Hip 1, a daughter of Gun Runner bred by Thirty Year Farm, sold for $250,000 Monday at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky. Photo courtesy of Paramount Sales.
By Tom Law
A pair of New York-bred fillies bred by Matt and Kristen Esler’s Thirty Year Farm in Saratoga Springs – including one that led off the day – sold for $250,000 to highlight the opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale Monday in Lexington.
“One of the lessons we’ve learned in our last seven years is understanding which sale the horses belong in, and this year especially, in following our own gut,” Kristen Esler said Tuesday morning about targeting the Kentucky October sale for some of the farm’s yearlings. “It’s about listening to our gut to get them to the right sale at the right time. That’s what we did here and we accomplished what we set out to do.”
Hip 1, a daughter of Gun Runner out of the Mizzen Mast mare East India, led off the big day and was purchased by Thirty Year Racing and Team Penny. Foaled at Thirty Year Farm in Saratoga Springs and consigned by Paramount Sales, agent, the filly is the sixth foal out of East India, who is the dam of Grade 2 winner and $408,406-earner Ete Indien and winner Dame Joviale.
Thirty Year Farm purchased East India, carrying the Gun Runner filly in utero, for $325,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. East India is also the dam of the unraced 2-year-old War of Will filly Baby Lala.
Hip 148, a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro bred by Thirty Year Farm, also sold for $250,000 Monday at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky. Photo courtesy of Taylor Made Sales Agency.
Marquee Bloodstock, agent, purchased Hip 148, a filly by Medaglia d’Oro out of the stakes-placed Uncle Mo mare Gotta Go Mo. Also foaled at Thirty Year Farm, she was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.
“We were very happy with both sales,” said Thirty Year Farm manager Lolly LaRue. “The Medaglia d’Oro filly, who is the first foal out of Gotta Go Mo, she’s grown really well lately … and in six months she really changed into a racy filly. She got a lot of attention and sold well.”
A New York-bred out of the stakes-winning More Than Ready mare Hard to Stay Notgo bred by Chester and the late Mary Broman, Gotta Go Mo went 3-4-2 in 13 starts and earned $176,760. Purchased by the Eslers for $425,000 at the 2019 OBS March 2-year-olds in training sale, Gotta Go Mo finished second behind Caravel in the 2021 The Very One Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. Gotta Go Mo is a half-sister to stakes winner Makin My Move.
Thirty Year Farm also bred Hip 34, a filly by Twirling Candy out of the winning Galileo mare Evening Primrose, that sold to Joseph DiRico for $130,000. She was foaled at Thirty Year Farm and consigned by Paramount Sales, agent.
“It was a good day,” LaRue said. “It was not the target originally. We would love to be at the August sales (in Saratoga) but we had some young babies, those were April and May fillies (the Medaglia d’Oro and Gun Runner, respectively) and just needed a little more time to grow. We’re happy with how they wound up in October. It’s amazing what two months will do.”
Mike Ryan, agent, purchased the opening session’s top-priced New York-bred colt, going to $160,000 for Hip 338, a son of Practical Joke out of the winning Medaglia d’Oro mare La Kara Mia.
Bred by Lady Sheila Stable, foaled at Edition Farm in Hyde Park and consigned by Zach Madden’s Buckland Sales, agent, the colt is the first foal out of La Kara Mia, who is out of Eclipse Award winner, New York-bred Horse of the Year, multiple graded stakes winner and $1,563,200-earner La Verdad.
Fasig-Tipton reported sales on 21 of the 25 New York-breds offered in the opening session for a total of $1,281,500, an average price of $61,024 and median of $33,000.
The sale continues with the second of four sessions at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
