Big Brown , the 2008 champion 3-year-old male and dual classic winner, took a major step up as a commercial sire July 12.
Among stallions with three or more sold at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July select yearling sale, Big Brown topped the freshman list by average and ranked number two among all stallions. Four of his yearlings sold for an average of $130,000, well above the sale average of $69,890 and twice his entering-year stud fee of $65,000. Veteran sire Harlan's Holiday, who stands at Kenny Troutt’s WinStar Farm near Versailles, Ky., was the overall leader with an average of $131,000 among stallions with three or more sold.
Big Brown saved his best for the end. The last yearling to sell was one of his daughters, a filly out of the grade I-winning Smoke Glacken mare Irish Smoke sold for $220,000 to Cory Wagner. She was consigned by Select Sales, agent. The price was the co-fifth-highest among the 191 yearlings sold.
Two of Big Brown’s other yearlings also brought six-figure prices. A colt out of the graded stakes-placed Twining mare Twining Star consigned by Hidden Brook, agent, was sold to Richard Rigney for $120,000 and another colt, this one out of the Empire Maker mare Majestic Empress, went to Whisper Hill Farm for $100,000. The latter was consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, agent.
Big Brown (Boundary—Mien, by Nureyev) was voted champion 3-year-old male by virtue of winning the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the Preakness Stakes (gr. I). He stands at Robert N. Clay’s Three Chimney’s Farm near Midway, Ky. His fee this year was $40,000.
Grade I winner Majestic Warrior, second on the freshman list by average with three or more sold and seventh overall, averaged $86,400 with his five yearlings, which works out to 4.3 times his 2009 fee of $20,000, a sure figure of profitability.
The highest-priced individual, a colt out of the producing Hennessy mare Counter Cat, brought $137,000 from Reunion Bloodstock. The colt was consigned by Elm Tree Farm, agent.
Two other Majestic Warrior yearlings also sold for six-figure prices. A colt out of the stakes-placed El Corredor mare Darling Monique consigned by Paramount Sales, agent, was sold for $110,000 to David Scanlon, agent. The other, a colt out of the Thunder Gulch mare Thundercup, was sold to Silverton Hill for $100,000. The colt was consigned by VanMeter Sales, agent.
Winner of the Hopeful Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga, Majestic Warrior (A.P. Indy—Dream Supreme, by Seeking the Gold) stands at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky. His 2011 fee was $10,000.
Not much separated the next two freshman sires by average. Grade I winner Into Mischief averaged $78,333 with his three yearlings, and champion sprinter Midnight Lute averaged $77,875 with his eight. Into Mischief’s average was 6.3 times his 2009 fee of $12,500, and Midnight Lute’s was 3.9 times his 2009 fee of $20,000.
Midnight Lute was represented by two $100,000-plus yearlings and Into Mischief by one. A Midnight Lute colt out of the stakes-winning Valid Expectations mare Stage Stop consigned by Eaton Sales, agent, was sold for $150,000 to Goldmark Farm. The other Midnight Lute yearling, a filly out of the stakes-placed Meadowlake mare Ma Kitty, was bought by Fox Hill Farm for $140,000. Trackside Farm consigned as agent.
Into Mischief’s highest-priced yearling was a filly out of the stakes-placed Lemon Drop Kid mare Kid Majic. Consigned by Gainesway, agent, the filly was bought by Debbie Easter, agent, for $125,000.
A two-time Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) winner Midnight Lute (Real Quiet—Candytuft, by Dehere) stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale, owned by John Sikura, near Lexington. His 2011 fee was $17,500.
Winner of the CashCall Futurity (gr. I), Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday—Leslie’s Lady, by Tricky Creek) stands at B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm near Lexington. His 2011 fee was $8,500.
First-crop sire Tiz Wonderful, who also stands at Spendthrift, was the only other freshman stallion with three or more sold. He averaged $67,500 with his eight yearlings, about 5.4 times his 2009 fee of $12,500. His highest-priced individual, a filly out of the multiple stakes-producing Slew o' Gold mare No More Ironing, sold for $130,000. Consigned by Rosilyn Polan, she was bought by Sagamore Farm.
A two-time graded stakes winner Tiz Wonderful (Tiznow —Evil, by Hennessy) stood in 2011 for $12,500.