LEXINGTON, Ky. - Grade 1 winner Millennium Wind has been sold privately to stand at Ro Parra and William Hardin's Millennium Farm near Lexington, Ky., for 2003. His fee has not been set.
A 4-year-old Cryptoclearance colt, he retired from racing in late May after re-injuring a tendon during a workout. David Hofmans trained Millennium Wind.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - produced a $250,000 early leader at its eighth session Tuesday, one day after reversing its day-to-day downward trend.
As of 5 p.m., the top lot was a Comic Strip-Chapel of Dreams colt that pinhooker Jimmy Gladwell III bought from Lane's End's consignment for $250,000.
Monday's session was the first to show across-the-board gains. The session sold 276 yearlings for a total of $10,528,400, a 14 percent increase over the gross at last year's seventh session, when 252 lots sold.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - It was a moment that went unnoticed by many in the bidding arena, but when a Danzig filly labeled Hip No. 28 came into the auction ring at Keeneland's September yearling sale on Sept. 28, she ushered in a historic change. It had nothing to do with the filly herself, but with the person on the other end of the lead shank. For the first time in Keeneland's 59-year sale history, a woman was holding the shank on a horse in the world's most famous auction ring.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - A $485,000 Mr. Greeley filly was the early session leader Monday as the Keeneland September yearling sale entered its second and final week. Through its midpoint on Sunday, the 12-day auction continued the Thoroughbred yearling market's slide with sharp declines.
Elizabeth Moran's Brushwood Stable purchased the bay Mr. Greeley filly, who is out of the unraced Dayjur mare Star of Paris. Three Chimneys, agent, consigned the filly, who was the top seller of the seventh session as of 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Star of Paris is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Millions.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - After taking a day off on Friday, the 12-day Keeneland September yearling sale resumed with its fifth session on Saturday. As of 4:30 p.m., the session leaders at the Lexington auction were a pair of $300,000 lots, a Forest Wildcat filly and a Cherokee Run colt.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Thursday's fourth session of the Keeneland September yearling sale rang up a $1.1 million lot and saw a slowdown in market declines.
The session-topper was a $1.1 million Hennessy colt sold by the FitzGerald/Keogh agency. Demi O'Byrne won a three-way bidding war that also included J. B. McKathan and Dr. Robert McMartin bidding for Eugene Melnyk. The colt is out of the unraced Alydar mare Altair.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The highest-priced yearling, at $2.4 million, on opening day of this week's Keeneland September sale was a handsome bay son of the great international sire Danzig and the Alydar mare Aquilegia. She is already the dam of the colt's full brother Bertolini, a group stakes winner in England, as well as stakes winner Amelia. The colt was bred by Helen Alexander, Dorothy Alexander Matz, and Helen Groves at Alexander's Middlebrook Farm outside Lexington, and he sold to D. Wayne Lukas, who purchased the colt on behalf of a partnership.
Maryland Million Day is on target for a successful 17th running next Saturday at Pimlico. A total of 162 horses - four of whom won races on last year's Maryland Million Day - were pre-entered by the Sept. 11 deadline, assuring large fields for the 10 races, which offer total purses of $1 million.
Powered by the continued growth of the Ontario racing industry, Woodbine's Canadian-bred select and open yearling sales, under the Fasig-Tipton sales company banner, rebounded with slight increases in average price.
The selected session, which saw 151 yearlings gross $6,258,500, was up about 16 percent from last year's selected session average of $35,484 (182 horses sold) to $41,447.
The two open sessions realized an average price of $12,551 for 162 yearlings, up from last year's $9,435 for 184 yearlings.
By picking up $100,000 for his second-place finish in the $500,000 Woodward on Sept. 7, Gander vaulted past Win to become the fifth richest New York-bred in history.
Gander, a 6-year-old gelding, has $1,473,688 in earnings, $66,478 more than Win, who in 1985 became the first New York-bred to earn $1 million.