Knockgriffin Hits $900K Home Run with Constitution Colt

Halfway through the day, Sept. 17, at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Knockgriffin Farm led a Constitution   colt up to the sales pavilion. The $100,000 pinhook saw bidding go wild over the internet and phone, stopping at $900,000 with Pin Oak Stud victorious.

"He was amazing at the sale; he showed about 150 times in the two days and was unbelievably popular," Jim Fitzgerald of Knockgriffin Farm said. "Every time he came out, he was professional, up and down with a huge walk, just kept over the ground and never took a bad step. He thrived in the atmosphere, ears up, happy horse, and got on with it. The good ones have a way of getting it done."

The colt, consigned as Hip 1777, out of the Curlin   mare Low Pressure Zone, was picked up by Fitzgerald and his partners earlier this year during the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale from Lane's End. Gage Hill Stable II, W.S. Farish, and Ken Langone bred the colt in Kentucky.

"He was very raw looking, he had such lovely action and got a hold of the ground so well, I fell in love with him," Fitzgerald recalled from January when he purchased the colt. "I didn't think I would be able to afford him, but he fell into my lap. I took him home to the farm, and he hasn't turned a hair wrong. He's been an easy horse, easy on himself, a beautiful mover, and lives on fresh air, being an easy keeper."

Knockgriffin Farm is based in Versailles at Two Bucks Farm, the same land 2001 Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Monarchos thrived on.

"He's a beautiful Constitution colt. We bought three last year, the first of which ran at Churchill Friday, Parchment Party, and had a big win," Matt Weinmann, with Equine Analysis who assists Pin Oak Stud, said. "I thought we would come back to that well, we love all three that we bought last year. He was a clear physical standout in Book 3 and was straightforward."

The page boasts Adirondack Stakes (G2) placed Virginia Eloise  as a full sister to the first dam, and they herald from the family of Miss Macy Sue , a winner in the Winning Colors Stakes (G3) and, most notably, the dam of sires Liam's Map   and Not This Time  .

Liam's Map won the 2015 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), setting a new track record at Keeneland when he moved in 1:34 2/5, adding a 2 1/2-length margin between the competition. En route to his championship win, he captured the Woodward Stakes (G1) at Saratoga for his connections. The son of Unbridled's Song stands at Lane's End for an advertised fee of $40,000.

His Giant's Causeway brother, Not This Time, won the Iroquois Stakes (G3) in 2016 and ran second best in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) for his owner/breeder the Albaugh Family Stables. He took to stud duty in 2017 at Taylor Made Stallions and stood the 2023 breeding season for $135,000.

"He was tough enough when you hand walked him, which we did a lot of, he would walk your legs off… you couldn't keep up with him," Fitzgerald confessed. "I had to give him to one of the younger guys; I couldn't keep up. He has a fabulous mind. I have been around a few Constitutions, and I love their minds, smart, but competitive. I think he has that nature about him and hopefully becomes a wonderful racehorse."

As to the hefty price, Weinmann wasn't overly surprised, noting, "I put him in the $500,000 to $600,000, but with two stallions on the page in Liam's Map and Not This Time, I knew he had a chance to top this session. We stretched slightly but knew we would have to pay."