$800,000 purchase tops Lexington day one

Kadena, a filly by Gimpanzee out of double Dan Patch Award winner Mission Brief, brought the opening session-topping price of $800,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale on Monday (Oct. 2).

Marcus Melander purchased the filly from consignor Hunterton Sales Agency. The winning bid equaled the record for a yearling filly at auction, tying the price paid for Exile in 2020 at Lexington.

Kadena’s high price tag highlighted a rich first session, in which 121 yearlings sold for a total of $22,222,000 — an average of $183,653 per horse. The yearling that followed Kadena (Hip 48) into the ring, Treacheryinthedark (Captaintreacherous-Rainbowinthedark, Hip 49) went for $700,000 to Andrew Harris, acting as an agent for William Pollack. The filly, consigned by Preferred Equine, is a half-sister to Pennsylvania Sires Stakes and Milstein champion Seven Colors.

Harris put down a $500,000 bid for Pollack to win Readyforprimetime (Hip 43), a Bettors Delight half-brother to this year’s Metro Pace winner, Captains Quarters. Readyforprimetime is the second foal of the stakes-winning mare Prescient Beauty; Captains Quarters was her first. Hunterton Sales Agency consigned Readyforprimetime.

Other sales greater than $400,000 were: Charlie K Hanover (Chapter Seven-Crucial, Hip 107), who went to Courant Inc. for $475,000, Destiny Deo (Chapter Seven-Princess Deo), a $460,000 sale to Determination, and Grande Via (Muscle Hill, Megadolce, Hip 45), purchased by Harris for Pollack for $450,000.

Chapter Seven led all sires with $3,870,000 changing hands for his 19 yearlings. Captaintreacherous was second overall and the top pacing sire, bringing $3,620,000 for his 18 offspring. Bettors Delight, with his three yearlings, had the highest average sale of any sire with $278,333 per horse. Hunterton Sales Agency raked in the most cash on day one, receiving $4,465,000 for its 21 offerings. Harris, for Pollack, purchased nine yearlings for $3.2 million, making him the day’s most prolific buyer.

The Lexington Selected Yearling Sale will resume at 1:00 p.m. EDT tomorrow for day two from the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion. The sale will run until Oct.  6, when it will conclude with session five.

For complete sale results, click here. For other sale information, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink