SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--It was an incredible night at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale on Tuesday, Aug. 5, with a record setting $4.1 million sale among the 16 yearlings that sold for $1 million or more.

The Saratoa Sale topper (Hip 218)Records fell across the board during the second session of the Sale, while the two-night sale shattered previously established records for gross, average, and median, including topping gross sales of $100,000,000 for the first time in the boutique sale’s considerable history.

"t was like people were trying to get rid of their money as fast as possible," said Russell Jones, a top sales agent who began and then sold Walnut Green and still continues to buy and sell thoroughbreds in Ireland"

The record setting colt by Into Mischief (hip 218) was sold for $4,100,000 to Coolmore & White Birch Farm from the consignment of Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa, agent for Don Alberto Corporation.

"It was a powerful sale, and the $4.1 million colt s a beautiful horse," said Jones.

The most extraordinary event of the evening was that a filly by Into Mischief didn't reach her reserve of $3.9 million and was bought back by Denali Stud, agent for Don Alberto.

"She's a gorgeous filly," said Jones. "By the time she went through the ring, they had probably sold about $5 million in yearlings, so if ever they were going to keep one she would be the one."

"My credit goes to the Fasig-Tipton inspectors," said Jones. "This was a very strong sales with all good physical horses. Usually, there are a few that make this sale just on their pedigree."

Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale is a boutique sale limited to exceptional yearlings with both a top line pedigree and good conformation.

 

"WE'LL GET BACK down to the real world in September,"said Jones. "These prices compare to the prices for other luxury goods. Many of these buyers are used to buying sports figures for $50 million, so maybe we're just looking at it with a different perspective."

The $4,100,000 sale topper was the most expensive Saratoga yearling sold since 2000, and the RNA rate at the sale was just 11.6% - the lowest at this sale since 1981.

Sixteen yearlings sold for seven figures during the Tuesday session – a record for single-session million-dollar sales – while a total of 25 million-dollar yearlings sold over the course of the two nights, annihilating the previous record of 14 million-dollar yearlings sold over two nights set in 2021.

The sale topper a bay colt, is the first foal out of the G2 placed and three times graded stakes placed winning Tapit mare Stellar Sound.

The immediate family includes multiple G1 winning millionaire Versailles Treaty and Grade 1 winners George Vancouver, General Assembly, Boisterous, and Gold Fever. 

The colt’s price was the third highest price for a yearling in the history of The Saratoga Sale, and the highest since 2000.

The second highest priced yearling of the evening was also a colt by multiple champion sire Into Mischief (hip 178), sold for $3,000,000 to Resolute Bloodstock from the consignment of Gainesway, agent for Stonestreet Bred for Brilliance (video).

The bay colt is out of the G1 placed winning Bernardini mare Lady Kate and was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings.

“It was a remarkable two days,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “We’ve been selling at Saratoga for 104 years, so it’s not an overnight sensation. It’s the culmination of many years of hard work and sweat. We try to work hard and do the right thing and on nights like these it all comes together like magic.”

A Gun Runner (hip 179) half-brother to last year’s Demoiselle S. (G2) winner Muhimma sold for $2,900,000 and another colt by Into Mischief (hip 163), this out of the multiple G1 winning multimillionaire I’m a Chatterbox, sold for $2,600,000.

A filly by Gun Runner (hip 175) out of the multiple G1 winning Union Rags mare Paradise Woods sold for $2,600,000.

“This is a glory night,” said Browning. “This is unbelievable success, unbelievable results, but it’s because of our people. We’ve developed a culture and earned the trust and confidence of the marketplace as a result of those every day efforts from our team.”

A colt by Flightline (hip 176) for $1,800,000 and also sold for $1,800,000 was a colt by the late Uncle Mo (hip 219).

A filly by Gun Runner (hip 200) sold for $1,475,000 and two sold  for$1,400,000, a colt by successful young sire Not This Time (hip 150) and a colt by Bolt d’Oro (hip 214).

Another colt by Into Mischief (hip 123) for $1,250,000 and a filly by Gun Runner (hip 168) sold for $1,100,000.

A filly from the first crop of Life Is Good (hip 209) sold for $1,025,000 and a colt by Good Magic (hip 117) was the first in the session to reach seven figures when sold for $1,000,000.

Two sold for $1,000,000, a son of Not This Time (hip 121) and a first-crop son of multiple G1 winner Mandaloun (hip 173). 

During the Tuesday session, 82 yearlings sold for $60,540,000, with an average of $738,294 and median of $512,500.

Over the span of two nights, 160 yearlings sold for $100,715,000, a sale record gross and an increase of 22.6% over the then-record gross established last year when 154 yearlings sold for $82,160,000.

The average was $629,469, up 18% over the highwater mark set last year of $533,506.

The median rose 5.9% to $450,000 to establish a new record over last year’s median $425,000, and the RNA rate was just 12.3%, the lowest in this sale’s history since 1981.