Onlookers at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale were peering through the pavilion seats to see who was the purchaser after the hammer fell at $3.7 million for Grade 1 winner Lush Lips, a 3-year-old filly being offered as a racing or broodmare prospect. Among the pack was trainer Brendan Walsh, wondering if the filly had been bought by a domestic or international bloodstock collector who might retire her immediately – or if she might wind up back in his barn. Walsh wound up getting the best of the proceedings. Signing the ticket on Lush Lips, who topped the record-setting sale overall, was William Shively of Kentucky’s Dixiana Farm. The British-born daughter of Ten Sovereigns will eventually join the Dixiana broodmare band, as Shively said he was seeking some European bloodlines in his long-term planning. But first, Lush Lips will continue her campaign with Walsh, carrying her new colors for the first time over 1 1/16 miles in Friday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the Churchill Downs turf. Lush Lips has been first or second in all six starts this year. After winning an allowance to start this year, she was second to the versatile Nitrogen in both the Grade 3 Florida Oaks and Grade 2 Edgewood. Getting away from Nitrogen, Lush Lips won the Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs, setting her up for a step into Grade 1 company. After running a close second in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, she won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Oct. 11 at Keeneland, just more than three weeks before her trip through the sale ring. Shively believes that the filly’s ease and efficiency of motion has helped her stay so consistent as she continues in a campaign he hopes will lead to the 2026 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, a course she has an affinity for. “She’s one that, she travels the ground so light, she doesn’t hurt herself. I think she could have a long career,” Shively said. “Very smooth with her action.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Keeping Lush Lips with Walsh was a no-brainer for Dixiana. The farm already had horses with Walsh, having teamed up to win multiple graded stakes with Forever After All earlier this year. After her sale on Nov. 4, Lush Lips was back on the work tab on Nov. 9 at Turfway Park for Walsh and has had three total breezes leading up to the Mrs. Revere. Her status as the only Grade 1 winner among the expected starters makes her a strong morning-line favorite. Classic Q, likely to be forwardly placed, is the second choice on the morning line, having faced strong company all year. The filly set the pace but faded to seventh in the Grade 3 Regret at Churchill earlier this year. That race was won by Fionn, who won a Grade 1 in her next start. Classic Q won the Wild Applause when she got into a more comfortable rhythm on the lead, then finished second by a neck in the Grade 3 Lake George at Saratoga. She is coming off some misadventures, as she finished fourth cutting back to a sprint in the Grade 2 Music City – won by subsequent Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Shisospicy – on the esoteric Kentucky Downs course. She then was taken out of her game in the Grade 2 Valley View at Keeneland, as she was steadied and came from well back to be a good second. Joining Lush Lips as the only other graded stakes winner in the expected starting field – after winning Sunday’s Grade 3 Pebbles at Aqueduct, Fast Market is almost certain to scratch – is Somethinabouther, who won the Grade 3 Mazarine on Woodbine’s synthetic last November. She has not won since but has placed in five stakes this year, most recently third in the Valley View. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.