Posse colt brings $200K at Saratoga

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A son of Posse, who is a half-brother to two stakes performers, was the $200,000 top lot at Friday's opening session of the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred auction in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

McMahon Bloodstock, agent, purchased the Posse colt on a day that saw gains across the board but a higher buyback rate for the auction, which showcases statebred stock.

Craig and Holly Bandoroff's Kentucky-based Denali Stud sold the sale-topping colt as agent.

Offered as Hip No. 375, the colt is out of the unraced Phone Trick mare Reverse the Call. The bay colt is a half-brother to stakes-winner Long Distance and to stakes-placed Love on Hold.

The first of two sessions sold 57 yearlings for $3,006,000. Gross rose 14 percent as compared to last year's opener, which sold 52 horses. The 2007 average price of $52,737 represented a 4 percent increase, and the $37,000 median gained 9 percent from last season. But buybacks rose significantly this year, climbing from 39 percent in 2006 to 43 percent.

The second and final session was to take place Saturday at 7 p.m. in Fasig-Tipton's Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in Saratoga.