Dam of Smarty Jones brings $5 million
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Smarty Jones dream ride continued Sunday night at Fasig-Tipton when the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner's dam, I'll Get Along, sold for $5 million. The 12-year-old Smile mare, sold in foal to Elusive Quality, is carrying a full sibling to Smarty Jones.
Olin Gentry of Gaines-Gentry Thoroughbreds signed the receipt after beating back several of the bloodstock market's most powerful rivals, including Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum's representative, John Ferguson, and ClassicStar principal David Plummer.
John Sykes's CloverLeaf II Farms sold I'll Get Along through consignor Brent Fernung, who also is general manager for CloverLeaf, located in Reddick, Fla.
It was an especially sweet moment for Fernung, 51, who advised Sykes to turn down a $3.5 million private offer for the mare the day before Smarty Jones ran in the Belmont Stakes. The wildly popular colt finished second behind Birdstone, ruining his chance for a historic Triple Crown victory in the only loss of his nine-race career.
"Back before the Belmont, I told the boss, 'This is a snapshot in time. Today she's worth $3.5 million, and I can't guarantee you that her value won't go down, but if he wins the Belmont, she's worth $5 million,' " Fernung recalled. "I was sweating it all this week, because if she didn't bring more than $3 million, I was going to look pretty bad."
Fasig-Tipton pulled out all the stops to market I'll Get Along, a handsome bay mare who stands 16-3 hands. The company produced a promotional DVD about her that it sent to prospective buyers and also arranged for the auction to be televised by the Television Games Network and by Fox News. The mare's sale also drew racing fans out to the Newtown Paddocks pavilion, where they mingled with horsemen along the walking ring rails to catch a glimpse of the mare.
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Gentry said he and partner Thomas Gaines purchased I'll Get Along for a partnership. "Clearly, we'll have to sell some big-time foals out of her," Gentry said. "But she's the kind of mare you can do that with. It's a vote of confidence in the industry and where we think the yearling market's going to go." I'll Get Along's price was the ninth-highest for a mare at a North American auction but fell far short of the $7.1 million world mark set by Cash Run's sale last year at the Keeneland November auction. Toccet goes for $3.35M in dispersal Toccet, a dual Grade 1 winner and a top juvenile of 2002, brought the night's only other seven-figure price when Tony Ryan's Castleton Lyons Farm paid $3.35 million for him. Toccet's previous owner, Dan Borislow, sold the 4-year-old Awesome Again colt as part of a dispersal of his bloodstock holdings. Jim FitzGerald's Knockgriffin Farm consigned Borislow's horses on Borislow's behalf. A Castleton Lyons board member, Gabriel Duignan, said the colt would now retire from racing and enter stud at the Lexington farm. "In general, it's kind of bittersweet," FitzGerald, who foaled and raised Toccet for Borislow at his central Kentucky farm, said of Borislow's dispersal. "It's sad to see him sell a lot of mares. "I hope he'll take some time to recharge his batteries and get back in, because I think he's great for the game." Borislow's offerings also included Joiski's Star, dam of the recent Breeders' Cup Mile winner, Singletary. She sold for $325,000 to Russell Bennett, agent. The mare's weanling Broken Vow colt also sold Sunday night for $160,000 to ClassicStar. The Borislow dispersal and a dispersal by the John Franks Estate filled the Fasig-Tipton November catalog. The one-night auction sold 201 horses for $20,685,800, producing an average price of $102,914 and a $27,000 median. Last year, just 83 horses went through the ring, rendering comparisons with this year's sale essentially meaningless. The 2003 edition grossed $5,160,000 for an average price of $87,458 and a $45,000 median price. |