Don and Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farm went to an even $1 million to acquire a son of young sire City of Light (Hip 73) Monday. Bred by Betz/B&K Canetti/J. Betz/CoCo Equine/D.J. Stables, the bay is out of MSW Tea Time (Pulpit). He was consigned by Betz Thoroughbreds.
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After watching her undefeated homebred sensation Flightline (Tapit) demolish the GI TVG Pacific Classic field by 19 1/4 lengths Saturday, Jane Lyon was in just as much awe as the rest of the racing world.
“It was unbelievable,” Lyon said. “The fact that I bred him almost doesn't come into my mind. I don't take credit for any of that because I think a horse like this is a gift. After not running until a very late 3-year-old, he is just seems like he is getting better every day and more mature. He is just now coming into himself. That's not something you can plan. I am very proud of him.”
Lyon was so amazed by Flightline's latest accomplishment that she decided she simply could not part with his yearling half-brother by Curlin and withdrew the colt–who is named Eagles Flight–from next week's Keeneland September Sale.
“We will see what Flightline does in November [in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic] and I'm going to make my decisions from that point,” Lyon said. “I'm partnering already in two of my horses [out of Feathered]. I've been thinking about it and it would be hard to part with him and the [Into Mischief–Feathered] filly, if Flightline is what they say he is.”
The breeder continued, “Somebody interviewed me for a podcast, I think in Europe, and they had met [husband] Frank [Lyon] long time ago. Anyway, a question they asked me was, 'Well, after that race, what do you think Frank would have said?' I said he probably would have said why didn't you keep all of him? That really put it into focus.”
When asked if Lyon would consider partners on the Curlin colt, she said, “I have not made that decision. I need a little time. My world has just exploded since last week. I need to savor it. Everyone who has come to see this colt has been extremely positive about him. If Flightline is capable of doing what he did at Del Mar in the Breeders' Cup, I will have just as many people, if not more, interested in [the Curlin colt] after that.”
The other son of Feathered that Lyon owns in partnership is Flightline's unraced 2-year-old full-brother Olivier. The colt RNA'd for $390,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale last year, after which WinStar acquired majority interest in the gray. He has been training at WinStar's training center with Rodolphe Brisset and his last breeze was at Keeneland, going five furlongs in 1:02.20.
Flightline's MGSW dam Feathered (Indian Charlie) produced an Into Mischief filly this year and was bred back to Tapit. The filly will be retained by Lyon and one day join her dam in Summer Wind's star-studded broodmare band.
“I will be keeping her as well. She's a lovely filly,” Lyon said. “She's very independent.”
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The Brereton C. Jones/Airdrie Stud consignment will be bustling in just a few weeks at the Keeneland September Sale as an assembly of over 60 yearlings bred and raised at the landmark Midway farm prepare to go through the ring. The majority of these youngsters represent the dozen-strong stallion roster at Airdrie, which includes two sires that are represented by their first crop of yearlings this year in Grade I-winning millionaires Preservationist (Arch – Flying Dixie, by Dixieland Band) and Divisidero (Kitten's Joy – Madame du Lac, by Lemon Drop Kid).
Airdrie will showcase 14 yearlings by the stallion duo at Keeneland, starting with the consignment's first horse to go through the ring in Book 1. Hip 179, a Preservationist colt out of Brereton C. Jones homebred Church By the Sea (Harlan's Holiday), reflects the caliber of broodmare that Airdrie chose to back these young sires.
“This colt is from a family that everyone knows well,” said Airdrie Stud's Director of Sales Jocelyn Brooks. “Not only has Church By the Sea produced multiple graded stakes winners herself, but her family goes back to MGSW Cairo Memories (Cairo Prince) and GI Blue Grass winner Zandon (Upstart). This colt is what you want to see in a Book 1 horse. He's big and strong, beautiful and athletic, and he has a really nice way of going. We're excited about bringing him over to the sale.”
The consignment has eight additional Preservationist yearlings cataloged including Hip 1067, a colt out of Lifetime Memory (Istan) from the family of Grade II winner Speaktomeofsummer (Summer Front).
“He comes from another favorite family here on the farm,” Brooks explained. “He's a stunning physical and is another big, strong colt. He's powerful looking, but is still very fluid moving. We think he'll be very popular with his physical and his really nice family that we've had for all these years.”
A $485,000 yearling himself, Preservationist made six trips to the winner's circle for Centennial Farms and trainer Jimmy Jerkens, with headline victories in the GI Woodward S. and the GII Suburban H. Despite Preservationist's success as an older horse, Brooks said that Airdrie was initially drawn to the bay because of the speed he showed early in his career.
“Our big conversation that we've had with breeders–and actually what we found out when we were looking to bring him to stud–is that he was very precocious,” Brooks noted. “As a 2-year-old, he was the best-training horse in the barn, as they said. When he broke his maiden going six furlongs in 1.09:01 and ran a 3 ½ Ragozin number, you say, 'I'm thinking of the horse that won the Woodward and the Suburban. I didn't realize that he had that speed.' So not only was he a Grade I winner going long, but he also had the speed that everyone is after.”
Preservationist colt out of Church by the Sea selling in Book 1 at Keeneland September | Matt Wooley – EquiSport Photos
A homebred for Emory A. Hamilton, the son of Arch boasts a pedigree that contains a number of influential broodmares like Too Chic and Courtly Dee.
“Preservationist's pedigree, top and bottom, is one of the best that you'll find with those Middlebrook Farm and King Ranch families that go back for generations of top-quality horses,” Brooks said. “His pedigree has been a huge draw for breeders.”
Brooks explained that based on the first few Preservationist crops on the ground at Airdrie and the additional yearlings they have had a chance to look at, the stallion is passing on some of his best qualities.
“Preservationist is a big, powerful, strong horse, but he's still very athletic,” she said. “We've been really excited about his foals. They are all nice physicals and definitely are very athletic. A lot of them look like him in having that good bone and nice size.”
Preservationist, who has stood for a fee of $10,000 in his first three years at Airdrie, had 26 progeny go through the ring as weanlings including an $85,000 Airdrie-consigned colt out Limitless (Discreet Cat). Brooks said their team was happy with the results from the weanlings that Airdrie sent through the ring.
“They sold very well and went to the right buyers–people who have a wonderful eye and who we respect their opinion,” she said. “We always say that the Airdrie pinhook is the best angle because we brought them over to the sale as weanlings to show off how much we love our Preservationists and hopefully they show up and do even better in September. When [buyers] see the individual physicals, with his pedigree on top of everything, we think that he's going to have a really strong sale.”
Preservationist has 36 progeny cataloged for the Keeneland September Sale while his studmate and fellow first-crop yearling sire Divisidero will be represented by nine yearlings.
Divisidero gets back-to-back wins in the GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic S. | Coady
Airdrie's consignment includes Hip 2689, a Divisidero colt out of MSW Keep Crossing (Istan).
“This colt is a good example of a Divisidero because they really do favor him,” Brooks said. “They definitely have his balance, build, and fluid movement and hopefully they have his speed. This colt is just a lovely horse. He's been really easy to be around and he looks like 'Divisidero 2.0.'”
Another Airdrie stallion with an impressive pedigree, Divisidero hails from the family of breed-shaping stallions Northern Dancer, Halo and Danehill.
“He's from a female family that you don't get the chance to breed to very often,” Brooks said. “It's just a fantastic pedigree and we're really lucky to have that here on the farm. He's a beautiful horse. He's very well put together and he definitely looks like a horse that would be a very fast turf horse.”
Campaigned by Gunpowder Farms, the son of Kitten's Joy was a debut winner early in his sophomore year and went on to claim the GII American Turf S. on the Kentucky Derby undercard in his third career start. The turf specialist claimed at least one graded stakes win every year over his five seasons on the track, including back-to-back scores in the 2016 and 2017 editions of the GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic S.
“We always joke about telling people to go back and watch his race on Derby Day because any one of them would work, either his first stakes win or one of his two Grade I wins,” Brooks said. “He raced against some of the best turf horses that there have been in recent years and he had an incredible turn of foot. People are excited by his explosive speed, for sure. Everyone wants that in their sire.”
To help fight the ongoing battle for a fair shake in the commercial market for young turf sires, Airdrie Stud has thrown whole-hearted support to Divisidero to get his stud career off to a fast start.
“We have bred 15 to 20 mares to Divisidero every year that he has been here,” Brooks shared. “We really believe in this horse. We love his pedigree, we love what he did on the track and we love him physically. His foals have followed in his footsteps in that they're very similar to him. They have his build and they look like very fast horses and very good-moving horses.”
With the recent loss of Kitten's Joy, who passed away in July this year, Divisidero is one of just a handful of young stallions standing in the U.S. with the opportunity to carry on the perennial leading stallion's legacy.
“With the loss of Kitten's Joy, who will never be replaced, it's nice to have such a well-bred son of his that was so accomplished on the racetrack standing here at Airdrie,” Brooks said. “Hopefully he will have an opportunity to fill a tiny bit of the footsteps that Kitten's Joy left behind.”
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–Fasig-Tipton marks 101 years of selling at Saratoga Monday with the start of its highly anticipated Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale.
The Saratoga Sale is known for offering some of the country's top yearlings, many of whom have quite the star-studded pedigrees. The 2022 catalogue, which features 216 yearlings, is no exception.
“It's just a fantastic collection of yearlings, both in terms of pedigree and the physical conformation,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said. “We were excited all spring when we were going to the farms with the interest and the enthusiasm we were getting from folks with top quality yearlings. I think it's just as exciting of a group of yearlings that we've ever had the opportunity to offer. It's truly is a special catalogue and we couldn't be any more excited or optimistic about the 2022 Saratoga edition.”
The Saratoga Sale is just the second yearling auction of the season, following Fasig-Tipton's July Sale in Lexington. The July Sale featured a very strong market, giving sellers plenty to be optimistic about heading into this premier boutique auction.
“I think there's always a little bit of, you know, anticipation, anxiety, hesitation to see what the markets going to be,” Browning said. “July starts the yearling sales and we've seen a little bit of change in the worldwide economy. There's been a little bit of downturn in the financial markets and there was a little concern, but it was really encouraging to see positive signs in terms of the statistical performance of the sale. But even more than the statistical performance, was just the level of interest and the activity that took place before the sale and on the sales grounds. I think that we've seen strong, strong interest pre-sale here for the Saratoga Sale and I expect a very healthy market.”
Gainesway sold the topper at last month's July Sale and were also responsible for the sale-topper at Saratoga last year, an Into Mischief colt out of GI Test S. winner Paola Queen. They offer that colt's full-sister here this year. The operation's General Manager Brian Graves agreed with Browning's thoughts on the momentum from the July Sale carrying into Saratoga. “The first sale of the year, July, was a really good sale,” Graves said. “Averages were up and medians were up. There was competition for all of the horses. I think the economy has improved since then. I don't see any reason this won't carry the momentum. The quality horses are here. I feel very good about our group. I am confident it will be a good sale.”
With one of the world's top race meets being held right across the street from the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, it makes Saratoga the ideal place to sell horses.
“There's always a lot of excitement and anticipation when we when we come up to Saratoga,” said Denali Stud's Conrad Bandoroff. “We've been very fortunate to catch some great results up here and have clients that give us some very nice horses to sell. We always target a couple of what we think are some of our nicest yearlings from the farm to come up here. It's just a great environment to sell horses.”
He continued, “It's a world-class race meet and a world-class boutique sale. The buyers and owners are up here. People just love to buy a nice yearling in Saratoga. We're very, very lucky that we have one of the best show areas on the ground, where our horses can really present themselves and showcase their best physical attributes. We call it the Saratoga magic. It can work the right way and the stars align and it can just be a really magical place to sell horses.”
Graves expressed similar sentiments, saying, “It feels energetic. It looks like all the usual buyers are here and even a few new ones. There is plenty of activity. Being centered around one of the best race meets in the world in a small town, the environment gets pretty electric during these night sessions.”
While Gainesway and Denali are familiar faces at the Saratoga Sale, Jill Gordon and Jacob West's Highgate Sales, which debuted at Fasig's February Sale, hangs its shingle up at the Spa for the first time.
“Saratoga is a sale both buyers and sellers look forward to each year and naturally has great energy,” Gordon said. “Bringing a draft here was one of our first short term goals when we launched Highgate earlier this year and we are grateful to our clients supporting us with two quality offerings. We are excited to be here for what is hopefully the first of many Saratoga drafts for Highgate.”
In addition to the perfect setting, the auction has produced some high-class racehorses. Its top graduates include unbeaten MGISW Flightline (Tapit), who brought $1-million at the Spa; MGISW Rushing Fall (More Than Ready); GI Florida Derby hero Known Agenda (Curlin); GI Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A.P. (Honor Code); GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing (Speightstown); and many more.
The 2020 Saratoga Sale was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the auction came back strong in 2021 with 135 yearlings summoning $55.155 million. The average was $408,556 and the median was $350,000.
Bidding gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion and continues Tuesday with a second session starting at the same time.
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