Sheikh Mohammed’s agent, John Ferguson, went to $400,000 to acquire a son of Birdstone as the top-priced offering at the opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale in Lexington July 20.
The colt, consigned by Dapple Bloodstock as Hip No. 228, was the only Birdstone yearling in the two-day FTK auction and was obviously in high demand. Birdstone, who stands at Gainesway Farm, was represented this year by Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Summer Bird.
Ferguson acknowledged that by having two classic winners this year, Birdstone’s value has gone way up from his $10,000 fee when his now yearling crop was conceived in 2007.
"Any sire who can produce those two horses you have to take seriously," Ferguson said. "This was a very nice colt and Birdstone has blasted onto the sire scene with two classic winners. He is a sire who can do it. This was a very athletic horse so it made sense to follow through. He was a very balanced and correct horse."
He said the price was in line with what he thought the colt would bring.
Bred in Kentucky by Bob Sigler, the Birdstone colt was produced from the unraced Seattle Slew mare Slew Smarts.