Opening session topper, Hip 341, brings $495,000 at the New York-bred yearling sale. Fasig-Tipton Photo.
By Tom Law and Mary Eddy
Four yearlings commanded final bids of $300,000 or more Sunday evening to top a strong opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale.
Fasig-Tipton reported sales on 62 of the 82 yearlings offered during the first of two sessions for $6,497,500, an average price of $104,798 and median of $80,000. The opening totals compared favorably to the opening night of the 2019 New York-bred yearling sale, which was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2019 opening session saw 66 yearlings sell for $5,972,500, an average price of $90,492 and median of $75,000.
The 2021 versus 2019 comparisons show an increase of 8.8 percent in total receipts, a bump of 15.8 percent in average price and a 6.7 gain in median.
The session’s top-priced horse went through the ring about midway through the session. Hip 341, a filly by Uncle Mo out of the winning Distorted Humor mare Averymerrymoment, brought a final bid of $495,000 from Dream Maker Racing.
Bred by Mia Gallo, Mary Kopley, Michael Newton, and Elizabeth Weese, foaled at Blue Stone Farm in Cambridge and consigned by Thomas J. Gallo III Sales Agency, agent, the filly is the seventh foal out of Averymerrymoment and a half-sister to six winners including the stakes-placed Satisfy.
Bloodstock agent David Ingordo purchased the second-highest priced yearling of the night, going to $335,000 on behalf of trainer John Sadler for Hip 385, a filly by Accelerate out of the winning Bernardini mare Delay of Game.
Impressed with what he’s seen from her sire so far, Ingordo said he came to the sale with yearlings from Accelerate in mind.
“We bought a beautiful colt by him in July and we saw this filly and she’s got everything you’d want to have,” Ingordo said. “She has a strong female family, she’s got the New York-bred (condition) to fall back on if we need it, but she looks like an open-company horse. She’s an excellent representation of Accelerate.”
Bred by EKQ Stables, foaled at Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag and consigned by St George Sales, agent, the filly is a half-sister to Spa Ready, a $260,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale and a winner in her debut last September at Belmont Park for Wise Racing and trainer Chad Brown. She finished fourth in the Tempted Stakes in early November and returned with a runner-up effort in allowance company at Monmouth Park in early August.
Committed to landing the winning bid, Ingordo said he paid more for the filly than anticipated, but that horses like her are worth it.
“The Accelerates are like himself,” he said. “They’re really balanced, really good individuals, have a ton of class. This filly oozed class. She’s been by the ring all night and didn’t turn a hair… She’s a good horse, and she costs what a good horse costs. The market is really strong. She was expensive, but we love her.”
The other two $300,000 yearlings sold early in the opening session.
Maverick Racing and Siena Farm took home Hip 314, a daughter of Grade 1 Carter Handicap winner Army Mule for $300,000.
Foaled at Old Saratoga Equine Services in Schuylerville and out of the twice-winning Hard Spun mare Whispering Angel, she is a half-sister to Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner Wells Bayou. Bred and sold by Kip O’Neill of Windylea Farms in Hoosick Falls, the filly hails from the family of dual classic winner Big Brown and multiple Grade 1-winning champion Hidden Lake.
“We’re happy with the number,” O’Neill said. “We thought she would fall somewhere in that range and would have been surprised if she didn’t get over $200,000. When you’re a (New York) breeder, you have to come to this sale. This filly was accepted in (the select sale), but she may have been overshadowed there. She really fit in this sale.”
Consignor Francis Vanlangendonck of Summerfield Sales said the filly had been popular with prospective buyers throughout the week.
“We showed her a lot, a lot of vetting and a lot of people interested in her,” he said. “We were looking forward to her going through the ring. It was more than we expected. They want good horses and they’re willing to pay for them. They recognize good horses. The Army Mules have been athletic horses and have sold well. So far, the expectations are high.”
Hip 330, a colt by leading sire Into Mischief, landed his $300,000 final bid from Tom McGreevy, agent for Breeze Easy LLC.
Bred by Oak Bluff Stables, foaled at Stonewall Farm in Granite Springs and consigned by Winter Quarter Farm, the colt is out of the stakes-winning Langfuhr mare Akilina and is a half-brother to Japanese stakes winner Rieno Tesoro and Grade 2-placed stakes winner Governor Malibu.
Hip 379, a colt by Redesdale out of the winning Lemon Drop Kid mare Dakota Kid, brought the highest price for a yearling by a New York-based stallion on a final bid of $140,000 from Dean and Patti Reeves’ Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.
Bred by Ron Bowden, foaled at The New Hill Farm in Hoosick Falls consigned by The New Hill Farm, agent, the colt is a half to the unraced 2-year-old Freud colt Dakota Gold purchased by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing for $83,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale. Redesdale, a son of Speightstown and the winner of three of four starts, stands for $3,000 at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs.
