Medaglia d'Oro Trifecta On Top at Fasig-Tipton October Opener

LEXINGTON, KY – A trio of Baccari Bloodstock-consigned yearlings by Darley stalwart Medaglia d'Oro took up the top three spots at the opening session of Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky October Yearling Sale Monday. Leading the way was hip 62, a half-sister to MGSW and GISP Appealing Tale (Tale of the Cat) purchased by Lois, Len and Jon Green's DJ Stable for $400,000.

A total of 244 head changed hands Monday for gross receipts of $9,668,900 at an average of $39,627 and median of $15,000.

The RNA rate was 29.27%. The Monday average and median compared favorably with both last year's first session ($33,709/$16,000) and the 2018 cumulative numbers ($35,576/$15,000).

“It was a very good start to the 2019 October yearling sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President and CEO Boyd Browning, Jr. “It was encouraging and fun that the second horse in the ring brought six figures, and the last horse in the ring brought six figures There was lots of good, solid trade in between.”

While trade was strong at the upper segments of the market, it was, as expected, tougher sledding for the lots of perceived lesser quality.

“Honestly, I think it's similar to the marketplace we've seen all year,” Browning said. “The record is now broken–I don't care if we're selling 2-year-olds or yearlings, and I think you'll hear us saying it in November with weanlings and mares: there's really, really intense competition for what are perceived to be the higher quality offerings, reasonable competition for the pretty good offerings and it's tough for those horses who aren't deemed commercially viable by the buying public. That doesn't mean they won't be runners, but the market's tough on those horses.”

Session two of the four-day October sale begins Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Greens Grab Another Grey Filly…

Len and Jon Green of D J Stable were joined by trainer John Servis as they fended off all challengers to take home a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro (hip 62) for $400,000. The May 21 foal was consigned by Baccari Bloodstock and bred by Chris Baccari's Seclusive Bloodstock.

“She was really one of the top horses on our list,” said Jon Green, a regular guest on the TDN Writers' Room podcast. “John Servis and Jim McGreevy gave us a great short list to work with, and this filly was near or at the top of that list we got. She's got outstanding balance, looks like she's going to go two turns, and that's a Saturday horse as we like to say.”

Among D J's standout runners is Jaywalk (Cross Traffic), last year's champion 2-year-old filly and a $190,000 KEESEP buy. Jaywalk is by a son of the late, great Unbridled's Song, while hip 62 is out of an Unbridled's Song mare already responsible for MGSW and GISP Appealing Tale (Tale of the Cat) and stakes winner Colerful Bride (Munnings). Hip 62's second dam is Grade II-winning juvenile Regally Appealing (Valid Appeal), while her stakes-winning third dam produced the stakes-winning dam of MGSW Rockport Harbor (Unbridled's Song).

“We've had some pretty good luck buying at October in the past,” Green noted. “There are a lot of nice athletes here. A lot of horses look like they can run in stakes races over the weekends going forward, but this filly in particular had a really nice pedigree that we liked. Unbridled's Song, we feel, is one of the top broodmare sires out there. As an added bonus, John Servis actually trains the Honor Code 2-year-old [half brother] for another client, so that gave us a little bit more confidence.”

That Honor Code colt was a $335,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga RNA. Baccari bought dam Appealing Bride for $150,000 in foal to Champ Pegasus at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. She produced a full-brother to hip 62 earlier this term.

D J Stable frequently campaigns runners in partnership–Jaywalk, for example, is co-owned by Chuck Zacney's Cash is King Stable–but, as of the fall of the hammer, the Greens had no partners on hip 62.

“Right now, we bought her with the full intention that she's going to be [100%] ours, but have such great relationships with a couple other people who we partner with that I wouldn't be surprised if someone else ended up taking a leg of her, but for right now we're really pleased to have100% of her,” Green said.

Click here for a ThoroStride virtual inspection of hip 62.

Young Strikes Early for Medag Miss

A filly by Medaglia d'Oro woke up a sleepy sales pavilion early in Monday's opening session at Fasig-Tipton as agent Steve Young, conveniently bidding from the second floor press box,

went to $350,000 to secure the grey miss on behalf of an undisclosed client. Hip 18 was consigned by Baccari Bloodstock LLC, Agent II and bred by Chris Baccari's Seclusive Farm in partnership with Chester and Anne Prince.

The Apr. 23 foal is a half to MSW and GSP Bluegrass Singer (Bluegrass Cat) and her dam is a half to this year's G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen hero Mr Melody (Scat Daddy).

“She's a beautiful Medaglia filly, and her pedigree goes back to two awfully good fillies who Mel Stute trained in [MGSW & MGISP third dam] Klassy Kim (Silent Screen) and [GISW fourth dam] Kool Arrival (Relaunch),” Young said. “I had a lot of respect for Bluegrass Singer. She stands on her own merits–she's a beautiful filly. I think she's well bought.”

When asked how the filly stacked up with the rest of the October catalogue, Young said, “With them having 1600 horses it's like a mini Keeneland [September], if you will. I haven't looked at the Book 2 horses yet; you've got to go chronologically. Of the ones that I've looked at, there are some nice fillies here, but she was in front of them by a ways.”

Hip 18's unraced dam Aguilera (Unbridled's Song) was acquired for $240,000 in foal to Midnight Lute at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. Aguilera's now 2-year-old half-sister, named Believein (Bernardini), was a $395,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga RNA and was bought back again for $375,000 12 months ago.

Click here for a ThoroStride virtual inspection of hip 18.

Blazing Start for Baccari, Medaglia d'Oro

Baccari Bloodstock's Chris Baccari admitted that he wasn't particularly pleased when the October sale catalogue came out and his three yearlings by Medaglia d'Oro were in the first 85 hips of the four-day auction, but he was all smiles after the trio racked up a combined $1.07 million Monday.

First up was the aforementioned hip 18, who sold to Steve Young for $350,000; then came another grey filly out of an Unbridled's Song mare in hip 62, a $400,000 D J Stable buy.

Hip 85, a colt and the first foal out of graded stakes-winning turfer Auntie Joy (Uncle Mo), rounded things out when bringing $320,000 from Eddie Woods's Quarter Pole Enterprises.

“They were very good, solid horses, but I was pretty petrified having all those Medaglia d'Oros on the very first day,” Baccari said with a laugh. “But it worked out fine. Most of the time when you show up with a nice, quality horse, you have a shot to get rewarded.”

The Medaglia d'Oro–Unbridled's Song cross has produced MGSW and MGISP Mrs McDougal; MSW Sea Foam; and SW and GISP Savings Account.

“We love Unbridled's Song mares,” Baccari said. “We have a couple Unbridled's Song mares out of Deputy Minister mares [like the dam of hip 18]. We like that line. We like the other mare [of hip 62] being out of a Valid Appeal mare. It gives us the ability to breed to two-turn horses and put speed in them. That's the ultimate goal.”

When asked to describe the two fillies, Baccari said, “The first filly that sold, I thought that was great value. She sold real early. She's a very good physical, plenty of size, enough bone. Just a really good, quality filly. I think it was a good trade for us, too–we raised her–but he got good value. She's a good daughter of Medaglia d'Oro, with enough pedigree underneath her, and she looks like she'll be a racehorse. The other filly was just born later and she definitely needed all this time. But she's a very stretchy, good-looking filly with a very nice pedigree underneath her, as well.”

Hip 85 was $200,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase. His fourth dam is Personal Ensign.

“He's just a big, strong colt with enough leg by that sire and looks like he'll be quick enough, too,” Baccari said. “He's the mare's first foal, and she's a graded stakes winner.”

Baccari sold the $700,000 sales topper here in 2017–a colt by, of course, Medaglia d'Oro.

“This is a great venue,” he said. “I don't like being on the first day, in the first couple hip numbers, but it's a good spot because you can showcase a horse here the right way. It's worked out well for me buying here to race, and selling commercially.”

Medaglia d'Oro entered the October sale third among North American sires by average yearling price in 2019 at $582,836.

Pick View Lands Pharoah Colt

Joe Pickerrell and Courtney Roberts's Pick View LLC have seen their pinhooking business grow significantly over the past several seasons, and they put some of their 2019 2-year-old sales proceeds to use during the Monday opener at Fasig-Tipton, stepping up to take home a colt by Triple Crown-winning sensation American Pharoah for $315,000. The son of stakes-placed Counterparty (Exchange Rate) was consigned by Everett Dobson's Candy Meadows Farm as hip 278.

“He's a top kind of horse,” said Pickerrell. “We latched on early, and we actually didn't think we'd be able to get it done. We've circled this sale on the calendar. Every year, it's been a really good sale for us. We're lucky enough to have investors who have some faith in us. We've had a couple good years here in a row, and we're trying to increase our quality and try to take horses like him to the bigger sales.”

Among Pick View's yearling-to-2-year-old scores in 2019 was Structor (Palace Malice), a $160,000 KEESEP yearling turned $850,000 OBSMAR juvenile who stamped himself as a major contender for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf after annexing Belmont's GIII Pilgrim S. last month.

American Pharoah sits atop the crop of current freshman sires with runners, and demand for his second crop has been extremely strong. His 2019 yearling average was $436,434 going into the October sale, and he was responsible for the record-breaking $8.2-million Keeneland September-topping filly.

“It's a little outside our comfort zone for the budget, but he was the physical that matches up with it,” Pickerrell said. “Pharoah is off to an exceptional start at stud, and I feel like the hits are going to keep coming. He's got some really exciting horses coming to the Breeders' Cup with [GIII Futurity S. winner and GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint contender] Four Wheel Drive and some others. We're excited to get this guy home and to try and have a little luck.”

Hip 278's dam was a $575,000 yearling buy herself, and displayed some talent, taking her dirt sprint debut at three in New York for trainer Todd Pletcher and Dobson's Cheyenne Stables before adding turfy allowance tallies at Belmont and Keeneland ahead of a runner-up finish in Mountaineer's West Virginia Senate President's Cup S. The daughter of MSW Passionate Bird (Birdonthewire) had produced three foals prior to hip 278.

“He's a later foal (May 16), but a lovely, lovely horse,” said Candy Meadows's Matt Lyons. “He's a beautiful mover, a grand horse to be around, and I think he was in the right spot. Thankfully, we had some good action on him here today, and we're very thankful to the people who bought him.”

As for the market as a whole, Lyons said, “I think it's the same market we're usually in. When you have a nice horse, they're going to bring money. The ones who fall below that are struggling. I think that was a fair price for him. I think he's going to go to the 2-year-old sales and I hope they make money.”

Runhappy Colt Finds New Home Second Time Around

Bought back for $280,000 at Keeneland September, hip 227–a colt from the first crop of Runhappy–changed hands Monday for $230,000. The Green family's D. J. Stable, which also purchased the $400,000 session topper, was the winning bidder. The half-brother to last year's GI Santa Margarita S. heroine Fault (Blame) was consigned to the sale by James Keogh's Grovendale, Agent XXV on behalf of breeder Judy Hicks.

“It was a fair price–the colt made his price,” said Keogh. “He's a grand horse, and he's a half to a Grade I winner. He deserved to make that. He's by a popular stallion; the horse is getting lovely stock. We're pleased with it. He was a very popular horse.”

Stakes-winning dam Charmin 'n Lovable (Horse Chestnut {SAf}) had been purchased by Claiborne Farm for $500,000 in foal to First Samurai back in 2007, and Hicks acquired her privately while she was carrying this colt after she RNA'd for $70,000 at KEENOV '17.

“He's one of the smartest, happiest colts that I've ever had the privilege of being around,” Hicks said. “I'm so happy he's going to an end user… We hope to see him in the winner's circle.”

When asked if they'd looked at the horse in September, D. J.'s Jon Green said, “We saw him in September–he was up on the hill–and we liked him [there], but at that point in time we had already [reached our] budget and had bought some other horses ahead of him. But he was always on our radar. James Keogh and Jim FitzGerald are clients of ours [at The Green Group], so we felt a little more confident when we went back and looked at him again. He's an outstanding colt; two-turn horse. Certainly, the fact that there's a Runhappy bonus [of $100,000 for open maiden special weight winners at Saratoga]–we race at Saratoga, so that helped push us a little further than we thought we were going to have to. He's a nice, two-turn kind of horse that we wanted to have in our barn.”

Green continued, “I think at this sale especially, the really outstanding ones are going for a little bit more than what you would normally spend. They stand out here, and when you get stand-outs, they're going to cost a bit more. But he was worth it. Hopefully it'll look cheap by the time we're done racing him.”

Drumette Partnership Comes to a Close

With the fall of the hammer Monday on hip 366, the final chapter in the story of the $230,000 Shackleford colt's dam Drumette (Henny Hughes) came to a close for Brendan and Olive Gallagher's Frankfort Park Farm and Gainesway's Michael Hernon.

They partnered to acquire the then 6-year-old winning half-sister to GSW Drum Major (Dynaformer) for $75,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale, and the Tapizar filly she was carrying at the time–who they sold for $100,000–blossomed into none other than last year's champion 3-year-old filly Monomoy Girl. A year-younger full-brother to Monomoy Girl sold for $175,000 here in 2017, and Drumette's now 2-year-old colt Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice), who the Gallaghers and Hernon sold for $60,000 as a weanling, rallied for fourth after completely missing the break with some steam behind him Saturday at Keeneland for the same connections as Monomoy Girl.

But the biggest score with Drumette came, of course, when she was sold to Bridlewood Farm for $1.85-million in the same Fasig-Tipton sales ring last November.

“Drumette was like buying an oil well–we got very lucky,” said Hernon. “It was very much a spur-of-the moment purchase in the back ring at Keeneland; kind of a gut decision.”

Consigned by Gainesway, Agent XL, the Shackleford colt was signed for by Highbury Bloodstock.

“He was there to sell; we made everyone aware of that,” Hernon said when asked if the price was what he expected. “He had a following and, naturally he's a half to a champion and out of a young mare who can get a top horse. He's by a Classic winner in Shackleford–a proven horse–who I felt fit the mare at the time very well physically. I think this horse will progress nicely and hopefully he might even win us a few breeders prizes down the road when he makes it to the racetrack.”

While the partnership's been dissolved for now, the Gallaghers and Hernon might just try to see if lightning can strike twice some time in the future.

“Brendan and I shook hands after the colt hammered down, and he said to me, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, 'Maybe we should try and do this again.' So, maybe we will,” Hernon said.