By Bloodhorse.com
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 4, 2019) — Grade 2 winner Cheekaboo lit up the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale bid board when she was purchased by K R Japan for $300,000. She was the first horse to achieve six figures during the two-day auction’s first session Feb. 4. The 6-year-old mare (Hip 57) was offered as a broodmare prospect by Small Batch Sales, agent.
A chestnut daughter of top California sire Unusual Heat trained by Peter Eurton for Ciaglia Racing, Burns Racing, and Sharon Alesia, Cheekaboo won or placed in 13 of 24 starts and earned $371,995. She won two stakes as a 3-year-old, including the Honeymoon Stakes (G2T), with three stakes placings. Overall, the mare placed in stakes on five occasions.
In addition to being a grade 2 winner, Cheekaboo descends from a quality female family that includes grade 1 winners Miss Josh and Royal Mountain Inn, among other black-type winners. She was bred in California by Madeline Auerbach, Richard Rosenberg, and Barry Abrams.