Twist of fate results in sale-topping Scat Daddy colt

As much as the story of how Secretariat's ownership was determined by a coin flip, the tale of the $3 million colt who topped Book 1 of Keeneland's September yearling sale illustrates how success in breeding and racing often is shaped by unpredictable twists of fortune.

Fred Mitchell, whose Clarkland Farm bred the Scat Daddy half-brother to exceptional champion Beholder and hot young sire Into Mischief, recalled immediately after the handsome bay colt went through the ring that he was conceived only after his dam had lost an earlier pregnancy that season.

Now the colt will go on to race in Europe for the Coolmore team, with hopes expressed by both MV Magnier and Mitchell that he could eventually become a successor for his star-crossed sire, who died suddenly last year at age 11.