The vast majority of people attending The Saratoga Sale will not have to spend much time researching the pedigree of Hip 165 when he enters the ring Aug. 8, during Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Hip 165 is a chestnut colt by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin out of Breeders' Cup giant Beholder—one of just two horses to win three Breeders' Cup races. Beholder, the daughter of Henny Hughes—Leslie's Lady (a Broodmare of the Year), by Tricky Creek, won the 2012 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and 2013 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) before closing her career with a narrow victory over Songbird in the 2016 Distaff in one of the greatest editions of that race.
The yearling colt is consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for breeder Spendthrift Farm. Duncan Taylor notes the mammoth future breeding potential of the colt down the line.
"What makes this Curlin—Beholder colt so special is that the home run in our business is to have a stallion," Taylor told BloodHorsePlus. "When you put Curlin as a top—Curlin is such an awesome stallion—and then the broodmare is a multiple Breeders' Cup winner who won four Eclipse awards and is a half sister to Into Mischief, you've got the greatest sire power that maybe has ever been in one yearling."
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Campaigned by Spendthrift Farm, Beholder earned four Eclipse Awards on her way to the Racing Hall of Fame, where she was enshrined last year. Those awards reflect a racing career that included immediate success followed by consistency year after year for Beholder, purchased by Spendthrift for $180,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by her breeder, Clarkland Farm.
Trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, Beholder won second-out at Del Mar and capped her juvenile season with a victory in the 2012 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park. At 3 she won the Las Virgenes Stakes and Santa Anita Oaks (both G1) before finishing second to Princess of Sylmar in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs—the first start outside of Southern California for Beholder.
That season she would wrap up a second championship with her 4 1/4-length romp over fillies and mares in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. She would earn champion older female titles in 2015 and 2016. In 2015 she topped males by 8 1/4 lengths in the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) and in 2016 she closed out her career with the aforementioned Distaff triumph over Songbird, who this year followed Beholder into the Hall of Fame.
Beyond racing accomplishment, she's a half sister to grade 1 winner and four-time leading sire Into Mischief as well as grade 1 winner Mendelssohn . As a broodmare Beholder already has produced grade 3 winner Teena Ella, a daughter of War Front who won this year's Senorita Stakes (G3T) on the turf at Santa Anita. Her breeder, Spendthrift, campaigns Teena Ella, who is trained by Mandella.
Taylor believes her yearling colt is special.
"He's a smart colt, good walker, he's all business," Taylor added. "Every once in a while he'll act up a little bit like any colt, but he's, really calm, level-headed and a good acting colt. I don't know if there's been anything like this before. We're so blessed that Spendthrift is letting us consign him and they've raised such an awesome individual."
