Half Ours brings $6.1 million at Keeneland's opening session

Last updated: 11/6/06 8:07 PM

Half Ours brings $6.1 million at Keeneland’s opening
session

Record-setting session-topper Half Ours will return to Todd Pletcher’s barn
(Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com)

Undefeated stakes-winning colt HALF OURS (Unbridled’s Song) was sold to Aaron
Jones for $6.1 million to top Monday’s opening session of the Keeneland November
Breeding Stock Sale in Lexington, Kentucky. That price set a Keeneland record
for a horse in training, surpassing the former mark of $4.6 million commanded by
champion Open Mind in November 1989.

The gray sophomore was offered by
Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Jones and Barry Schwartz, as a racing or stallion
prospect and went through the ring as Hip No. 295.

Jones said that he will now be the sole owner of the colt, who will
return to trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn in an attempt to score a Grade 1
victory before retiring to stud.

Last year, Half Ours won both his starts by daylight for Pletcher. After romping by 10 3/4 lengths in his debut at Keeneland, he landed
the Three Chimneys Juvenile S. by 4 1/4 lengths at Churchill Downs on Kentucky
Derby (G1) Day. Sidelined since then, Half Ours returned to the worktab in
October at Belmont Park, with his most recent move a five-furlong drill in 1:02
on October 30.

Half Ours is the first foal from the winning Storm Cat mare Zing,
who is a full sister to stakes victor Yankee Gentleman and a half-sister to
Grade 3-placed Key Deputy (Deputy Minister). Half Ours’ second dam is Grade 1
queen Key Phrase (Flying Paster).

Grade 1 winner MADCAP ESCAPADE (Hennessy), Hip 173, attracted a bid of $6
million from Hill ‘n’ Dale Bloodstock. Consigned by Claiborne Farm, agent, the
five-year-old bay mare was bred to A.P. Indy and Pulpit and was last covered on
April 15.

Madcap Escapade won seven of nine starts, six of them stakes, including the
2004 Ashland S. (G1) and Forward Gal S. (G2) as well as the 2005 Princess Rooney
H. (G2), Shirley Jones H. (G2) and Madison S. (G3). In addition, she finished
third in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). Over two seasons of racing, Madcap Escapade
earned $1,052,852.

Hill ‘n’ Dale later went to $4.5 million to acquire Madcap Escapade’s dam,
multiple stakes winner SASSY PANTS (Saratoga Six), from the consignment of
Dromoland Farm, agent. Cataloged as Hip 245, the 14-year-old mare is in foal to
Storm Cat on a June 25 cover.

Sassy Pants has also produced Grade 1-winning sprinter Dubai Escapade
(Awesome Again). Successful in this year’s Ballerina Breeders’ Cup S. (G1),
Madison S. (G2) and Vagrancy H. (G2), Dubai Escapade had been entered in
Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) before withdrawing because of injury.

Out of the winning Special Portion (Czaravich), Sassy Pants is a half-sister
to stakes winners Apalachee Special (Apalachee) and Delicatessa (Dare and Go).

A colt by Giant’s Causeway, Hip 279, was the highest-priced weanling,
fetching $1,050,000 from My MeadowView Farm. Consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales
Agency, agent, the bay is a half-brother to 2002 Futurity S. (G1) winner Whywhywhy (Mr. Greeley) and this year’s San Antonio H. (G2) winner Spellbinder
(Tale of the Cat).

The Kentucky-bred is out of the winning Quiet American mare Thorough Fair, a
half-sister to stakes-placed Harrington Sound (Cahill Road). His third dam is
the Grade 1-placed stakes producer Equal Change (Arts and Letters).

On Monday, 164 horses were sold for a total of $83,795,000, a decline of 14.6
percent from last year’s opening session, when 180 horses brought $98,121,000.
The average dipped 6.3 percent, from $545,117 to $510,945, while the median fell
5.6 percent, from $315,000 in 2005 to $297,500 this year.

Taylor Made Sales Agency ranked as the leading consignor, selling 54 for
$28,440,000. Next came Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, which sold 17 for
$11,935,000, and Three Chimneys Sales, whose 20 sellers commanded $8,360,000.

Hill ‘n’ Dale Bloodstock was the session’s top buyer, spending $14,080,000 on
six horses. Aaron Jones bought just one, but the session-topping price of $6.1
million put him second on the list, followed by Stonestreet Thoroughbred
Holdings, which took home seven lots for $5,250,000.

The sale continues Tuesday at 10 a.m. (EST). For complete results, visit
keeneland.com.

HORSES
SELLING FOR MORE THAN $2 MILLION

HIP	PRICE	NAME, SEX, AGE, PEDIGREE AND MATED TO (IF APPLICABLE)	CONSIGNOR	BUYER
295	$6,100,000	HALF OURS, c, 3, Unbridled’s Song-Zing, by Storm Cat	Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Jones and Schwartz	Aaron Jones
173	$6,000,000	MADCAP ESCAPADE, m, 5, Hennessy-Sassy Pants, by Saratoga Six; in foal to Pulpit	Claiborne Farm, agent	Hill ‘n’ Dale Bloodstock
245	$4,500,000	SASSY PANTS, m, 14, Saratoga Six-Special Portion, by Czaravich; in foal to Storm Cat	Dromoland Farm, agent	Hill ‘n’ Dale Bloodstock
244	$2,700,000	RUNWAY MODEL, m, 4, Petionville-Ticket to Houston, by Houston; in foal to Storm Cat	Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent	Summer Wind Farm
210	$2,100,000	PAMPERED PRINCESS, m, 6, Indian Charlie-Crafty Ember, by Crafty Prospector; in foal to Unbridled’s Song	Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent	Summer Wind Farm