Cyberknife filly leads seven-figure haul at Saratoga sale

By Mary Eddy and Tom Law

A filly from the first crop of multiple Grade 1 winner Cyberknife led a group of eight New York-bred weanlings that sold for $100,000 or more at Tuesday’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale.

Diamond I landed the top-priced weanling of the day, going to $230,000 for Hip 301[2], a daughter of Cyberknife out of the winning D’wildcat mare D’fashion. Bred by Dr. Jerry Bilinski and consigned by Gracie Bloodstock, agent for Waldorf Farm, the filly is a half-sister to stakes winner Strategic Dreams and four other winners.

“She’s a great filly and came here really professionally,” said Gracie Bloodstock’s Chris Gracie. “She’s a well-balanced, pretty filly. She stuck out in the group of horses here. We’ve watched her all summer and I’ve seen her a couple times now, and ever since she was a foal, she was a really nice horse. She’s done well since then, and everyone responded to her on the sales grounds.”

The sale-topper is the eighth foal out of D’fashion, who is also the dam of a yearling colt by Game Winner that sold for $450,000 at the recent Keeneland September sale. Bilinski, through his Waldorf Farm, purchased D’fashion carrying the Game Winner colt in utero for $75,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.

“It’s a great place to sell weanlings,” Gracie said. “Everyone comes here – you get a lot of people from Kentucky, all over the country. They come here just to shop New York-breds, so when you bring them here, you get a combination of end-users and pinhookers, which you don’t always get on weanlings. It’s a good place to bring them.”

Hip 252[4], a weanling daughter of leading third-crop sire Good Magic, landed the second highest price on a bid of $180,000 from No Money No Honey.

Bred by Mill Creek Farm and Fortune Farm and consigned by Vinery Sales, agent for the breeders, the filly is out of the winning Arch mare Ardara. She’s the dam of six winners from six foals to race, including stakes winner Miss Marisa and stakes-placed winner The X.

“Lovely filly,” said Vinery Sales’ Josh Kerin. “Obviously, the sire is really helping her and it’s an incredible page. That also is a testament to New Yorkers really getting in there and buying pedigrees to compete with Kentucky and other states.”

Kerin further praised the Empire State’s breeders and breeding program for the successful day for Vinery Sales, which also included the $110,000 sale of Hip 213, a colt by Practical Joke; and the $100,000 sale of Hip 40, a colt by Drain the Clock.

Vinery also sold Hip 267[5], a colt by Mind Control that brought $50,000 and the most expensive price for a New York-sired weanling. Bred by Ivery Sisters Racing, the colt out of the Giant Gizmo mare Butch’s Mango was purchased by Global Equus Thoroughbreds. Multiple Grade 1 winner Mind Control stands in New York under the management of Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions and Rockridge Stud.

“[The consignment’s success] is a testament to what the New York breeders are doing,” he said. “They’re producing good foals, the stallions are increasing their physicality and racing ability, so New York breeders are really making a name for themselves. It was a strong turnout on sale day and that’s really where push comes to shove, so we’re happy about that.”

Fasig-Tipton reported sales on 148 of the 250 horses offered at the sale for a total of $3,939,500, an average price of $26,618 and median of $15,000. Those numbers decreased from last year’s total of $4,597,200 for 157 horses sold and an average price of $29,282 and median of $20,000.

New York-based owner and breeder Jonathan Thorne signed the ticket for the third highest-priced weanling, going to $150,000 for Hip 125[6], a filly by Early Voting. Bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds LLC and Tuscany Bloodstock and consigned by Sequel New York, the filly is out of the winning Ghostzapper mare Owl Moon.

“You can’t find a much better physical than she was,” Thorne said. “I’m a fan of the stallion and we’re lucky we get to take care of her and hope for the best. She’s a beautiful horse. If they all [the Early Votings] look like that, they’re going to be in good shape.

“I love that Fasig-Tipton hosts this sale. I live and hour and a half from here and I always try to support it. And, we like beautiful horses.”

Sequel’s Becky Thomas also praised the Saratoga fall sale market.

“I think the market is excellent for horses that are perceived as very nice,” she said. “[Hip 125] is a very nice filly, and that’s a lot of money. We were very happy, it’s a breeding partnership, and we’re always really happy when our homebreds do good. She had really good balance, good hip, a really good walk. Just a really good shape to her.”

Sequel sold the sale’s top-priced broodmare, Hip 9[7], the 5-year-old unraced Hard Spun mare Fast and Hard, that sold for $50,000 to $55,000 to SLB Stables BBG LLC. Offered in foal to Arabian Lion, Fast and Hard was sold by Sequel, agent for Lakland Estate Dispersal.

“That was a long-term client that we’ve been partnered with for 35 years – it was his own mare, and he passed away,” Thomas said. “I think that family is beautiful, and it’s a very fast family. It was a good buy.”

Hip 6[8], a son of Grade 1 winner Jack Christopher bred and sold by The New Hill Farm, commanded the top price for a weanling colt. Mad Dog purchased the colt out of the Cuvee mare Fairway Road for $140,000. Fairway Road is the dam of six winners from six foals to race, including Grade 3 winner and $506,332-earner Just Grazed Me.

“He was very popular; a beautiful baby,” said The New Hill Farm’s Lili Kobielski. “He’s super flashy, and is a homebred out of one of my favorite mares. We’re delighted. She’s an older mare, but she’s proven with producing a graded stakes winner. We were planning to bring him to Kentucky actually, but we’re really glad we stayed home and he was a standout here.”

 

What they’re saying: Consignors and breeders at the Saratoga fall sale:

Dan Barraclough of Saratoga Glen Farm, consignor of Hip 77[9], a $120,000 colt by Drain the Clock: “Beautiful colt. Out of a Freud mare. Freud was just pensioned and was a New York stalwart stallion, and by a nice, young Kentucky stallion in Drain the Clock that seems to be getting great foals. A bunch of the Drain the Clocks have sold well here, and this was just a special horse pretty much from the moment he was born – always very forward with great balance and great movement. Just a fast-looking horse. Great conformation and great mind. He showed very well the whole time and is a classy horse. He’s a horse that looks like he can go to a 2-year-old sale, come back here for the yearling sale, go to the races – just a cool colt that you’ve got a lot of options for his future. That’s a type of horse that can compete anywhere in the country.”

The New Hill Farm’s Lili Kobielski: “This sale is completely vital to the New York market. It’s a great sale and we try to bring a good group every year. We’re making a point to keep the good horses that are bred in New York here and not bring them to Kentucky. I think it’s proven today that you can bring a good horse here and be rewarded. I was worried with the weather, but people showed up and we were busy all the time, top to bottom in all ranges of horses. I love the New York program and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Valencia Leach, breeder of Hip 203[10], a $90,000 colt by Vekoma consigned by and foaled at The New Hill Farm: “We always had pretty high expectations and I thought the mare would throw runners. He was an early baby and he was gorgeous from the get-go. We figured if Vekoma hit and if we vetted well, we’d probably do OK. We made sure he was New York-bred, too, because with all the incentives in the program, we figured we would probably be in a good spot if it all came together. Everything with him came together perfectly. We’re thrilled. This is our first New York-bred, too. We’re very excited to participate. The mare was bred back to Americanrevolution, so we’re expecting another foal in mid-January.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2024/10/15/cyberknife-filly-leads-seven-figure-haul-at-saratoga-sale/

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