Ivywood Angel shares the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile record with Lady H, a Silver Deputy filly that established the $450,000 mark last year.Zayat is the chief executive officer of Al Ahram Beverages Co. Wilkenfeld said Zayat's goal is to develop a top racing stable. He plans to shop at the yearlings sales later this year and also to eventually get involved in breeding.
Ivywood Angel, a racy-looking Unbridled's Song filly with a big white blaze, equaled the record for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training when she brought $450,000 Tuesday during the auction's second session at Timonium, Md.Egyptian/American brewing executive Ahmed Zayat, who lives in New Jersey, was the buyer. He could not attend the auction because he was overseas, but he was represented by a team that included David Wilkenfeld and Tom Mallios, who are helping him build his stable.Zayat, who previously had dabbled in the Thoroughbred business, is making a big push this year to buy young horses and he has spent more than $2 million at juvenile auctions. His trainer is the New York-based Jimmy Toner, who examined Ivywood Angel, but was not present when she sold.Wilkenfeld and Mallios said they were especially impressed by Ivywood Angel's pre-sale work. She covered three furlongs in :34 3/5. "If you look at these horses, they're all geared for speed," Mallios said. "She was one of the few horses, that when she started working, the girl was right up on her. She (the rider) never urged her; she never scraped her neck. When she turned the corner, she (Ivywood Angel) was scraping the rail. She never bore out. And she was one of the few horses that switched her lead at the top of the stretch, where she was supposed to, instead of mid-stretch."Said Wilkenfeld: "This horse looks like she's going to be stronger the longer she goes."Ivywood Angel is out of the 13-year-old stakes-placed Groovy mare Michele Royale, who won six races. Her family also includes graded winner Cagey Exuberance. Ivywood Angel's full brother, Striking Song, sold for $1.4 million at the 2000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling auction.Florida pinhookers Mike Paramore and Tony and Robin Hendrix of Equine Legacy consigned Ivywood Angel. They purchased her for $200,000 at the 2004 Keeneland September yearling sale. Paramore said the filly's breeder, Pollock Farm, owned a quarter-interest in her at the time she was sold at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic.