On the 100th anniversary of the Phipps family entering Thoroughbred racing, the sale was also highlighted by the first crop of superstar Flightline, another Saratoga Sale graduate from a Phipps family.

By B. Jason Brooks

Electricity filled air in Fasig-Tipton’s Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion where the 2025 edition of The Saratoga Sale saw yearlings from Phipps female families reaching extraordinary heights. The eight yearlings from Phipps families sold for a for whopping total of $8,095,000 or an average of $1,011,875. Three of the yearlings – two colts and a filly – fetched seven figures, including the sale-topping $4.1 million Into Mischief colt purchased by Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm and John Magnier’s Coolmore.

The average for the eight yearlings from Phipps families (detailed below) outperformed the $606,209 average for the sale’s other 153 yearlings from non-Phipps families by an impressive $405,666 or 66.9 percent.

Half of the eight yearlings from Phipps families were colts, which sold for a combined total of $5,720,000, making the average colt price an impressive $1,430,000. This resulted in a margin of $770,398 or more than double (116.8 percent) the $659,602 average for the 88 colts sold from non-Phipps families.

The four fillies from Phipps families also outperformed those from non-Phipps families, selling for a combined $2,375,000 or an average of $593,750. This was a significant $59,827 or 11.2 percent above the $533,923 average for the 65 fillies sold from non-Phipps families.

With eight out of nine yearlings from Phipps families meeting their reserves, the RNA rate of 11.1 percent was 1.7 percentage-point below the 12.8 percent for the sale’s yearlings from non-Phipps families.

Phipps Family Hits the Century Mark in Thoroughbreds

The success of Phipps families at The Saratoga Sale was extra special because it was the 100th anniversary of Glady Mills Phipps beginning her family’s multi-generational racing dynasty with the first purchase of a Thoroughbred there. At the 1925 Saratoga Sale, she purchased a filly sired by Claiborne Farm’s imported stallion Sarmatian (FR). Named Sturdy Stella, the filly brought Mrs. Phipps and her brother Ogden Livingston Mills’s Wheatley Stable its first win the following February.

Above photo: Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother Ogden Livingston Mills, who co-founded the successful Wheatley Stable. (Charles Christian Cook, The Keeneland Library)

Over the last century, the Phipps family – Glady Mills Phipps, her son Ogden Phipps, grandson Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, granddaughter Cynthia Phipps, and now her great-grandchildren’s Phipps Stable – has bred more than 300 stakes winners. A remarkable 29 of these were champions and eight were elected into the Hall of Fame, including Seabiscuit, Bold Ruler, Buckpasser, Easy Goer, Personal Ensign, Heavenly Prize, Inside Information, and Searching.

While the Phipps family’s winning quickly became habit, capturing the classics took decades of patience, even with their elite bloodstock residing at the Hancock family’s Claiborne Farm and Hall of Fame trainer James E. “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons. Gladys Mills Phipps’s Bold Ruler was the family’s first classic winner in the 1957 Preakness Stakes (G1), followed by Ogden Phipps’s Easy Goer taking the Belmont Stakes (G1) 32 years later in 1989. It would be another 24 years before the ultimate prize of U.S. racing finally came in 2013. Dinny Phipps and his family’s Phipps Stable and Stuart S. Janney III, a grandson of Gladys Mills Phipps, finally earned their long-awaited Kentucky Derby (G1) victory with Orb, which also gave the stable’s long-time Hall of Fame trainer Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey his first Kentucky Derby win.

Above photo: Ogden Phipps and his son Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps at Saratoga in 1973. (BloodHorse Library)

Under the direction of Dinny’s wife Ande, racing manger Daisy Phipps Pulito, and her siblings since Dinny’s passing in 2016, Phipps Stable has continued its successful breeding and racing operation, with a broodmare band ranging from around 15 to 20 mares and winning a dozen stakes races over the last five years.

These recent homebred winners and their top achievements include Dynamic One, by Union Rags – owned in partnership with Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable – who won the 2022 Suburban Stakes (G2) and was a 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) contender; Performer, by Speightstown – owned in partnership with Claiborne Farm – who won the 2019 Discovery Stakes (G3) and 2021 Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3), as well as placed in the 2020 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1); Vigilantes Way, by Medaglia d’Oro, who won the 2021 Eatontown Stakes (G3); and, Surprisingly, by Mastery, who won the 2023 Endeavour Stakes (G3).

Phipps Stable has also had recent success with a couple of purchased colts owned in partnerships, including Shug McGaughey-trained Perform, by Good Magic – owned with Woodford Racing, Lane’s End, Ken Langone, and Lynne and Edward Hudson Jr. – who won the 2023 Federico Tesio Stakes and was a Preakness Stakes (G1) contender that year.

Another recent purchase with deep Phipps bloodlines provided the stable its most recent stakes win with Signator, by Tapit, winning the in the listed Henry S. Clark Stakes in April. Also trained by Shug McGaughey, the 4-year-old colt is having newfound success on the grass. Bred by Gainesway and purchased for $1.7 million from the Eddie Woods Stables consignment at the April 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, he is out of sold Phipps-bred Seeking the Gold mare Pension. Signator is a full brother to 2020 Adirondack Stakes (G2) winner Thoughtfully and half brother to Godolphin-owned 2015 Futurity Stakes (G2) winning-sire Annual Report, by Harlan’s Holiday. In addition to Phipps Stable, Signator’s owner partners includes West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing, Gainesway, Ken Langone, Lynne and Edward Hudson Jr., and Lane’s End.

On those rare occasions when Phipps-bred mares have been sold, they have provided breeders and owners with highly sought-after bloodstock. As a 2010 Thoroughbred Times story noted, “Dinny Phipps has no regrets about the mares his family has sold that turned out well for other breeders. ‘You can’t keep all of them, and you keep the ones that you think you should keep, but you have to get rid of some. You take the good with the bad, but you can’t own them all.’”

The families of those sold Phipps mares continue having success at the highest levels. In looking at the families of graded stakes winners in the U.S. and Canada since the start of 2022, a staggering 112 have been won by horses from Phipps families. Among these recent graded stakes winners, 20 of them have Phipps-bred mares among their first three dams, including eight grade 1 winners. They include undefeated four-time grade 1 winner and 2022 Horse of the Year winner Flightline, by Tapit, whose second dam is Phipps-bred Dynaformer mare Receipt. The 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner entered stud in 2023 at Lane’s End; Zedan Racing’s 2023 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) winner Arabian Lion, by Justify, whose second dam is Phipps-bred A.P. Indy mare Possibility. He entered stud at Spendthrift Farm in 2024; Godolphin homebred three-time grade 1 winner and 2023 champion 3-year-old filly Pretty Mischievous, by Into Mischief. The 2023 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner’s third dam is Phipps-bred Riverman mare Pretty Special; Live Oak Plantation’s 2024 Natalma Stakes (G1) winner And One More Time, by Omaha Beach, whose dam is Phipps-bred Blame mare Complicated. From the dam’s first six foals of racing age, three are graded stakes winners and one is a black-type stakes winners; Repole Stable’s 2022 Frizette Stakes (G1) winner Chocolate Gelato, by Practical Joke, whose dam is Phipps-bred Candy Ride (ARG) mare Special Treat. Her first foal from this year is by Curlin; 2021 Test Stakes (G1) winner Bella Sofia, by Awesome Patriot, whose second dam is Phipps-bred Forty Niner mare Option Contract. She sold as a racing or broodmare prospect for $1,850,000 to Katsumi Yoshida at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton November Sale; and, Gary Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’s 2021 American Oaks (G1) winner Queen Goddess, by Empire Maker, whose second dam is Tale of the Cat mare Bauble. Also purchased by Mr. Yoshida, she sold in foal to Into Mischief for $1.5 million at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. In addition to these elite winners on the flat track, sold Phipps-bred Snap Decision, by Hard Spun out of Unbridled mare Salute, was the 2024 champion steeplechaser after capturing the prestigious American Grand National Stakes (G1), his fifth grade 1 win.

Given this recent elite success, it is no surprise that yearlings from Phipps families averaged more than $1 million at The Saratoga Sale and that Flightline’s first crop did so well.

Sale-Topping $4.1 Million Colt

White Birch Farm and Coolmore’s Saratoga Sale-topping $4.1 million Into Mischief colt (Hip 218) is out of Tapit mare Stellar Sound. Bred by Don Alberto Corporation and consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa, his second through fourth dams are Phipps, from the family of Cynthia Phipps’s foundation mare Ten Cents A Dance, by Buckpasser. With the colt being trained by Chad Brown, he has the same owner and trainer connections as last year’s champion 3-year-old colt Sierra Leone, by Gun Runner, who was 2022 Saratoga Sale topper at $2.3 million from the consignment of Gainesway.

Following the Into Mischief colt’s purchase, Peter Brant spoke to reporters and highlighted the colt’s Phipps pedigree as a factor in why he and the Coolmore team were attracted to him: “He’s a really beautiful horse, well put-together, well-bred. Goes back to great old Phipps blood we really like.”

The colt’s family includes four grade 1-winning stallions descending from Ten Cents A Dance, including Florida-bred Bellamy Road, by Concerto, winner of the 2005 Wood Memorial (G1) for George Steinbrenner’s Kinman Stable; Coolmore’s George Vancouver, by Henrythenavigator, winner of the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) who stands in France; Cynthia Phipps-bred 2013 Man o’ War Stakes (G1) winner Boisterous, by Distorted Humor. He was California’s leading freshman and sophomore sire in 2018 and 2019; and, Cynthia Phipps’s 1996 NYRA Mile Handicap (G1) winner Gold Fever, by Forty Niner. He is the sire of four-time Canadian champion A Bit O’Gold.

The family also includes Cynthia Phipps’s homebred sire Saarland, by Unbridled, who won the 2001 Remsen Stakes (G2) and placed in the 2003 Metropolitan Handicap (G1), and Calumet Farm-bred Mongolian Groom, winner of the 2019 Awesome Again Stakes (G1).

Half Sister to Preakness Winner Seize the Grey

Hip 209 is a filly by Life Is Good out of Smart Strike mare Smart Shopping who went for $1,025,000. Bred by Jamm LTD, the filly is a half sister to grade 1 Preakness winner Seize the Grey, by Arrogate. The filly was consigned by Mill Ridge Sales and purchased by Repole Stable. She and her classic-winning half brother have Phipps mares for their fourth through seventh dams, from the Lady Be Good branch of Phipps foundation mare Helvetia, by Hourless (GB).

A dual-stakes winner, Lady Be Good, by Better Self, is the ancestress of several top-level winners, including a trio of homebreds for Dinny Phipps. She was the second dam of Phipps’s Posse, by Forli (ARG), winner of the prestigious Sussex Stakes (G1) in 1980 in England and was controversially bumped down to runner-up in the English classic Two Thousand Guineas (G1). Lady Be Good was also the third dam of Phipps’s Awe Inspiring, by Slew o’ Gold, the 1989 winner of the Flamingo Stakes (G1) and American Derby (G1), and placed in the Kentucky Derby (G1) before entering stud in Japan. She is also the third dam of sire Mining, by Mr. Prospector, winner of the 1988 Vosburgh Stakes (G1) who stood in Kentucky and Japan.

Lady Be Good is also the ancestress of a trio of classic winners, including the third dam of Chris Wright’s 1991 champion 2-year-old filly Culture Vulture, by Timeless Moment, who won the 1992 French One Thousand Guineas (G1); fourth dam of Arthur Hancock III and Alex Campbells Jr.’s seven-time grade 1 winner Goodbye Halo, by Halo, winner of the 1988 Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Coaching Club American Oaks (G1); and, fourth dam of Royal Ascot Racing Club’s Motivator, by Montjeu (IRE), winner of the 2005 Epsom Derby (G1) in England.

Colt Out of Flightline’s Half Sister

Superstar Flightline’s immediate family was also well-presented at The Saratoga Sale, with Hip 109 fetching $1 million. The colt by Constitution is out of Flightline’s half sister Good On Paper, by War Front. The yearling was bred by William Farish, Ken Langone, and Hronis Racing, consigned by Lane’s End, and purchased by Repole Stable.

Flightline and Good on Paper’s Phipps damline includes second dam Receipt, by Dynaformer; third dam Finder’s Fee, by Storm Cat, winner of the 1999 Matron Stakes (G1) and 2000 Acorn Stakes (G1); fourth dam Fantastic Find, by Mr. Prospector, winner of the 1990 Hempstead Handicap (G1); fifth dam Blitey, by Riva Ridge, a dual graded-winner in 1979 of the Test Stakes (G2) and Maskette Stakes (G2) who also placed in three grade 1 races during her career; and, sixth dam Lady Pitt, by Sword Dancer, the 1966 winner of the Mother Goose Stakes, Coaching Club American Oaks, and Delaware Oaks after having finished runner-up in the Kentucky Oaks.

The 1966 champion 3-year-old filly Lady Pitt was bred by John Greathouse, owned by Thomas Eazor’s Golden Triangle Stable, and acquired privately by Ogden Phipps in 1969 for his broodmare band residing at Claiborne Farm. For Phipps, she produced The Liberal Member, by Bold Reason, who won the 1981 Brooklyn Handicap (G1) and Blitey, mentioned above.

Blitey produced three grade 1 winners for Ogden Phipps, including Dancing Spree, by Nijinsky II (CAN), winner of the 1989 Suburban Handicap (G1), 1989 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), and 1990 Carter Handicap (G1), and entered stud in Europe; Flightline’s above-mentioned fourth dam Fantastic Find; and, Easy Goer mare Furlough, winner of the 1999 Ballerina Handicap (G1).

Four of Blitey’s daughters – Fantastic Find, Oh What a Dance, Dancing All Night, and Furlough – have produced successful families for the Phippses and other breeders who have been fortunate enough to buy into them.

Flightline’s fourth dam Fantastic Find is also the third dam of Wertheimer & Frere’s Junko (GB), by Intello (GER), winner of last year’s Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern (G1) at Munich Racecourse and the Hong Kong Vase (G1) at Sha Tin.

Unraced mare Oh What a Dance, by Nijinsky II (CAN), heads a branch of Blitey’s family that includes five Phipps homebred grade 1 winners. She is dam of Hall of Famer Heavenly Prize, by influential Phipps-bred sire Seeking the Gold, an eight-time grade 1 winner and 1994 champion 3-year-old, and her full sister Oh What a Windfall, winner of the 1998 Matron Stakes (G1). Oh What a Dance is the second dam of sire Good Reward, by Storm Cat, winner of the 2004 Hollywood Derby (G1) and 2005 Manhattan Handicap (G1), and sire Dancing Forever, by Rahy, winner of the 2008 Manhattan Handicap (G1). Going another generation further, Oh What a Dance is the third dam of Persistently, by Smoke Glacken, winner of the 2010 Personal Ensign Stakes (G1), and Instilled Regard, by Arch, winner of the 2020 Manhattan Stakes (G1). Instilled Regard was bred by KatieRich Farm, owned by OXO Equine, and entered stud in Kentucky in 2021 at Taylor Made Farm.

Blitey’s other Nijinsky II mare Dancing All Night won the 1988 Long Island Handicap (G2) and is the second dam of Bigger Picture, by Badge of Silver, who won the 2017 United National Stakes (G1) as a gelded 6-year-old while setting a course record at Monmouth. Bigger Picture was bred by Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey and owned by Three Diamonds Farm.

Sired by Easy Goer, Blitey grade 1-winner Furlough is the second dam of the above-mentioned graded stakes winners Annual Report, Thoughtfully, and Phipps Stable’s co-owned recent stakes winner Signator.

Other Yearlings Sold from Phipps Families

In addition to the three yearlings from Phipps families who each brought $1 million or more at The Saratoga Sale, there were three fillies and two colts from Phipps families who also sold. A ninth yearling from a Phipps family attracted a hefty top bid, but did not meet his reserve.

Hip 94, a Nyquist filly out of Godolphin-bred Street Sense mare Fend sold for $550,000. Consigned by Darby Dan and purchased by Resolute Bloodstock, the filly is a three-quarter sibling to Felissa Dunn’s Outwork colt Kentucky Outlaw, winner of the black-type Long Branch Stakes in May. The dam is a half sister to Nyquist mare Turnerloose, winner of the 2022 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) for owners Abbondanza Racing, Medallion Racing, and Ike and Dawn Thrash. The filly’s third dam is Menifee mare Game Face, Zabeel Racing International’s winner of the 2009 Princess Rooney Handicap (G1).

The Nyquist filly’s seventh through 11th dams are Phipps, from the High Voltage branch of Phipps foundation mare Erin, by Transmute. Foaled in 1927, Erin’s breeder Harry Payne Whitney sold her privately to Phipps’s Wheatley Stable and she went on to win the 1929 Rosendale Stakes, 1930 Gazelle Stakes, and notably placed in the 1930 fillies classic Coaching Club American Oaks.

Through her daughter Bransome, by Royal Minstrel (GB), Erin is the third dam of 1954 champion 2-year-old filly High Voltage, by Ambiorix (FR). She won ten stakes races for the Phippses, including the 1955 Coaching Club American Oaks. High Voltage is the second dam of Phipps homebred Majestic Light, by Majestic Prince, the 1976 winner of the Swaps Stakes (G1) and Monmouth Invitational Handicap (G1) and the 1977 winner of the Amory L. Haskell Handicap (G1) and Man o’ War Stakes (G1). High Voltage is also the seventh dam of Pamela Ziebarth’s homebred Tiz Flirtatious, by Tizbud, winner of the 2013 Rodeo Drive Stakes (G1).

From a different branch of her family, Erin’s descendants also include two unforgettable winners for the Janney and Phipps families. Through her daughter Bold Irish, by Fighting Fox, Erin is the third dam of Stuart S. Janney Jr. and Barbara Phipps Janney’s homebred Hall of Famer Ruffian, by Reviewer, and seventh dam of Stuart S. Janney III and Phipps Stable’s homebred 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb, by Malibu Moon.

Hip 197 is a filly by Life Is Good out of multiple graded stakes-winning Verrazano mare Seek and Destroy who sold for $500,000. Consigned by Indian Creek and purchased by Repole Stable, the filly is a half sister to William Harrigan-bred Tammy the Torpedo, by More Than Ready, the 2016 winner of the Suwannee River Stakes (G3) and Violet Stakes (G3).

The Life Is Good filly’s second through ninth dams are Janney and Phipps mares, from the Narrative branch of Bell Histoire, by Blue Larkspur. Belle Histoire is a daughter of Col. Edward R. Bradley’s blue hen mare La Troienne (FR), by Teddy (FR), regarded as one of the most important broodmares of the 20th century. Belle Histoire’s War Relic mare Narrative is the second dam of Phipps-bred 1972 champion older male Autobiography, by Sky High II (AUS), a 15-length winner of the 1972 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Narrative is the fifth dam of the late French owner Ecurie Wildenstein’s Bright Sky (IRE), by Wolfhound, winner of the 2002 classic French Oaks (G1) at Chantilly; sixth dam of Janney and Phipps homebred Carriage Trail, by Giant’s Causeway, winner of the 2008 Spinster Stakes (G1); and, sixth dam of Bobby Flay-owned Her Smile, by Include, winner of the 2011 Prioress Stakes (G1).

Hip 53 is a Quality Road colt out Dynaformer mare Bourbonesque who sold for $450,000. Consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock and purchased by Spendthrift Farm, the colt is a half brother to the above-mentioned grade 1 winner Mongolian Groom, by Hightail. The colt’s second through fourth dams are Phipps, from the Versailles Treaty branch of Ten Cents A Dance, the same family as the $4.1 million Saratoga Sale-topping Into Mischief colt highlighted above.

Hip 131 is a Quality Road filly out of multiples stakes-placed Florida-bred Midshipman mare Just Talkin who went for $300,000. Consigned by Lane’s End and purchased by Woodford Thoroughbreds, the dam is a full-sister to Lady Shipman, winner of the 2016 Royal North Stakes (G3) and runner-up by a neck the prior year in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1). Lady Shipman is the dam of Florida-bred freshman sire Golden Pal, by Uncle Mo, Coolmore’s winner of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) and the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).

The yearling’s sixth through ninth dams are Phipps, from Bold Ruler mare My Boss Lady’s branch of Bubbling Over mare Baby League, the latter being another daughter of La Troienne (FR). In addition to being the seventh dam of Golden Pal, Boss Lady is the dam of sold Phipps-bred Landscaper, by Herbager, a longshot winner of the 1978 Century Handicap (G1).

Hip 145 is colt by Liam’s Map out of Into Mischief mare Loving Promise who fetched $170,000. Consigned by Runnymede Farm and purchased by agent Maddie Mattmiller, the third dam is stakes winner Shandra Smiles, by Cahill Road, a multiple grade 1-producer of Rodney Orr-bred champion She’s A Tiger, by Tale of the Cat, and her three-quarter sibling Smiling Tiger, by Hold That Tiger. The yearling’s ninth dam is Phipps homebred Adventurous, by Discovery. Adventurous is the fourth dam of John Fellows-trained Escaline (FR), by Arctic Tern, winner of the 1983 French Oaks (G1).

In addition to the eight sold yearlings from Phipps families, Hip 174, a Gun Runner colt out Arch mare Nonna Mela fetched a hefty top bid of $875,000 but did not meet his reserve for consignor Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa. The colt’s third through tenth dams are Phipps, from the Mr. Prospector mare Get Lucky’s branch of Baby League. Grade 1-winning sires from the family of Get Lucky include WinStar Farm’s 2010 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Super Saver, by Maria’s Mon; WinStar’s 2006 Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) winner Bluegrass Cat, by Storm Cat, who also finished runner-up in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1); Godolphin’s 2010 Vosberg Stakes (G1) winner Girolamo, by A.P. Indy; and, Phipps Stable’s homebred 2014 Man o’ War Stakes (G1) winner Imagining, by Giant’s Causeway. Other top-level winners from the family include Hill ‘n’ Dale and Philip Steinberg’s homebred 2015 Spinster Stakes (G1) winner Got Lucky, by A.P. Indy; Spendthrift Farm’s 2015 Las Virgenes Stakes (G1) winner Callback, by Street Sense; and, Repole Stable’s 2022 Frizette Stakes (G1) winner Chocolate Gelato, by Practical Joke. Callback and Chocolate Gelato were both bred by Vincent Colbert who purchased their Phipps-bred dams.

Flightline’s First-Crop Sale Success

Mr. Brant’s reference to this year’s Saratoga Sale topper’s Phipps bloodlines is reminiscent of a similar statement made by Flightline’s breeder Jane Lyon in an October 2022 BloodHorse video interview (here). In describing the reasons why she bought Flightline’s dam Feathered, by Indian Charlie, for her broodmare band at Summer Wind Farm, she stated that it was “because she came from the very strong Phipps family breeding program.”

Among the multitude of recent elite winners from Phipps families, Flightline is simply a superstar that stands out from the rest after capping off his undefeated career with an 8 ¼-length romp in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). His first crop hit The Saratoga Sale this year and the Lane’s End Farm stallion did not disappoint, with eight yearlings averaging $887,500, including the highest-priced first-crop yearling of the sale.

The top Flightline seller was Hip 176, a $1.8 million colt out of Hronis Racing’s graded stakes-placed Quality Road mare Park Avenue. The yearling has a lot of the same connections as his sire, including co-breeder Summer Wind Equine (in partnership with Sarah S. Farish) and consignor Lane’s End, which consigned Flightline for $1 million at the 2019 Saratoga Sale. Flightline’s yearling colt was purchased by John Oxley and West Point Thoroughbreds, the latter being a part owner of Flightline during his racing career.

Flightline’s top-priced filly in the sale also reached seven figures, with West Point Thoroughbreds going to $1.1 million for Hip 34 who is out of American Pharoah mare All American Dream. The filly is a half sister to Zedan Racing’s 3-year-old colt Barnes, by Into Mischief, winner of the grade 2 San Felipe Stakes in March and who was the second-highest-priced yearling of the 2023 Saratoga Sale at $3.2 million.

In addition to his Phipps female family, Flightline is carrying on one of the top tail-male sire lines, tracing back to the excellent Phipps homebred Bold Ruler, by Nasrullah. Standing at Claiborne Farm, Bold Ruler was the leading general sire eight times and is the sire of the great Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

Given the overwhelming success of yearlings from Phipps families at the boutique Saratoga Sale, one can expect their continued high demand at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale running from September 8th to the 20th. Keeneland’s Book 1 includes more than a dozen yearlings from Phipps families who are half siblings to recent graded stakes winners, as well as Phipps-bred colts by Maxfield (Hip 664) and War of Will (Hip 3891). Flightline is also represented in the sale with a stunning 64 yearlings from his impressive first book or mares. Look for the fireworks we saw in Saratoga to return in Lexington!