NEWS
Medaglia d’Oro colt sparks sale at $450,000
Posted: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 5:07 PM
HIP 159 - MEDAGLIA D'ORO COLT
PhotosByZ.com/Thoroughbred Times
by Jeff Lowe
The combination of Medaglia d’Oro and John Ferguson provided a familiar spark to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July select yearling sale on Tuesday in the form of a half brother to Grade 2 winner Principle Secret.
Ferguson, the chief bloodstock adviser to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, outlasted B. Wayne Hughes to secure Southern Equine Stable’s Medaglia d’Oro colt for $450,000, the highest price in the sale’s opening session.
Last year, Ferguson went to $425,000 for a Medaglia d’Oro filly who topped the Fasig-Tipton July sale. Medaglia d’Oro stands at Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley in Lexington.
“He was correct and had a good attitude and showed very well,” said Joe Osborne, managing director of Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland, deputizing for Ferguson, who had already departed the sale to catch a plane. “[Ferguson] saw him several times and liked him all the way through.”
Meg Levy’s Bluewater Sales consigned the colt out of Beright, by Gray Slewpy, for Mike Moreno’s Southern Equine, which bought the mare for $275,000 in the 2007 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Principle Secret, by Sea of Secrets, won the 2006 Best Pal Stakes (G2) at Del Mar.
Medaglia d’Oro also accounted for the third-highest price in last year’s sale, a filly who sold for $370,000 to Twin Creeks Racing.
“This colt was by the right sire, he’s a gorgeous mover, he’s a half to a graded stakes winner, and he was placed in the right spot,” Levy said. “I think the market for quality is as strong as it ever was. It’s very similar to what happened last year with the Medaglias, as far as the price. I have to say that, yes, we’re thrilled with the price, but it’s not out of range with what we were expecting. You have to have the right horse.”
Moreno bought Better Than Honour for a world-record broodmare price of $14-million at Fasig-Tipton in 2008. His breeding operation has mostly been geared toward the racetrack.
“I think in this economy everybody thinks about selling,” Levy said. “Everybody has stud fees to pay, and they have quite a large number of mares. He’s a lovely horse. We were lucky enough to get their yearlings. They have another yearling that is outstanding that is in [the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale]. Everybody needs to trade once in a while, set a price, and if it gets there, then great.”
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
