LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was with a remarkably steady hand that Mandy Pope, the owner of Whisper Hill Farm in Florida, signed her world-record $10 million receipt for 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace on Monday night at Fasig-Tipton’s November selected mixed sale. But buying the champion mare hadn’t been as easy as it looked, Pope said.
“I was nervous,” Pope said after making the purchase. “I’m still nervous. I’m totally overwhelmed.”
French bloodstock agency Mandore International Agency made its presence felt early during Tuesday’s first session of the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, purchasing the first seven-figure horse of the sale, multiple Grade 1 winner Harmonious for $2.8 million.
The 5-year-old Dynaformer mare, who was sold as a broodmare prospect, has a résumé highlighted by a pair of Grade 1 wins in 2010, taking the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes and the American Oaks. In total, Harmonious won 4 of 13 career starts for earnings of $625,420. She was retired in July.
Multiple Grade 1 winner Switch was purchased by Irish-based Moyglare Stud Farm for $4.3 million on Monday near the end of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale.
The 5-year-old Quiet American mare was one of many horses arriving recently to the sale grounds following a Breeders’ Cup start. Switch finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last Saturday after finishing second in both the 2010 and 2011 renewals.
Untouched Talent, dam of Grade 1 winner and dual classic runner-up Bodemeister, sold to Michael Vincent Magnier of the Coolmore partnership for $5 million, the second-highest price of Monday’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky selected fall mixed sale.
A major catalog update helped raise the value of multiple Grade 1 winner Zagora, who brought $2.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed sale on Monday night just three days after winning the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
The 5-year-old Green Tune mare, bred in France by Oceanic Bloodstock and Eric Puerari, is expected to return to the country of her birth, as she was purchased by Nicolas de Watrigant's Mandore International Agency. She was the second high-ticket purchase of the night for Mandore, which went to $1,525,000 to acquire Grade 1 winner Eden's Moon.
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Havre de Grace, the first reigning Horse of the Year to sell since Lady’s Secret in 1987, justified her presale hype Monday night when her $10 million price topped Fasig-Tipton’s November sale in Lexington—and set a world record for a broodmare prospect.
Whisper Hill Farm owner Mandy Pope, instructing her bloodstock agent Chris Brothers, blew past the previous $9 million record for two-time champion Ashado, set in 2005. Pope said she hasn’t selected a stallion yet for Havre de Grace, who retired in April and was the star offering in Taylor Made’s consignment.
Pilfer, dam of multiple Grade 1 winner To Honor and Serve, sold in foal to Bernardini for $1.95 million to Borges Torrealba Holdings at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed sale Monday night.
Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, Pilfer, an 11-year-old stakes winner by Deputy Minister, is carrying a full sibling to To Honor and Serve, her only winner to date.
Musical Romance, champion female sprinter of 2011, sold to Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm in Japan for $1.6 million on Monday at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed sale.
The 5-year-old Concorde’s Tune mare shipped to Fasig-Tipton from Santa Anita after finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last Saturday, an unsuccessful bid at defending her victory in the race last year. Selling as a racing or broodmare prospect, Musical Romance has won 12 of 41 career starts for lifetime earnings of $1,681,885.
Grade 1 winner and Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes runner-up Bodemeister will stand his first season at WinStar Farm in 2013 for a fee of $30,000, the Versailles, Ky., farm announced Monday. Its veteran and perennially prominent sire Distorted Humor will stand for a fee of $100,000, the same as this year.
