By Ron Mitchell and Glenye Cain Oakford
A Medaglia d'Oro filly brought a top bid of $1.5 million from Alan Cooper to top the early portion of the Keeneland September yearling sale Sept. 9 in Lexington. Bred in Kentucky by Emory A. Hamilton, the filly was consigned by Gainesway, agent, and was purchased by Cooper on behalf of the Niarchos family.
The filly, produced from the winning A.P. Indy mare Flying Passage, is a half sister to multiple grade II winner Hungry Island and to grade III winner Soaring Empire .
"We've only just bought her, so give us time to work out where she's going to go, but she's going to go to Europe," Cooper said. "We know the family, and it comes from a top, top breeder in Emory and her family. If you're going to try to buy a potential blue hen mare, you have to pay."
Previous to the Medaglia d'Oro filly selling in excess of seven figures, a colt out of Flying Dixie (by Dixieland Band) was hammered down to Nat Rea's Regis Farms for $700,000. The colt, by Candy Ride , was also bred by Hamilton and consigned by Gainesway.
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