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Keeneland January Provides Steady Start to 2022

The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale concluded its four-day run in Lexington Friday with steady figures which continued to show strength in the marketplace into the new year.

“We are very, very pleased with the sale,” said Keeneland's vice president of sales Tony Lacy. “Continued competitive trade, high clearance rate and high median price have solidified some confidence in people who were nervous before the beginning of the sales season. They feel positive about moving forward into the rest of 2022 and are investing as such. The market is very broad in all respects; you're not seeing the spikes and valleys indicative of a narrow market. Demand is strong, with multiple bidders on horses at all levels, but not overheated. Prices, even the higher ones, are fair, believable and sustainable.”

The 2021 January sale was dominated by the dispersals of Sam-Son Farm and the late Paul Pompa, Jr., which combined generated gross of $13.5 million. Despite lacking those types of high-power dispersals, this year's auction produced fairly similar results.

Through four sessions, Keeneland sold 1,013 horses for a total of $46,341,100–second highest since the 2008 sale. The auction's average dipped just 3.23% to $45,746, while the median was up 33.33% to $20,000.

In 2021, 963 head grossed $45,522,100 for an average of $47,271 and a median of $15,000.

“There are a lot of happy sellers,” Lacy said. “The buyers can be a tad frustrated in places, but still, they understand that a competitive market is good for everybody. If it's competitive to buy, it's competitive to sell, so hopefully they will reap the rewards on the other end.”

The buy-back rate, which was 25.75% during the auction's first session, fell as low as 13.09% during the third session before concluding with a cumulative 19.35%. It was 21.26% a year ago.

“The high clearance rate continued through the middle and even lower end of the market, and that is really encouraging because this isn't a barometer sale like September and November,” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “This is a new tax year and yet there's the same hunger to buy horses where there hasn't been for years. That's a really good sign.”

Four Star Sales' Kerry Cauthen agreed the low buy-back rate was a positive indicator for the market.

“Comparable horses have been selling well compared with previous years,” Cauthen said. “Generally, when you bring a horse to January, you intend to sell. The number of horses not sold on Thursday was incredibly low. That means people are buying, and that is the name of the game.”

Three Chimneys Farm, buying out partner Hill 'n' Dale Farm, purchased the auction's top-priced offering when going to $750,000 for the 2-year-old filly Princesse Lele (Quality Road). Carl and Yurie Pascarella acquired impressive maiden winner Belgrade (Hard Spun), a late addition to the catalogue, for the sale's second highest price of $700,000.

“I think the higher-priced horses were fair,” Lacy said. “They weren't extraordinary, they were I think very rational and more sustainable over the longer term. I think it gives a feeling of confidence moving forward that there is viability in breeding a nice horse, whatever level it is, that you can get a return profit and get it moved along.”

Belgrade's late entry to the January sale was the highlight of a strong supplemental catalogue.

“The quality of the catalogue was very strong when it initially came together, but the ability to add a small number of supplements, such as Belgrade, who sold so successfully for Randy and Sandy Bradshaw, was very rewarding,” Breathnach said.

A colt by Gun Runner was the January sale's top-priced short yearling when selling for $375,000 to Narvick International. The youngster was one of 492 yearlings to sell at the four-day auction for a total of $18,136,300 and an average of $36,862.

Two short yearlings topped the $400,000 mark at the 2021 January sale–both to Larry Best's OXO Equine–with a colt by Munnings bringing top price of $475,000. In all, 421 yearlings sold for $14,958,600 and an average of $35,531 in 2021.

“I think pinhookers are looking forward hopefully to another very strong year,” Breathnach said, while agreeing it seemed like some sellers were being protective of their yearlings this early into the new year. “This past September was extremely good, with a record median among other metrics, so I think there is that confidence that the market is currently in a good state of supply and demand. There's a lot of energy behind the sport in terms of new ownership and new money that showed up in September, and it's not an overheated market. It's very solid, especially for the middle. So they might want to roll the dice deeper in the year than maybe they have in the last several years. There were also quite a few yearlings who traded for $200,000 or more, especially in Book 1 and that's a sign that what was offered was very popular.”

Best was the leading buyer at the 2022 January sale, but this time his purchases were all mares as he looked to support his three young stallions. Best paid $1.49 million on six horses.

Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, led consignors by selling 122 horses for $5,696,800.

Ron Winchell and Three Chimneys donated a 2022 no-guarantee season to Gun Runner to support relief efforts from last month's tornadoes in Western Kentucky. The season was auctioned off at the end of Tuesday's first session of the auction was brought a final bid of $130,000 from Bill Layni.

“This was such a generous gesture by Ron Winchell and Three Chimneys, and Keeneland was very pleased to have been able to facilitate the sale of the Gun Runner season,” Lacy said.

The racing or broodmare prospect Go Big Blue Nation (Animal Kingdom) (hip 1579) brought the highest bid of Friday's final day of the January sale when selling for $225,000 to R. Larry Johnson. During the session, 243 horses sold for $4,020,700, for an average of $16,546 and a median of $10,000.

The post Keeneland January Provides Steady Start to 2022 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Momentum Builds In Keeneland January Opener

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, delayed a day due to last week's blizzard, took some time to find its footing, but gained in strength throughout Tuesday's opening session to end the day with figures up compared to its 2020 opening session.

“We are very pleased with the way things ended up,” said Keeneland's vice president of sales Tony Lacy. “We were expecting a very solid day. There was some nice quality, especially towards the end. And that is the way it ended up. The numbers were pretty stable with last year's numbers until about halfway through the day and then we started creeping ahead. I think we ended up with $18 million in gross, so that's really strong for the first session.”

In all, 249 horses sold Tuesday for a gross of $18,015,200. The average of $72,350 was up 23.22% from a year ago, while the median rose 11.43% to $39,000. With 85 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 25.45%. It was 31.79% a year ago.

Three Chimneys Farm purchased the session's top-priced offering when going to $750,000 to dissolve its partnership with Hill 'n' Dale Farm on the 2-year-old filly Princess Lele (Quality Road), a daughter of Carina Mia (Malibu Moon). The operation teamed with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm to acquire the mare Remedy (Creative Cause) for the session's second highest price of $470,000. Again buying out Hill 'n' Dale, Three Chimneys purchased Justly, a 2-year-old filly by Justify out of Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway) for $410,000 to have three of the session's top four prices.

“It was great to see the domestic market very strong,” Lacy said. “There was a lot of positivity there again. The demand for quality was as eager as ever. We are looking forward to tomorrow and I think it will be more of the same.”

Adrian Regan of Hunter Valley Farm admitted the consignment was having just an average day before sending the top-priced short yearling through the ring late in the session. Emmanuel de Seroux of Narvick International purchased the colt by Gun Runner for $375,000.

“The middle market seems a little weaker than Novemeber,” Regan said. “But then we've been trying to buy and when we follow something in, we're not getting close. The good ones are making a premium.”

Becky Thomas of Sequel Bloodstock agreed some of the demand from the November sale was missing Tuesday at Keeneland.

“For me, I haven't felt the sense of urgency in the market that there was in November at the end of the tax year,” Thomas said. “I feel like it is a fair market, but there isn't the feeling of 'gotta have a horse, gotta spend money.' Everybody made money last year, so they kind of needed to spend money and there isn't that sense right now.”

Tuesday's session ended with a flurry of activity from a strong group of supplemental entries to the auction. Larry Best's OXO Equine purchased the final horse through the ring, multiple stakes winner Hello Beautiful (Golden Lad), for $410,000.

“I think after the September sale, people had enough money that they didn't feel like that had to sell in January,” Lacy said. “So we felt the supplements brought back a little bit of quality that might have been lacking in the depth of the catalogue. I think people saw there was a real premium on quality in November and because of that they decided this might be a good opportunity to sell in this market.”

Keeneland's director of sales operations Cormac Breathnach added, “We had a lot of quality in the initial catalogue. Seven of the top 10 sellers came from the main part of the catalogue, but this freedom to accommodate fillies like Hello Beautiful added some quality to the back-end and finished the session strongly. Hopefully that creates some momentum in and of itself, too.”

At the end of the session, Keeneland sold a no-guarantee season of Gun Runner donated by Ron Winchell and Three Chimneys for $130,000. Proceeds from the season, which was purchased by Bill Layni, went to tornado relief efforts in Western Kentucky.

The Keeneland January sale continues through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Three Chimneys Cleans Up

Three Chimneys Farm bought out partner Hill 'n' Dale Farm on a pair of juvenile fillies from stellar families Tuesday at Keeneland and then added to another partnership to ultimately acquire three of the session's top four lots. Bidding on the internet, the Torrealba family's operation acquired Princesse Lele (Quality Road) (hip 276), a daughter of Grade I winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Carina Mia (Malibu Moon), for $750,000. Earlier in the session, Three Chimneys bought Justly (Justify) (hip 176), a daughter of champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), for $410,000. Both fillies were offered by John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency. Three Chimneys and Whisper Hill Farm teamed up to purchase Remedy (Creative Cause) (hip 298) for $470,000.

Carina Mia was purchased by Three Chimneys for $410,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and she went on to win the 2016 GI Acorn S. in the farm's colors. Sold to Shadai Farm for $2.6 million while in foal to Uncle Mo at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale, she is also the dam of an unraced 3-year-old colt by Curlin and a yearling colt by that stallion, both of whom were bred in partnership by Three Chimneys and Hill 'n' Dale.

“She is a beautiful physical,” Three Chimneys' Doug Cauthen said of Princesse Lele. “I know a lot of people looked at her in the summer. She was one of the favorite yearlings of some high-end buyers, but unfortunately at the time she had a little issue that kept her out of the sale. So we waited and broke her and then, just to clean up the partnership, brought her to the sale.”

Carina Mia is a half-sister to Grade I winner Miss Match (Arg) (Indygo Shiner) and her unraced dam is a full-sister to Grade I winner Miss Linda (Arg) (Southern Halo).

“It's a family that has done so well,” Cauthen said. “We hope she can run and do well at the track, but she is such a good physical and with a great pedigree that we are always looking long term to the broodmare band. That's what the Torrealba family does–look at the long term.”

Of the filly's session-topping price, Cauthen said, “That exceeded expectations by quite a bit. As a buyer you always want to get them for less, but it's such an amazing family and there was a lot of active bidding amongst people well beyond the two partners.”

Cauthen added of the two fillies purchased out of the partnership, “They would have been on the list no matter what. Would you have paid full retail at 100%? It's a little easier at 50%, but it's still money no matter how you look at it. They were expensive, but hopefully in the long-term it will pay off.” @JessMartiniTDN

More Brandi for Three Chimneys

In the final dissolution of a partnership between Three Chimneys Farm and Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings on the mare Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), Three Chimneys purchased the champion's newly turned 2-year-old filly Justly (Justify) (hip 176) for $410,000 via an internet bid Tuesday at Keeneland, just 10 days after her 3-year-old half-brother Courvoisier (Tapit) won the Jerome S. at Aqueduct.

Three Chimneys and Hill 'n' Dale purchased Take Charge Brandi for $3.2 million at the 2019 Keeneland November sale to dissolve the Elevage partnership of Hill 'n' Dale and Glen Hill Farm. Three Chimneys purchased the mare, in foal to Uncle Mo, outright for $1.15 million at the Fasig-Tipton November sale last year and purchased her weanling filly by Quality Road in partnership with Glen Hill Farm for $450,000 at that same auction. Both the now-yearling and 2-year-old were purchased with an eye towards their future career as broodmares.

“This filly in particular, with that pedigree, was always an appealing prospect as a future broodmare,” Three Chimneys' Doug Cauthen said. “With the big update of Courvoisier winning the stakes and hopefully going on to get further black-type, that just added to the appeal of the filly.”

Justly has been broken and has been in training in Ocala with Eddie Woods.

“Eddie said she was a really good mover, tough, and had the right attitude,” Cauthen said. “That part was always there, obviously we will see what happens going forward, but the main focus was her future as a broodmare down the road. Whether she hits the track or not is not really a primary concern. It's a family that keeps on giving and hopefully down the road, she will prove to be a nice broodmare prospect for Three Chimneys.”

Of the Quality Road yearling, Cauthen added, “We are looking forward to racing her and she will be a broodmare for the partnership as well.”

Take Charge Brandi, named champion 2-year-old filly of 2014, is a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Omaha Beach (War Front) and her second dam is broodmare of the year Take Charge Lady (Dehere), who produced Will Take Charge, Take Charge Indy, and As Time Goes By.

The 10-year-old mare will be bred back to Three Chimneys' standout young sire Gun Runner this year, according to Cauthen.

“It's the final phase of the dispersal between Hill 'n' Dale and Three Chimneys, no other reason,” Hill 'n' Dale's John Sikura said of Justly's engagement at the Keeneland January sale. “We had two 2-year-olds left and they are in this sale. It was not pre-arranged; it was the next venue. We had not come this far down the road yet so we were not prepared to sell them in September. Her dam sold in November and this is the last logical step.”

Sikura is co-owner of Take Charge Brandi's 3-year-old son Courvoisier, who won the Jerome S. on New Year's Day for trainer Kelly Breen, and he was underbidder on the 2-year-old Tuesday.

“She is a lovely filly, I tried hard to buy her, I was the underbidder,” Sikura said of Justly. “It's a lovely, active pedigree and there is a good current 3-year-old. Everything is positive.”

Of the juvenile's final price, Sikura said, “She wasn't perfect up front. I thought that might provide a little opportunity, but that pedigree is so strong. I thought she was full value for sure. Special fillies are hard to find. You have to chase to find and own them, but once you do, they are a valued commodity.” @JessMartiniTDN

Three Chimneys, Whisper Hill Team For Remedy

Even as Three Chimneys Farm was dissolving one partnership, it was adding to another one when teaming with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm to purchase Remedy (Creative Cause) (hip 298) for $470,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment Tuesday at Keeneland.

“That's been a real positive partnership,” Cauthen said. “We bought one in the November sale together and it's nice to get another one.”

Whisper Hill and Three Chimneys teamed up to purchase Magical World (Distorted Humor) (hip 203) for $5.2 million at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Remedy was purchased by Twin Creeks Racing for $200,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September sale. Racing for Twin Creeks, Medallion Racing and Parkland Thoroughbreds, she was runner-up in the 2018 GIII Comely S. and GIII Remington Park Oaks. She sold to Twin Creeks Farm for $570,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale and produced a colt by Constitution in 2021. She was not mated last year and sold empty Tuesday.

The 7-year-old mare is out of Daisy Mason (Orientate), an unraced daughter of Leslie's Lady (Tricky Creek) and a half-sister to Beholder, Mendelssohn and Into Mischief.

“She is a good physical and from an amazing family,” Cauthen said. “It doesn't get better than Into Mischief and Mendelssohn. All reports are that, with a little luck, we should be able to get her in foal and get a great-looking Gun Runner out of her because that's who she will go to.” @JessMartiniTDN

Beautiful Ending to Best's Day

Larry Best of OXO Equine acquired four broodmares during Tuesday's opening session of the Keeneland January sale and saved his biggest purchase for last when buying Hello Beautiful (Golden Lad) (hip 430G).

“Most likely she'll go to Instagrand,” Best said after signing the ticket on the multiple stakes winner, who was consigned by ELiTE. “But I have three stallions. I have Instagrand and I also have Instilled Regard and, kind of under the radar, I have Rowayton.”

Best said he remembered Hello Beautiful's career, which included eight stakes victories and earnings of over $580,000, becauase the 5-year-old finished behind his Mundaye Call in the 2020 Runhappy Audubon Oaks.

“We beat her at Ellis Park, but I forgot about her after that,” Best said. “When I looked at the record, she's a very fast horse and a multiple stakes winner. And I love the Medaglia d'Oro bloodline.”

Early in Tuesday's session, Best went to $220,000 to acquire Evil Lyn (Wicked Strong) (hip 118) and $210,000 to acquire Ego Trip (Ire) (No Nay Never) (hip 113). Just before securing Hello Beautiful, the last horse through the ring Tuesday, he purchased multiple graded stakes placed Reagan's Edge (Competitive Edge) (hip 430) for $220,000.

“I was really pleased with Reagan's Edge's price,” Best said. “She is a very fast horse. I own Center Aisle and Reagan's Edge beat her three times. Now Center Aisle is three for three and just won a graded stakes. But I couldn't beat the horse, so I bought her.” @JessMartiniTDN

Haunted Heroine Proves Popular

Graded stakes producer Haunted Heroine (Ghostzapper) (Hip 148) sparked the first big fireworks during Tuesday's opening session, summoning $420,000 from Mike Cline, acting as agent for Andrew Warren, whose parents campaigned MGISW City of Light (Quality Road).

“He has a longstanding relationship with Lane's End,” said Cline, who is the former manager of that operation. “We bought her to breed to City of Light.”

A two-time stakes winner, Haunted Heroine is a half to Grade I winner Celestine (Scat Daddy) and stakes winner Silent Sting (Silent Name {Jpn}). The 11-year-old mare's second foal, Twin Creeks Farm homebred Law Professor (Constitution), captured the off-turf GII Santa Anita Mathis Mile S. Dec. 26 for City of Light's trainer Michael McCarthy. She was bred to City of Light on a late cover in June, but did not get in foal.

“She is a nice young mare and is proven,” Cline said. “She has already had a graded stakes winner. There are not that many of them around. She is pretty and we thought she mated well with City of Light. We are happy to have her and feel good about being able to buy one of that quality in January.”

Haunted Heroine was consigned to the sale by Taylor Made Sales Agency. —@CDeBernardisTDN

De Seroux Gets a Gun Runner

Emmanuel de Seroux of Narvick International purchased the highest-priced short yearling of Tuesday's opening session of the Keeneland January sale when going to $375,000 to acquire a colt by Gun Runner (hip 365) from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment.

“He will race in the U.S.,” de Seroux said, while declining to name his client.

De Seroux said the yearling looked to be the complete package.

“First he is by Gun Runner,” de Seroux said. “Second, he is a very athletic colt. He walks very well. He's nice. We loved everything about him.”

De Seroux purchased a weanling colt by Gun Runner (hip 32) for $380,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale, so Tuesday's competitive price was no surprise.

“The good Gun Runners, you have a lot of people trying to get them,” he said.

The dark bay colt is out of Take a Memo (Empire Maker), a daughter of graded winner Memorette (Memo {Chi}). He was bred by Hunter Valley's Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin.

“To be honest, we were having a fairly average day in the ring up until this and we were getting a little worried he wouldn't get his full value,” Regan admitted. “Thankfully, the right people showed up.”

Gun Runner's stellar start to his stud career with his first 2-year-olds last year led Regan and Galvin to call an audible with hip 365, who had originally been targeted at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“We had him here in November and we had a little bit of a mishap with him down at the barn,” Regan explained. “We weren't happy with the way he was moving afterwards, so we sent him home. We were thinking of keeping him to sell as a yearling, but Gun Runner was doing so good, we decided to send him in there. We knew he was a good horse.” @JessMartiniTDN

Sequel Brings November to January

Becky Thomas's Sequel New York was absent from the Keeneland November Sale due to her son's wedding, causing her to re-route a group of November-quality horses to the Keeneland January Sale. That move proved to be a good one, as Sequel led all consignors by average at $161,833–aside from Clarkland Farm, who only sold one horse for $240,000.

“It was my son Zachary's wedding in November, so this is really a November consignment in January,” Thomas said.

The Sequel New York consignment was topped by the $350,000 mare Call to Service (To Honor and Serve) (Hip 424), who was purchased by Andrew Cary on behalf of Coteau Grove Farms. Cary purchased Munnings' Finest (Munnings) (Hip 235) from the Sequel consignment for $300,000 for Coteau Grove earlier in the session and she is also in foal to Authentic.

In foal to Horse of the Year Authentic, Call to Service was supplemented to the sale after receiving a timely update courtesy of her half-brother Giant Game (Giant's Causeway), who was third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and is currently prepping for a start in Gulfstream's GIII Holy Bull S.

Call to Service is also a half-sister to MGSW Isotherm (Lonhro {Aus}) and GISP Gio Game (Gio Ponti). Thomas purchased the 6-year-old mare for $110,000 for a partnership consisting of herself, longtime partner Lewis Lakin and Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker at the 2020 KEENOV sale. She was carrying a foal from the first crop of champion Vino Rosso at the time and produced that colt Feb. 16 of last year.

“She is a half to a horse, who is on the Derby trail for Dale Romans,” Thomas said when asked what led to the decision to supplement Call to Service to KEEJAN. “He ran a really big third in the Breeders' Cup and we've been watching him fire bullet works every week. Plus, the average for mares in foal to Authentic was strong in November. We are very excited about Giant Game, so we thought it would be a good opportunity for us. We are all a group of pinhookers, so we are very happy.”

Thomas added, “I also have to thank Tim Hamlin and H. Allen Poindexter, who bred Call to Service and her talented siblings. I have seen this family year after year because of them, so when this mare became available in 2020, I already knew what the whole family looked like. When she went through the sale, Mark [Toothaker] said, 'Buy her!'”

Sequel New York was also responsible for the day's most expensive yearling filly in Hip 317, a daughter of Triple Crown hero Justify, who summoned $300,000 from Brian Graves.

Bred by Lakin's Lakland Farm, Hip 317 is the first foal out of San Saria (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who is a daughter of GSW San Sicharia (Daggers Drawn).

“She was always fancy,” Thomas said. “She looks like a colt. She is really, really strong. We hand walk all of these horses and she walked my main yearling man Humberto every day. He couldn't really walk her because she was walking him. She is just a machine. I love her.”

“We will definitely bring her back through [the sale ring],” said Graves, who has enjoyed great success pinhooking yearlings in the summer and fall. “I just thought she was gorgeous, maybe the prettiest Justify I've seen yet. She just did everything right for me. She is drop-dead gorgeous and has an athletic walk. I liked everything about her.”

Sequel New York offered a total of 14 horses, all of which went through the ring during Tuesday's opening session. They sold 12 of those for a gross of $1.942 million.

When asked if her consignment stood out more in the much smaller January sale, Thomas said, “That is hard to tell because I do think there was a lot of money to spent in November. However, I think we stood out here because these were November horses. I thought Keeneland did a phenomenal job, moving the sale back and getting horses placed, giving people a chance to look at them and us an opportunity to show them. The horses were well received and we are happy to be here.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Cary Stays Busy at KEEJAN

Bloodstock agent Andrew Cary was quite busy throughout Tuesday's opening session, scooping up three mares, two for Coteau Grove Farms and one for that operation's new stallion No Parole (Violence), who they stand in Louisiana in partnership with Whispering Oaks.

Both of Cary's acquisitions for Coteau Grove Farms were in foal to reigning Horse of the Year and GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic and both hailed from the Sequel New York consignment. The most expensive was Call to Service (To Honor and Serve (Hip 424), who is a half-sister to last term's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile third Giant Game (Giant's Causeway). He takes his next step down the Derby trail in the Feb. 5 GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream.

“Obviously, there is a big potential update with the 3-year-old,” Cary said. “The mare is already a tremendous producer with what she's already done. She is also another mare in foal to Authentic, which was not by design. It is just the way it worked out, but you can't get too much of a good thing.”

He added, “It gives us a lot to root for in the spring. Giant Game just worked another bullet this morning [five furlongs in :59.85 at Gulfstream] and hopefully he will keep on trucking down the Derby trail.”

Earlier in the session, Cary bought Munnings Finest (Munnings) (hip 235) for $300,000. A half to MSW Baffle Me (First Samurai), she hails from the family of top sire Maclean's Music and GSWs Uncle Chuck (Uncle Mo), Kentuckian (Tiznow) and Electric Forest (Curlin). The 6-year-old mare's first foal is a now-2-year-old filly by City of Light and she aborted her 2021 foal.

“She was another mare in foal to Authentic,” Cary said. “She is a great-looking mare with a nice family. Those are the types everyone wants. You just have to keep swinging and hope to get some of them.”

Cary also picked up Catenaria (Bernardini) (Hip 67) for $80,000. She is currently in foal to Complexity, but was purchased with the intention of sending her to No Parole.–@CDeBernardisTDN

Twin Creeks Goes Back to the Well

Randy Gullatt and Steve Davison's Twin Creeks Racing campaigned MGISW Constitution (Tapit) in partnership with WinStar and he has gone on to be a very successful stallion. The operation returned to the well Tuesday, going to $260,000 to acquire a son of their former stable star (Hip 125).

“He has a lot of size and is a good, athletic colt,” said Gullatt after signing the ticket. “He has the same qualities as some of the good Constitution colts I have been around.”

When asked about Constitution's success as a stallion, Gullatt said, “It's pretty incredible. He is just over-achieving all of the time. It just gives you a lot of confidence that his [offspring] will over-achieve and do some good things.”

Consigned by Taylor Made, the chestnut colt was bred by Fred Hertrich, who had an outstanding year in 2021, breeding six Grade I winners either alone or in partnership. His operation had a hand in producing top-level scorers Americanrevolution (Constitution), Juju's Map (Liam's Map), Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy), Hit the Road (More Than Ready), Pinehurst (Twirling Candy) and Maxim Rate (Exchange Rate).

Out of Fifth Avenue Ball (Deputy Minister), Hip 125 is a half to SW Gotham Gala (Smart Strike) and SP Eastwood (Speightstown).

“He's an awful good Constitution and we really thought he would bring something in that $250,000 to $350,000 range,” Hertrich said. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Munnings Colt Proves Popular

A short yearling by Munnings (hip 128) brought a final bid of $240,000 from Joe Hardoon, racing manager for Al Gold's Gold Square LLC, during Tuesday's first session of the Keeneland January sale. The dark bay colt was owned and consigned by Clarkland Farm and is out of Forget Me Not (Uncle Mo), a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision (Paynter).

“He was a really classy, well-balanced colt,” Hardoon, who did his bidding alongside trainer Chad Summers, said. “He looks like he is going to be fast and can win early. We decided to take him to the races.”

Clarkland Farm purchased Forget Me Not, a winner of her lone career start for Fox Hill Farms in 2017, for $80,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale. The mare's first foal, a filly by Maclean's Music, sold for $115,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale.

The 23-year-old Hardoon purchased three yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale last August, going to $170,000 for a colt by Unified (hip 539) and a son of Bolt d'Oro (hip 513) and to $120,000 for a colt by Maclean's Music (hip 509).

“We're just picking our spots at this sale,” Hardoon said of Tuesday's purchase. “We're usually more active with yearlings in September and later in the fall, so we're just picking our spots here and looking to find quality horses.” @JessMartiniTDN

Gun Runner Season Summons $130K

A season to 2021's leading freshman sire Gun Runner, donated by his owners Ron Winchell and the Torrealba family's Three Chimneys Farm, brought $130,000 from Peter Penny, who was acting as agent for Bill Layni, at the end of Tuesday's session. All proceeds from that sale will go directly to the victims of the deadly tornadoes that ravaged Western Kentucky last month.

“Everyone in Kentucky at every level wanted to do the right thing for those hit by the disaster,” said Three Chimneys Farm's Doug Cauthen. “This plus another $50,000 from Kentucky Downs and $50,000 from Three Chimneys is a step in the right direction. The whole horse community has done a great job. I have seen a million different donations. Gun Runner's owners, the Torrealba family and Ron Winchell, just wanted to do their part. It was a good way to do it with the sale being here. There are no more Gun Runner seasons around, so we thought it would bring a good number.”

Keeneland waived their commission on this offering so 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the cause.

“I thought it was a wonderful gesture by Ron Winchell and Three Chimneys, going to an amazing cause,” said Keeneland's Tony Lacy. “Having been able to support the effort and getting $130,000 for the victims of the Western Kentucky tornado–it's something that's great to see the industry getting behind. It's something that is very important to our state. We all talk about figures and numbers, but really the people of the state, it's a part of who we are as well. So this is great to be able to give back and support such a great endeavor. There is no commission, it is 100% going to the victims. We were just happy to facilitate the process. I think it was really well received. A lot of people showed a lot of interest.”

Gun Runner was bumped up to $125,000 for the 2022 breeding season after a record-setting freshman year in 2021 with two Grade I winners, six black-type winners and 31 individual winners. —@CDeBernardisTDN

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$2.6-Million Into Mischief Colt Tops Reinvigorated Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale

The more things change, they more they stay the same.

After COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, the boutique auction concluded its comeback renewal on Tuesday with figures in practical lockstep with the most recent edition in 2019.

The two-day auction closed with 135 horses sold for revenues of $55,155,000, good for the third-highest gross in the sale's history. The gross finished just behind the 2019 figure of $55,547,000, which ranked second on the all-time list.

The average sale price landed at $408,556, which again was neck-and-neck with the record $411,459 average from two years ago. The median went unchanged at $350,000, tying the all-time high, and the buyback rate for this year's auction finished at 25 percent; a solid figure for such a selective marketplace.

M.V. Magnier of the Coolmore partnership signed the ticket for the sale-topper on Tuesday: Hip 168, an Into Mischief colt, for $2.6 million.

The bay colt is the second foal out of the Grade 1-winning Flatter mare Paola Queen, from the family of Grade 1 winner Point Ashley. He was bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corp., and he was consigned by Gainesway, agent.

Tuesday's session also saw Hip 132, a half-brother to 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra from the first crop of Bolt d'Oro, sell to Larry Best's OXO Equine for $1.4 million.

Bred in Kentucky by Heaven Trees Farm, the colt is out of the Grade 2-placed stakes-winning Roar mare Lotta Kim, whose other runners of note include Grade 3-placed Dolphus and stakes-placed Wooderson.

To view the auction's full results, click here.

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The Sizzle Is Back at Saratoga

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Following a bidless 2020, the sizzle was back at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion with a vibrant concluding session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale Tuesday in upstate New York. The session was punctuated by three seven-figure transactions, led by a colt by Into Mischief who sold for $2.6 million to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier.

“Whatever adjectives you want to use to describe it: fantastic, vibrant, energetic, dramatic,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said Tuesday night. “You've heard me say it before and I will say it again. It begins with the quality of horses that were on the sales grounds. We were lucky to have an exceptional group of horses on the grounds this week. You could feel the buzz on the sale grounds. We had a few more breakout horses today just purely by the alphabet. All in all, it was a near-record sale. To accomplish that coming off a disruption in 2020 was remarkable.”

Through two sessions, Fasig-Tipton sold 135 horses for a total of $55,155,000. The average was $408,556 and the median was $350,000. Records of $411,459 (average) and $350,000 (median), respectively, were set in 2019. With 45 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 25%.

“We were fortunate to have a very, very strong catalogue,” Browning said. “I could hardly be happier right now. It wasn't the sale of the century, but it was awfully close to the sale of century. It lays the foundation for us to begin to work for the next century of great horse sales in Saratoga. I promise you we will do our part to make sure that happens.”

The $2.6-million sale topper–super sire Into Mischief's highest-priced yearling ever–was consigned by Gainesway on behalf of his breeder Don Alberto Corporation. He was one of four lots to reach seven figures. That matches the number of million-dollar yearlings sold at the 2019 sale.

A colt from the first crop of Bolt d'Oro sold to Larry Best's OXO Equine for $1.4 million early in Tuesday's session and was followed some thirty hips later by a $1-million son of Quality Road purchased by Kindred Stables. Lane's End's Quality Road had five of the top 16 offerings Tuesday, while his first-crop stallion son City of Light occupied another two spots at that level.

The domestic buying bench continued to be deep at the boutique auction, with the top 15 lots purchased by 12 individual buyers.

While top lots were in high demand, consignors did see some weakening at the lower levels of the market.

“The right horse brings triple and the others are tough,” Hill 'n' Dale Sale Agency's John Sikura said. “I assume everyone is having the same experience. You have to have enough good individuals to make up for the others.”

Gainesway consigned two of Tuesday's top four yearlings and the operation's Brian Graves said he saw a noticeable uptick in activity during the auction's second session.

“It was a little spotty in here on the first night and you do get to wondering as a consignor sometimes if things are going to be fair or if you're just going to be in a buyer's market,” Graves said. “I was wondering that the first night, but when the quality came here tonight, they seemed to open up. I think there were better horses today and I think the market really opened up this evening.”

Bloodstock agent David Ingordo was busy buying at the auction and said he found plenty of activity throughout the market.

“It can be spotty if you don't have the right horse,” Ingordo said. “But if you do, you better get tied on. The middle market is still good. There are people buying horses, a buddy of mine, Tom McCrocklin, is buying horses in that middle-price range. I see him buying them in the $100,000 to $250,000 range and we bought a few, what I call value for here, and you just have to get lucky. But if the horse is nice, forget about it, they are throwing the reins at it.”

The 100th Saratoga sale also made history when the first-ever cryptocurrency purchase of a Thoroughbred at public auction. After Spendthrift Farm's Eric Gustavson made the historic purchase, he told Fasig-Tipton's Acacia Courtney, “It was really exciting. Hopefully, this will continue to happen. It will be like a snowball effect and other sales companies may be open to it.”

Another Sale Topper for Coolmore

The Coolmore team was relatively quiet during Monday's first session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, but the Irish operation jumped in with both feet Tuesday, securing a colt by Into Mischief (hip 168) for a sale-topping $2.6 million. The yearling was consigned by Antony Beck's Gainesway on behalf of his breeder, Don Alberto Corporation.

“He was a very nice horse. He is one that we've been talking about for the last couple of days,” Coolmore's M.V. Magnier said. “He was a very nice horse and he's by a very good sire out of a very good race mare. The way Practical Joke is going at the moment, it looks like Into Mischief is a sire of sires. He's a very nice horse and let's hope he's as good as Practical Joke.”

Magnier, flanked by members of the Coolmore team, did his bidding while standing at the back row of seats in the pavilion. The group stopped several times to discuss the progression of the bidding while battling with a determined bidder out back.

Asked what the conversation in the scrum sounded like, Magnier said with a laugh, “We just wanted to know what was going on.”

Magnier signed the ticket on four yearlings during the two-day Saratoga sale. He purchased a colt by Curlin (hip 166) for $500,000; a Practical Joke colt (hip 152) for $425,000; and an American Pharoah colt (hip 47) for $300,000.

Tuesday's sale-topping purchase was the second time this year Coolmore had purchased a $2.6-million colt from a Fasig-Tipton auction. The operation made that top bid at the Gulfstream sale in March to acquire a 2-year-old colt by Nyquist.

Hip 168 is out of 2016 GI Test S. winner Paola Queen (Flatter). The Heller-Solari family's Don Alberto purchased the mare for $1.7 million at the 2017 Keeneland November sale.

“It is a tremendous opportunity for the mare and a tremendous success for Don Alberto,” the operation's executive director Chance Timm said of Tuesday's result. “Carlos Heller and the whole family have been so dedicated to this. It is very exciting. The commitment this family has made to the industry, with the investment in land and investment in mares, this is what we hope to achieve.”

Of the yearling's final price, Timm said, “It is hard to expect anything in that kind of range, but with the kind of interest we had, we knew he would sell well. He is a very rare type of horse. With that sire and that mare, those kind are very rare.”

Paola Queen produced a filly by Into Mischief this year and she was bred back to Tapit. Buyers can expect to see more of the 8-year-old mare's in the sales ring in the coming years.

“For the most part, everything goes to the market,” Timm said. “Mr. Heller is interested in partnerships every once in a while.”

Gainesway's Brian Graves said he was always high on the sale-topping yearling.

“We are just grateful for Don Alberto to send us such a nice horse,” Graves said. “He was a physical standout when we saw him on the farm. He was a horse that you got down on your hands and knees and said please let it be me and we were just lucky that they let us lead him around here.”

Graves continued, “He has a beautiful neck and shoulder, it ties in just beautifully, and a big square ass and just a walk that you see 2% of the horses you sell in a year walk that way and that will continue to walk like that. They walk that way on the last walk, the same as they did on the first walk. He was cool and calm the whole sale. And when horses do that and you are out of a Grade I winner and you're by the world's best stallion, you're supposed to have a chance to top the sale.”

Of the underbidder out back, Graves said, “I believe Fabricio Buffolo was the underbidder.” Buffolo, Don Alberto's former executive director, was reportedly bidding on behalf of Ben Leon's Besilu Stable. —@JessMartiniTDN

Half to Rachel Alexandra 'Bolts' Clear Early

A half-brother to Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) gave his first-crop sire Bolt d'Oro a major boost Tuesday when becoming the first yearling to reach the seven-figure mark during an electric second session. After a fast and furious round of bidding, hip 132 hammered for $1.4 million to Larry Best, who did his bidding quietly near the main entrance to the pavilion. John Sikura, whose Hill 'n' Dale Sales consigned the colt on behalf of breeder Dr. Dede McGehee's Heaven Trees Farm, was first on hand to congratulate the Oxo Equine principal.

“This is a special horse and a special opportunity,” said Best, who sold hip 114, a Quality Road colt, for $800,000 earlier in the evening and struck late for a $725,000 City of Light half-brother to his MGSW 'TDN Rising Star' Travel Column (Frosted) (hip 209). “Obviously there are no guarantees. The horse is just beautiful. Then you look at the page and it has Rachel Alexandra on it, which helps. It is 90% physical. However, I love Medaglia d'Oros and Bolt d'Oro is close. He is clearly the standout of the sale. Some people may pay more for a horse and they already have. He didn't vet totally clean, so I can't send him to Eddie Woods tomorrow. It will take three or four months, but he is worth the bet.”

Hip 132's dam Lotta Kim (Roar) was a stakes winner and GSP for owner/breeder Dolphus Morrison and was retired to McGehee's Heaven Trees Farm for her broodmare career. She sustained a life-threatening injury in a racetrack accident which made the foaling process and the recovery difficult, but was carefully managed by McGehee, who is a veterinarian and longtime friend to the late Morrison. Her first foal was two-time Eclipse winner Rachel Alexandra, who romped in the GI Kentucky Oaks for Morrison before being sold privately to Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick. She of course went on to win four more Grade Is, including the GI Preakness S., and produced a Grade I winner of her own in Rachel's Valentina (Bernardini). Rachel Alexandra's first foal was 'TDN Rising Star' and young sire Jess's Dream and she has since been retired from the breeding shed due to a post-foaling medical scare in 2013.

Morrison dispersed his breeding stock in 2012, except for Lotta Kim, who was transferred to McGehee's ownership. Stonestreet purchased Lotta Kim's daughter Samantha Nicole (Medaglia d'Oro) for $700,000 at that dispersal.

Lotta Kim's first foal for McGehee was the sentimentally named Dolphus (Lookin at Lucky), who was Grade III-placed. Her next foal Fayeq (Malibu Moon) summoned $800,000 from Shadwell Stable at Keeneland September and he was followed by SP Wooderson (Awesome Again), who was a $400,000 KEESEP buy for Let's Go Stable. Her 2017 colt Airstream (Tapit) RNA'd for $375,000 at that auction and McGehee retained her 3-year-old filly Gladys (Medaglia d'Oro), who has won one of four starts for trainer Kelsey Danner. Lotta Kim did not have a foal in 2019, making hip 132 her first foal to be offered at auction in three years and first to sell at Saratoga, where Rachel Alexandra famously beat older males as a sophomore filly in the 2009 GI Woodward S.. The 20-year-old Lotta Kim had a Bernardini filly this spring named Brilliance.

“I was not expecting it,” said an emotional overwhelmed McGehee after thanking Best. “You always hope for great things. He looked good and they did a great job prepping him. He is probably the best thing that I have ever owned. Thank you to Dolphus Morrison.”

This was the first time Hill 'n' Dale prepped and sold a horse for McGehee's operation.

“This is a beautiful classy, long, smooth gorgeous animal,” said SIkura. “This colt was high class and very popular. We had high expectations and you can say he exceeded them, but I thought he would hit $1 million. Anything after that you can't expect. Larry Best puts a lot of money in the game and I hope he bought a champion. Dede is a lovely lady and this is the first horse we sold for her. He presented like a champion and never turned a hair all week.”

Hip 132 is the first seven-figure offspring for first-crop sire Bolt d'Oro, who brought $630,000 at the 2016 renewal of this auction and went on to win a pair of Grade I events as a juvenile. His introductory fee was $25,000 and he was one of many stallions to have his fee reduced due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, going to $15,000. Bolt d'Oro's offspring proved quite popular at Saratoga with 10 yearlings selling for $4.07 million at an average of $267,500. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Quality Filly Marks Sentimental Sale for Ryan

It's always a wonderful moment for a breeder when one of their homebreds reaches the $1-million mark, but it was extra special and a bit bittersweet for Mike Ryan Tuesday as his longtime partner and friend, the late Gerry Dilger, was not there to share in their success. Bred under Dilger and Ryan's Santa Rosa Partners banner, hip 160, a daughter of the operation's blue hen Above Perfection (In Excess {Ire}), summoned a cool million from Jeff Drown's Kindred Stables. Drown did his bidding over the phone with Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning and after the sale Ryan announced he would stay in for 50% of the filly.

“I stayed in for my half and Jeff bought out the other half. He is a great friend of mine,” Ryan said. “This is a family I'd find it very hard to replace. These kind are collector's items. You don't find them very often. This was a great price for the Dilger family. Gerry's widow, Erin, is very happy. I had great confidence in the filly and I told Jeff I'd stay in if he wanted to partner.”

The bloodstock agent added, “There is very little downside to this filly. The page speaks for itself. She will always have residual value and if she happens to win a stake her value multiplies.”

Ryan and Dilger acquired GSW Above Perfection for $450,000 in foal to Dixie Union at the 2006 FTKNOV sale. She had already produced three foals, none of which had any black-type. The foal she was carrying at the time of her purchase turned out to be Grade I winner Hot Dixie Chick, herself a $340,000 graduate of this sale. Her 2009 foal Abhaath (Hard Spun) was a $400,000 KEESEP yearling and her 2012 Tapit colt Chubasco brought $725,000 at that auction.

In 2014, Above Perfection produced a colt from the first crop of Bodemeister, who sold to Steve Young for $350,000 at Keeneland September. That colt was Always Dreaming who captured the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Florida Derby under the care of Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher.

He was followed by $485,000 KEESEP buy Safwah (Medaglia d'Oro) in 2015 and Above Perfection's 2016 foal was a filly named Positive Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile), who won a Grade II for Dilger and Ryan before selling to Spendthrift for $1.5 million at FTKNOV.

“This is a mare that did so much for the Dilger family and the Ryan family,” Ryan said. “She hadn't produced any stakes winners when we bought her, but she just threw one after another for us. It is a very bittersweet moment because he is not here to celebrate it, enjoy it and see the fruits of his labor. He was the one hands on and I was on the road, so to speak. He did it all. He was a great friend and a terrific guy and partner.”

Above Perfection's recent produce includes an unraced juvenile filly named Beyond Perfection (Curlin) and a 2021 colt by Justify. Sadly, she had to be euthanized shortly after producing that foal.

“We lost the mare this year,” Ryan said. “She had her last foal by Justify and she foundered a few weeks after foaling. She had never been sick a day in her life. She was a 23-year-old mare and she looked like she was 17. But, she foundered after foaling very quickly and we ended up putting her to sleep. We were going to pension her and let her live out her days, but we didn't get to do that.”

Ryan said of all the foals he and Dilger have bred out of Above Perfection, hip 160 reminds him of Hot Dixie Chick the most. Purchased by Barbara Banke's Grace Stables for $435,000 at the FTKFEB juvenile sale, she captured the GI Spinaway S. and GIII Schuylerville S. at the Spa and has produced GSW Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) and MSW Union Jackson (Curlin).

“She actually reminds me of Hot Dixie Chick, a medium-sized, strong, quality filly,” Ryan said. “She has a great mind and Hot Dixie Chick was the same way. When Hot Dixie Chick was training, you'd think she had a temperature, but that was just her demeanor, a very low-tempered filly. This filly is the same way. She takes everything in stride. She reminds me of Hot Dixie Chick and the mare more than Quality Road.”

Hip 160 was consigned by Shack Parrish's Indian Creek. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Best Sells, Too

Larry Best, who has frequently made headlines as a buyer over the last several years, is now two-for-two as a seller after a colt by Quality Road (hip 114) bred by Best's OXO Equine went for $800,000 to the online bid of WinStar Farm's Maverick Racing Tuesday evening in Saratoga. The bay colt is out of stakes winner Hung the Moon (Malibu Moon) and is a half-brother to Grade I-placed Brill (Medaglia d'Oro), who was purchased by Best for $1 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton July sale and is another mare in his broodmare band.

“It's my second in my homebred I've sold and to be honest with you, I didn't want to sell him,” Best said. “But when you are breeding and you're racing and you have the broodmare population, you have to support it. You can't just keep every horse. This was a beautiful colt. At $750,000, I was taking him home. But when it got to $800,000, I thought whoever owns him, I hope, will have Grade I wins and it will help my mare and Brill, who is also a mare of mine. And it will help fund the whole breeding operation.”

Best's first homebred to go through the sales ring, a colt by Candy Ride (Arg) out of Beyond Grace (Uncle Mo) (hip 111), sold for $350,000 to James Bernhard at last month's Fasig-Tipton July sale.

“I am two-for-two now,” Best said. “This is the only one I am selling today, but I have three or four at Keeneland and two with Fasig. But whoever bought this horse bought an outstanding specimen.”

It didn't take Best long to reinvest his profits, purchasing a colt by Bolt d'Oro half-brother to champion Rachel Alexandra for $1.4 million. —@JessMartiniTDN

Tapit Filly Heads West

A filly by Tapit (hip 139) will head out west to join the California-based stable of trainer John Shirreffs after selling for $800,000 to the bid of bloodstock agent David Ingordo Tuesday in Saratoga. The gray yearling was bred and consigned by Antony Beck's Gainesway, which campaigned her dam Madame Stripes (Arg) (Equal Stripes) to win the 2018 GIII Megahertz S. and a third-place effort in the GI Gamely S. Group 1 placed in her native Argentina, the 9-year-old mare hit the board in six additional graded stakes in California in 2017 and 2018.

“She is a good Tapit and we have been really lucky buying homebreds from Gainesway,” Ingordo said. “She came up here and looked awesome and she had the pedigree. She's going to end up in California and John Shirreffs will train her. The mother ran out there and I liked that. And I noticed Tapit has done well with South American mares. I think [GI Belmont S. winner] Creator was out of a similar pedigree.”

Madame Stripes has a weanling filly by Tapit and was bred back to that Gainesway stalwart.

“She was bred and raised at Gainesway out of a mare that Antony raced in partnership,” Gainesway's Brian Graves said. “We were thrilled with the result. I hear David Ingordo got her and is taking her out to California which is fitting because that was where her mother was successful. We wish them a lot of luck.” —@JessMartiniTDN

Quality Road Colt Gets Session Off to a Fast Start

The first hip through the ring during Tuesday's second session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale was a good indicator of what was to come. Hip 111, a Quality Road colt out of GISW Harmonize (Scat Daddy), got things off and running in a big way, selling for $700,000 to West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing. He was consigned by Brookdale Sales.

“You are always a little nervous bidding on the first horse in the ring,” said West Point racing manager Erin Birkenhauer. “It is kind of a bad post position for the consignor, but you'd think it was a good post position for the buyer. When they have that much quality, it doesn't matter. People noticed he was super athletic. He was pretty much a carbon copy of Quality Road and we loved the Scat Daddy mare. She was a very good racehorse. This colt was a handy-looking horse. You wouldn't be surprised if he was a precocious 2-year-old.”

“We knew he was a top-end colt,” said Birkenhauer. “This was a one-horse consignment, so they aren't going to bring a horse up here that isn't going to create some fireworks. We expected we would have to be pretty strong, which is why we banded together with Bill Farish and his group [Woodford Racing] to get it done.”

Larkin Armstrong purchased Harmonize for $80,000 as a KEESEP yearling and she captured the GI Del Mar Oaks, as well as a pair of Grade IIIs, including Saratoga's Glens Falls S. Armostrong retained her first foal, the now 2-year-old Vocalize (More Than Ready), who is in training with J.J. Pletcher in Ocala.

“I thought this colt would be a good prospect for the sales, so I was very excited,” said Armstrong. “A lot of good agents and trainers were on him, so that was really cool.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Rajput Makes Most of Spa Trip

Indian businessman Kuldeep Singh Rajput made the most of his first trip to Saratoga, with his fledgling Gandharvi Racing operation teaming up with China Horse Club to acquire three yearlings during the two-day boutique auction. The two operations partnered to purchase a filly by Practical Joke (hip 67) for $420,000, a colt by Street Sense (hip 206) for $350,000 and a colt by Good Magic (hip 18) for $325,000.

“While I was growing up back in India, I was really fascinated by horses, their elegance, speed and power,” Rajput said of his early interest in racing. “My great, great grandparents used to breed in India, but after that nobody took it forward. I always had a dream and a goal that one day I would own racehorses and get into the racing and the breeding scene.”

His dreams of a racing stable were put on hold as Rajput built up his digital health company Biofourmis which is focused on developing software-based therapeutics to provide better outcomes for patients, smarter engagement and tracking tools for clinicians, and cost-effective solutions for payers.

“The timing wasn't right, I was building my company, but at some point last year, I had an opportunity to buy a horse in Singapore,” Rajput said. “I bought it and since then I have built relationships and kept expanding, in Australia, in the U.K. and here in the U.S.”

“I have 24 horses, most of them are in pre-training and most of them are yearlings. In the U.S., we have a couple with Todd Pletcher. And in the U.K. we bought one 2-year-old, a Kingman (GB) colt, with China Horse Club. He is going to hopefully race this week.”

That Kingman colt, the €580,000 Arqana May Breeze-Up purchase Kingdom Come (Ire), is expected to be Rajput's first-ever starter when he goes to the post Friday at Newbury.

Rajput's partnership with China Horse Club came about after he purchased a yearling by the group's Group 1 winner Russian Revolution (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}).

“I ended up buying a yearling in Australia by Russian Revolution and I bought the yearling for Singapore,” Rajput said. “That was the first Russian Revolution in Singapore and Teo [Ah Khing] reached out and congratulated me and he was excited. We started talking and we have built a good relationship and I think we have the same goals.”

Rajput expects his racing empire to eventually encompass breeding.

“We will probably start with the racing and hopefully get some fillies,” he said. “And hopefully have broodmares and breed our own. As you know, it all takes time, but I think we have the right partners.”

The 29-year-old Rajput, based in Boston and Singapore, was making not only his first trip to Saratoga, but also his first foray at an in-person auction.

“It's been fun. It's my first sale in person,” he said. “Most of the sales earlier this year were online. So far, in Australia and other places, I primarily deal with trainers. And trainers, of course, work with some agents. But I try to build good relationship with the trainers. We have Ciaron Maher and Chris Waller in Australia, Todd [Pletcher] here. So far we have done it that way.” —@JessMartiniTDN

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