A Harlan’s Holiday colt topped the Fasig-Tipton July yearling sale in Kentucky on Tuesday.
The Kentucky Sale is the first major of the 2011 yearling selling season and trade reached $13.34 million. The average of $69,890 was down 7% but the median of $60,000 was up 20% from a year ago. In another encouraging development, the clearance rate improved two points to 74%.
The Harlan’s Holiday colt was consigned by Crossroads Sales and was purchased by Stonestreet’s Barbara Banke and George Bolton for $310,000. Banke is the widow of the late Jess Jackson who raced stakes winner Astrology in partnership with Bolton.
Sheikh Mohammed’s bloodstock manager John Ferguson was the immediate under-bidder and trainer Dale Romans also tried buy the sturdy bay yearling.
“He’s a big, physical colt with great presence,” Crossroads spokesman Greg Burchell said. “He has a wonderful constitution. He is by a productive stallion right now. His mother put some size on him. He has a beautiful walk and a lovely body.”
Harlan’s Holiday is a Storm Cat line stallion who has sired 20 stakes winner in five crops. He is based at WinStar Farm for a $25,000 fee and shuttles to La Mission Stud in Argentina where he stands alongside Fusaichi Pegasus.
His sale topper is from the stakes-placed mare Acrosstheborder (Include). Second dam Canadian Envoy (Deputy Minister) was a stakes winner and is the second dam of two other stakes winners.
Stonestreet Stables agent John Moynihan said his orders have not changed since the death of Jackson. “We’re still looking for good horses, and when we see one we’ll buy one. The Harlan’s Holiday colt is certainly one of the better horses in the sale.”
Stonestreet also a acquired a Dehere filly for $220,000. She was only filly in the Top 10 leader-board until a Tapit – Easily filly from Gainesway Farm made $300,000 towards the end of trade.
The only Tapit colt in the sale was purchased by Aaron Cohen’s Arc Bloodstock for $200,000. He is from the Storm Cat mare Shadow Of Storm and hails from the immediate family of G1 winner Sky Mesa and European G2 winner Della Francesca. “He is a gorgeous looking colt,” Cohen said. “He looks a lot like Storm Cat.”
Another Harlan’s Holiday on the leaderboard was the colt out of the Dixieland Band mare Shiny Band. He was purchased by Patrice Miller of EQB for $225,000. Moynihan was the under-bidder.
Bred in Louisiana, the colt had been purchased at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton November sale for $35,000. His dam Shiny Band won the G3 Shuvee Handicap at Belmont Park and is a half-sister to G1 winner Shine Again.