$1.7M City of Light Colt Lights Up Keeneland September

Partnering with Woodford Racing and others, West Point Thoroughbreds acquired a $1 million Tapit colt in 2019 that was eventually named Flightline. Two years later, the partners are reveling in the excitement of that now 3-year-old, who has whipped the opposition in two starts, including running six furlongs in 1:08.05 at Del Mar Sept. 5 for trainer John Sadler. West Point and Woodford hope to repeat the formula with Talla Racing, and joined forces Sept. 15 to purchase the current sales topper of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale when they acquired a City of Light colt consigned as Hip 612 for $1.7 million during the Book 2 opener. That prospect and others acquired will allow them to dream. West Point Thoroughbreds also bought seven other yearlings Wednesday on the third day of the sale, including a $1.55 million Justify colt (Hip 580) with Talla Racing. These purchases followed a Tuesday in which West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing bought a Quality Road colt (Hip 300) for $1.6 million. The buys left Terry Finley, president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, excited to participate in a thriving marketplace. "It feels great," he said. "Nothing like a good horse sale that you have the ability to be active at." He wasn't alone in feeling good. The colt's breeder, Rosilyn Polan of Sunday Morning Farm, sold him as her property and received congratulations from many. "He's such a special colt, but you always know that people like them for a price, and there are very few buyers that say I have to have him no matter what," she said. "He was the first foal born on my farm last year. And from that minute I knew he was special." Hip 612 is out of the stakes-placed Tapit mare Anchorage, who twice hit the board in stakes in 2010 at Aqueduct Racetrack. She is the dam of nine foals, with five to win from seven starters, topped by Chip Leader (Giant's Causeway), who placed in the 2018 Ben Ali Stakes (G3) at Keeneland and notched eight victories and earnings of $266,751. Another filly out of the mare, Tijori (Will Take Charge), won two of 10 starts and earned $87,091. Anchorage foaled an Omaha Beach filly this year. It was City of Light that was the difference-maker Wednesday. The first-crop yearling stallion who entered stud in 2019 at Lane's End in Versailles, Ky., has been a popular choice for breeders, and his yearlings, just as much at auction. After the first two days of the sale he was the second-leading first-crop sire behind Justify, but on Wednesday, it was City of Light's moment in the spotlight. Twelve of the son of Quality Road's progeny sold Wednesday for an average price of $565,833, catapulting him to the lead for the day over more established sires with gross receipts of $6,790,000. Over the first three sessions, 19 yearlings by City of Light have sold to average $490,263 and gross $9,315,000. Representatives of Woodford Racing know the stallion's appeal. Woodford Racing's founder is Bill Farish of Lane's End. "I like the sire a lot," said Farish. "(Hip 612) is a stunning individual, very strong, good-boned colt. A rare-type individual." Bloodstock agent David Ingordo advised on the purchases for Woodford Racing. Finley said he anticipated paying a rich price. "Obviously, they're all a lot of good judges of horseflesh," he said." The best in the world—not probably—the best evaluators are here, and you can kind of get a vibe when people are just, 'Man, what about that City of Light?' There aren't that many horses that give you that really, really good feel—that you're looking at an extremely good prospect. That colt—we bought a couple (others) today, and each of them really gave us that sense. "It's just great to have partners and to be in a position to take some swings with some really good prospects," he added. Those partners include Michael Talla of Talla Racing, who owns Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Rock Your World with Hronis Racing. Hronis Racing is another owner in the John Sadler-trained Flightline with Summer Wind Equine and Siena Farm. Flightline was acquired at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected sale of yearlings in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2019 from the Lane's End consignment. The partners said that Sadler will train Hip 612 and other prospects acquired by the group, including Hip 580, the Justify colt. Earlier on Wednesday, Talla said they were outbid. "So finally, we had to make a stand somewhere," he said. That first stand came with the son of the 2018 Triple Crown winner. Bred in Kentucky and sold by Stonehaven Steadings, Hip 580 is out of the winning Latent Heat mare True Feelings, who placed in the 2011 Schuylerville Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course. Two of her four foals of racing age have earned black type, led by Feeling Mischief (Into Mischief), who captured the 2020 Sandpiper Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and placed in three other stakes. Royal Act (American Pharoah) is her other black-type performer, a colt who finished second in the 2020 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park. The mare's other winner, Forge (Harlan's Holiday), is a five-time winner outside of stakes company with earnings of $227,761. True Feelings foaled a Quality Road colt this year. "We really liked this one, so we went in for him," Talla said of Hip 580. "We'll know next year if we made a mistake or not. Let's talk next summer." Aidan O'Meara, bloodstock director of Stonehaven Steadings, called the sale of 580 and another yearling, Hip 590, a $750,000 Mendelssohn filly who went to co-breeder Bart Evans (who signed the ticket as B.B.E.), "probably the most exciting thing I have experienced in this business." In total, Talla combined with West Point to purchase three horses on Wednesday, with the other being a $500,000 City of Light filly that sold as Hip 451 from Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge Farm. Bred in Kentucky by Woods Edge, the bay filly descends from a family rich in black type and includes graded stakes winners Voyagers Quest and Golden Mystery. "She was the all-American filly," said O'Callaghan. "Just a big, fabulous filly with quality and was correct and smooth. She must have been vetted 20 times. It was a great sale. Hard to breed a filly like that. We were lucky we had a good mare that gave her to us." Talla also purchased a $340,000 Into Mischief filly (Hip 593) with Sweetwater Trading and Rockingham Ranch from the Timber Town consignment. Other purchases by the entities included Hip 547, a $430,000 Honor Code colt bought by Woodford Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds that is out of grade 2 winner Spacy Tracy and a half brother to graded stakes winners Benner Island and Victim of Love; Hip 563, a Medaglia d'Oro colt bought solely by Woodford Racing for $300,000 that is out of a full sister to grade 1 winner Cupid; and Hip 702, a $675,000 Justify colt for HR Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing that is a half brother to multiple graded stakes winner and classic-placed Commissioner and the dam of champion Vino Rosso. West Point and L.E.B., agent, bought Hip 487, a Practical Joke colt, for $150,000; West Point, Robert Masiello, and Scarlet Oak Racing teamed on Hip 645, a Stonehaven Steadings-consigned City of Light filly, for $500,000; and Albaugh Family, West Point, and Barry Berkelhammer, agent, acquired a Nyquist colt, Hip 737, for $280,000. Finley said having partners made it possible "to take some swings with some really good prospects." "I see people win a race at Saratoga and they have two people in the winner's circle outside of the trainer and their staff, and they just don't seem to have as much fun as the partnerships," Finley said. "Certainly the partners have to be compatible, and they have to be in sync because there is nothing worse than a bad partnership. But when it works and you can share the ups and downs, you share the excitement and the anticipation, all of the things we get into the horse ownership business for; it's a magical thing." Just as happy Wednesday was Polan, having raised the current sales topper at her farm. She said she would celebrate by cleaning stalls, feeding horses, going to bed early, shipping the horses out, and continuing the sales process. "That's the best part of it, is that it keeps you real," she said.