Malibu Moon leads Lexington Sale | Thoroughbred Express

Spendthrift Farm sire Malibu Moon led the Fasig-Tipton Lexington yearling sale on Tuesday with a $375,000 colt bought by trainer Kenny McPeek.

Malibu Moon (A P Indy) stands for a $70,000 fee at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky and his sale-topper is from stakes-placed Wild Again mare Uncontrollable. “I trained the mother, and I thought he was a better version of her,” McPeek said. “He is typical of the type I like anyway. He ought to be a nice, two-turn type of horse.”

McPeek bought the colt on behalf of Montana based owners Carter Stewart and Ken Schlenker who race recent G2 Tampa Bay Derby runner-up Golden Ticket. “The price was higher than we were looking to pay,” McPeek added. “A good one is hard to buy, and average horses are easy to buy. Hopefully a year from now we will be getting him geared up for a nice campaign.”

Fasig-Tipton reported the average increased to $81,291 this year. That was up 16% from the 2011 figures. The median was steady at $60,000.

Australian shuttlers with lots sold and their averages included:

ANY GIVEN SATURDAY 1 sold @ $35,000 average

ARTIE SCHILLER 1 @ $190,000

BERNARDINI 1 @ $250,000

BIG BROWN 2 @ $135,000

CONGRATS 4 @ 48,000

HARD SPUN 1 @ $170,000

HENNY HUGHES 1 @ $23,000