LEXINGTON, Ky. - Frank Stronach bid the first million-dollar price at the 2010 Keeneland January sale during the Tuesday session's final hour, paying $1,085,000 for the multiple graded winner Miss Isella.
That helped the second of five sessions offset steep losses on Monday's opening day, but the 2010 edition of the Keeneland January auction was still running behind last year's figures at the close of business Tuesday.
Fasig-Tipton will hold its 2010 Kentucky July select yearling sale on Tuesday, July 13, and Wednesday, July 14, rather than the usual Monday and Tuesday, the company announced Tuesday.
Fasig-Tipton also will change the format of its "new sire showcase," which has spotlighted first- and second-crop sires. In 2010, the showcase will feature only sires whose first crop are yearlings this year. The new sire portion of the two-day sale will kick off the Tuesday session. Yearlings by second-crop sires will sell in the main catalog.
Canadian Broodmare of the Year Amelia Bearhart, dam of champion Chief Bearhart, died Jan. 7, owner Richard Maynard confirmed Monday.
Maynard said the 27-year-old Bold Hour mare has been buried at Maynard Farm near Lexington.
Amelia Bearhart made 13 starts, winning once and placing in the 1985 Burnsville Handicap. Her racing career ended prematurely when she kicked her stall wall and injured her foot.
Maynard, who acquired her from Spendthrift Farm and bred Chief Bearhart, said he never was tempted to sell Amelia Bearhart.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Keeneland's January all-ages sale opened on a gloomy note, with sharp declines across the board.
The first of five sessions featured a $325,000 top price for Miss Catalyst, a stakes-winning 4-year-old filly by Mr. Greeley. Twin Creeks Farm purchased the racing or broodmare prospect from the Taylor Made Sales agency.
Trainer Gai Waterhouse made headlines again Friday at Australia's Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale when she picked up her second consecutive session-topper.
Waterhouse bid about $570,400 for an Encosta de Lago colt out of River Song, a Fusaichi Pegasus mare. The dam is unraced but hails from the richly productive family of Redoute's Choice, Australia's leading sire.
Coolmore Stud consigned the yearling colt, whom Waterhouse bought on behalf of David and Luke Henderson.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Unusual Heat successfully defended his title as California's leading stallion by progeny earnings in 2009, but his progeny earned slightly less than last year.
Last year, Unusual Heat's progeny earned $5,184,194, shy of the 2008 figure of $5,827,513, a record for a California-based stallion. In 2009, Unusual Heat reached a new level with his first Grade 1 male winner, The Usual Q.T., in the $300,000 Hollywood Derby in November.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Dunkirk, runner-up in the 2009 Belmont Stakes, has retired to Ashford Stud, the North American division of Coolmore Stud, in Versailles, Ky.
A 4-year-old Unbridled s Song colt, Dunkirk will stand for $10,000.
Dunkirk finished 2 3/4 lengths behind Summer Bird in the 2009 Belmont. Earlier in the season, he had finished second to Quality Road in the Florida Derby. In his single season at the racetrack, Dunkirk won twice and finished second twice in five starts for earnings of $393,200.
Forest Danger, a Grade 1 winner and track-record-setting sprinter, has relocated from Taylor Made Farm near Lexington, Ky., to WinRich Farms in North Vernon, Ind., where he will stand in 2010.
WinRich owner Thomas Wente said Thursday that Forest Danger, a 9-year-old Forestry horse, remains the property of Aaron and Marie Jones and will stand for a private fee this year. He stood for $12,500 in 2009.
Thursday's second session of the Australian Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale boosted the auction's gross, but the average price is still tracking behind last year's.
The Thursday session produced a new sale-leader when trainer Gai Waterhouse went to about $644,000, to buy an Encosta de Lago filly out of former Australian champion Ha Ha.
A full brother to Group 1 winner Headway topped a muted opening session Wednesday at the season's first major yearling auction, Australia's Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale in Queensland.
The Charge Forward-Chatelaine colt offered by Turangga Farm brought a bid of about $460,000, from trainer Peter Moody. Moody also trains Headway, winner of the Group 1 Ascot Vale Stakes and two other Australian stakes last year. Headway is the first foal out of Chatelaine, a Flying Spur mare who was multiple group placed.