The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale returned on Monday after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic without missing a beat, with opening session returns comparable to what they were in 2019.
A total of 70 yearlings changed hands during Monday's kickoff day of the boutique auction, grossing $25,280,000. The 2019 sale saw 61 horses bring $22,775,000 during the opening session.
Monday's average sale price was $361,143, while the median price was $300,000. Both were down slightly from 2019. The buyback rate finished at 27 percent on Monday, compared with 28 percent during the opening day of trade two years ago.
Robert and Lawana Low purchased the session-topper, Hip 73, an Uncle Mo colt out of the Grade 1-winning Bernardini mare Dame Dorothy, for $1.6 million.
Bred in Kentucky by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, the bay colt is a half-brother to Grade 3 winner Spice is Nice.
His extended family includes French Group 1 winner Mrs. Lindsay and Grade 1 winner Unaccounted For.
Stone Farm consigned the colt, as agent. Read more about the operation that brought him up here.
Just missing the seven-figure mark was Hip 61, a Tapit filly who sold to West Point Thoroughbreds, Scarlet Oak Racing, and NBS Stable for $990,000.
The bay filly is out of the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Checkupfromzneckup, whose first foal to race is unbeaten in three career starts. Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise is in her extended family, putting the filly in the same family as Horse of the Year A.P. Indy, European champion Duke of Marmalade, and a host of Grade 1 winners including Summer Squall and Court Vision.
Denali Stud consigned the filly, as agent.
The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale concludes Tuesday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
To view the session's full results, click here.
The post Uncle Mo Colt Leads Opening Session Of Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
