Informed Patriot sells for record $1.55 million at Fasig-Tipton July horses of racing age sale

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Informed Patriot finished third in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby on Saturday, was added to the catalog for the Fasig-Tipton July selected horses of racing age sale on Sunday, and on Monday, he proved that was a savvy decision by topping the sale. The colt brought the house down as the last horse through the ring and is now headed to Saudi Arabia after selling for a sale-record $1.55 million.

Fasig-Tipton reported that 65 horses changed hands in the single-session sale Monday at its Newtown Paddocks facility for gross receipts of $6,708,500. At last year’s sale, which had a notably larger catalog, 144 horses brought $14,052,000, including post-ring transactions.

Monday’s average price was $103,208, jumping 6 percent from $97,583 last year. The median also rose 3 percent, to $62,000 from $60,000. The buyback rate was 21 percent, compared to 15 percent last year.

The two highest-priced horses of the sale are both Grade 3-placed 3-year-old colts headed to the Middle East. Behind Informed Patriot, who was purchased by Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to race in Saudi Arabia, Cats by Five was purchased for $400,000 by RRR Racing to target the Dubai Carnival at Meydan.

“It’s an area of emphasis that we’ve had,” Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. said of Middle Eastern participation in the marketplace. “Michael Adolphson, our representative over there, has done a really good job. It’s an area that we’ve identified, and I think the world’s identified, as increasing interest in dirt racing, and one thing that’s clear is the best dirt racehorses in the world are coming from the United States, so it’s a natural progression.”

Because prospects for active racehorses can change swiftly, Fasig-Tipton utilizes a dynamic catalog for this sale, reviewing supplemental entries until the day of the auction to allow for timely catalog updates. This process came into play with Informed Patriot, who previously raced in the colors of Kirk and Judy Robison, who purchased him for a modest $90,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The colt was Grade 3-placed last year and has had a solid 3-year-old campaign racing exclusively in stakes for trainer Steve Asmussen, finishing third in the Smarty Jones Stakes in January at Oaklawn and winning the Bath House Row Stakes there in April.

Informed Patriot finished third in the Indiana Derby on Saturday, beaten a total of 5 1/2 lengths while matching his career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 84. Consignor Taylor Made Sales then set the wheels in motion.

“It just goes to show you the magic of an auction process,” Browning said. “The horse literally ran Saturday. Taylor Made called the owner and Steve Asmussen Saturday night or Sunday morning and said, ‘Hey, would you consider adding this horse to the sale?’ They talked to me Sunday morning, and I said, ‘We’ll get him in, just make sure we can get the horse down here.’ The horse shipped in and started showing this morning. . . . It just goes to show you what can happen when several people are in a very competitive mode to try to buy a quality horse.”

A spirited bidding war resulted in a record price for the July horses of racing age sale, which was established as an add-on to the July yearling sale in 2013 and quickly evolved to earn stand-alone billing. The prior top prices came in 2014, for the filly Bedford Land, who brought $1.075 million as part of the Melnyk Racing Stables dispersal; on the same day, the colt Tizcano brought $710,000 as the sale’s top non-dispersal price.

Ibrahim Rachid, an adviser to Prince Saud bin Salman, signed the ticket for Informed Patriot after prevailing in the bidding war, told to go as high as necessary.

“He’s good horse,” Rachid said. “A good-looking horse, good conformation, solid horse. . . . The prince, he picked him out. . . . He said, ‘Go for it, don’t stop at all.’ ”

Informed Patriot will go through a quarantine process before shipping to Saudi Arabia. Rachid said the ultimate target for the colt would be the $20 million Saudi Cup, the world’s richest race, next February. Prince Said bin Salman won the race in 2022 with Emblem Road.

Informed Patriot, by Hard Spun, is out of the stakes-winning Grand Slam mare Yawkey Way, making him a full brother to Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Spun to Run. Yawkey Way is the dam of six winners from as many starters overall, also including stakes winner Tap It All and stakes-placed Extreme Force.

Earlier in the evening, Cats by Five, who also is Grade 3-placed this year, was selected by trainer Doug Watson, working with Oracle Bloodstock, on behalf of RRR Racing. Watson said he was specifically looking for colts or geldings to campaign in Dubai.

“He’ll go into quarantine, a month quarantine, so he’ll probably get to Dubai in about six weeks, and relax,” Watson said. “Then start bringing him back for Carnival time, which starts around mid-December now. Looking forward to it.”

Cats by Five previously raced for Three Chimneys Farm and Asmussen and also was consigned as agent by Taylor Made. The colt has just a maiden win from 10 starts, but this year, he was third in the Bachelor Stakes in April at Oaklawn and second in the Grade 3 Chick Lang Stakes in May at Pimlico. In his last start prior to sale, he was second by a neck in an allowance race against older horses on June 21 at Churchill.

“He’s a 3-year-old going this way, I think,” Watson said, gesturing toward the ceiling. “With the form he has here, it’s got to translate. You have to have speed, and the track’s a big, round track, and plenty of room for him to get around there – he’s a nice-sized horse. Real athletic-looking.”

Cats by Five, by Into Mischief's classic-placed Grade 1 winner Audible, is one of three winners from five starters out of the unraced Bluegrass Cat mare Catticus. Those also include Grade 3 winner Bob's Edge and stakes winner Watch Me Burn.

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