Fasig-Tipton Saratoga: Two $60K purchases lead first session of mixed sale

The opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale, consisting of broodmares, broodmare prospects, and horses of racing age, closed Monday with a pair of $60,000 purchases leading the way.

A total of 69 horses sold for a combined $902,500 during Monday’s session. The average sale price was $13,080, while the median price finished at $6,500. The buyback rate on Monday was 24 percent.

Because of the new format for this year’s Saratoga fall mixed sale, expanding from one day to two, session-to-session comparisons cannot be made between this year’s sale and last year’s renewal.

An unraced 2-year-old and a broodmare each topped the session, bringing a final bids of $60,000.

Carolyn Vogel was the winning bidder on Birthday Girl, an unraced 2-year-old Curlin filly out of the unraced Birdonthewire mare Birthday Wire.

Bred in New York by Todd and Michele Graves and Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Birthday Girl is a sibling to four winners from five foals to race, including multiple stakes winner Wiredfortwotwenty. She is from the family of Grade 3 winners Beautiful Bets and First American.

Birthday Girl was a $17,000 purchase at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-preferred yearling sale. She was consigned during this year’s sale by Wes Carter.

Also topping the session was High Quality, a 7-year-old Elusive Quality mare who went to Keith Crupper, as agent for PTS Ranch.

High Quality won 4 of 19 starts for earnings of $151,488, and placed in the listed Langhorne Stakes at Park Racing. She is out of the winning Storm Cat mare Golden Sphinx.

A $330,000 purchase at the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale, High Quality is from the family of Group 2 winner Eastern Aria and Grade 3 winner Gold Sunrise. High Quality was bred in Kentucky and sold as a yearling by Iron County Farms.

Sequel Stallions New York consigned High Quality, as agent for NY Breeding Venture. She produced her first foal, a Mission Impazible filly, in 2014, and sold on Monday back in foal to the same stallion.

The second and final session of the Saratoga fall mixed sale begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern, with an emphasis on yearlings and weanlings.

For hip-by-hip results, click here.