Uncle Mo Filly, Into Mischief Colt Top Day 2 at F-T

Two yearlings brought $800,000 apiece to lead a lively second session of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale Oct. 20. Mahmud Mouni secured a colt by Into Mischief (Hip 676) from the renowned Dixiana Farms, and Donato Lanni, agent for Lundergan Stables, acquired a filly (Hip 426) from the last crop of Uncle Mo. Jerry Lundergan of Lundergan Stables said the filly's appeal was her strong physical presence and her pedigree. "This filly was, as I understand it, supposed to go to The Saratoga Sale and got sick, and ended up being here at this sale, so we're lucky to end up with her," Lundergan said. Lundergan said he did not plan on having to stretch to $800,000 and he originally pegged her around $350,000-$400,000. He said the influence of Bob Baffert kept him in the bidding. "Because Mr. Baffert, this was his favorite filly, and he told me that this was the horse," Lundergan said. Hip 426 was bred in Kentucky by Christian and Karin Bradeen. She is out of the stakes-placed Tapit mare Velvet Crush, who is out of the multiple stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed mare White Clover. White Clover is a full sister to grade 1 winner and 2006 Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Ermine. Hip 426 is a half sister to Guns of Roses (Gun Runner), who was recently third in a maiden special weight at Belmont Park for Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. She finished 1 length behind the winner. Just a few hips earlier, Lundergan also bought Hip 419, a colt by Good Magic, for $230,000. The colt is out of the winning Uncle Mo mare Uyuni, who is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning mare Pachattack. He was consigned by Gainesway and bred by A. R. Enterprises and Gainesway. "We're very excited we got both a colt and a filly today here at Fasig-Tipton. Today, we've got a Derby winner and an Oaks winner," he said with a smile. Lundergan said, including the two yearlings purchased today, that brings his stable total to three. He is relatively new to owning Thoroughbreds, but has long been involved in the industry—from a different side. "As a young man, I used to do all the food service here at Fasig-Tipton," Lundergan said. "My company that we own, Lundy's Catering, we did all the food service here. I've had an inkling for horses for a long time. You have to wait until you get so old in life before you have the money to buy." Lundergan, who was the second-leading buyer of the day with two purchases totaling $1,030,000, said his purchases would head to Florida for the early breaking process and then join the barn of trainer Bob Baffert. R T M Racing was the top buyer with $1,320,000 spent on three hips. Mouni, who signed the ticket for Hip 676 under RTM Racing, said the colt was bought for Tagermeen Racing, a group of Libya-based owners. "He was one of the best horses in the sale in my opinion," Mouni said. "The horse is amazing, gorgeous. He's by Into Mischief, who is a superstar and a horse we like." The colt is out of the stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed English Channel mare Brielle's Appeal. Hip 676 hails from the immediate family of grade 1 winner and sire Charlatan. Mouni said he was not surprised by the price of the colt, and they had guessed he would bring somewhere between $500,000-$700,000. He confirmed the colt will head to Randy Miles' farm near Ocala, Fla., for the early breaking process. A trainer has not yet been decided. "We are so lucky to get this horse," Mouni said. "I think if this horse was in Saratoga or (Keeneland) September, it would be $1.5-2 million. It's been less competitive here, less people. This is the opportunity." Dixiana Farms' farm manager Robert Tillyer said there are high expectations for Hip 676, who was originally slated to sell during Book 1 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Tillyer said a gravel in the colt's right front foot kept him from the September sale, so the farm had to change its plans to sell in October. "We were a little worried that maybe he wouldn't see the true potential he would have in Book 1, that maybe not all the buyers are here, but we hoped that maybe he would top the sale. We've still got two more days to go, but we're really happy with the price." Tillyer said after talking with his peers, it seems a lot of people are shopping for bargains and a lot of people are not quite getting what they want for their horse. "There's a lot of nice horses here. It was nice to bring a good one over here," Tillyer said. "We're bringing the dam of Fionn (Gaelic Gold) over here in the Night of the Stars Sale next month, so that's exciting. She sells five hips after Fionn, so I hope there's a lot of momentum of what's to come." Multiple graded stakes winner and earner of more than $2 million, Fionn, was bred by Dixiana Farms and is currently a top contender for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) Oct. 31 at Keeneland. Michael Lee and George Messina purchased the Twirling Candy filly for a bargain $75,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from Dixiana Farms. She is entered in Fasig-Tipton's November Sale as Hip 191 with ELiTE as agent. Dixiana will offer Fionn's dam, Gaelic Gold, in foal to leading third-crop sire Vekoma. She is cataloged as Hip 196. Earlier in the day, RTM Racing secured a Gun Runner colt (Hip 492) for $385,000. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Blackstone Farm and consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. Later in the session, Mark Casse, bidding on behalf of D. J. Stable, went to $700,000 for Hip 755, a colt by Into Mischief who is a half sister to grade 1 winner and Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Search Results. He was bred in Kentucky by Peter Blum Thoroughbreds and consigned by Bridie Harrison, agent. READ: D. J. Stable Strikes for $700K Into Mischief Colt At the conclusion of the second session, 266 horses had changed hands for a total of $17,529,500, including private sales, a 6.6% increase from last year's corresponding session. The average saw a 9.4% jump to $65,900. The median was a solid $31,000. Eighty-one horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 23.3%. "As we indicated yesterday, we thought we had a higher number of top-end horses today and it's evidenced by the results," said Boyd Browning Jr., president and CEO of Fasig-Tipton. "I don't think there are any real significant surprises in the marketplace. We've seen some trends that existed at the beginning of the yearling season. Overall, it's a healthy market." There were a couple higher-priced RNAs, which Browning attributed to owners being able to either go to a 2-year-old sale or hold on the horse to race. "They valued the horse obviously more than the market did and that's the beauty of the auction process," he said. The October sale continues at 10 a.m. ET Oct. 21, with hips 809-1212 scheduled to go through the ring. As of Tuesday evening, Fasig-Tipton had reported 46 outs for the third session.