$150,000 broodmare leads sale

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's two-day winter mixed auction, which started Sunday, posted an early sale leader Monday, the $150,000 broodmare Pomona.

The auction, expanded this year from one day to two with 459 horses cataloged, began Sunday with a modest $64,000 session topper, a yearling Charismatic filly.

Dan Mallory, agent, bought the sale-leading broodmare, Pomona, from David and Ginger Mullins's agency. Pomona is a stakes-placed daughter of Puissance and the Be My Guest mare Plum Bold. She is a half-sister to stakes winners Plumbird and Very Welcome. Pomona sold in foal to Silver Deputy.

The 2003 auction's opener Sunday was devoted to yearlings and sold 62 head for a total of $515,700. That resulted in an average price of $8,318 and a $3,100 median.

The yearling session's top-priced lot, a Charismatic filly out of stakes-placed Whitesburg Express, went to Stoneway Farm. The seller was James M. Herbener Jr., agent.

The Charismatic filly is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Highland Gold and to the stakes-placed winners Livermore Leslie and Fountain Square.

Last year, the one-day auction sold 248 horses for $2,829,100, yielding an $11,408 average and a $5,200 median.