THE Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s flagship sale of selected yearlings, was an historic occasion this year. On Monday it kicked off with the first session of its 100th renewal at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, NY. The sale was not held last year.
A colt by champion sire Uncle Mo out of Grade 1 winner Dame Dorothy topped the first session when he sold to West Bloodstock, agent for Robert and Lawana Low, for $1,600,000. He was part of the consignment from Stone Farm and was offered on behalf of his breeder, Bobby Flay. The colt is the third foal out of the Grade 1 winning Bernardini mare Dame Dorothy, and her first foal is this year’s Grade 3 winner Spice Is Nice.
Dame Dorothy herself is a half-sister to Group 1 Prix Vermeille and Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes winner Mrs. Lindsay, the dam of stakes winner and classic-placed Mr. Owen. Dame Dorothy’s third dam was the stakes-winning The Minstrel mare Mrs. Jenny, dam of Grade 1 winner Unaccounted For.
“It was certainly a very healthy market, and very similar to the 2019 marketplace,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “It’s half-time after the first night, but it’s certainly off to a good start.”
The session’s top filly was a daughter of Tapit. She sold for $990,000 to West Point Thoroughbred, Scarlet Oak Racing and NBS Stable, her price tantalisingly close to a million dollars. She was sold on behalf of her breeders WinStar Farm and Winchell Thoroughbreds by Denali Stud and is out of the stakes placed Dixie Union mare Checkupfromzneckup. Her first foal is the undefeated Speightstown filly Carribean Caper, winner of all her three starts in 2021.
Making waves
Another filly to make waves was a daughter of the eventual sale-topping sire, Into Mischief, and she sold for $940,000 to Christina R. Jelm as agent for David and Holly Wilson. She came from the consignment of Mulholland Springs. The filly is a half-sister to Grade 3-placed winner Sine Wave and they are out of the Grade 2 runner-up Curlina. That mare’s dam is out of a half-sister to the Group 1 Oaks d’Italia winner Menhoubah.
This year’s leading first-crop sire in the USA is the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes winner Gun Runner. Denali Stud sold a son of his for $850,000 to Maverick Racing, and the colt is the first foal of a daughter of Tiznow and is from the immediate family of Horse of the Year Saint Liam, Grade 1 winners Funtastic, Buster’s Ready, and of the yearling’s own sire Gun Runner.
Justify’s first
The first crop of any sire is always eagerly anticipated at the sales and a colt by the 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify didn’t disappoint when he sold for $825,000 to Travis Durr, acting as agent for David Hudson. He was sold by Sequel New York on behalf of Chester and Mary Broman. The colt is the second foal out of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winning Medaglia D’Oro mare Bar Of Gold. Her first foal is Coinage, a son of Tapit, and he gave the pedigree a major update when winning and being stakes-placed at two after the catalogue was published.
Magnier captures top lot at historic sale
IF the first session of the 100th Saratoga Yearling Sale had a highly satisfactory outcome, the second produced no end of good results, and when the hammer fell on the final lot, the figures showed that the centennial renewal of this historic sale yielded a record median and the second highest average ever.
By some way the highlight of the sale was a colt by twice champion sire Into Mischief who sold for $2,600,000. M.V. Magnier was the purchaser of the sale topper who was offered by Gainesway.
The colt is the second foal out of Paola Queen, winner of the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga, and he is from the family of Grade 1 winner Point Ashley. The March 21st-foaled bay was bred by Don Alberto Corporation.
First-crop sire and dual Grade 1 winner Bolt D’Oro, a son of Medaglia D’Oro, was responsible for the second highest priced colt of the session when a three-parts brother to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra sold for $1,400,000 to OXO Equine. Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency consigned the colt on behalf of Kentucky breeder Dede McGehee of Heaven Trees Farm.
The colt’s sibling Rachel Alexandra, winner of five Grade 1 races including the Preakness Stakes, is now a Grade 1 producer, her daughter Rachel’s Valentina having won the Spinaway Stakes and finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Top filly
The top filly of the second session and of the sale came in the form of a daughter of Quality Road, and she sold for $1 million. Offered by Indian Creek and out of Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 Prioress Stakes runner-up Above Perfection, the filly is a half-sister to eight winners including Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes winner Hot Dixie Chick, and the Grade 2 winner Positive Spirit.
Also among the top lots at the second session was another by leading sire Quality Road, and this colt sold for $800,000 to Maverick Racing from the consignment of Taylor Made Sales Agency. He is a half-brother to the stakes winner and Grade 1 placed Brill, and they are out of the stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Hunt The Moon. He was bred by one of the sale’s leading buyers, OXO Equine.
Tapit daughter
An hour or so later and another lot on Tuesday to sell for $800,000 was a filly by three-time leading sire Tapit. She was purchased by Mayberry Farm from the consignment of Gainesway and is the first foal out of the Grade 3 winner and multiple Grade/Group 1 placed mare Madame Stripes.
Summing up the second session, Boyd Browning said: “This is a special place. We witnessed the magic of Saratoga tonight.”
Over the course of the two-night sale, 135 yearlings changed hands for $55,155,000. The average was $408,556, less than a percentage point down from the sale record of $411,459 set in 2019. The median was $350,000, tied with the mark in 2019.