By Jessica Martini
A colt by super sire Into Mischief (hip 30) returns to the sales ring for the second time in six months when he sells through the Darby Dan Farm consignment during the first session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale Monday. The yearling holds the distinction of having the highest previous sales price in the Saratoga auction's 240-head catalogue after selling for $650,000 as part of the Lothenbach dispersal the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in February. A colt by Constitution (hip 59) has the next highest previous price, having sold for $525,000 at last year's Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
“He was just a lovely short yearling,” said Darby Dan's Renee Logan, who signed the ticket on the Into Mischief colt in February on behalf of an undisclosed client. “He had a beautiful balance and a lovely walk. He was very, very correct with nice feet and I just liked the way his neck tied into his shoulder and with a really good hind leg. All of the the things you want in a young horse. We can buy them that way and they don't always end up that way, but that's the way you want to start.”
The dispersal, organized just months after the passing of longtime owner/breeder Bob Lothenbach, provided a unique opportunity for buyers. The colt, who is out of Distorted Music (Distorted Humor), sold some 10 hips after his half-sister, graded winner She Can't Sing (Bernardini) brought $1.1 million from Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa. He had been rerouted to auction–instead of his breeder's racing stable–after Lothenbach passed away last November.
She Can't Sing | Fasig-Tipton
“I like the fact that he wasn't overly prepped,” Logan said. “He was just in really good weight, but not overweight. His hair wasn't overdone. You could just tell that he was basically always kept well and kind of basically pulled out of the field and cleaned up a little bit. He was just always in good condition from the time he was born until February.”
In addition to the colt's physical attributes, the Darby Dan team was also attracted to the Into Mischief/Distorted Humor cross which is responsible for Grade I winners Life is Good and Practical Joke.
Logan knew she would have to pay for the colt when he walked into the ring in Lexington.
“I knew the players who were interested in him and I knew I was up against [Randy] Hartley and [Dean] DeRenzo and other people who also liked that horse that had plenty of money to spend on him,” she said. “I had told my client that we were going to have to be minimum of $500,000 or $600,000.”
Since the colt was purchased over the winter, the family has continued to prove popular in the sales ring. His half-brother by Tapit sold for $1.2 million after galloping at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.
“I don't know that it has a whole lot of impact, but it certainly doesn't hurt,” Logan said of the seven-figure juvenile. “He had two siblings bring over $1 million. And that colt, from what I understand, is a very, very good colt. They have a lot of high hopes for him.”
Logan said the plan was always to bring the colt to Saratoga for Fasig-Tipton's boutique summertime auction and everything has gone to plan from February to shipping to upstate New York Thursday.
“He's a beautiful colt,” Logan said. “He hasn't disappointed us in any way. I am confident that he is going to be extremely well received. His vetting is beautiful–you can't get it any better. And he is just a bigger version of what he was in February. He's just a more mature version of that.”
Of the risks of a high-priced pinhook prospect, Logan said, “That's a lot of money. But our client just loves this and loves the game. You've got to be tied on to do this, win, lose or draw.”
Tapit–Distorted Music 2-year-old at OBS | Photos by Z
Darby Dan brings a four-horse consignment to the Saratoga sale. In addition to hip 30, the farm will also offer a filly by Munnings (hip 54) out of stakes winner Ghoul's Night Out (Ghostzapper). Bred by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, the yearling was purchased by Red Devil Bloodstock for $120,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.
“She's absolutely lovely,” Logan said of the filly. “She's beautifully balanced with a lot of leg, where some Munnings don't. She's not heavy fronted. She's just really, really pretty with good vetting.”
During Tuesday's second night of the auction, Darby Dan will offer a homebred colt by Omaha Beach (hip 192). The bay is out of Tip at Tapit (Tapit), a full-sister to Grade I winner Time and Motion who traces back to many of the historic farm's stars, including Memories of Silver, Winter Memories, Sunshine Forever and Brian's Time. The colt's half-sister by Gun Runner sold for $1.5 million at the 2022 Keeneland September sale.
“Our Omaha Beach colt, out of Tip At Tapit, it's a family that goes back to all the great Darby Dan horses,” Logan said.
Rounding out the Darby Dan consignment is a colt by Candy Ride (Arg) (hip 197) who was bred in Virginia by Wayne and Susie Chatfield-Taylor's Morgan's Ford Farm. He is a half-brother to graded winner Chess Chief (Into Mischief). Morgan's Ford purchased his dam, Un Blessed (Mineshaft), for $110,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale, but she's another one with deep ties to Darby Dan Farm. Her dam is Grade I winner Plenty of Grace (Roberto) and the family includes champion Soaring Softly.
“He's a really good Candy Ride,” Logan said. “He is big and very substantial with a lot of bone. And he has a beautiful walk on him.”
Logan said she expected to see plenty of competitive bidding at the Saratoga auction, which consistently represents the top of the yearling market.
“I think the demand is going to be very strong,” she said. “Very, very strong. Of course, you always have to get through your vetting. Fortunately we have four horses who vet very well. But that's our opinion and what we think is kind of irrelevant. It's what someone else thinks that's going to matter.”
The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale will be held Monday and Tuesday at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion. Bidding begins each evening at 6:30 p.m.
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