$1.2M Storm Cat colt tops final session

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - New Mexico racetrack owner Stanley Fulton paid $1.2 million to acquire the final session-topper .

ClassicStar sold the Storm Cat colt out of Grade 3 winner Broad Smile, by Broad Brush, through the Taylor Made Sales Agency.

The $1.2 million sale topped a night of strong selling but did not topple the sale's highest price, set on Wednesday night at the three-day auction's second session. That was the $2.7 million that Satish and Anne Sanan's Padua Stables paid for an Unbridled--Words of War (Lord at War) colt sold by Stone Farm and Stonerside Stable.

The Thursday night session concluded an auction that saw gains across the board. The 2003 edition of the sale sold 154 yearlings for $48,257,000, up a dramatic 37 percent from last year's returns of $35,242,000 for 140 lots. The three-day average price was $313,357, a 25-percent increase from last year's $251,729. Median also gained, climbing 33 percent to $240,000. In another positive note, buybacks declined from last year's figure of 29 percent to 21 percent in 2003.