The leading buyer from session one of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of New York-breds, Phil Hager was back at the sales ground for session two, adding a colt to the three yearlings he already purchased for his Taproot Bloodstock.
Three of the purchases, a Street Boss colt, a Frosted filly, and a Bernardini filly (hips 395, 396, and 473) are for New York-based Carem Stables. Hip 325, an Instagrand filly, is for an undisclosed client. The yearlings came from the consignments of, respectively, Winter Quarter Farm, Indian Creek, Denali Stud, and McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds. His purchases totaled $770,000.
Phil Hager at the sale
“Carem Stables were trying to buy very nice physicals that had some pedigree, and both Street Boss and Frosted can get you good horses,” Hager said.
The third dam of the Street Boss colt is the multiple champion Flawlessly (Affirmed), the winner of nine grade 1 races that retired with earnings of $2.5 million. From five crops, Frosted has seven graded winners worldwide, including the millionaire Ingratiating.
Pinhooking Steal
The last time Hip 496 was at the Saratoga sale grounds, the colt failed to sell, bringing a final bid of $19,000 at the 2022 Saratoga Fall Sale. Sold privately to Mario Bencomo’s New Horizon Farm for $15,000, he brought $100,000, selling to Joe Hardoon on behalf of a partnership comprising Paul Braverman, Al Gold, Wayne Cutler, and Scott Akman.
The dark bay/brown colt is by Mo Town , in whom Braverman, Cutler, and Akman were part-owners as members of the Team D partnership. His dam is the Shackleford mare Alana’s Allure.
The colt’s price was no doubt boosted when his half brother Allure of Money (Central Banker ) won the New York Derby at Finger Lakes July 17.
“Mo Town has had a couple of good horses this year,” said Marshall Taylor, Thoroughbred advisor at Taylor Made Farm, which consigned the colt. “He’s not the most commercial horse in the world, but he’s shown that he can get you a really good horse.”
“He’s a nice athletic-looking horse that looks like he’ll stretch out and be a good two-turn horse,” said Hardoon. “He got a great update to the page that definitely helped the seller out.”
According to Braverman, the horse will be trained by Melanie Giddings.
“We told her two months ago that we’d buy horses for her,” he said. “We want to help her establish her stable.”
