Hip 768, a colt by Game Winner bred by Dr. Jerry Bilinski, finished as top seller at Keeneland September on bid of $450,000. Photo courtesy of Paramount Sales.
A dozen New York-breds sold for $100,000 or more, including a colt for $450,000 and a filly for $350,000, during the recently concluded record-setting Keeneland September yearling sale.
Keeneland reported sales on 72 of the 86 New York-breds offered over the 12 sessions of the sale, which concluded Saturday, for a total of $3,649,200, an average price of $50,683 and median of $27,000.
Those returns helped Keeneland post a record for total sales, $411,749,500, which also made the sale the highest-grossing Thoroughbred auction in the world. The sale’s average also hit a record of $150,548.
The two highest-priced New York-breds sold during the fourth session last Thursday.
Cherie DeVaux, agent for Belladonna Racing, signed for the topper, going to $450,000 for Hip 768, a colt by Game Winner. Bred by Dr. Jerry Bilinkski, foaled at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham and consigned by Paramount Sales, agent, the colt is out of the winning D’wildcat mare D’fashion.
The colt from the second crop of champion and multiple Grade 1 winner Game Winner is the seventh out of D’fashion, who is the dam of stakes winner Strategic Dreams and winners D’archer, Canyouhearmenow, Light and Path and Garbar Boy. 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.
Hip 798, a daughter of Nyquist and full-sister to New York-bred stakes winner Curly Girl, brought $350,000 from Dan Hayden, agent for Blue Devil Racing, to finish as the top filly.
Bred by Denlea Park LTD, foaled at Rockridge Stud in Hudson and consigned by St George Sales, agent, the filly is the eighth foal out of the winning Forest Wildcat mare Falconess. In addition to Curly Girl, winner of the 2021 Lady Finger Stakes and placed in four other stakes, Falconess is the dam of winners Bostonian, Coniston, Mabrouk and Polpis.
Falconess was purchased by Denlea Park in foal to Tapizar for $67,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale.
Hip 4362, a colt by Independence Hall out of the Will Take Charge mare Autorita, brought the top price for Book 6. Billy Williams went to $47,000 to purchase the colt, who was bred by Daniel C. Snyder Jr. and Kelly R. Snyder, foaled at Thin Blue Line Stables in Springfield Center and consigned by Vinery Sales.
Book 6 also included the $43,000 sale of Hip 3981, a colt by New York-based freshman sire Honest Mischief, to Glen Lostritto. Bred by Juddmonte, foaled at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson and consigned by Lane’s End, agent, the colt is the first foal out of the placed Munnings mare Bellacolla from the family of Grade or Group 1 winners Sightseek, Tates Creek, Special Duty and Task Force.
Honest Mischief, an 8-year-old son of Into Mischief out of the Grade 1-winning Seattle Slew mare Honest Lady campaigned by Juddmonte, stands for $6,500 at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson.
Keeneland reported sales on all 18 of the New York-breds offered during the final two sessions that made up Book 6 for a total of $289,200, an average price of $16,067 and median of $10,250.
The next significant market for New York-bred yearlings comes at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall sale October 1 in Timonium, Maryland.
