One of the most intriguing subplots of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream select 2-year-olds in training sale centered around a quintet of juveniles consigned by Kip Elser’s Kirkwood Stables as agent for “Gulfstream Gallop LLC.” Devised last summer by a silent partner Elser described as a “contrarian,” the horses were purchased last fall for relatively modest prices with the aim of pointing them to the Gulfstream sale and putting them through the breeze show at an untimed gallop. Five yearlings were purchased for a combined $154,000 and sent to the Gulfstream sale. Three sold Wednesday for a combined $285,000, nearly doubling the initial investment. The other two finished under their reserves, but Elser was confident he could get them sold privately. “I think we had a good, solid day,” Elser said. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a very brave man who wanted to try something that hadn’t been tried recently. He doesn’t cry when he loses, he doesn’t crow when he wins. He just loves the game. I think it was a very worthwhile experiment, and we can build on it from here.” :: Get breeding & sales news, Beyer info, and more delivered right to your email! The most expensive horse of the Gulfstream Gallop draft was a first-crop Noble Mission colt who sold to Caves Farm for $120,000. He was a $27,000 purchase at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase sale. Also breaking the six-figure mark was a Blame filly who went to Dennis O’Neill as agent for Erik Johnson’s ERJ Racing for $100,000. The filly was first bought for $30,000 at the Turf Showcase. Though somewhat unorthodox for a sale the level of Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream, O’Neill said he saw enough from the gallop during the breeze show to make an educated judgment. The efforts were untimed, but the horses were sent well beyond a leisurely pace, which Elser said was needed for motion analysis equipment to collect the appropriate data. Elser “let them roll a bit,” O’Neill said. “It wasn’t an easy gallop. They were going pretty good, so you got to see how they were going to go, which was the big thing for me. She was rolling pretty good down the lane.” O’Neill said he had mixed feelings about the notion of untimed gallops having a bigger presence in under-tack shows, suggesting the distance of one or two furlongs was generally appropriate at that stage in a horse’s development. “I’ve bought two Derby winners that worked a decent eighth and never took a bad step during their career,” he said. “We’ve had good success buying at the 2-year-old sales and have had very few problems out of it, so I don’t think an eighth of a mile is too much to ask.”