January Sale Fills Niche for Mulholland Springs

Martha Jane Mulholland’s Mulholland Springs is consistently among the leading consignors at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton sales, counting grade 1 winners Rosalind and Malibu Mint among its biggest scores at public auction.

Although both of those mares were sold in excess of seven figures at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sales, Mulholland targets the Keeneland January horses of all ages for certain mares and short yearlings that do not fit in November.

Last year, the Lexington farm sold 22 of the 26 head offered in January for gross receipts of $820,500, ranking it 12th among all consignors.

“The January sale catalog is smaller than the November catalog and it offers an opportunity for a good mare or short yearling to stand out,” Mulholland said of the sale that begins Monday, Jan. 9, and continues through Jan. 13, with daily sessions beginning at 10 a.m. ET. “This is one of the last breeding stock sales of the season and people are still looking for a few more nice mares, especially to take to the recently retired stallions. Every year we look for interesting maidens and race fillies to breed and re-sell specifically for the January sale.”

Fitting that criteria in this year’s catalog are multiple stakes winner On the Backstreets (Hip 473) and stakes-placed Thisismystage (Hip 581), two mares in foal to Into Mischief  , the leading sire of 2-year-olds in North America in 2016.

“Thisismystage is a well-conformed stakes daughter of Theatrical that is a perfect physical type to breed to Into Mischief,” Mulholland said of the mare who raced until age 5. “She is in foal to him on an early cover for her second foal. On The Backstreets is a beautifully-conformed multiple stakes winner at Santa Anita, carrying her first foal by Into Mischief.”

Mulholland’s other broodmare or broodmare prospects consist of Alert Cat (Hip 632), who also raced until age 5 and is described by her consignor as “a powerfully made daughter of Empire Maker   carrying her second foal by Flatter  ,” and Ghostie (Hip 742), an unraced daughter of Ghostzapper   who is a half sister to grade 1 winner Mushka. Ghostie was produced from the Seeking the Gold stakes-winning mare Sluice, a daughter of multiple grade 1 winner Lakeway.

Although Mulholland offers weanlings in her November consignments, she said January can be a prime market for some foals that need the extra time to mature and are offered as “short yearlings” in January.

Among Mulholland’s 2016 foals are a group of New York-breds, including Hip 422, a colt by the first-crop sire Cairo Prince   who is a half brother to grade 1 winner and $1.3-million earner Comma To The Top. The colt also has a major update since the catalog was printed, as his half brother Vending Machine has subsequently won the Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita Park and finished second in a grade 3 stake at Del Mar.

Other Mulholland short yearlings are Hip 464, a filly by The Factor   from a solid female family; Hip 529, a filly by Quality Road   out of a hard-hitting multiple stakes-placed mare who had 10 wins to her credit; Hip 716, “a classy big-time looking” colt by Flatter out of a half sister to grade II winner Indian Firewater; and Hip 770, “a very nice colt” by Into Mischief and a half brother to multiple stakes-placed Mezzano.