By TDN
TIMONIUM, Md. (May 20, 2015) — Hip 400 was led out unsold at $160,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida sale at Gulfstream Park in March, but the Bluegrass Cat colt had flourished in the interim and sold in Timonium Tuesday for $450,000. Bluegrass Cat stands in California.
Taylor Made’s Jacob West, sitting alongside pedigree consultant Eddie Rosen, made the winning bid on behalf of an undisclosed client. Todd Pletcher, who conditioned the juvenile=s Grade I-winning sire, will train the colt.
“Taylor Made actually sold him as a yearling and it’s well documented in our system that we loved him,” commented West. “We just had to give a little bit more for him now.”
Out of Unbridled Melody (Unbridled’s Song), the colt is a full-brother to stakes winner Michael With Us and a half to Grade I-placed Tourist (Tiznow). After working a furlong in :10 1/5 at Gulfstream in March, he worked a co-bullet in :10 flat in Timonium last week.
“I think in Florida, he was a victim of being around a lot of horses that were stallion prospects,” West said. “And everybody was looking for the athlete and the pedigree. But here, you’ve got to get the athlete. It’s a testament to this sale–and there is no knock on the stallions–but it’s a testament to the sale when the top three horses over the past two years that have come out of this sale have been by Offlee Wild, Afleet Alex and Big Brown. You’ve got to buy the athlete at this point in time.”
Bidding for the same clients earlier in Tuesday’s session, West signed the ticket at $360,000 for hip 342, a filly by Tale of the Cat.
“Those were our two stars of the sale and we landed the final punches and got them home,” West said. The Bluegrass Cat colt was consigned by Raul Reyes’s Kings Equine, which purchased him for $90,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale.
“We expected him to sell well and he sold well,” Reyes commented. “He looked better here. He wasn’t doing as well in Florida–his coat didn’t look that good. But he shined here.”