US$4.1 million Into Mischief colt pushes Fasig-Tipton Saratoga gross past US$100 million

Cover image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton

The record-smashing Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale steam rolled to its conclusion Tuesday night, setting highwater marks for every metric and culminating with a head-turning gross of US$100,715,000 ($155 million).

At the close of business, 160 yearlings had sold for an average of US$629,469 ($970,000) and median of US$450,000 ($694,000)–numbers which dwarfed records set just last year when 154 yearlings grossed US$82,160,000 ($127 million) for an average of US$533,506 ($822,000) and a median of US$425,000 ($655,000).

It was the third straight year of across-the-board statistical records at the Saratoga sale.

A remarkable two days

The buy-back rate following Monday's first session of the auction was a sparkling 12.5%, but even that figure improved during Tuesday's blockbuster session. With just 21 of 181 offered yearlings failing to meet their reserves, the cumulative buy-back rate for the auction was 11.6%.

“It was a remarkable two days,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “We've been selling at Saratoga for 104 years, so it's not an overnight sensation. It's a culmination of many, many years of hard work and sweat.”

Still, Browning admitted the results of the 2025 Saratoga sale exceeded all expectations.

“If somebody had told me even last night at 6:25 pm that we were going to sell $100 million worth of horses, I would have told them you've lost your mind. We knew it was going to be really tough to top last year. And we smashed all records. It was a record-smashing sale and we are so proud of that.”

The Saratoga auction was just four hips from its conclusion when Coolmore and White Birch Farm went to a sale-topping US$4.1 million ($6.32 million) to secure a colt by Into Mischief from the Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa consignment.

The yearling was one of 25 to sell for US$1 million ($1.54 million) or more at the boutique sale, and one of six to sell for US$2 million ($3.1 million) or more; a year ago, 12 horses sold for seven figures, with two breaching the second threshold.

The auction's 15 top-priced offerings were purchased by 15 different buying entities, reflecting a diversity that is indicative of a healthy marketplace, according to Browning.

“Someone told me before the sale that (the market) reminded them of the '80s, it's so good,” Browning said. “And I said, 'Wait a second. It's got no resemblance to the 80s.' The 80s was dominated by basically two or three buying groups. And when you are dominated by two or three buying groups, there is a fragility with that ,and that fragility came to fruition.

“Today there is a broad base of both consignors and buyers. And it makes for a much, much healthier industry.”

The Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale begins Sunday evening at 7pm at the same venue and concludes with a session beginning Monday at noon.

White Birch and Coolmore land final blow for US$4.1 million Into Mischief colt

When it appeared that the pace might finally start winding down near the end of Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale, a bay colt by Into Mischief, Hip 218, strode into the sales ring. Consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa on behalf of Don Alberto Corporation, the first foal out of multiple Graded-placed Stellar Sound (Tapit) quickly bounded to seven figures in a blink of an eye.

With bids coming fast and furious from both the front and back of the pavilion, it was the tandem of Peter Brant's White Birch Farm and Coolmore partners that held fast to land what would ultimately equate to the sale's highest-priced yearling with a US$4.1 million winning bid.

Stellar Sound, a half-sister to Grade I-placed Luminance (Tale of the Cat) and stakes winner Smart As Me (Malibu Moon), is a granddaughter of multiple Grade I winner Versailles Treaty (Danzig), herself responsible for GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner George Vancouver.

“It's a surreal feeling that (Coolmore, Brant) would step up to get this colt,” said Don Alberto's Reed Ringler. “I cannot tell you how gratified I am of everyone on our farm who has poured their guts out into these horses and for them to come up here and showcase themselves like this.”

He added, “All the credit to Carlos and Liliana (Heller) for building the broodmare band and the work that goes into these horses and it shows when they come up here. That surpassed their wildest dreams and we feel very blessed. We are all very proud.”

Don Alberto not sad to take home Into Mischief filly

In addition to offering the Saratoga sale-topper, Don Alberto Corporation brought five other yearlings to this year's select sale, including a colt by Good Magic (hip 117)-a full-brother to multiple Grade I winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Muth–who brought US$1 million, in addition to a Flightline filly (hip 208) selling for US$600,000 ($925,000).

The operation also sold a Curlin filly (hip 166) for US$525,000 ($809,000) and a filly by Constitution (hip 193) for US$500,000 ($771,000).

Gallery: Yearlings sold by Don Alberto Corporation to this year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, images courtesy of Fasig-Tipton

Of Don Alberto's initial seven-figure sale during Tuesday's session (hip 117), Ringler explained, “He reminded me so much of his full-brother. I think everyone else saw the same thing. We gave him a little bit of time to get into himself, and he looked like a racehorse. For a May 23 foal, he just handled everything up here so easily.”

Despite the active market at the higher end, Ringler thought the colt could hit the seven-figure mark despite his late foaling date.

“We were hopeful he could bring $1 million, but with the late birth date, you never know,” he admitted. “We brought him up here hoping he'd show himself well because he is still just a baby, and I was hoping the buyers up here would have the imagination needed to see what this guy can grow up to look like. I think his attitude and willingness, 230 times out of his stall, was what got it done.”

Ironically, the sole yearling of this year's six-horse Don Alberto consignment not to sell was one of the most talked about yearlings heading into the sale, Hip 165, a filly by Into Mischief that just failed to achieve her reserve of US$4 million ($6.2 million).

The filly, a half-sister to this season's GI Preakness winner Journalism (Curlin), is out of Mopotism (Uncle Mo), who succumbed to complications arising from colic prior to Journalism's GI Haskell Stakes victory last month. Don Alberto currently has a filly by Flightline, the final foal out of Mopotism foaled earlier this season.

“Ultimately, I don't know what we were rooting for," Reed said. "I would have been crying if we sold her because we love her so much. But at the same time, when you come up here and have a horse like this in this market place, you feel obligated.

“She came here and jumped through all the hoops and ultimately was a little bit short of where we wanted to be. But I am happy to take this one home and Carlos (Heller) is too, especially after losing the mare. This filly is one of one. She looks so much like her mother and like Journalism, is a big, scopey horse.”

He continued, “We wanted to come up here and give her a chance and see if someone would step up, it didn't happen and we're happy to take her home. I hope she becomes a stakes winner and produces foals like her mother did.”

Ringler reflected on the highs and lows over the past month, on the track, at the sales and in the breeding shed.

“It was an incredible roller coaster the last month. Journalism riding those highs, and then losing the mare,” he said. “To take that filly home after hoping to get $4 million for her and to turn around an hour later and get $4 million for the Into Mischief colt is unbelievable.

“But the bar was high and it's been a very strong market. Fasig assembled a nice group of horses and to come up here and compete, it's an unbelievable feeling. It's been a great night.”

US$3 million Into Mischief colt tops Resolute's Saratoga purchases

John Stewart said he was particularly looking for yearlings by Into Mischief when shopping at this year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and, while he missed out on the half-sister to Journalism by the Spendthrift super sire, he would not be denied when bidding US$3 million ($4.6 million) to acquire a colt (hip 178) by the sire for his Resolute Racing.

The colt is out of stakes winner and Grade I-placed Lady Kate (Bernardini) and he was consigned by Gainesway on behalf of Stonestreet, which purchased the mare for US$1.15 million ($1.77 million) at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“I really was on hip 163 and it got bought back by the owners, so I had two more shots left,” Stewart said. “And I am here to find good colts that can go two turns and that's why I think there was so much action on that horse. So we are really happy with that.”

Resolute Racing purchased five yearlings at the two-day auction for a total of US$5,425,000 ($8.36 million). Among the group was an US$875,000 ($1.35 million) son of Flightline (hip 111); a US$600,000 ($925,000) son of Violence (hip 24); a US$550,000 ($848,000) filly by Nyquist (hip 94); and a US$400,000 ($617,000) daughter of Charlatan (hip 143).

Demand for Gun Runner yearlings continues

Continuing the blazing run of Horse of the Year Gun Runner, a colt out of Princesa Carolina (Tapit) - Hip 179, a half-brother to GII Demoiselle Stakes winner and Grade I-placed 'TDN Rising Star' Muhimma (Munnings) - realized a US$2.9 million ($4.47 million) final bid from agent Donato Lanni, bidding from the upstairs balcony.

Acting on behalf of Amer Zedan of Zeddan Racing, Lanni was also flanked by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The colt was the highest-priced yearling by the stallion to sell over the two days.

“He was an unassuming horse, but he was impressive when he started moving,” said Lanni. “He was always automatic. The past three or four days, he just had a good attitude about everything. He looks like a racehorse.

“And he looks like he will go the distance and could get us to the (Kentucky) Derby. He's a Derby type of horse. Bob liked him and Amer likes to come here and buy horses. We got lucky.”

The grey colt was bred by Three Chimneys Farm, also where Gun Runner currently stands stud.

“The horse pushed off with his hindquarters, something you just don't see often, so much so that it almost looked out of place, it was so strong. He's a great individual,” said Four Star Sales’ Kerry Cauthen. “Donato is a great judge of horseflesh. He and I worked together at Walmac, so it was fun to see him buy that horse and for me a chance to sell him.”

Princesa Carolina, a 9-year-old daughter of multiple Grade 1 winner Pure Clan (Pure Prize), is also responsible for an unraced Gun Runner colt who brought US$2.2 million ($3.4 million) at Keeneland last September.

“There is a hope they will sell well, but you can't really expect that they will finish up like that,” admitted Cauthen. “We are lucky to have great owners like Three Chimneys, and the whole team, including my team, it takes everybody. I am very proud of everybody.

“It was a great sale. He's a very precocious-looking horse and he's very young. He has a lot of growing to do. We are very happy with him.”

'Something new at our age:' Boyds add US$2.6 million Gun Runner filly to fledgling stable

Randy and Jenny Boyd admitted they knew nothing about horse racing, but Randy said, “Life is about living slightly uncomfortable and this is a whole new space for us.”

The couple, sitting alongside bloodstock agent Billy Love and Brittany Linton in the front row of the pavilion, made the most of their new space, going to US$2.6 million ($4 million) to acquire a daughter of Gun Runner (hip 175) from the Lane's End consignment Tuesday in Saratoga.

“This was something new that we could do at our age,” Jenny Boyd said. “It was something we knew nothing about. And it's very exciting.”

Randy Boyd is the president of the University of Tennessee and the founder of Radio Systems Corporation. The couple's Boyd Racing now includes three horses in training, including a filly who was recently second in a maiden special weight at Saratoga.

Love, a former rodeo cowboy who earned his way into the Thoroughbred industry working for Ali and Brandon Rice's RiceHorse Stables, was celebrating his biggest purchase as a bloodstock agent on his birthday on Tuesday.

“I met the Boyds about a year and a half ago through Brittany Linton,” Love said. “They purchased a horse privately from me, a Yaupon filly and thankfully, for extra reassurance, last week she ran a strong second in a maiden special weight in Saratoga. She ran a very competitive race. And that just made it easier for them to give me permission to buy a couple horses for them here.”

The 2-year-old Tennessee Belle (Yaupon), aptly named for the Knoxville natives, was second in a July 26 special weight at Saratoga for trainer John Ortiz.

Bred by Pam and Marty Wygod and Oliver and Emily Bushnell, Hip 175 is out of multiple Grade I winner Paradise Woods (Union Rags).

“We loved her physically,” Love said. “From the start, she caught our eye and obviously her pedigree is very strong. She is bred to be a Kentucky Oaks horse. We loved everything about her from her nose to her tail to her feet. Everything is perfect about her.”

Also on behalf of the Boyds, Love and Linton purchased a colt by Practical Joke (hip 9) for US$350,000 ($540,000) during Monday's opening session of the auction.

“The purchases from this sale will go down to Paul Sharp in Ocala,” Love said. “I bought them some weanlings over the winter and they are at my farm in Ocala.”

Love, who offered his first consignment at OBS in 2019, admitted it was a long way from needing a partner to purchase a US$2000 ($3083) horse to buying a US$2.6 million yearling for his clients, but was quick to add hard work had just as much to do with his progression in the industry as luck.

“People say it's luck,” he said. “They don't see all the 15-hour workdays.”

Spendthrift buys out partners for US$2.6 million Into Mischief colt

Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey admitted the farm had tried to buy out partners Carolyn and Fletcher Gray on an Into Mischief colt earlier this year, but the Grays resisted and that decision paid dividends in the Saratoga sales ring Tuesday when Toffey was forced to US$2.6 million to acquire the yearling out of multiple Grade I winner I'm A Chatterbox (Munnings).

“We bought half of I'm a Chatterbox several years ago and she is one of two mares on Spendthrift that we have a partner on,” Toffey explained. “We tried to buy him a little while ago and they were too smart to take that offer. The only fair way then is to bring him through the ring and sort it out from there.”

The Grays bred and campaigned I'm a Chatterbox to wins in the 2015 GI Cotillion Stakes and 2016 GI Delaware Handicap and GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes.

“He was a colt that we raised and we obviously know a lot about him,” Toffey said of the yearling. “We thought he was as pretty as any colt in the sale and so we are really happy to have him.”

Spendthrift also bought out the Grays to acquire the mare's 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief for US$700,000 ($1.1 million) at last year's Saratoga sale. Now named Bad Manners, the filly has been working at Del Mar.

Asked if the colt's US$2.6 million price tag Tuesday matched expectations, Toffey said, “We got outbid so badly on several horses last night. We got several bought, but there were others that we tried to buy and we didn't get anywhere close. So we kind of came up here thinking he was $1.5 million and after that, we thought he might be more because the market is so strong.”

West Point and John Oxley team up on first joint purchase

During a wild run of action in the latter half of Tuesday's session, John Oxley and West Point Thoroughbreds joined forces to secure Hip 176, a colt from the first crop of Horse of the Year Flightline, for US$1.8 million ($2.77 million). The bay was consigned by Lane's End, where Flightline stands, on behalf of breeder Summer Wind Farm.

Out of stakes winner and Graded-placed Park Avenue, the March 5 foal, the first for his dam, was bred by Summer Wind Farm and Sarah Farish. The mare, a daughter of Quality Road, was purchased by Summer Wind for US$1.45 million ($2.25 million) at Keeneland November in 2022.

This represents the extended family of Mine Only (Mr. Prospector), the dam of Graded stakes winners Academy Award and Statuette, herself the dam of Listed-winning, Group 1-placed Tomahawk.

“We bought a beautiful Flightline filly (on Monday) and we were trying to get a Flightline colt today and he was at the top of the list,” said West Point's Terry Finley. “We know he has been in the right hands since the day he was foaled. We are really happy.”

According to Finley, the West Point-Oxley partnership represented the first joint venture between the longtime owners.

“We had the honour and privilege of partnering with John Oxley for the first time and his agent Justin Casse. We crossed paths earlier today and we are really psyched,” he said. “He is a pillar of the turf. I am really glad we have a chance to partner with him.”

Through two sessions, West Point purchased four yearlings, including a pair of seven-figure yearlings, for a total of US$3.16 million ($4.87 million) with an average of US$902,500 ($1.39 million).

“The sale has been on a roll, so we wouldn't have been surprised if he went past $2 million,” Finley said. “The top end of the market is really strong. There are a lot of good things going on in our industry. There is a lot of momentum right now. There are some great things to build upon.”