American Pharoah filly highlights Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred sale

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Summerfield Sales, and Sunnyfield Farm combined for success with a New York-bred colt testing “open company” Monday at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale. The same trio will combine again to sell a filly as statebreds take the spotlight at Fasig-Tipton’s New York-bred preferred yearling sale, set for Saturday and Sunday nights at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion.

Joanne Nielsen’s Sunnyfield Farm sold an American Pharoah colt through the Summerfield consignment for $1 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale, held Monday and Tuesday. Bob Baffert, who trained American Pharoah, bought the colt for Coolmore.

This weekend, Sunnyfield and Summerfield, owned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck, combine to sell a filly by American Pharoah out of the Distorted Humor mare Visions of Annette. Visions of Annette is out of a full sister to Grade 1 winner General Challenge and stakes winner Western Hemisphere, making her a half-sister to two stakes winners and to stakes producer Jewel of the Night, dam of Grade 1 winner Evening Jewel.

The New York-bred sale comes in riding a wave of momentum for the state program and for the sales industry. Last Saturday, statebreds Diversify and Mind Your Biscuits finished one-two in the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap down the street at Saratoga Race Course. Then on Monday and Tuesday, Fasig-Tipton set a sale record for gross at its select sale.

The company now looks to the New York-bred sale, with an expanded catalog of 327 yearlings, up from 295 last year, when the auction set records for gross and average. The 2017 New York-bred sale posted a gross of $16,214,000 from 182 yearlings sold, led by the auction’s highest-priced offering of all-time, a $500,000 Cairo Prince colt. The average sale price hit $89,088, up 15 percent from 2016, while the median finished at a record $69,500, marking a 16 percent gain.

American Pharoah already has five seven-figure lots from his first crop, including a $1.2 million filly at the select sale.

Behind American Pharoah’s, the most expensive yearling by a first-crop sire at the select sale was by champion Honor Code, with an $850,000 colt out of Grade 1 winner Hollywood Story sold to CRK Stable. Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern had a $600,000 half-sister to Grade 1 winner American Gal sold to pinhookers Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo.

Honor Code, who stands at Lane’s End, and Bayern, at Hill ‘n’ Dale, are both represented in the New York-bred sale, along with fellow first-crop sires Carpe Diem, Commissioner, Competitive Edge, Constitution, Danza, Daredevil, Fast Anna, Japan, Karakontie, Lea, Liam’s Map, Majestic City, Micromanage, Mr Speaker, Normandy Invasion, Palace, Palace Malice, Silver Max, Summer Front, Tonalist, and Wicked Strong.

Several of those stallions are young New York sires: Graded stakes winner Majestic City (by City Zip) stands at Questroyal North Farm; Grade 1-placed Normandy Invasion (Tapit) at Keane Stud; graded winner Micromanage (Medaglia d’Oro) at Rockridge Stud; and stakes winner Japan (Medaglia d’Oro) at Waldorf Farm.