by B. Jason Brooks
Fillies from Phipps female families at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale ranked among the highest-priced yearlings sold and significantly outpaced the sale average.
A total of seven fillies from Phipps families sold for a total of $3.4 million for an average of $489,286. This is a substantial 19 percent above the sale’s $410,145 average for the fillies sold from non-Phipps families.
Ranking the third highest-priced filly in the Saratoga Sale, Hip #118 is a May foal by Constitution that fetched $900,000. Bred in Kentucky by Newstead, she was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm and purchased by Mike Wallace for partnership Rocket Ship Racing and Gandharvi Racing. Her dam is half a half sister of grade 1 Frizette Stakes winner Nickname, by Scat Daddy, that sold for $3 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.
The Constitution yearling is from the family of Phipps foundation mare Businesslike, a daughter of the great French mare La Troienne, acquired by Ogden Phipps in 1946. This is the deep, winning Phipps family of four-time champion and Hall of Famer Buckpasser and top active family members include Godolphin’s multiple grade 1 winners Matareya, by Pioneer of the Nile, and Pretty Mischievous, by Into Mischief.
Recognizing the well-bred yearling’s strong long-term potential on the track and as a producer, Rocket Ship Racing’s Brook Smith stated (here), “[T]his is the type of filly that would be an incredible broodmare, even if she runs mediocre. But we think she’s going to run well. She’s beautiful…”
Ranking the tenth highest-priced filly of the Saratoga Sale was was Hip #24, a $750,000 Kentucky-bred Omaha Beach filly out of Phipps-bred mare Complicated that was consigned by Indian Creek and purchased by Live Oak Plantation. The yearling is a half-sister of four-year-old Army Mule gelding Churchtown, winner of the black-type Gio Ponti Stakes last year, and three-year-old Honor Code filly Honor D Lady, who placed in the Selena Stakes and Mazarine Stakes, both grade 3 races. Phipps-bred mare Complicated, by Blame, was sold at Keeneland November 2016 Breeding Stock Sale for $110,000.
The Omaha Beach yearling hails from the Educated Risk branch of the Phipps foundation mare Grey Flight, by French-bred sire Mahmoud. This family came into the Phipps fold when Glady Mills Phipps purchased Grey Flight at the 1946 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale for a sale-topping $35,000. Grey Flight’s descendants include three top Phipps homebreds, including Kentucky Oaks winner Dispute, Coaching Club American Oaks winner Smuggler, and Britain’s One Thousand Guineas winner Quick As Lightning.
A third notable high-priced filly of the Saratoga Sale is Hip 198, a $675,000 Kentucky-bred Curlin yearling out of unraced Giant’s Causeway mare Tooken, the dam a full sister of grade 1 Suburban Handicap winner Frost Giant. Ranking the 13th highest-priced filly, she was consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms and purchased by Mike Rutherford.
The Curlin filly’s dam is from the Dance Number branch of Phipps foundation mare Baby League, the latter being another daughter of La Troienne acquired by Ogden Phipps in 1946. One of the top families in the stud book, descendants of Baby League include Kentucky Derby winners Smarty Jones and Super Saver, and grade 1 winners Bluegrass Cat, Boucher, Callback, Dance Number, Girolamo, Got Lucky, Numbered Account, Private Account, and Rhythm. Some of the family’s recent elite winners include champion Forte, by Violence, and Irish-bred Alcohol Free, by No Nay Never, a four-time group 1 winner who sold at the December 2022 Tattersalls Sale for $6.8 million. The family also includes grade 3-winning Include mare Proud Emma, purchased for $1 million by Flightline’s breeder Jane Lions at the 2022 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
The four other attractive fillies from Phipps families that sold at the sale include: Hip #160, by Quality Road, from the Lady Be Good branch of Helvetia, that was consigned by Taylor Made Sales and purchased for $375,000 by Barcardi Bloodstock for DWF; Hip #153, by Omaha Beach, from the Get Lucky branch of Baby League, that was consigned by Four Star Sales and purchased for $275,000 by agent Elliott/McElroy for Amo Racing; Hip #2, by Maclean’s Music, from the Hopefully branch of White Favor, that was consigned by Warrendale Sales and purchased for $250,000 by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Steve Rocco; and, Hip #161, by Authentic, another filly from the Lady Be Good branch of Helvetia, that was consigned by Mulholland Springs and purchased for $200,000 by West Point Thoroughbreds and agent L.E.B.
This crop of yearling fillies from Phipps families did quite well at the boutique Saratoga Sale and will be fun to follow starting next year on the track and for years to come as attractive broodmares. And, given the current success of these families on the track and as producers, one can expect this momentum to carry on into the Keeneland September Yearling Sales.
Phipps Stable Fan 