Tiffany Case Tops Day 1 of Keeneland January Sale

Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm went to a sale-topping $3.2 million to acquire Tiffany Case (Hip 465), the dam of grade 1 winner Nitrogen, deep into the Jan. 12 opening session of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Tiffany Case's price tag was the most money spent on a horse at the January Sale since 2019, when 2017 Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly Abel Tasman brought $5 million from Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. Tiffany Case was the lone purchase for Whisper Hill, the session’s leading buyer. Tiffany Case is a 13-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, who was sold in foal to Taylor Made Stallions' marquee sire Not This Time. Besides multiple grade 1 winner Nitrogen, who is a finalist for Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly, she is also the dam of graded-placed stakes winner Love to Shop, who topped last year's January Sale at $700,000. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for the DJ Stables graduate, consigned the mare. The mare was purchased in 2019 by DJ Stable at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $320,000 in foal to Violence. The stable campaigned the mare's first two foals, and plans to race her 2-year-old filly Sniper, by Gun Runner. "She's a really neat mare," said Frank Taylor of Taylor Made Sales. "She just has an A foal; every time she has a foal, it's an A individual. (Her Gun Runner filly) is a beauty. She’s going to run up here. She’ll be retained by the Greens (DJ Stables), and they’ll race her." Taylor said he was expecting the mare to fall within the $2-3 million range. "That was good money for her," Taylor said. "Not This Time had 17 yearlings bring over a million (dollars) this year, and none of them were bred as good as this foal’s going to be bred. Hopefully they have luck with it. "You always love that, when a (bidding) battle happens. I thought the other mare (Simply in Front) could potentially top the sale. I was hoping (Tiffany Case) would, but the right people lined up on her, and she presented herself very well here at the sale. I think with Not This Time, he’s so hot right now, and Nitrogen being (nominated for) champion 3-year-old (filly), everything was lined up." Nitrogen has never finished off the board in all 12 career starts, winning six of them in 2025, and defeating grade 1 winners Good Cheer, Lush Lips (GB), Scylla, and Thorpedo Anna under the care of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. Nitrogen is a graded stakes winner on the dirt and the turf, proving her versatility as a runner. She achieved grade 1 success last summer in the Alabama Stakes (G1), and capped off the year with two gallant runner-up finishes in the Spinster Stakes (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). Day 1 Statistics Keeneland concluded Day 1 of the January Sale with 319 head changing hands for $31,706,400, including private sales. The number of horses sold is up by 100 compared to 2025's corresponding session, due in part to this year's sale being condensed into two sessions, compared to three last year. The average was $99,393 with a median of $42,000. The buy-back rate was 25%, representing the 106 horses who failed to meet their reserves. Last year's sale saw 219 horses sell for $19,438,000, with an average of $88,758, and a median of $60,000. “Today was a great day,” Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said. “Obviously, it’s a long day, but I think the structure of what we did in creating two big sessions sort of lent into building a momentum that carried through right to the end of the day. Seeing the last Gun Runner (Hip 537) go for $575,000 right at the very end was just a reflection of a really positive, strong day across the board. “I think the mares were incredibly healthy from not just the top, but all the way through to a strong middle market,” Lacy continued. “I think that was incredibly encouraging. There was a very large crowd here—probably the biggest crowd we’ve seen at a January Sale for quite a while, even though we had a couple of inclement days.” The market was considerably strong for short yearlings, seeing the top-priced yearling, a colt by Gun Runner, sell for $800,000 to MWG's Marc Gunderson. That is the highest price paid for a short yearling at the January Sale in 11 years. A half brother to world-record-setter and grade 1 winner Cogburn fetched $625,000 near the end of the sale from Glen Hill Farm. READ: Gunderson Goes to $800K For Well-bred Gun Runner Colt The highest-priced yearling filly (Hip 542) was also by Gun Runner, who sold for $575,000 to Three Chimneys Farm. The filly hails from the immediate family of Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu. She was consigned by Four Star Sales, agent. Taylor Made Sales Agency was the leading consignor for the day, selling 44 from its draft for $7,602,500. The second and final session of the January Sale begins Jan. 13 at 10 a.m. ET, with Hips 551-1105 set to go through the ring. As of Monday evening, Keeneland had reported 114 outs. “It’s a new sale, a new year, and the January Sale offers a lot of possibilities,” Keeneland senior director of sales operations Cormac Breathnach said. “We were pleased with the catalog when it came together, and pleased there were opportunities for people to buy foundation mares and to again reassess their plans to reinvest or sell horses following a strong 2025."