It was a banner Fasig-Tipton July sale for Gainesway this week when the farm consigned four of the top 10 prices during the one-day yearling sale.
Those four included the top two priced offerings when the very last through the ring sold for $600,000 to DJ Stables. A Curlin half-brother to stakes winner and multiple Grade 1-placed Gronkowski, the colt ended the sale with fireworks when spending an extended time in the ring.
“We knew that we had a chance to top the sale,” Gainesway’s Brian Graves told Thoroughbred Daily News. “We brought him here to try to be one of the best colts in the sale. You know how that sometimes works out, sometimes it doesn’t. But it worked out in this case. So, yeah, it’s a good one when it goes as planned.”
One hundred and fifty hips earlier, Gainesway found themselves on top of the leaderboard for the first time when their Gun Runner colt out of Perfect Wife brought $430,000 from De Meric Sales. He was the only yearling by Gun Runner in the sale and got a timely update when his full sister Runaway Wife finished second in the Indiana Oaks (G3) on Saturday.
“The update helped, but just as an individual, he was unbelievable, even without the update or the sire, but if you add all those together that is why we pushed to $410,000,” Tristan de Meric told Blood-Horse. “We loved this horse, he was our pick of the sale, and we knew we would have to stretch on him. We were happy to have the horse.”
West Bloodstock bought the fourth highest priced filly and eighth highest priced yearling overall from Gainesway for $310,000 soon after the Gun Runner colt went through the ring. Purchased for Robert and Lowana Low, her granddam is a half-sister to champion and four-time Grade 1 winner Escena.
A $300,000 colt by Liam’s Map out of Grade 3 winner Flashy American was the third-to-last hip through the ring and was purchased by Tom McCrocklin for Champion Equine.
Selling nine horses at an average of $259,444, Gainesway was second by gross at $2,335,000 with 18 less than the consignor above them.
Next up for Gainesway is the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale where the consignor has 14 head cataloged. That group includes a colt out of champion My Miss Aurelia, a filly out of Grade 1 winner Paola Queen, and colt out of Grade 1 winner Heavenly Love. See the pages for their 14 cataloged here.