Varda, a New York-bred daughter of Distorted Humor who won the Grade 1 Starlet in 2020, sells for $1.15 million Sunday at the Night of the Stars. Fasig-Tipton Photo.
By Tom Law
Grade 1 winner Varda and New York-bred champion and multiple stakes winner Make Mischief were two of the plethora of seven-figure broodmares and broodmare prospects that sold during Sunday’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sales’ blockbuster Night of the Stars in Lexington.
Varda, selling as Hip 251 out of the Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa consignment, commanded the highest price for a New York-bred on a bid of $1.15 million from Spendthrift Farm.
The 4-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor sold as a racing or broodmare prospect. Varda is out of the winning Sky Mesa mare She’ll Be Right, the dam of four other winners including the stakes-placed duo of Big Family and Getouttamyway.
Bred by Masters 2013 and Distorted Humor Syndicate and foaled at Song Hill Thoroughbreds in Mechanicville, Varda sold for $100,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale and $700,000 at the 2020 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training sale.
Varda went through the ring Sunday with a record of 2-1-3 in six starts, including a win in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes in 2020 at Los Alamitos. She also placed in this year’s Grade 1 Beholder, Grade 2 Santa Margarita and Grade 2 Santa Maria at Santa Anita Park.
New York-bred champion and multiple stakes winner Make Mischief also sold for seven-figures, bringing $1 million from Stonestreet at the Night of the Stars. Fasig-Tipton Photo.
Make Mischief, a stakes winner on dirt and turf who most recently won the Yaddo Handicap this summer on Saratoga Showcase Day, sold for $1 million to Stonestreet. Offered as Hip 203 from the Bluewater Sales consignment, the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief raced for owner Gary Barber and trainer Mark Casse. She was sold as a broodmare prospect after a record of 7-4-4 in 21 starts and $753,650 in earnings.
Multiple graded stakes-placed at 2, Make Mischief won the Maddie May Stakes at Aqueduct and finished third in the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park and Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs at 3. She also finished second in the Fleet Indian at Saratoga and third in the Empire Distaff at Belmont to earn champion New York-bred 3-year-old filly honors in 2021.
Make Mischief won three of six starts in 2022, including the Critical Eye Handicap on dirt at Belmont and the Yaddo on turf at Saratoga.
Bred by Avanti Stable and foaled at Song Hill Thoroughbreds, Make Mischief is out of the winning Speightstown mare Speightful Lady.
Fasig-Tipton reported sales on 12 of the 16 New York-breds through the ring for a total of $4,007,000, an average price of $333,917 and median of $187,500.
Those figures helped contribute to spectacular returns at the sale, which saw 170 horses sell for $101,289,000 – the second highest gross in history behind only last year’s $103,699,000. The overall average price came in at $595,818 with the median at $250,000.
Hip 181, a colt by Not This Time bred by Windylea Farm – New York LLC, brought the highest price for a New York-bred weanling on a bid of $200,000 from The Shires LLC. Foaled at Old Saratoga Equine Services in Schuylerville and consigned by Warrendale Sales, agent, the colt is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare She’s a Truckin. Out of the multiple stakes-winning A. P Jet mare Avery Hall, She’s a Truckin is a half-sister to Sheza Smoke Show, the dam of Grade 1 winner Princess Noor.
The fall mixed sales season continues with the opening session of the Keeneland November breeding stock sale at 1 p.m. Monday.
