Lows Acquire Curlin Colt for $1.2 Million

Curlin 's progeny continued to be a hot commodity during the last day of Book 1 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, and Robert and Lawana Low stretched to $1.2 million Sept. 11 for one of the stallion's sons.

Consigned by Glennwood Farm, the chestnut son of the leading sire is a half brother to Hollywood Derby (G1T) and Remsen Stakes (G2) winner Mo Town , a son of Uncle Mo  who entered stud at Ashford Stud this year. He was bred in Kentucky by Eurowest Bloodstock and John Gunther of Glennwood out of the winning Bernardini  mare Grazie Mille.

"He's a big, strong-looking horse, and he had a great walk about him," Gunther said. "He's a half to a grade 1 winner, and he was just very special. We thought he was one of our best in the consignment. It takes a lot out of you. You fall in love with these animals, and I don't know whether to be sad or happy.

"I wasn't really sure about today. You get different comments from different people. Some of the big buyers say, 'Well, he looks too big etc.,' so you never really know where you stand. I loved the horse, my daughter (Tanya) loved the horse, and I think she's in tears. It's always tough."

West Bloodstock's Jacob West signed the ticket.

"We waited around on him, did our inspections early. We saw him early on, fell in love with him, and passed on some others," West said. "I don't think we would have had the money, anyway, based on how the sale has been going. He was one of our favorites. Curlin, out of a Bernardini mare, half to a grade 1 winner, and comes from a big family. Raised by incredible people—the guys at Glennwood do an incredible job, so you have a lot of confidence buying off of them. They have a proven track record. You hope that he's a big two-turn dirt horse. He's a May foal and looks like a framey horse that will grow into himself. There is a lot of upside there."

The Grazie Mille colt was the second-most expensive Curlin yearling sold during Book 1, following a $4.1 million son of New Zealand sprint champion Bounding that sold a day earlier to Godolphin.

"Curlin is an incredible stallion," West said. "He does things that not a lot of horses can do. He was an incredible racehorse and he's passing that on to his offspring. It seems like they're dirt, turf, short, long, and it's showing up in the sales ring and on the racetrack."

"Everybody knew coming into this sale, and I think Saratoga (Fasig-Tipton's Aug. 5-6 select yearling sale) was a little bit of a benchmark for where this was going to be," West added about the market. "You knew coming in that when you saw a quality product it was going to bring a lot of money. We knew it was going to be strong. You heard rumors that Sheikh Mohammed was going to come in, but you can't be more excited than when he does show up. That man changes people's lives in the sales ring and he carries the sale. He has an incredible presence here, and as an American, I'm excited he's over here supporting us."

Hip 431 descends from a family with success on the track. His second dam, Molto Vita (by Carson City), won multiple stakes, including the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G3), and placed in several grade 1 events. Gunther purchased the mare as a weanling for $24,000 when Lane's End consigned her to the 2000 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Molto Vita is also the dam of stakes winners Jaguar Paw and Venetian Mask—both grade 3-placed—and is out of the grade 3-winning mare Princess Polonia (by Danzig).