Finest City, reigning champion female sprinter, will be offered at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale Nov. 6 in Lexington. She will be consigned by trainer Ian Kruljac on behalf of owner Seltzer Thoroughbreds.
Finest City defeated a field that included defending race winner Wavell Avenue and eventual multiple grade 1 winner Paulassilverlining in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) on her way to Eclipse Award honors. The multiple graded stakes winner and millionaire also established a track record for 6 1/2 furlongs with her victory in the 2016 Great Lady M Stakes (G2) at Los Alamitos Race Course.
"Finest City has been a dream to care for," said Kruljac. "Her brilliance, durability, versatility, and personality have given us a lifetime of memories. She has battled the best mares of her generation on any surface and at any distance."
A multiple graded stakes winner at 6 1/2 and seven furlongs on dirt, Finest City also is grade 1-placed on dirt at a mile and 1 1/8 miles. She was beaten just a head by eventual grade 1 winner Avenge in last year's John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T) on turf. She has a 5-6-4 mark from 19 starts and has earned $1,256,394.
A 5-year-old daughter of City Zip, Finest City is out of the multiple stakes performer Be Envied, a daughter of Lemon Drop Kid who is also a multiple stakes producer. Bred in Pennsylvania by HnR Nothhaft Horseracing, her female family includes grade 1 winners Burning Roma and Squander.
Plans call for Finest City to make her final start in this year's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar.
"We are blessed to have one more chapter to write in this year's Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint before she goes to auction and begins a well-deserved career as a broodmare—and passes on her brilliance for years to come," added Kruljac.
Added Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning: "Finest City is a truly special offering—an Eclipse champion and Breeders' Cup champion with the looks and pedigree to match. We're honored that her connections have chosen our November sale for such an exceptional racemare."
