Fast Uncle Mo Filly Tops F-T Midlantic Sale

An Uncle Mo   filly who had one of the fastest pre-sale workouts was purchased by Chester Broman for sale-topping $1 million as the two-day Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale that was expanded in numbers this year concluded May 24 with a record gross.

F-T reported 337 horses sold for $23,136,400, up from the $22,659,000 total for 255 sold a year ago. The average price of $68,654 and $32,000 median were well below the 2015 figures of $88,859 and $45,000, respectively. With 118 of the 445 offered not sold, the RNA rate was 25.6%, compared with 21.5% in 2015 when 70 of 325 went unsold.

“Today was strong and it was good,” said Midlantic sale director Paget Bennett. “Overall I’m thrilled. I loved seeing another million-dollar horse because it's just so rewarding that people can bring that type of horse to this marketplace and feel confident.”

Trainer Linda Rice, who bought the sale topper on behalf of Broman, said her attraction to the filly stemmed from the filly's sire and her impressive pre-sale under tack show workout that was one of the co-fastest at :21 2/5 for a quarter mile.

“She is an Uncle Mo and worked brilliantly and galloped out well,” Rice said. “We knew she was going to be expensive.”

Consigned as Hip 490 by Pike Racing, the Uncle Mo filly is a half sister to grade II-placed Lassofthemohicans and was produced from a half sister to three stakes winners, including two-time champion sprinter Housebuster.

Bred in Kentucky by Tom Van Meter, Gaines-Gentry Thoroughbreds, and Fox Strauss, she was a Keeneland September buy-back on a final bid of $80,000. Al Pike privately purchased her for client Danny Saloom, with VanMeter retaining a piece of the filly.

“She’s a great filly who just so happens to be by Uncle Mo,” said Al Pike who operates Pike Racing with his wife, Salley, and son Colt. “This is my first $1 million horse. It’s exciting.”

The day and sale’s second-highest price was $825,000 for a colt sired by Friesan Fire  , who stands for a $4,000 stud fee at the Pons family’s Country Life Farm near Bel Air, Md.,

Consigned as Hip 461 by Scanlon Training and Sales, the colt was purchased by an unidentified client of James J. Crupi, who signed the sales receipt while accompanied by Dennis O’Neill.

“I just thought he was a lovely horse,” Crupi said of the colt who was one of six horses in the sale to breeze the co-fastest eighth of a mile in :10 during the under tack show.

“I just really liked him from Day 1,” said Dennis O’Neill, whose brother Doug will train the colt.

O’Neill said he thought the colt would bring less but “sometimes you have to stretch” to get the top horses.

The colt was bred in Pennsylvania by Jim McGreevy’s Hope Hill Farm.

“I knew he was going to do well, but never could have foreseen that,” said David Scanlon, who bought the colt on behalf of a pinhooking venture he and his mother operate. They landed the colt for $35,000 at last year’s F-T Midlantic October yearling sale from the consignment of Bill Reighter. “We’ve had some ups and downs this year and we thought we would make up a little ground at this sale. This is a game-changer.”