Curlin Half Sister to Nyquist Sells for $1.2M

Hinkle Farms was first to break the seven-figure threshold during Day 2 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Sept. 10 with a $1.2 million chestnut filly (Hip 206) it bred. She is a Curlin   half sister to 2015 champion 2-year-old male, 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, and prominent sire Nyquist  . 

Kia Joorabchian's AMO Racing bought the filly, who is out of the Forestry winning mare Seeking Gabrielle .

"First of all, she's a great physical; she's by a great sire, probably as good a dirt sire as there is in the U.S. Great family, she's a real collector's item. Everybody on the team, and ultimately Kia, loved the filly, and we're delighted to have her," said Ben McElroy on behalf of AMO Racing.

Hip 206 is by classic sire Curlin  , who has been represented on the track this year by grade 1 winners Highland Falls , Idiomatic , and Raging Sea . He sired three Eclipse champions in 2023, including 2023 Horse of the Year Cody's Wish  , Elite Power  , and Idiomatic. 

AMO Racing purchased Hip 97, an American Pharoah   filly, for $1.35 million Sept. 9 in the opening session of the sale. It also purchased two yearlings from The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected yearling sale, last month.

"I think he loves racing in the U.S." McElroy said. "He's obviously trying to grow the stable. Like I said, fillies like these are collector's items."

"That was a great sale, we're delighted," said Tom Hinkle of Hinkle Farms. "Seeking Gabrielle has been such a good mare for us. I hope these folks get a champion. She is such an athletic filly. She has a great mind and she never took a bad step. She's a powerful filly who represented the sire well. There was a lot to like about her. We have a 2-year-old filly that's a full sister to Nyquist that we kept and we have a weanling filly by Constitution out of Seeking Gabrielle."

Hinkle Farms bought Seeking Gabrielle at the 2013 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $100,000 in foal to Blame  , after the mare produced an Uncle Mo   colt earlier that year who would ultimately be named Nyquist.

"Probably break her down in Florida and make a decision next spring," said McElroy on future plans for Hip 206.

Hinkle Farms' Constitution Colt Brings $1.1 Million

Hinkle Farms sold back-to-back horses for more than $1 million, as Hip 236 followed the half sister to Nyquist by selling for $1.1 million to Yuichi Fukunaga. Hip 236 is the second foal out of the stakes-placed Ghostzapper   mare Stave . Stave is a daughter of graded stakes winner Buy the Barrel and is a half sister to graded stakes-placed Mise En Rose . 

"You're always surprised when you sell a horse for one million dollars," said Anne Archer Hinkle, co-owner and director of operations for Hinkle Farms. 

"He was a beautiful horse. He moves like a cat. He was real popular, it certainly exceeded our expectations. We bred and raised Stave and we bought the third dam Affordable Price, and that family has been great to us. We've been around a long time. Everything we bring up here we breed and own. We've got a nice broodmare band, and we sell about 20 yearlings a year. We've got a great team and everybody works for the same purpose. I think we have a reputation of breeding a good horse. I think people like to buy from the breeders."

Later in the session, Hinkle Farms also sold a Quality Road   colt for $550,000 to bloodstock agent Chad Summers.