Last year’s two-day event saw 381 hips to sell fetch an average of $29,578, with the median sitting at $20,000. Still, given the way the day began, it was a solid enough session.

Four of the first nine hips through the ring did not sell, and the first six-figure horse did not arrive until Hip 84. That was a Maryland-bred Honor Code filly who’s a half to three stakes winners, including Grade 3 winner and near-millionaire Cordmaker. Consigned by Chanceland Farm, she brought a top bid of $125,000 from Men’s Grille Racing.

The top four sellers in Monday’s opening session all were Maryland-breds, and seven of the 10 hips that brought winning bids of $100,000 or more were bred in the Free State.

The day’s topper was Hip 158, a Maryland-bred Uncle Mo filly out of the Singspiel mare Andina. Andina was a stakes winner, and all five of her offspring to race are winners, including a pair of graded or group stakes winners.

Hip 158 brought a winning bid of $320,000 from Legion Bloodstock as agent. She was consigned by Scott Mallory as agent for Determined Stud.

In an odd coincidence, the day’s top two sellers sold consecutively, as the second-highest hip of the session was Hip 157, a Mendelssohn filly out of the Not for Love mare Amie’s Legend. Consigned by Northview Stallion Station (David Wade) as agent, she fetched a top bid of $155,000 from Country Life Farm as agent.

The second of the sale’s two sessions takes place October 4, starting at 10:00 a.m. Hips 201 through 526 are scheduled to be sold.