Beholder Half Sister Commands $8.2M From Whisper Hill

Locked in a game of bidding pinball at the Sept. 11 session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Mandy Pope of Whisper Hill Farm took just six minutes and 10 seconds to spend on a single yearling what she had set aside for broodmares in November. 

Bidding from inside the pavilion, Pope maintained eye contact with the bid spotter and kept the momentum going, determined in her refusal to lose a bidding war for the only filly she wanted in the sale. 

In the end, Coolmore and Godolphin—the last underbidders holding out—capitulated to Pope. The final price, an eye-popping $8.2 million, was more than four times what the veteran horsewoman had ever paid for a yearling at auction and double what she had been prepared to spend. 

"She was the only thing in the sale I really wanted," Pope said of the filly, a daughter of American Pharoah  who was bred and consigned by Clarkland Farm as Hip 498. "I was persevering. (GoldMark Farm general manager and trainer Todd Quast) was trying to hold my hands down. He was getting adamant about it, and so was I. I'm getting older and going through the final phases of what I want to do with my life, and this is what I want to do. Lots to live for and lots to go, and we will get our training center off to a good start and we're good." 

Hip 498 hails from one of the strongest and most active racing and breeding families in the business. She is the 13th foal born to the 23-year-old Tricky Creek mare Leslie's Lady, who was named broodmare of the year in 2016. Clarkland purchased the mare for a modest $100,000 at the 2006 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, the year after she foaled a striking son of Harlan's Holiday named Into Mischief . 

Into Mischief went on to win the CashCall Futurity (G1) before retiring to stud at Spendthrift Farm. He is now one of the most in-demand stallions in North America. The sire of 57 stakes winners and three champions, his progeny earnings total just over $55 million. 

Leslie's Lady returned to the spotlight in late 2012 thanks to her daughter Beholder. The 11-time grade 1 winner and four-time champion earned more than $6 million in her time on the racetrack and is now a broodmare with Spendthrift. 

The latest of Leslie's Lady's progeny to make headlines was Mendelssohn , a grade 1 winner who was purchased by Coolmore's M.V. Magnier for $3 million from Clarkland's consignment to the 2016 Keeneland September Sale. The son of the late Scat Daddy retired to stud at Ashford in 2018 and stood for a fee of $35,000 in 2019. 

"When Mandy Pope got in and started bidding, it was unreal," said Fred Mitchell of Clarkland Farm. "Coming into the sale, we thought we had the best pedigree in the sale. I knew I had a good individual, but being a filly competing with colts the way the market is today and what a 2-year-old colt can mean in his own value, it's unbelievable. Having a filly out of Leslie's Lady, with what she's produced, and having an individual that looks like this, maybe she might be a grade 1 winner as great as Beholder or Mendelssohn was. 

"Mandy only looked at her one time—one time. It's just a family that people dream to have something of, and I can't blame them. I don't know what it all means. It just hasn't set in yet." 

Well-known in the industry for her purchase of big-ticket, proven race mares like Havre de Grace, Songbird, and Groupie Doll, Pope said she was well aware of the risks associated with spending millions on a yearling. But the combination of pedigree, potential, and the filly's residual value was too tempting to pass up. 

"She has a lot more pedigree than some of (my broodmares), but she doesn't have the race record yet," said Pope, who recently opened her own training center at her Florida farm. "We have a lot of racing to do. I have my own training center now, so she'll go and we'll break her. We will have a track to get her ready to go. It's a whole new addition to the farm. 

"You can't fault her. She's perfectly balanced, she's gorgeous—not too big, not too small. Obviously, we're hoping Beholder hits it as a broodmare. She certainly has tremendous value should she not make it to the races for whatever reason. Like everything else, it's a big gamble. Fingers crossed, lots of prayers, and please wish us well." 

Having sold Mendelssohn out of the same Keeneland stall from which he sold Wednesday's filly, Mitchell is no stranger to the physical and emotional rush that accompanies the sale of any seven-figure horse. But in the case of his American Pharoah filly—whom Mitchell said will likely be the last foal out of Leslie's Lady he will sell at auction—the final price ventured beyond the realm of astounding and into the stratosphere of life-changing. 

"(Hip 498) has been unreal," Mitchell said. "Four or five days after (she was born), you could see the natural muscle in her. She was a nice, correct filly. I don't guess she was ever sick a day in her life. She's been unbelievable to be around because her temperament is so much like 'Leslie,' and she wound up getting American Pharoah's disposition, too. You can't imagine how good she is to be around. She just tries to please. She's just as sweet and kind as you want, but she's got life to her. The guys at the farm did one super job. We thought she would be showed a lot, and we probably showed her more than any horse in our lives. It's hard to say how many times she was in and out—in the hundreds. 

"This means we will have to worry about Uncle Sam," laughed Mitchell. "This means the girls will be able to take care of us, as old as (wife) Nancy and I are getting. It'll give us a cushion for the rest of our lives."