By Alan Carasso
Yearling-to-juvenile reseller Al Pike had a busy day Monday, acquiring the three highest-priced offerings at the single-session Texas Thoroughbred Association's Yearling and Horses of All Ages Sale at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.
Pike went to $120,000 for the day's most expensive lot, the Eaton Sales-consigned hip 218. From the first crop of former 'TDN Rising Star' and current Darby Dan stallion Klimt (Quality Road), the Jan. 30 foal was bred in Louisiana by Keith and Ginger Myers's Coteau Grove Farms LLC and is out of the unraced Ms. Character (Ghostzapper), a half-sister to Coteau Grove's seven-time stakes winner and Grade III-placed Little Ms Protocol (El Corredor); as well as SW Union Builder (Yankee Gentleman) and SP Coteau Rouge (Tale of the Cat). This is also the female family of top GI Kentucky Derby hopeful Art Collector (Bernardini).
Pike also acquired the afternoon's other six-figure youngster, going to an even $100,000 for hip 203, a first-crop daughter of champion Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile). The Mar. 1-foaled bay filly is out of the unraced Just Like Pop (Unbridled's Song), who was acquired by breeder H & E Ranch for $55,000 in foal to Creative Cause at the 2018 OBS Winter Mixed Sale. That produce, a filly now named Best Cause, fetched $150,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale. Just Like Pop is out of four-time black-type winner Amazing Buy (High Yield), a half-sister to MGSW and Sovereign Award winner Alpha Bettor (Alphabet Soup). Hip 203 was consigned by Roger Daly.
Pike's also struck for hip 243, parting with $70,000 for a colt by Lemon Drop Kid out of Sallie's Memory (Holy Bull). Also consigned by Daly on behalf of H & E Ranch, the Feb. 6 foal is a full-brother to the stakes-placed juvenile filly Shaken Memories and a half to SW Jamaican Memories (Slew City Slew).
Conducted with COVID-19 safety protocols in place and offering an online bidding component, the sale was patronized by the likes Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Set-Hut LLC of former NFL quarterback Jake Delhomme and Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch. A total of 106 horses were reported as sold from 137 through the ring for an average of $12,714, up by 5.5% over last year's $12,048. The median was up 2% at $5,100. Eaton Sales, agent, participating in the Texas sale for the first time, topped the list of consignors with gross sales of $454,800 from 28 sold. Roger Daly, agent, had the top average with eight sold for an average of $31,800.
“The results of this sale were strong on their own, and especially against the backdrop of a health pandemic,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “With twice as many yearlings as last year, the fact that our average and median still went up shows that there's a lot of demand in this region for quality stock. We were pleased with the response to online bidding as well.”
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