Medaglia d'Oro Yearlings Shine at Saratoga Sale

Darley America's elite sire Medaglia d'Oro  was in the best position possible to deliver the knockout results seen during Fasig-Tipton's two-day selected yearling sale at Saratoga Springs.

The 19-year-old son of El Prado was not only The Saratoga Sale's leading sire by average ($785,000) and median ($635,000) among stallions represented by three or more sold, Medaglia d'Oro was also represented by three horses worth $1 million or more. 

"It is very difficult to have a million-dollar horse and even harder to have three million-dollar horses in one night," said Dan Pride, chief operating officer for Darley. "It is reflective of the versatility of the stallion. He gets them by gender, distance, surface, and they look the part when they show up at a sale."

Medaglia d'Oro's already golden reputation got buffed to an even more brilliant shine in 2017 when he was represented by seven grade 1 winners that collectively captured 10 grade 1 stakes. His stars of 2017 included Bar of Gold, Bolt d'Oro, Dickinson, Elate, New Money Honey, Songbird, and Talismatic. So when some of these names showed up in the pedigrees of his Saratoga offerings this year, sparks were expected to fly.

"Once you went through the sale and looked at all the horses, you saw the combination of pedigree and physical, especially with two-turn classic types," Pride said. "So you never know you are going to get three million-dollar horses, but they fit in the top cut of what was offered.

"We are thrilled to have him at the farm. Sheikh Mohammed wants the best stallions on the roster and certainly he fits the bill," Pride said.

Boyd Browning Jr., president of Fasig-Tipton, said he had the same confidence in what the Medaglia d'Oros would contribute to the boutique auction.

"They were magnificent individuals," Browning said. "(Medaglia d'Oro is) red-hot as a stallion, and you had the quality of those pedigrees speak for themselves—the families of Songbird and Exaggerator . The world is willing to pay for quality, and we had quality."

Medaglia d'Oro's top individual brought the top price of the sale—Hip 196, a colt out of the Wildcat Heir stakes winner Coco's Wildcat that was bred by WinStar Farm and consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert Masiello, Chris Larsen, and Siena Farm bought the colt for $1.35 million. 

Gainesway's top sire Tapit  was not represented by a million-dollar horse this year, but his results were deep enough overall to make him the sale's second-leading sire by average. The son of Pulpit had seven sell of seven offered for an average of $585,714. Tapit was represented by four yearlings that sold for $500,000 or more and two of them sold for more than $800,000. His top seller was an $875,000 filly out of a graded-placed, stakes-winning daughter of Galileo named Twirl. The mare is a full sister to group 1 winners Misty for Me and Ballydoyle. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay bought the Saratoga filly out of the Dromoland Farm consignment.

As anticipated, Ashford Stud's American Pharoah  was the runaway leader among the first-crop yearling sires. The son of Pioneerof the Nile  and 2015 Triple Crown winner was the sale's third-leading sire overall with a $554,500 average from 10 yearlings sold out of 12 offered. The sire was represented by two seven-figure yearlings—a $1.2 million filly (Hip 26) out of multiple grade 1 winner Life At Ten, who was sold by Gainesway and bought by Larry Best's OXO Equine; and, a $1 million colt out of Party Silks, the dam of multiple graded stakes winner and grade 1-placed Upstart , who was sold by Summerfield for Sunnyfield Farm and bought by Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. Bob Baffert, who trained American Pharoah, signed the ticket.

Besides his two seven-figure home runs, American Pharoah's yearlings included five that sold for $500,000 or more, which was the most sold in this price range among the top 15 Saratoga sires by average price.