Uncle Mo colt out of Grade 1 winner Dame Dorothy tops Saratoga at $1.6 million

Anticipation could be felt in the air as you stepped onto the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds in Saratoga Springs.

Consignors and buyers were thrilled to be back for the opening session of the 100th edition of the yearling sale at the Humphrey S Finney Pavilion, as Uncle Mo, Into Mischief, Justify, Street Sense, Tapit, Gun Runner, Good Magic and American Pharoah all grossed $1 million or more.

The most sought-after offspring on Monday were those by Ashford Stud stallion Uncle Mo, who grossed $3,635,000 with six yearlings (four colts and two fillies) changing hands, including Hip 73, the session topper.

Jacob West, tucked away in the far corner of the pavilion, was able to secure the bay colt by Uncle Mo out of the Grade-1 winning Dame Dorothy for Robert and Lawana Low for $1.6 million.

"He's by Uncle Mo, an incredible stallion, out of a Grade 1-winning mare on the dirt that's fast; she's a proven producer," said West. "The mare is throwing runners, so we couldn't be happier to get him."

Breeder Bobby Flay was on hand to congratulate West on acquiring the colt out of the Stone Farm consignment.

"My best racehorse ever," Flay said of Dame Dorothy. "It seems she's been passing down her talent to her progeny, and Jacob has been an amazing supporter of Spice Is Nice [Hip 73's half sister], and now he's got this Uncle Mo colt. I'm thrilled; I know he's going to be in great hands."

From the 110 yearlings catalogued for the first-day session, 70 horses sold for gross receipts of $25,280,000, compared to the first night in 2019, which saw 61 horses sell for a gross of $22,775,000 (an increase of 11 per cent).

The average price of $361,143 decreased by 3.3 per cent compared to 2019's average of $373,361. The RNA (reserve not attained) rate was 27.1 per cent, with 26 horses not meeting their reserve, down from 28.2 per cent in 2019.

While a familiar cast descended upon Saratoga for the sale, some new faces were eager to have the final bid on their top selections.

"A very solid opening session to the 2021 Saratoga Sale," said Boyd Browning jnr, president and CEO of Fasig-Tipton. "Very consistent bidding from start to finish. A very diverse buying group, which was probably the most encouraging sign of all tonight, is the really wide spread of buyers and bidders throughout the evening tonight."

The evening was a return to action for the sale after a year off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Very solid, I think, would be the best description," said Browning. "It wasn't spectacular, but I don't think anybody expected any dramatic, breakout, across-the-board changes.

"There was certainly a very healthy market, very similar, reminiscent of the 2019 marketplace. So all-in-all, we're off to a very good start and it provides a lot of confidence for tomorrow night and moving forward in the 2021 sales season."

Browning, as always, will take full stock of the sale after Tuesday's second session.

"I've always said it's half-time after the first night," he said. "We'll draw [final] conclusions after the sale tomorrow night, but certainly we're off to a good start with lots of good horses to sell tomorrow, so I'm confident and pleased, but we've still got another night's work to do."

Consignors were in good spirits after Monday's session, especially Conrad Bandoroff of Denali Stud, which finished the night as leading consignor by grossing $4 million with seven of seven offerings sold.

He said: "We had an excellent night. A night that we'll remember. It's very special to do it on the opening night of the sale of a century. It's a credit to the horses and to the operations that we get to represent. They entrusted us with some very nice horses.

"We thought we had a nice group of horses coming into the first night, and the buyers agreed with us, which was very rewarding. We're very fortunate that we always have some nice horses to sell up here."

As usual, the sales grounds were crowded outside of the pavilion, while the indoor area was reserved this season for buyers, consignors and members of the media.

Bandoroff added: "The traffic has been phenomenal. Everyone that you expect to see, you've seen. There have been some new faces, and the energy and atmosphere have been fantastic. I think not being here last year, there was some pent-up demand, and everyone's excited to be back."

Buyers who failed to fulfil their orders or whose shortlists were focused on the second half of the catalogue will get their chance on Tuesday, as consignors will continue to have high expectations.

"We certainly were bullish on the group we brought up here, thinking there was going to be good momentum behind the sale and a good atmosphere, and it's worked out so far, but we have another night," said Bandoroff. "Hopefully, we can have a little luck tomorrow too."

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