Seven-Figure Colts Make Denali's Night One to Remember

Buyer appetite for Curlin  colts continued at a frenzied pace during the Aug. 6 second session of The Saratoga Sale, and Denali Stud was ready to satiate that need.

By the end of the evening at the Fasig-Tipton yearling auction, the veteran consignment operation had sold two seven-figure yearlings by the Hill 'n' Dale Farms stallion for total receipts of $2.5 million. 

First to reach, and then surpass, the million-dollar mark was Hip 153, a colt out of Wapi, a daughter of Scat Daddy who was a champion in Chile. The yearling fell the way of Aquis Farm, Let's Go Stable, and Crawford Farm Racing on a final bid of $1.5 million. 

"We've been coming to Saratoga for a long time," said Denali's Conrad Bandoroff. "We love selling here, we've got a really good track record here, and we really felt like, coming into it, we were bringing a nice group of horses here. As the showing played out in the early days, this might have been our best group of horses we've brought up here, certainly in my recollection." 

Bloodstock agent Demi O'Byrne signed the ticket on behalf of the partnership and said the colt was the first the group had purchased at the select sale. The plan is to send the youngster to conditioner Todd Pletcher for training. 

"We've had Demi on board for a while. We came up here, we looked at 25 colts, and he said this is the one," said Shane McGrath, CEO of Aquis Farm in Australia. "I came up and looked at him, and I agreed with him. Fortunately, Todd Pletcher loved him as well, and at the end of the day when you have the colt of the sale, you are going to have to step up. We're a big operation in Australia, and we want to get global. Hopefully, this looks like a one-turn horse. We look forward to being here with him next year. (Demi) has found some pretty good ones in the past, and hopefully this is another one." 

The Saratoga sale represented the first foray into the American yearling market for Aquis Farm, owned by Tony Fung. Since its founding in 2015, the farm has spent over AU$50 million acquiring bloodstock at public auctions and privately in Australia and boasts an ever-increasing broodmare band of 186 mares and 165 horses in training. 

"The prize money is so good in Australia now," McGrath said. "If he's good, you would have to consider (running him in Australia). We'll give him to Todd Pletcher. He'll work it out, and if he says he's good enough to come down, maybe he can be an Everest horse. We have an Everest slot this year, but if he's good enough, I'd love to bring him down in due course. But at the end of the day, he's only a yearling, so at the moment we're allowed to dream.

"It's the first time we came up with a very clear directive to try and find the best horse within budget, and hopefully he can be a good horse for us. Who knows. If it will eventually open the door for us to do something up here in America, that's great because the industry is thriving worldwide. Prize money is huge for us in Australia, and I see a lot of good things going on. At the end of the day, you have to buy the horses you love. There are so many nice horses here. It's so much different than the Australian horses, so it's hard to get your eye in, but at the end of the day, when you see a real one, you see a real one. He was the one we wanted, and fortunately we were able to buy him and we're hoping he's going to be lucky." 

Six hips later, Whitehorse and Bridlewood Farm partnered to purchase Hip 159, another son of Curlin out of the Yes It's True mare Yes Liz. Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, the yearling was knocked down to the buyers for $1 million. 

"We teamed up before with Tapwrit , who we got at the same sale," said agent John Panagot, who signed the winning ticket on behalf of the partnership. "We have some current 2-year-olds together. Catholic Boy came from Bridlewood. We had a lot of success there. It's worked before, and it's good to be back together again. Any time you get a chance to buy a Stonestreet-raised horse, there's an added incentive to buy.

"We got outbid a couple of times yesterday and bought a few in partnership with some guys. This horse was our No. 1, and it just so happened that he was in the middle of the second night. Ideally, they go through early and you see where you're at, but we saved some powder and we're happy we did. We probably had another bid or two, but we were happy it went there. We thought he was the most well-balanced colt in the whole sale. When you're here looking for colts, if a filly comes up, she comes up, but we were looking for colts and we thought this was the best athlete. Possibly from the best dirt stallion in the country." 

The colt's third dam, black-type winner Lady Dixie, was a full sister to Chimes Band, winner of the Prix La Rochette (G3) in France. Lady Dixie produced several successful runners, including stakes winner Southern Style and stakes-placed Masters Degree. 

Yes Liz produced a Maclean's Music  colt March 17. 

"It's a cross that has proven prolific. He's just a really smooth, athletic, speedy-looking horse," Bandoroff said. "This horse walks like a panther, and he's one of those horses that if you weren't paying attention, he'd sneak up on you. He's light on his feet, and he was extremely popular. We didn't see that coming, but he had good action, and the stars aligned as they often have to in order for a horse to realize that kind of figure.

"The other colt (Hip 153) was a very good-moving, well-balanced, strong horse. I think they both were just really well-received, and both came into the sale exceptional." 

Bandoroff said the results represent a banner year for Denali Stud, which has consistently been among the leading consignors at the Saratoga sale for the past several years. 

"This will be a record year for us," Bandoroff said. "We've never had two $1 million horses in Saratoga. It's very humbling, and it's fun when it happens. We get to work for really great people. Barbara (Banke) raises a fantastic horse, and the success her program has had has really instilled a high level of confidence that people can buy really nice horses off of her that are going to race in the highest echelons of the sport. We're really grateful that we get to work for the people that we do." 

"This one's for Bill Graves," Bandoroff added. The former senior vice president of Fasig-Tipton and respected horseman passed away last year before the Saratoga sale following a short illness.  

"We've been coming here a long time, and we just missed last year (with their highest price, a $950,000 Into Mischief filly), but Billy was smiling down on us tonight."