Romeo Brings Record-Breaking $1.7 Million at F-T July

Records fell at Fasig-Tipton's July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale near Lexington July 8 when the striking Bashford Manor Stakes winner Romeo exited the ring, bringing $1.7 million from Mahmud Mouni. Prior to his dominating Bashford Manor victory June 29 at Churchill Downs, the 2-year-old son of Honor A.P. had broken his maiden on debut by over 10 lengths at Laurel Park for trainer John Robb and previous owner Joseph Lloyd, before running third in the Tremont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. "Amazing, the whole bidding was just surreal really," said Pat Costello of Paramount Sales, who sold the colt. "That's what you get when you get in an auction and get people that want him. He's a beautiful horse. He didn't turn a hair all week. His attitude is like a good horse; he is a good horse." With Mouni's child raising his hand to bid on the last horse to go through the ring, a bidding war quickly ensued. WATCH: Browning: Yearling Market Off to Strong Start "I got this horse for Tagermeen Racing," said Mahmud Mouni. "We are planning to go to (trainer) Steve Asmussen. We would like to have the chance for the Breeders' Cup, but our main plan is to go to the Middle East for the next year—2026. "The horse (Romeo) is very nice, he looks amazing. Honestly, we did not expect him to reach this amount. We are so happy and so excited. We will see in the near future." Romeo is out of the mare Fancy Love, who is a half sister to Addison Run, the dam of two graded stakes-placed horses in Gouvernor Morris and Final Jeopardy. He hails from the family of grade 1 winners and stallions Midshipman and Frosted. He was bred in Maryland by John Davison and offered as a yearling last year at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale, where he failed to meet his reserve of $14,000. "I'm not saying we knew it was going to be this strong, but we knew it was going to be strong," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning about the July HORA Sale. "The demand (for racehorses) is off the charts. You saw the evidence of the demand being off the charts today, and the supply is very limited. The previous July Horses of Racing Age Sale record was set last year when Informed Patriot sold for $1.55 million to Ibrahim Rachid, who signed the winning ticket on behalf of Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz, from the Taylor Made consignment. Gross sales, average, and median were all up compared to 2024's results, with 51 out of 54 horses offered selling for $8,037,000. The average was $157,588, with a median of $95,000. Three horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 6%. A year ago, 67 out of 82 horses changed hands, selling for a total of $6,803,000. The average was $101,545, with a median of $62,000. The RNA rate was 18.3%. Even without considering the sales-topper Romeo, Browning considered the session to be very strong. "The level of interest was very, very high," Browning said. "(A lot) of the horses were dramatically above their reserves. There's a tremendous demand for a racehorse, and it's a good sign for our game." Mouni was the leading buyer with two purchases totaling $1,925,000. He also purchased stakes-placed New King, a bay colt by Into Mischief for $225,000 from ELiTE, agent. Taylor Made Sales Agency led the consignors, selling all 12 of their horses for $2,310,000. Jack Christopher Colt Tops Solid F-T July Yearling Sale A chestnut colt (Hip 35) by first-crop sire Jack Christopher took the top spot at Fasig-Tipton's July Selected Yearlings Sale, selling for $350,000 to CHC and Maverick Racing. Hip 35 is out of the winning Discreetly Mine mare Above the Crowd, making him a half brother to Norwich, a three-time winner. He was bred in Kentucky by Susan King and consigned by Buckland Sales (Zach Madden), agent. "The colt was an absolute class act. He showed as well this morning as he did the first morning, 95 degrees out here, almost 200 shows later," Zach Madden said. "The Jack Christophers look the part of a very exciting horse for Coolmore. "I give all credit to our team at the barn—Lauren Morgan, Morgan Kei, Stonebridge Farm for prepping him. They had him so fit and ready for the rigors of the sale. I'm so thrilled at the outcome; a dream come true." CHC and Maverick Racing also signed for another Jack Christopher colt—Hip 87, a colt out of the Malibu Moon mare Melania's Moon. "All in all, a very successful day," Browning said. "A really solid start to the yearling sales season. It was a very similar marketplace to last year. Trade was solid. If you brought a well-conformed horse that was athletic, mature, and vetted, you were rewarded. "It should provide a level of confidence to everybody as we move on to the next stage, which is Saratoga." The top-priced filly of the sale was hip 141, a filly by 2024 freshman sire Vekoma, who brought $345,000 from trainer Kenny McPeek. She was bred and consigned by Shawhan Place. This year's sale saw the median stay the same, with a slight dip in the gross and average. A total of 157 yearlings changed hands for $16,898,000, with an average of $107,631, and a median of $90,000. Sixty horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 27.6%. In 2024, the sale saw 156 horses sell for $17,361,000, with an average of $111,288. The RNA rate was 32.5%, representing the 75 horses who failed to meet their reserve. Kenny McPeek was the leading buyer with eight purchases totaling $1,445,000. He also received the newly minted trainer's bonus of $25,000, awarded to the trainer who purchases the highest number of yearlings at the July Selected Yearling Sale. Gainesway was the leading consignor, selling 15 horses from their draft for $2,370,000. Fasig-Tipton now sets its sights on The Saratoga Sale, which takes place Aug. 5-6 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "There's six grade 1 winners on the cover this year," Browning said of The Saratoga Sale catalog. "I can't wait."