Yoshida Goes to $1.45 Million for Midnight Memories

It didn't take long for the first seven-figure purchase to light up the screen at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale Nov. 5 as multiple graded stakes winner Midnight Memories  brought down the hammer for $1.45 million to Katsumi Yoshida.

Consigned as Hip 10 by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, Midnight Memories became the third million-dollar mare purchased by Yoshida in the last 24 hours. At Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale Nov. 4, he purchased multiple grade 1 winner Adare Manor  for $2.8 million and grade 1 winner Queen Goddess  for $1.5 million. In total, Yoshida purchased five mares for $6.35 million.

"She pretty much qualified with what we wanted," said Yoshida's agent Shingo Hashimoto. "She has a strong pedigree, she looked very nice and strong. We liked her very much."

Midnight Memories was sold in foal to two-time Horse of the Year and Hill 'n' Dale's prominent stallion Curlin  . Like the mares purchased Monday, Hashimoto said Midnight Memories will likely head to Japan for the next stage of her broodmare career. 

A Kentucky homebred for owners Michael Pegram, Paul Weitman, and Karl Watson, Midnight Memories won five of nine starts in Southern California and only missed the board once for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

A debut winner at 3, Midnight Memories won the 2022 Torrey Pines Stakes (G3) and Zenyatta Stakes (G2) during her sophomore season. At 4, she won the 2023 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) and placed in the Beholder Mile Stakes (G1). In her lone start at 5, she placed in the La Canada Stakes (G3) to close her career with $436,680 in earnings.

A daughter of grade 1 winner Mastery , she is out of grade 2-winning Midnight Lute   mare Tiz Midnight . Of three foals to race, Tiz Midnight has had two winners.