Three six-figure yearlings in Phase I of the dispersal of Flying Zee Stable, which followed the three regular sessions of the Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky fall yearling sale in Lexington on Wednesday night, were testimony to the breeding acumen of the late Carl Lizza Jr., principal of Flying Zee Stable, who passed away in July at the age of 73.
The yearling portion of the Flying Zee dispersal, with Hidden Brook Farm acting as agent, was topped by a March Filly by Lemon Drop Kid (Hip 1118) purchased by Donato Lanni on behalf of Glen Hill Farm for $375,000 – just $5,000 shy of the top seller in the regular portion of the sale.
The filly’s dam Salty Romance, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Salt Lake, won the Delta Princess S. at two and ran second in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel S. at three, earning $229,200. She has already produced two winners from three runners: multiple stakes-placed Luxury Appeal, by Johannesburg ($70,960) and Agave Kiss (Lion Heart), who turned heads on the Showcase Day undercard just days earlier with a 6 1/4-length debut victory against a full field of New York-bred maiden fillies. Agave Kiss’s time for the six furlongs was 1:09.79, just .21 seconds slower than four-year-old General Maximus’ winning time in the Posse Hudson later on the card. Lizza purchased Salty Romance as a two-year-old in training for $320,000 at the 2003 OBS open sale.
Lanni said of the dispersal filly, “Everybody was on her, everybody waited for her. She checked every box. She moved great, she did everything right, and is just a nice filly.” Lanni added, “I’m happy to have gotten a filly from the dispersal. [Lizza] was a great breeder and did so much for the industry, and it’s good to have one from their breeding program.”
The next highest priced yearling was Hip 1137, a Tapit filly out of multiple stakes-winner Comacina (Dixie Union), who sold to Mark Casse (agent) for $170,000. Red and Black Stable, which purchased four yearlings, bought Hip 1124, a bay filly by Bernardini out of The Real Melody (Unbridled’s Song) for $140,000.
Thirty-five of the 39 New York-bred yearlings offered sold for a total of $1,236,700, with an average price of $35,334 and a median of $15,000. Phase II of the Flying Zee Dispersal will consist of weanlings, broodmares, and horses of racing age and will take place during Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic December Mixed sale on December 5.
Hidden Brook’s Jack Brothers said, “I was very pleased with the results. It got respect across the board, and people hung around for it. There were a lot of surprises…in good ways. It was good all around, and gets the ball rolling for Phase II of the dispersal.”
