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| Staff Writer |
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The second session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2YOs in Training Sale on 21st May saw strong interest from international buyers, culminating in Saud Al Qahtani's successful bid of US$650,000 for a colt named Music Critic (Hip 379), sired by Maclean's Music and representing the Najd Stud of HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled Bin Abdulaziz. Earlier this year, Prince Faisal attracted attention for his involvement in the purchase of Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio prior to the Gr.1 Saudi Cup (at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Music Critic, consigned by Eddie Woods, is the offspring of the unraced Malibu Moon mare Two Faced Moon and is a half sibling to the successful horses Big Switch and Hollywood Hills. Furthermore, this colt is part of the same family as Group One winner Yes It's True and graded stakes winner, and Group One-placed, Shancelot. Bred in Kentucky by George Krikorian, Music Critic impressed with an eighth-mile breeze in :10 1/5 during the under tack preview.
Al Qahtani, who said this was his first time buying at Fasig-Tipton, was impressed by the colt and his connections.
"We have the Saudi Derby as our target," said Al Qahtani. "We hope he will do the job. First of all, he has a very good pedigree. He is a good individual, good conformation. (He had) a good breeze. Also, he is from a very good consignor. From A to Z, he looks good. I hope I'm not wrong.
"The market has been good," Al Qahtani added. "So, I had to go for this horse. I think he is one of the good ones."
Imagine Racing and Marne and Margret Fauber were willing to spend US$500,000 on a Curlin colt with the potential pedigree to compete in a Classic race. The colt, consigned as Hip 429 from the Hartley/DeRenzo consignment, met their criteria.
"He's a Curlin. He's got a great female family, it's a fast female family; I know the family well," said Lanni. "He's a big two-turn type of horse."
The family lineage boasts Group One champions such as American Gal and Reynaldothewizard, along with Americanize, Holiday Runner, and Seventh Street who are graded stakes-placed runners.
Lanni acquired Snead for US$325,000 at last year's sale on behalf of the buyers.
"They want a horse that could possibly take them to some Classic races and he can kind of fit that mold. He worked great, looked great," said Lanni.
The Curlin colt was purchased for US$600,000 during the 2023 Keeneland September Sale. Lanni, known for representing trainer Bob Baffert at sales, mentioned that the colt will not be going to the Hall of Famer but will instead be heading to the owners' base in Ocala, Fla., and will be trained by a yet-to-be-named conditioner.
Lanni also expressed that the owners are satisfied with the price they paid and noted the considerable interest in 2YO sales. He emphasized that purchasing 2YOs allows buyers to assess the potential of the young horses based on their performance at a tender age.
Dennis O'Neill attended the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2YOs in Training Sale with the goal of finding a promising horse that could excel as a 3YO. He found what he was looking for when he purchased Hip 305, a Blame colt, for US$400,000 during the early part of the sale's second session.
The colt, consigned by Top Line Sales, is the offspring of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Silent Bond and is a half sibling to stakes winner Winsome. Bred in Kentucky, the colt was bought for US$95,000 by Nova Thoroughbreds at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. During the under tack preview, he breezed an eighth in :10 1/5.
"I thought he was an A-plus physical," O'Neill said. "He vetted good, and he looks like a big, two-turn horse. We'll need to wait on him a little bit. Our guys were looking for a good 3YO, and I thought this was the one in this sale. He wasn't real quick or anything, but he galloped out huge. He has a huge stride on him. He looks like he can run forever. I'm excited about him right now. We'll see how it works out."
Jimbo Gladwell of Top Line Sales said of the colt, "Servando (Espinoza) of Little Farm Equine did all the breaking and training on this colt. They did a great job with him and shipped him in sound. He looked great. We're just the tip of the spear here at the sale. They did all the work, and he looked great."