A Yonaguska half-brother to Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner and BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (gr. I) runner-up Mine That Bird brought $485,000 during the opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training May 18 in Timonium, Md. Dogwood Stable purchased the dark bay or brown colt from Cary Frommer, agent for Paul Saylor.
Dogwood president Cot Campbell, sitting in his office in Aiken, S.C., offered his bids over the telephone through Fasig-Tipton’s Peter Penny.
“It was as far as I was going,” Campbell said of the colt’s price. “It was a lot of money, especially for me, but I think considering his family, considering the individual, and considering his background and what I think would be good residual value, the price was OK.”
Produced from the 7-year-old unraced Smart Strike mare Mining My Own, the colt was bred in Kentucky by Peter Lamantia, James Blackburn, and Needham/Betz Thoroughbreds. Needham-Betz consigned Mine That Bird’s half-brother to the 2008 Keeneland September yearling auction, where Frommer, as agent, purchased him for $72,000.
Frommer then consigned the colt to this year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March juvenile auction, where Saylor purchased him for $100,000.
The colt worked an eighth of a mile in :10 2/5 prior to the OBS sale, but only galloped before the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic auction because Saylor didn’t want to stress him further.
“I liked the horse, and certainly on Saturday afternoon, Mine That Bird proved that he is the ‘Real McCoy’ and then some; that certainly strengthened my interest in this colt,” Campbell said. “I loved the way this colt galloped. I know his connections and have confidence in the background of the horse. He passed the vet with flying colors and would, I think, have some residual value.
“It’s certainly fine they didn’t breeze him. I thought he extended well when he galloped. He bowed his neck and took hold of the bit and acted like he wanted to get on with it. He reached out with great purpose and had a beautiful way of moving. You could have put a glass of water on his hind end and it wouldn’t have spilled.
"He’s a lovely mover, and he has got the right family behind him. You could send him to the races, I think, with a great deal of confidence.”
Campbell said the colt would be shipped to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Todd Pletcher will be his trainer.
“I don’t know who the underbidder was; I know the Mine That Bird people were in for a while,” Campbell said. “I’m told that the owner (Saylor) wants to stay in for a piece, but that’s indefinite at this point.”
Campbell said he would talk to Saylor about the possibility of his continued involvement in the colt’s ownership.