I was originally going to do the next Pedigree Highlights series on Keeneland September. This sale, however, completely slipped my mind and is essential to preview. After all, Fasig-Tipton Saratoga has quite the history behind it. Since 1917, the sale has played a huge part in selling horses to the people attracted by Saratoga's summer racing meet. In 1918, the mighty Man O' War sold there for $5,000. Other horses that have passed through this sale are Raise a Native, Danzig and Natalma, the dam of Northern Dancer.
Due to its being at night, the book is very small and select. The sale is broken down into two days; I've roughly followed that two day format with this series, save that the first horse previewed in Part Two is a horse selling on day one. It was extremely hard to narrow down my choices to just 20 horses, but I think I've done a good job in picking the cream of the crop.
Hip #3 - Bernardini - Without You Babe (Lemon Drop Kid)
Dark bay or brown colt consigned by Glenwood Farm, Inc.
Bernardini is often considered "the prince" of all of A.P. Indy's sons. Indeed, the bay stallion is royalty, having won a classic race as well as many other prestigious stakes. Maybe he hasn't panned out as well as breeders would have liked, but he still has progeny like Stay Thirsty and To Honor and Serve to his credit. In fact, Stay Thirsty is the reason that I like this yearling colt. His first dam, who has already produced a winner by Speightstown in her first to race, is a half-sibling to - you guessed it - Stay Thirsty, who is a Travers Stakes and Cigar Mile winner. Other offspring out of second dam Marozia include Grade 1-placed stakes winners Andromeda's Hero and Superfly. Third dam Make Change was Grade 1-placed herself and produced five winners, including a stakes winner in France.
Hip #9 - "Hot Humor," Distorted Humor - Annasan (Corporate Report)
Chestnut colt consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency, Agent
This colt has the fortune to be by one of the hottest proven sires in the business. With three champions and countless other Grade 1 winners under his belt, you know you'll get a good one with Distorted Humor, especially if you have a mare with this kind of family. Annasan is the dam of four to race, and all of them are winners. Her biggest success has come with A Bit O'Gold. That Gold Fever gelding was a three year-old champion in Canada, winning the last two legs of their Triple Crown and finishing second in the Queen's Plate, earning nearly $2 million. Second dam Amber Ryder produced Grade 3 winner Goldseeker Bud and the filly Ashboro, who finished second in the Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap. It is also worth mentioning that Annasan once earned the title of Canadian broodmare of the year.
Hip #14 - Elusive Quality - Bells are Ringing (Sadler's Wells)
Dark bay or brown colt consigned by VanMeter Sales, Agent II
Do you want a turf runner? How about a dirt champion, or a synthetic success? Whether it's a sprint or a distance, Elusive Quality can give you all of the above. His son Smarty Jones won the Derby and Preakness and finished second in the Belmont Stakes, while Raven's Pass defeated Curlin to win the Breeders' Cup Classic on a synthetic surface, and Maryfield flew home to win the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. He should add a lot of depth to this already solid pedigree. This colt is out of a dam that's produced four winners, including stakes winner Abby Road. Bells are Ringing herself is a half-sister to that much sought-after sire Unbridled's Song. Third dam Lucky Spell is a half-sister to Seattle Song, who won Grade/Group 1 events on both sides of the Atlantic.
Hip #17 - Street Cry - Bethany (Dayjur)
Dark bay or brown colt consigned by Sweezey & Partners, Agent III
Bethany is an unraced daughter of legendary European sprinter Dayjur, and although she didn't do anything on the racetrack, her legacy has been in the breeding shed. Her son Tizway (Tiznow) won two Grade 1 races, the Whitney Handicap and the Met Mile. His sister Ticket to Seattle is a Grade 3-placed stakes winner, and another sister, Go for a Dip, produced listed stakes winner Senator Beck. All in all, Bethany has produced all winners from her foals to race. She is also a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Will's Way and Willa on the Move, as well as six other winners. Sire Street Cry has done very well for himself. His best offspring is champion racemare Zenyatta, and his Derby-winning son Street Sense is becoming a very good sire in his own right.
Hip #33 - Medaglia d'Oro - Crystal Current (A.P. Indy)
Dark bay or brown colt consigned by Bluewater Sales LLC, Agent XVI
This colt's sire, Medaglia d'Oro, is best known for his fillies - names like Rachel Alexandra, Plum Pretty and Marketing Mix come to mind. He has, however, produced some nice sons, including French champion Passion for Gold and Grade 1 winner Violence. This colt's bloodlines look good for peaking early. Dam Crystal Current is a full sister to Majestic Warrior, a Hopeful Stakes winner who is doing quite well at stud, producing horses like Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar. Crystal Current herself has produced a winner out of two to race. Second dam Dream Supreme was a Grade 1 winner; along with Majestic Warrior, she has produced two other stakes winners. Third dam Spinning Round won the Ballerina Stakes (G1) and is also the granddam of Peruvian champion Kung Fu Mambo.
Hip #34 - Distorted Humor - Delta Princess (A.P. Indy)
Dark bay or brown colt consigned by Adena Springs
Here's another Distorted Humor colt, and boy, the bloodlines with this one are solid. This colt is a half-sibling to highly regarded champion Royal Delta. That dark bay Empire Maker mare has won four Grade 1 races, including the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic twice. Along with Royal Delta, Delta Princess has produced two other winners, one of which is Empire Way, who finished second to I'll Have Another in last year's Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G2). Second dam Lyphard's Delta produced ten foals that went on to race. All of them won. Among them are Biondetti (Bernardini), who achieved Grade 1 success in Italy, and Delta Princess' full sister, Indy Five Hundred, an American Grade 1 winner. Third dam Proud Delta won the Grade 1 Beldame Stakes, a race her descendant Royal Delta would later conquer, and was 1976's champion older female.
Hip #52 - Pulpit - Fun Crowd (Easy Goer)
Bay colt consigned by Willow Oaks Stable, LLC/Sweezey and Partners, Agent
The late Pulpit and his bloodlines are undoubtedly the heir to A.P. Indy's throne. His sons include the like of Tapit and Sky Mesa, who have gone on to become terrific sires themselves. This colt is from the great stallion's second-to-last crop, as Pulpit died before this year's breeding season. Fun Crowd has produced six winners out of eight to race, including Grade 1 winner Funny Moon (by Malibu Moon, who is also a son of A.P. Indy) and listed stakes winner Throng. Fun Crowd, by the terrific racehorse and broodmare sire Easy Goer, is a half-sister to ten winners, the best of which is champion Vanlandingham. Second dam Populi was a half-sister to another champion, Temperence Hill, who won four Grade 1 races, including the Belmont and Travers Stakes in 1980.
Hip #55 - Indian Charlie - Greyciousness (Miswaki)
Bay filly consigned by Woods Edge Farm (Peter O'Callaghan), Agent II
This filly will get a lot of attention - she is a half-sister to the speedy The Factor, a Grade 1 winner and track record-setting son of War Front. Along with The Factor, her dam also has produced five other winners out of eight to race. Second dam Skatingonthinice, a listed stakes winner herself, gave us the two-time Grade 1-placed Chief Seattle, sire of California favorite Bold Chieftain. This filly's third dam, Rain Shower, is a half-sister to a few stakes winners and the dam of seven winners herself, including stakes winner Showering and Nina Ashley, who became a fairly successful broodmare in Peru. The speed is on both sides with this filly - sire Indian Charlie was a quick son of In Excess who went on to seven champions, including the brilliant filly Indian Blessing, who shone at sprint distances.
Hip #64 - Elusive Quality - Holy Wish (Lord At War)
Bay colt consigned by Sequel Stallions New York, Agent
It is impossible to ignore the pedigree on this colt. Despite the lack of name recognition in the blacktype on his catalog page, he is a half sibling to nine winners out of ten to race. Four of those are stakes winners. The best of them is Wishful Tomcat, the winner of the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap. His dam, Holy Wish, is a sibling to six winners, and third dam Papal Decree - half-sister to many successful horses, including sire Silver Hawk - was the dam of Grade 1 winner Papal Power. Elusive Quality, as previously mentioned, is one of the most versatile sires standing today. So this colt, being by Elusive Quality and out of a Lord At War mare, is bred on the same cross as Breeders' Cup Classic champion Raven's Pass. Not too shabby.
Hip #69 - Dynaformer - Indy Pick (A.P. Indy)
Dark bay or brown filly consigned by Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services, Inc. (John Stuart), Agent II
The final yearling to preview in part one of two in this series is this Dynaformer filly. A half-sister to turf warrior Optimizer, her late sire Dynaformer's influence on the breed cannot be understated. He produced so many horses of note - a Kentucky Derby winner, an English Oaks winner, a Melbourne Cup champion, and so on, and so forth. Second dam is Grade 1 winner Fantastic Find, who herself was also a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Dancing Spree and Furlough. Indy Pick, this filly's dam, is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Finder's Fee, along with eight other winners. The blacktype found in this pedigree is all class. Though she might look a little rough around the edges - most Dynaformers do - this filly is notable by virtue of her wonderful pedigree, which is the main focus of these articles!
Part Two should be up a few days before the sale starts, which is the evening of August 5th.
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