Midlantic Fall Yearlings Opener Sees Vibrant Trade, Significant Gains

mendelssohn colt
Fasig-Tipton Photo/Eclipse Sportswire

Midlantic Fall Yearlings kicked off Monday afternoon with significant increases in gross, average, and median over the first session of the last two editions of the sale (2019-2020) and the lowest RNA rate since 2016.*

A colt from the first crop of Mendelssohn topped Monday's session, fetching a bid of $230,000 from buyer Oracle Bloodstock, agent (video). The bay colt was offered as Hip 189 by Dreamtime Stables, agent. Out of the Malibu Moon mare Tasha's Moon, a half-sister to Grade 2 placed stakes winner Esmeraldina, the colt hails from the immediate family of Grade 1 winner Off the Tracks and Grade 2 winner and sire Concord Point. Hip 189 was bred in Kentucky by Classic Thoroughbred.

Earlier in the session, a son of Belmont S. (G1) winner Union Rags sold for $220,000 to Mac Robertson, agent for Novogratz Racing Stables (video). Dark Hollow, agent, offered the colt as Hip 113. Out of the winning Flatter mare Safe Journey, the colt is a half-brother to four winners, including O Dionysus (Bodemeister) and Joy (Pure Prize), both multiple stakes winners on the mid-Atlantic racing circuit. Hip 113 was bred in Maryland by Dark Hollow Farm.

Mendelssohn was also responsible for the session's top-priced filly, which sold for $160,000 to Donato Lanni, agent for Caroline & Greg Bentley (video). Offered as Hip 159 by Northview Stallion Station (David Wade), agent, the filly is a half-sister to a pair of winners out of the winning Curlin mare Split It. Bred in Maryland by Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds, Hip 159 is from the immediate family of champion filly Epitome and multimillionaire War Story.

Rounding out the top five were a pair of fillies with strong pedigrees:

  • Hip 76, a daughter of Tiznow out of a Not For Love half-sister to four-time Grade 1 winner and two-time Maryland Horse of the Year Knicks Go, which sold for $150,000 to SBM. The filly was bred in Maryland by GreenMount Farm & Tiznow Syndicate and consigned by GreenMount Farm, agent.
  • Hip 11, a filly from the first crop of Preakness S. (G1) winner Cloud Computing, who is a three-parts sister to course record-setting stakes winner Dirty (Maclean's Music), which sold for $145,000 to Newtown Anner Stud. The Maryland-bred filly was consigned by Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, agent.

Over the course of the session, 149 yearlings sold for a gross of $4,577,300. The average - $30,720 – marked 25.6% and 16.9% increases over 2020 and 2019's first sessions, respectively. The median rose 33.3% to $20,000 from the first-session median of $15,000 achieved in both 2020 and 2019. Eight horses sold for $100,000 during the session, compared to two sold at or above that price point in 2020 and five in 2019. The RNA rate was 16.3%.

Results are available online. The sale resumes Tuesday, October 5 at 10 AM.

*Compared to full sale results.