THE Gulfstream Sale celebrated its fifth anniversary at its present venue with gains across the board and record highs, topped by a fireworks display late in the day. This occurred when a son of Curlin became the highest priced two-year-old ever to be sold at Gulfstream.

Sold for $3,650,000 after a near nine-minute bidding war to Jamie McCalmont and Donato Lanni, agents for M.V. Magnier, he was from the consignment of Crupi’s New Castle Farm and worked a furlong in 10 seconds flat during Monday’s breeze. He is a half-brother to Group 1-placed stakes winner Arabian Hope and from the family of Grade 1 winning juvenile Streaming, European champion Thewayyouare and back-to-back Grade 1 Belmont Stakes winners Rags To Riches and Jazil.

Magnier was the dominant buying force at the sale and, through Jamie McCalmont, paid $1,650,000 for a son of American Pharoah from the consignment of Irishman Eddie Woods. He bought the half-brother to Grade 1 Florida Derby winner Ice Box, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby, for $215,000 as a yearling.

MILLIONAIRE

Magnier was on hand himself to buy the first millionaire into the ring, a son of Into Mischief sold by Steven Venosa. This $400,000 yearling pinhook is out of a stakes wining mare and this was the second year in a row that the vendor sold a yearling for a million, and to Coolmore.

Emmanuel de Seroux’s Narvick International paid $1,200,000 for a son of Medaglia D’Oro, but did not reveal the purchaser, other than to say the colt would race in the USA. This Bobby Dodd-consigned colt realised almost four times his yearling purchase price of $310,000.

Larry Best’s OXO Equine went to $1,500,000 to secure the sale’s top filly, a daughter of Into Mischief, offered by Tom McCrocklin as agent. She is from the family of Grade 1 winner Marketing Mix. This is the highest price paid for a filly at Gulfstream, and the equal second highest price for any filly sold at a Fasig-Tipton Florida sale. The purchase marks a familiar return for Best, who bought another Into Mischief at this sale last year for a co-sale topping $1,200,000.

He went on to become last year’s Grade Best Pal Stakes winner and current Kentucky Derby hopeful Instagrand (sold by Eddie Woods).

The top-priced filly was sold as a foal for $165,000 and made profit when selling as a yearling for $450,000. The second best filly was a daughter of Curlin and she too has been a multiple visitor to the sale.

She was sold in utero for $300,000, made $250,000 as a weanling, made a profit when trading as a yearling at $470,000 and nearly trebled again in value as a two-year-old, selling to Ben McElroy for $1,300,000. The agent was acting for KSI and M.V. Magnier.

“[We were] very pleased with the vibrancy of the market,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “There was a tremendous demand for a quality horse.” On the sale topper, he added, “I don’t think anybody was really shocked. You could sense and feel that he was a special colt.”

Overall, 59 juveniles sold for $29,115,000, a 24% increase from 2018. The average rose 28% to $493,475, while the median grew 27% to $375,000. The gross, average, and median are all Gulfstream Sale records.