Zedan Sails to $4M for Curlin Colt Out of Beholder

After Hip 165, a son of multiple champions Curlin   and Beholder , brought $4 million during the second session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale Aug. 8, Spendthrift Farm's general manager, Ned Toffey, had just one question.

"Who got him?" he asked.

He quickly got his answer: Donato Lanni signed the ticket on behalf of Zedan Racing, and the pricey chestnut will be trained by Bob Baffert.

Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Spendthrift Farm, the colt was expected to bring a hefty price, and the sales pavilion on East Avenue in Saratoga Springs was filled with spectators anticipating the excitement. The bidding did not disappoint.

Beginning at $500,000, it jumped immediately to $1 million. When it got to $3 million, the auctioneers began to coax the bidders, nudging them higher, until the hammer dropped at an even $4 million. Despite having been advised to avoid spooking the horse, who had been antsy in the ring, the crowd burst into applause.

"I wasn't even paying attention (to the colt rearing in the ring)," said Taylor Made's vice president of sales Frank Taylor. "I was watching the number.

"The horse was just a magnificent horse," he continued. "He was beautiful, and I've never sold a yearling, or Taylor Made hasn't, that has so much stallion power. Into Mischief, Beholder's half brother, has been the leading sire in America four years in a row. So when you have that sire power, and the father of the yearling is Curlin, you have elite power. If he wins a grade 1, it's a $75 million syndication."

Baffert said watching the colt in the ring reminded him of watching Beholder regularly on Santa Anita Park's backstretch for five years.

"It's very rare that you find a horse with that kind of pedigree," said Baffert. "I was stabled over next to Richard Mandella, and I used to watch Beholder go by my barn every day, and she was a handful, and he looks like he's a handful, too.

"But with a pedigree like that, you have to take a swing at it if you want to play at the top level, which Zedan likes to play."

Baffert had to bid from the second level of the pavilion, and, flanked by Amr Zedan, he was immediately swarmed by media and fans, taking pictures and video and recording his comments.

"Like the boss said, it's very difficult to find this kind of bloodline," said Zedan. "We've done quite well with the 2-year-olds, and coming in here and seeing that quality, I took some time to actually look at him and really appreciate who he is as an individual. But when you have Mr. Baffert in your corner, I just follow him blindly. He's the best in history, and he doesn't need my testimony to that."

The colt was bred by Spendthrift, which campaigned Beholder to Eclipse Awards in four consecutive years. The Henny Hughes  mare retired in 2016 following a nose victory over Songbird  in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) with lifetime earnings of $6 million. In 2022 she was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.

A two-time Horse of the Year, Curlin is ranked second among North American stallions in earnings and has ended the last five years in the top five on the general leading sires list. He stands at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa for $225,000.  

On having to go to $4 million to get the colt, Zedan said, "Spending that kind of money, it's a lot. But from an operational standpoint, from the portfolio we've got, it's a well-hedged, well-calculated venture. It's not like we're shooting from the hip.

"We just hope (the colt) makes us proud and he becomes a stallion that would be as impactful as his predecessors, and his mother and father and cousins and everyone else."

"I felt pretty confident he'd be $3 million," said Toffey. "We felt like he was worth every penny. Our reserve was in the $3 million range, and we couldn't be happier. Beyond that, all that matters is how much people want to fight over him. He was certainly nice enough to fight over."