Just five horses bred in the mid-Atlantic were entered in the just completed Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale of Selected Yearlings, and only four went through the ring.
All four to sell were bred in Virginia, demonstrating the enduring strength of a state breeding industry that has been buffeted by difficult winds in recent years. Of the four, the sale topper was hip number 11, a stylishly bred Speightstown colt out of the stake winning Art Show, a daughter of Out of Place. The gray or roan colt, who is a half to Grade 2-placed Delhomme, fetched $325,000 from Ingordo Bloodstock. The horse was consigned by Lane’s End as agent for William Backer’s Smitten Farm.
Two other Virginia-breds also brought six figures. Hip number 30, a Tale of the Cat colt out of the ridiculously productive Chemise, garnered a winning bid of $185,000 from Matt Schera. Chemise, a daughter of Secret Hello, has produced nine winners from nine to race, with three of those having won stakes. And Lael Stable registered a winning bid of $250,000 on hip 96, a filly by Blame out of the stakes winning Valid Appeal mare Miz United States, whose seven winners include the G3-placed Ameribelle.
The lone Maryland-bred in the sale, a Not for Love colt also bred by Smitten Farm, was scratched. No horses bred Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or West Virginia were entered in the sale.
