SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A Storm Cat colt out of Grade 1 winner Rings a Chime brought sizzle to the final session of Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga selected yearling sale Wednesday night when he sold for $3.1 million to top the two-night auction.
Demi O'Byrne, the regular agent for Coolmore associate Michael Tabor, prevailed after a long bidding war with Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum's representative John Ferguson. The Taylor Made sales agency consigned the colt on behalf of Stonerside Stables.
LAS VEGAS - At 1 1/4 miles on the turf for 3-year-olds, the Secretariat Stakes has been a showcase for developing turf stars. Kitten's Joy won last year en route to his turf championship, and other prominent grass runners have won this increasingly popular Grade 1 fixture, such as Ciro (2000), Honor Glide (1997), Marlin (1996), Awad (1993), Hawkster (1989), and Mac Diarmida (1978).
The field for this year's Secretariat, to be run Saturday at Arlington Park, consists of some promising colts with pedigrees that are perfectly suited for 1 1/4 miles on grass.
Pollard's Vision, a millionaire and multiple graded stakes winner, has been retired after being injured in the Aug. 6 Whitney Handicap, owner Edgewood Farm announced Monday.
Stud plans for Pollard's Vision, a 4-year-old Carson City colt, have not been announced.
finished eighth in the Whitney. His last victory came in the Grade 3 National Jockey Cub Handicap at Hawthorne on April 23, and he headed into the Whitney off a second-place finish in the Grade 1 Pimlico Special and a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Suburban.
Wando, Canada's Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old in 2003, will enter stud next year at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky.
Wando, a 5-year-old horse owned and bred by Gustav Schickedanz, won the Canadian Triple Crown of the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales, and Breeders' Stakes in his award-winning campaign.
Mr. Light, a world-record-setter, has retired from racing and will enter stud in 2006 at Mill Ridge Farm. Mill Ridge has purchased Mr. Light, a 6-year-old Numerous horse, from owner Earle I. Mack.
Mr. Light will stand for a 2006 fee of $6,500, payable Nov. 1.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Breeding rights to Roman Ruler, winner of Sunday's Haskell at Monmouth, have been secured by John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm, which will stand the Fusaichi Pegasus colt when his racing days are over.
Roman Ruler's retirement does not appear imminent. In announcing the stud deal, Hill 'n' Dale said that he might retire this year or next, a decision that will be made by owners David Shimmon and Bill Bianco, who campaign the 3-year-old colt under the nom de course of Fog City Stable. Bob Baffert trains him.
Fasig-Tipton's New York-bred preferred yearling auction will be on the airwaves this year. The New York Breeding and Racing Program and Myriad Productions will broadcast the Aug. 14-15 sale live on Time Warner cable channel 3 in the capital region in upstate New York. Viewers outside the region can watch the broadcast at www.nybreds.com.
Joe and Sean Clancy, publishers of Steeplechase Times, will be hosts of the telecast from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern each night.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga sale kicks off the so-called boutique yearling sale season on Tuesday with a two-day sale that's likely to draw some of the sport's wealthiest buyers. The Saratoga select auction has a long history as a source of talented, well-bred runners, but this year the catalog is one of the sale's smallest, reflecting a recent trend that has seen more horses head for the less rarefied air of Fasig-Tipton's July market and the larger Keeneland September sale.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Hennessy colt Henny Hughes punched his ticket for admission to all the major 2-year-old stakes with a powerful victory in the Saratoga Special. Not only was the handsome chestnut visually impressive, like a few standout youngsters each summer, but henny Hughes also quantified himself as a major talent with an impressive final time (1:10.38) and Beyer Speed Figure (105).
