Unbridled's Song colt highlights selected sale

A solid group of 13 Maryland-breds will be offered in Fasig-Tipton's selected sale of 2-year-olds in training, beginning on Tuesday. Great success awaits if this year's group is anything like last year's.

A year ago, the Florida sale yielded the highest price ever for a 2-year-old by Maryland's leading sire, Two Punch. The colt, named Denver and Over, out of General Assembly's daughter Moments Delight, brought $675,000, the third highest-priced colt of the sale.

Renamed Heavyweight Champ, the chestnut powerhouse competed at the highest level months later. He finished second in the Saratoga Special Stakes, a Grade 2, and third in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes and Grade 2 Sanford Stakes. Withe $149,258 in purse money, Heavyweight Champ was the top-earning Maryland-bred juvenile of the year.

Buyers missed an opportunity when War Native failed to reach his reserve at $75,000. A son of Cherokee Run, he won the Rollicking Stakes last fall, finished third in the Maryland Juvenile Championship Stakes, and earned $62,720 in four starts.

Twelve of this year's class have sold before, with half of them bringing $100,000 or more. Hip No. 312, a gray Unbridled's Song colt bred by Alan Kline, leads the group with previous sales history, having sold for $260,000 at Keeneland September. Consigned by Niall Brennan, agent, the colt is the first foal out of Astaire Case (by Chromite), a half-sister to Unbridled's multiple Grade 1 winner and millionaire Manistique.

Charles and Cynthia McGinnes, breeders of 2001 graded stakes-winning 2-year-old filly Touch Love, sold two yearlings at last fall's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale who reappear in this sale. The Wild Rush filly What a Feeling (Hip No. 25) is the first foal out of the McGinneses' stakes-winning Cranberry Muffin, who is a half-sister to $671,616-earner Wicapi and two other stakes winners. Chance to Dance (Hip No. 203), a colt by Citidancer, is out of stakes-placed Ruthenwood, a half-sister to five-time stakes winner Big City Bound.

Under the name of CandyLand Farm, Herb and Ellen Moelis bred and sold two juveniles who will go through the ring. A Grand Slam-Popol Vuh filly, a half-sister to graded stakes winner Popol's Gold, sells as Hip No. 182. Hip No. 59 is a Touch Gold filly out of Five Star Night, the dam of two stakes winners, including Five Star Deputy.

Maryland's five-time leading sire Allen's Prospect is the sire of Hip No. 8, a colt out Celestial Jazz (by Dancing Count). A $125,000 yearling, this chestnut is a half-brother to 2000 Maryland-bred champion 2-year-old colt Global Gait.

Two Punch, the state's most prolific sire of sales horses, has six offspring in the sale, three of them Maryland-bred fillies. Hip No. 75, out of stakes winner Gramercy, is a half-sister to three stakes winners. Hip No. 103 is a full sister to the stakes-winning Creamy Dreamy (out of Jane Russell), who earned $248,262. Hip No. 161 is the first foal out of stakes-placed Navy Manner.

Eclipse Award winner Smoke Glacken, Two Punch's most accomplished son, is the sire of Hip No. 105, a filly who, is the second foal out of Jennymeg (by Housebuster). The first is stakes winner Smoke Buster, also by Smoke Glacken.

Northview Stallion Station is well represented, for not only do they stand Two Punch, but also Polish Numbers and Not For Love, sires of Hip Numbers, 64 and 71, respectively. The Polish Numbers colt is out of stakes-placed stakes producer For the King (by Deputy Minister). The Not For Love filly is a daughter of stakes winner Goldgorian's Alden.

The first Maryland-bred through the ring will be Hip No. 6, a Siphon colt out of Cash Twenty, a stakes-winning half-sister to Highland Appeal and Amazon River.