Uncle Mo colt raises the roof at $1 million

An Uncle Mo colt named Wall Street Lion commanded the top price during the first session of Book 2 for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale when Mick Flanagan went to $1 million on behalf of China Horse Club and Maverick Racing.

The colt, out of the Graded stakes-placed Street Cry mare Sweet Bliss, is a product of a black-type-rich family developed by Marty and Pam Wygod, who consigned the session-topper through Lane's End.

The Wygods bred the colt's first three dams, getting into the family through the Flying Paster mare Symbolically. The colt's third dam is Grade 1-placed stakes winner Sweet Life, the dam of Grade 1 winners Sweet Catomine and Life Is Sweet. Sweet Bliss finished second in the 2014 Grade 2 Honeymoon Stakes on turf.

Hip 1206: Wall Street Lion

b c Uncle Mo-Sweet Bliss (Street Cry)

Breeder Wygod Equine
Sale price $1,000,000
Buyer China Horse Club & Maverick Racing
Consignor Lane's End, agent for Wygod Equine

"He's a gorgeous athletic colt by a fabulous stallion in Uncle Mo," said Flanagan.

"There's a lot of good blood on the page. There's Street Cry, Machiavellian, there's even a bit of Arch on there so he's got a mix of all those good stallions.

"He's got the physique. His dam was extremely good obviously so we're very happy to get the colt. It's probably a bit more than we wanted to pay but we were really high on him. That's what good horses are making so that's what we had to do."

Lane's End sales director Allaire Ryan said the colt exceeded expectations and is among a group Lane's End strategically placed in the sale after Book 1 because of the probability they would stand out.

"He was really well received in this group," said Ryan. "It exceeded our expectations. But we did have high hopes for him of all the horses we brought up here today.

"To stand out a little more, we wanted to put him in the right spot. It goes along with our strategy for the sale overall this year. We streamlined what we put in Book 1 - we catalogued about 30 fewer head in Book 1 this year - to strengthen Books 2 and 3 so it had a trickle-down effect within our own consignment and it's obviously really paying off.

"We're really pleased to see that strategy we committed to is paying off. It's nice to have a homebred for them (Wygods) go into the sale ring and do well. They have a lot of (other foals out of) the family and felt it would be a good opportunity to sell."

Pioneerof The Nile filly makes $700,000

Barbara Banke's Stonestreet was the first to break through the half-million barrier on Saturday, when it paid $700,000 for a Pioneerof The Nile filly, whose second dam produced 2001 Horse of the Year Point Given.

Taylor Made Sales Agency consigned the filly, who was bred in Kentucky by Susan Casner out of the Grade 2-placed Tiznow mare Live For Now.

Hip 1055

b f Pioneerof the Nile-Live For Now (Tiznow)

Breeder Susan Casner
Sale price $700,000
Buyer Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings
Consignor Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent

"Barbara has been looking for a really nice filly all week and we kept getting out bid," said bloodstock agent John Moynihan, who signed the ticket. "She looks like she'll be really fast and the Casners who bred her, they raise a really good horse. I think the market today is strong. It's really hard to buy."

"Unbridled and Tiznow, that always seems to mix to get a horse that looks like that," said Taylor Made's Duncan Taylor, who added that the activity during the session has been good.

"There are a lot of lookers in Book 2 and you're always hesitant about is the money going to continue to flow," he said. "There will be more of a mixture of horses, high prices and low prices, but there are plenty of people here looking."

More from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale

Stonestreet's Barbara Banke goes to $1.025m for Ghostzapper filly

Coolmore to give American Pharoah chance to prove himself a top turf sire

Sheikh Fahad hoping he has unearthed next Kitten's Joy 'steal'