An Up to the Mark colt who is a half brother to 2025 Two Thousand Guineas (G1) winner Ruling Court was on target during the third day of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Sept. 16, purchased for $1.65 million by Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing USA.
Nursery Place and Wilhite bred the bay in Kentucky out of the graded-placed High Chaparral mare Inchargeofme. Nursery Place also consigned him as Hip 646.
The achievements on grass of his half sibling, as well as his dam, who showed in the 2018 Mint Julep Handicap (G3T) at Churchill Downs, made him appealing to buyers looking for a high-class turf prospect. Adding to that pedigree appeal, Up to the Mark was the Eclipse champion turf male in 2023.
Asked what attracted him to the colt, Joorabchian said, "First and foremost, I have a couple of my (United Kingdom) guys here, and they loved him because of the turf pedigree, and I had a couple of the U.S. trainers point him out to me.
"Obviously, he's bred from a sire (Up to the Mark) who's not yet proven, but Ruling Court was a fantastic, fantastic horse in the U.K."
He said he could envision the horse, if he is successful, racing on both sides of the Atlantic, "going to the U.K. to run, coming back here to run."
Alex Elliott, Amo Racing consultant, was noncommittal regarding who might train the colt, while mentioning New York-based trainer Miguel Clement being a "big fan" of the horse.
Hip 646, a member of Up to the Mark's first crop, is now the highest-priced yearling by his sire to have been sold at public auction.
Up to the Mark stood earlier this year for $25,000 at Lane's End near Versailles, Ky.
"Up to the Mark was a magnificent-looking horse by Not This Time," Elliott said. "This one could go home. I know Miguel (Clement) has been a big proponent of trying to buy him, but Kia (Joorabchian) could decide to take him back to England. Obviously, his brother was very good there."
Joorabchian said buying Hip 646 is part of a strategy to put "much more of our resources into America" after the stable's acquisitions in Europe.
"We have a lot of homebreds now coming through. So, we're going to quiet down a little bit in Europe and concentrate on getting our American side developing," he said.
Summers Shopping for Another 'Solo'
Two years ago, New York-based trainer Chad Summers, acting as agent, bought about 10 yearlings at the Keeneland September sale for clients, most notably Napoleon Solo, whom he trained to win the Preakness Stakes (G1) this year for owner Al Gold of Gold Square. Then in 2025, he bought a few more, among them How's Al Today, winner earlier this month of the Juvenile Mile Stakes at Kentucky Downs for Gold and trainer Riley Mott.
Napoleon Solo was a bargain buy, a $40,000 purchase who slipped through the cracks during the opening week of the sale, while How's Al Today fetched more when acquired for $200,000.
Following their successes, Summers and Gold dug even deeper into their pockets Wednesday in securing a Maxfield colt for $850,000—the highest-priced horse the trainer said he has ever purchased at auction.
The bay, consigned by Hunter Valley Farm as agent, was bred by Hunter Valley Farm, Tony Hegarty, and Royal Noble Property out of the Violence mare Superhelpful. Superhelpful is a half sibling to three stakes winners.
Cherry Knoll Farm pinhooked Hip 450 after buying him for $250,000 as a weanling from the 2025 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
The colt is the second foal from his dam. Her first, a 3-year-old Yaupon filly named Yasmin, is unplaced through four starts.
The purchase of Hip 450 is the first of many Summers expects to make at the two-week sale. He and his bloodstock team will evaluate every horse on the grounds, revisiting about 30% at least twice and roughly 5% more extensively. The process includes farm visits before showing hours, barn inspections, and consultation and evaluation with Brittany Updike, Susie Hart, and veterinarian Dr. E.C. "Pug" Hart.
He noted Gold was also on-site for Wednesday's sale.
"This is our favorite," he said of this buying stretch. "It's our Christmas, right?"
Though Summers trains for Gold, not all of the owner's horses go to him. Gold has a number of different trainers across the country and spreads his stock around. How's Al Today is one such example, even though Summers and his team bought him at auction.
"A bloodstock agent and a trainer are two different things, right? The bloodstock agent is trying to find the perfect horse," he said. "The trainer is trying to find the horse that's not broken yet."
Summers' skills in all those areas have been on display, first by buying Napoleon Solo and then by training him to stretch his speed out to 1 3/16 miles in the Preakness, after which the Liam's Map colt was sold by Gold to Espoir USA. Napoleon Solo subsequently ran second this summer in both the Haskell Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1).
A start in either the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) or Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Oct. 31 at Keeneland is next before potential outings in the Saudi Cup (G1) and Dubai World Cup (G1) next year.
Reflecting on the colt's Breeders' Cup options, Summers said, "The good thing is, he's earned his way into either one of those spots, and we'll see where he goes."
Big Day For Into Mischief
Proving his popularity never wanes, leading sire Into Mischief kept up his momentum in Book 2 with a trio of seven-figure yearling colts during the opening Book 2 session, led by Hip 697, who brought $2 million from Legion Bloodstock.
Hip 697 is the first foal of the graded stakes-placed mare Miss Costa Rica, who is a half sister to graded stakes winner Gas Station Sushi (Into Mischief).
"The minute we saw him, just fell in love with him immediately," said Legion Bloodstock's Kristian Villante. "Brought the whole team over to see him, and everyone just fell in love. Never expected to pay $2 million for the horse, but we knew we were going to have to dig deep for him."
The colt was bred and consigned by Stonehaven Steadings, who also bred and consigned Hip 601, a colt by Flightline who brought $1.1 million from Flying Dutchmen earlier in the day. Hip 601 is a half sibling to grade 2 winner and Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Meaning.
"A day of days, I guess, as they say," said Aidan O'Meara, bloodstock director for Stonehaven. "The classy ones just kind of rise.
"We were hoping and dreaming, and sometimes you're surprised, and sometimes it goes beyond your expectations."
O'Meara credited the victory to a complete team effort, recognizing everyone from the farm manager to the hay supplier, the farrier, and the showmen on the sales grounds.
"There's a lot of time and grind behind the scenes, and a special horse can make it all worthwhile," he said. "We're very humbled and happy for all the team at home."
Legion Bloodstock, agent for Dream Big Racing, purchased Hip 497, a colt by Into Mischief out of the group-placed Distorted Humor mare Wind Fire, for $1.1 million. Hip 497, bred by Qatar Racing, hails from the immediate family of graded stakes winner and young stallion Barnes (Into Mischief).
"Can't say any more about Into Mischief," Villante said. "He's got an unbelievable pedigree, he's an unbelievable physical. Looks very much like the sire. Showed him to Whit Beckman, who's going to train him. Whit fell in love with him."
Spendthrift Farm and Epic Horses teamed up to secure Hip 460, a colt out of the grade 1-placed Candy Ride mare Taste Like Candy, who is also the dam of graded stakes-placed millionaire Valentine Candy (Justify ).
The colt was bred in Kentucky by Pine Creek and consigned by Nicky Drion Thoroughbreds, agent.
"Going in, we were quietly confident," Drion said. "He's a late April foal, so for a while, you know, he was a little bit behind the ball. But the last month and a half he really kicked in. So going in, I was quietly confident."
