When the bay colt by Hard Spun strutted into the Fasig-Tipton auction ring July 8, a bidding war immediately began. Informed Patriot (Hip 523), who was most recently third in the July 6 Indiana Derby (G3) at Horseshoe Indianapolis, became the desire of three Saudi Arabian bidders who drove the colt’s final price to a record-shattering $1.55 million for the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale.
Ibrahim Rachid signed the winning ticket on behalf of Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz, who has made a start in The Saudi Cup—the world’s richest Thoroughbred race—the goal for the 3-year-old colt. Rachid, an adviser to Salman, said his directive in bidding for the colt was ‘Go for it, don’t stop at all.’
“He is a good, clean horse. It just so happened that two princes wanted him, so he went for that money. I just think he was the best horse in this sale,” he said.
Taylor Made Sales Agency consigned Informed Patriot, who is a full brother to millionaire and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Spun to Run. Both are out of the stakes-winning mare Yawkey Way (Grand Slam), who is the dam of four stakes winners. Informed Patriot was bred by Gainesway and Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm. The co-breeders bought the mare for $600,000 during the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale from the Taylor Made consignment.
Ibrahim Rachid, who purchased Hip 523 on behalf of Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale
J. Kirk and Judy Robison later bought Informed Patriot for $90,000 from Gainesway during the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He went on to win the Bathhouse Row Stakes at Oaklawn Park and also placed in the Street Sense Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. He had $349,980 in earnings heading into the Fasig-Tipton sale.
The previous July Horses of Racing Age record was held by Bedford Land, who sold for $1,075,000 in 2014 as part of a dispersal of stock owned by the late owner/breeder Eugene Melnyk in 2014. For horses not offered in a dispersal, the sale’s highest price was $710,000 for Tizcano, a colt by Tiznow, who also sold in the 2014 sale.
The average for the July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale was up compared to 2023, with an average of $103,208, a median of $62,000 and gross sales of $6,708,500 from 65 horses sold. The buy-back rate was 21%.
A year ago, this sale sold significantly more horses, with 144 bringing a gross of $14,052,000. The 2023 average was $97,583.
“We had fewer horses this year; and that’s a function of the success of the digital sales,” said Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. “Some horses are better suited for a digital sale, and some are better suited for a live sale. That’s what we’re here to do is serve the marketplace. We’re pro digital sale and we’re pro live horse sale. I think we saw some of the magic today, of a live horse sale.”
Even without considering the $1.55 million colt, Browning called the session “a very good sale.”
“There was good trade and a lot of activity for those horses. Horse for horse, I thought horses sold really well. No question about it,” he said.
Browning said he was not surprised to see such strong international interest, particularly from Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and Bahrain are areas that have an increased interest in dirt racing; and the one thing that is clear, is the best dirt racehorses in the world are coming from the United States,” he said. “It is a natural progression that paid dividends today.”
Cats by Five , a 3-year-old colt by Audible consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, fetched the second-highest price of the sale at $400,000. He will also head overseas after quarantine.
Dubai-based trainer Doug Watson teamed up with Kentucky bloodstock agent Conor Foley to secure the colt for RRR Racing owner Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi.
Cats by Five (Hip 454) is out of the Bluegrass Cat mare Catticus. He is a half brother to Bob’s Edge, winner of the Whitmore Stakes (G3), and hails from the immediate family of graded-stakes winning millionaire Restrainedvengence.
“He has that early speed, which you need at that track at Meydan,” said Watson. “You don’t have to be on the lead, but you need to be able to travel; and a horse like this—a 3-year-old who just ran second to older horses—just kind of ticked all the boxes.”
The sale action continues July 9 at 10 a.m. ET with the Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings.
“We’re looking forward to tomorrow,” said Browning. “The activity on the sales ground has been good, both on racehorses and yearlings. We’re encouraged by the results today and look forward to the continuation of the momentum tomorrow.”
