From $1,000 to a $1.05 million buy, the hammer-fall on 11 of this yr’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) and Longines Breeders’ Cup Traditional (G1) contenders ran the gamut as they went by way of the ring at public public sale.
The star-studded lineup for the Breeders’ Cup Traditional, 9 starters that embody seven who’ve gone below the hammer at numerous venues and ages, is led by morning-line favourite Knicks Go , who chases a consecutive Breeders’ Cup victory after dominating the 2020 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland.
The steel-gray son of Paynter trained by Brad Cox initially went through the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, where he was consigned by Bill Reightler for breeder Angie Moore’s GreenMount Farm and sold for $40,000 to Northface Bloodstock. Korea Racing Authority got a bargain the following season at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, spending just $87,000 to take him home from Woods Edge Farm’s consignment. His earnings stand at $5.5 million heading into Saturday’s action.
Dual Fasig-Tipton sales graduate Hot Rod Charlie , by Oxbow , sold for $110,000 at the 2019 edition of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale, where he was consigned by Small Batch Sales and purchased by Dennis O’Neill. In February of the same year, he sold as a short yearling for $17,000 to Erickson Equine at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, where he was consigned by the late James M. Herbener Jr. Hot Rod Charlie was bred in Kentucky by Edward Cox.
The least expensive auction purchase, Medina Spirit , was initially consigned to the 2019 Ocala Breeders’ Sales’ Winter Mixed Sale by Summerfield on behalf of breeder Gail Rice of Florida. The son of Protonico sold for $1,000 to Christy Whitman, who then pinhooked the 2-year-old to the 2020 OBS 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale. Agent Gary Young signed the ticket for $35,000 on behalf of Zedan Racing Stables, which campaigns the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner.
Lane’s Finish despatched eventual grade 1 winner Max Player , by Honor Code , to the 2018 Keeneland September sale, but he failed to meet his reserve when the hammer fell at $150,000.
“Max Player was bred and raised by K & G Stables who, while being a commercial breeder, also race horses if they don’t meet expectations at the sale, which in his case is what happened,” said Allaire Ryan, Lane’s End’s director of sales. “He was a lovely horse on the farm, but physically he was a bit immature, and on that day, you know, he got overlooked, but to see him go on and do what he’s done, and the job that Steve Asmussen has done managing that horse, and giving him time, and being patient with him, has paid off. So even though he didn’t meet his reserve at the sale, it’s still a really rewarding story for everybody involved.”
Tripoli , a son of Kitten’s Joy , is also a Lane’s End graduate. He changed hands at the 2018 Keeneland September sale, bringing $450,000 from Martin Anthony, an entity comprised of David Ingordo and John Sadler. His record stands at 4-3-3 from 15 starts with earnings of $829,960.
“(Tripoli) was bred and raised by Marc Holliday (Blue Devil Racing Stable),” Ryan said. “He was foaled at our Oak Tree division here in Lexington, and he was just a straightforward, good-looking physical from day one.”
The last sales graduate from the Lane’s End consignment, Express Train , bred in Kentucky by Bill Shively’s Dixiana Farms, was sold to Mayberry Farm for $500,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale. The 4-year-old son of Union Rags seeks his first grade 1 Saturday.
Stilleto Boy in the ring at the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale
The most recent sale graduate, Stilleto Boy , who originally was campaigned by his breeders John and Iveta Kerber, sold at this year’s Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale for $420,000. Consigned by Paramount Sales as agent, the 3-year-old son by Shackleford was purchased online by Steve Moger, making him the second-highest price of the sale. In July, the Washington native added him to his string of horses with his brother Ed Moger Jr. at Del Mar.
Distaff Offers
Within the Distaff division, eventual 2020 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Shedaresthedevil was a $100,000 bargain when Big Cuse Bloodstock plucked her from Taylor Made Sales Agency’s consignment to the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, where she was consigned for breeder WinStar Farm.
The winner of $2,291,458 could have been had as a yearling when she went back through the Keeneland ring the following season, but she failed to meet her reserve when the hammer fell at $20,000. On her next trip to the pavilion, she sold for $280,000 as a 2-year-old to Flurry Racing Stables through Hunter Valley Farm’s consignment to the 2019 Keeneland November sale.
Shedaresthedevil trains Nov. 2 at Del Mar
Adrian Regan, managing partner at Hunter Valley Farm, recalled: “At the time when we sold her in 2019, she was a big, framey filly and hadn’t developed fully into her body. She showed plenty of ability, and Sheikh Fahad Al Thani was adamant at the time, if we could find the right partner, he would like to stay in for half. Staton Flurry of Flurry Racing showed a lot of interest, and they were going to send her to Brad Cox, which Sheikh Fahad is a fan of, so they were happy to give it a go.
“No one ever thought she was going to turn into a classic winner when she was purchased, but she had plenty of upside to her. She was a lovely filly (in 2019), and I remember pulling her out for many people where she wasn’t on their list, but they were all taken by her looks. She’s a beautiful filly.”
Hunter Valley Farm will again get the opportunity to pull the filly out to show prospective buyers at a different venue after the Breeders’ Cup, as she is entered in The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s marquee breeding stock sale Nov. 9 in Lexington. Her connections hope she’ll have a fourth grade 1 on her résumé when she goes through the ring as Hip 232.
“Since we started the farm, the idea was always at some stage we wanted to get to selling these types of animals. It was a hope, and thankfully it’s great to bring a mare like her to the sale,” Regan said.
Distaff starter Private Mission was a $750,000 purchase by agent Donato Lanni for Baoma Corp. from The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s sale of selected yearlings in New York, when Lane’s End sent her through the ring for breeder Mt. Brilliant Broodmares in 2019. The 3-year-old daughter of popular sire Into Mischief is in pursuit of her first grade 1 win. She is out of stakes winner Private Gift , whom Mt. Brilliant purchased from the 2008 Fasig-Tipton November sale for $2.3 million from the Lane’s End draft.
Private Mission gallops Oct. 30 at Santa Anita Park
“Mt. Brilliant bred Private Mission, and now and again, we get the opportunity to consign a yearling on their behalf in Saratoga. So she was one that we picked out of their crop as a special individual physically, but also one with the back class in her female family to do well at a select sale,” Ryan said.
White Birch Farm’s Dunbar Road was acquired at the 2017 Keeneland September sale for $350,000 out of the Indian Creek consignment. The Quality Road daughter is out of the Bernardini mare Gift List , who is a half sister to Private Mission. Campaigned by Peter Brant and trained by Chad Brown, she has accumulated more than $1.3 million in earnings.
Dunbar Road wins the 2020 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park
No stranger to Breeders’ Cup success, Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings sent Malathaat , a Curlin yearling out of grade 1 winner Dreaming of Julia , to public auction at the 2019 Keeneland September sale, where Shadwell went to $1.05 million to bring her home from Denali Stud’s consignment. Malathaat has scored three grade 1 successes in 2021, including this year’s Kentucky Oaks, and will be vying for a fourth.
