claiborne’s Bernie Sams hitting the mark for Gingham (Quality Road) just 12 hips into the day’s action.
“It is an Arthur Hancock family,” said Sams, who was bidding on behalf of an undisclosed Claiborne client. “We like the Pulpit [broodmare sire], obviously, and the Quality Road. She was raised closed to us. She was a picture and she could run. She fills all the bills.”
Gingham was catalogued as a racing or broodmare prospect, but Sams said she would likely go right to the breeding shed.
As for the price, Sams said, “I would have loved to have been a little less. We tried to buy a couple of mares last night and got outrun pretty good, so I wasn’t sure where it would be today.”
Bred by Hancock’s Stone Farm, Gingham was purchased by Sarah Kelly for $420,000 at KEESEP. The bay captured three of 10 starts, including the Angels Flight S., and placed in a pair of graded events for trainer Bob Baffert.
Gingham’s second dam is MGSW Owsley (Harlan), who is also the dam of SW & GSP Senada (Pulpit). Senada’s daughter, GSP Layla Noor (Midnight Lute) (Hip 51), sold later in Monday’s session, bringing $660,000 from Shadai Farm. Gingham’s full-brother summoned $620,000 at the recent Keeneland September sale from the group known as “The Avengers” and is now named Blackadder.
“She was graded stakes-placed in August,” said Brookdale Sales’ Joe Seitz. “She’s gorgeous and she’s by a terrific sire [Quality Road], so that really helps. That was a great price, but she was so beautiful I wasn’t surprised.” —@CDeBernardisTDN
Holmes Hits a Home Run With Veronique
When Veronique (Mizzen Mast) (Hip 244D) went through the ring at last year’s Keeneland November Sale, she was led out unsold at $22,000. Marula Park Stud’s Tony Holmes secured the mare privately after the fact and partnered with one of his employees of 22 years.
It turned out to be a very shrewd purchase. Thanks to the exploits of her undefeated son Nashville (Speightstown), the mare–who was a late supplement to this catalogue–was very popular at Keeneland this time around, bringing $800,000 from bloodstock agent James Delahooke.
“We thought it could happen because [Nashville] did it so naturally [when winning the Perryville S. Saturday],” Holmes said after shaking hands with consignors Spider Duignan and Pat Costello of Paramount Sales. “It is just special for me. [His partner] Benedicto started working for me when he was 22 and 22 years later, he is still with us. He is the nicest, most loyal man you could ever meet. The special part is, it’s not all about us, it’s more about him. This is the American dream.”
When Holmes picked out the unraced Veronique, none of her foals had made the races. Fast forward to Sept. 2 of this year and her 3-year-old colt Nashville, a $460,000 KEESEP purchase by WinStar and China Horse Club, bursts onto the scene, earning the ‘TDN Rising Star’ nod after an 11 1/2-length demolition of his Saratoga debut.
The bay followed suit with an equally jaw-dropping, 9 3/4-length romp at Keeneland next out Oct. 10. His connections briefly considered the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but opted for a softer spot on the undercard for their lightly raced colt. Nashville made a mockery of the Perryville S., blazing through splits of :21.54 and :43.87 and stopping the clock for six furlongs in a track record-time of 1:07.89, all while appearing to be out for a morning gallop. In comparison, hard-knocking veteran Whitmore’s (Pleasantly Perfect) final time for the six-panel BC Sprint later in the day was 1:08.61.
Veronique’s 2-year-old colt Market Cap (Candy Ride {Arg}) broke his maiden at Laurel Oct. 30, providing another timely update for his dam. She produced a Mastery colt in 2019 and a filly by that sire in 2020. The 9-year-old mare is currently in foal to Collected. —@CDeBernardisTDN
Lanni Lands Justify Foal Early
Agent Donato Lanni struck early at Keeneland November Monday to land a $600,0000 colt (hip 21) from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify out of the Hunter Valley Farm consignment.
“He’s pretty cool; he looked just like Justify,” said Lanni, who declined to reveal who he had made the purchase for. “We bought him to race… I wanted to buy a nice Justify. He was an amazing racehorse–[this colt] looked just like him.”
Bred by David Fennelly’s Mountmellick Farm, the Feb. 21 foal is a half to SW Supreme Aura (Candy Ride {Arg}) and out of a Mr. Greeley mare, just like GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief), who Lanni had a hand in selecting. Dam Groton Circle, who hails from the female family of GSW dirt routers Miss Isella and Sir Cherokee, was acquired for $155,000 at this sale in 2016 while in foal to Liam’s Map.
“I haven’t seen many Justifys, but if they all look like that, it’ll be pretty good,” Lanni said. “He was a cool dude back there; laid back.”
As far as his read on the market coming off a somewhat surprisingly strong sale at Fasig-Tipton the night before, he said: “It was strong yesterday, it’s strong so far today. I don’t know what’s going on… I have no idea what horses are worth anymore. I’m just trying to adapt and figure things out, like we’re all doing.”
Coolmore Strikes for American Pharoah Colt
The Coolmore team struck late in Monday’s first session of the Keeneland November sale to take home a half-brother to multiple Grade I-winning juvenile Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) by the farm’s Triple Crown-winning sire American Pharoah (hip 244B) for $600,000.
“He looks fast, he looks really, really fast,” Coolmore’s Adrian Wallace said of the weanling. “Obviously we love Pharoah, we love what he’s done so far. Then you add in that he’s a half to Jackie’s Warrior, who looks like he’s one of the top 2-year-olds in the country. It certainly takes the mystery out of it. But he’s a lovely horse, very well prepared by Beau Lane and his daughter J. B. They do a wonderful job and he looked a picture.”
The weanling was consigned by Beau Lane Bloodstock on behalf of breeders Carlo Vaccarezza and J&J Stables, LLC. He is out of Unicorn Girl, whom the partners claimed for $16,000 in 2013. The 15-year-old mare, in foal to Into Mischief, followed the foal into the sales ring and sold for $850,000 to Arthur Hoyeau. Unicorn Girl’s yearling filly by Candy Ride (Arg) was bought back for $675,000 at last month’s Fasig-Tipton October sale. @JessMartiniTDN
Nice Sale for Hicks on Top Filly
Breeder Judy Hicks celebrated a successful result Monday as her American Pharoah half-sister to GISW Fault (Blame) brought $525,000 from Phil Schoenthal on behalf of Matt Dorman’s Determined Stud. The Feb. 14 foal was consigned by James Keogh’s Grovendale, Agent XVIII, as hip 210.
Hicks had acquired stakes-winning dam Charming N Lovable (Horse Chestnut {SAf}) as a 14-year-old in foal to Runhappy after she RNA’d for $70,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale. Fault took the GI Santa Margarita S. the follow season, and Charming N Lovable’s Runhappy colt sold for $230,000 at Fasig-Tipton October last season.
“She was an absolutely fabulous filly to be around,” said Hicks. “She’s out of a very good producing mare who’s back in foal with a full sister to this filly. I really was reluctant to sell her, but I’m not stupid. I’m going to miss her–I get attached to my horses.”
Also half to GSP Betweenhereandcool (Unbridled’s Song) and SP Congenial (Pulpit), hip 210 hails from the female family of this year’s GI Kentucky Derby contestant South Bend (Algorithms) as well as MGISW Bast (Uncle Mo), who sold for $4.2 million in foal to Justify Sunday night at Fasig-Tipton.
“I bought her from Claiborne in foal to Runhappy, and that colt made $230,00,” Hicks confirmed. “Then I bred her to Tapit on a late June cover. She had never missed a year, but she slipped, but that was probably a good thing, as she’s getting quite a bit of age on her now. This is her first filly back, and it’s an early foal. We’re probably going to breed her back to Nyquist.”
Determined Stud was involved with four purchases for $2,125,000 at Fasig, and picked up another seven head Monday (four mares, three weanling fillies) for a combined $2,260,000. For more, see Dorman Broodmare Band Off to Fast Start. —@BDiDonatoTDN
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