Oct 27, 2023 – The final stop on the North American yearling sales tour, Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky October Yearlings Sale has developed into one of the nation’s leading Thoroughbred auctions. Over the course of three days, 1,064 thoroughbreds were sold for a total of $51,120,000 at an average sale price of $48,045 and a median price of $24,000.
Canuck Racing Club managing partner and top thoroughbred agent Donato Lanni was active at the sale in Lexington this week. Among others, he acquired an Into Mischief colt for $500,000, a Curlin colt and filly for $460,000 each, and a colt by Constitution for $200,000.
While scouting 1,300 yearings in the days before the sale, Donato was looking to add to the Canuck Racing Club stable and targeted Hip 893: a solid looking ON-bred bay colt by Danish Dynaformer out of Miss Medaglia. The club managed to secure him for a steal. “He’s a nice two-turn colt,” shared Donato. “With our filly War Painter, we know what Dynaformer can add to the mix and he’s also got Medaglia D’Oro for more distance.”
KY-cred Medaglia d’Oro was a G1 winner and a contender in the Kentucky Derby (4th place) and Breeder’s Cups (finished 2nd twice) who went 8-7-0 in 17 starts while collecting more than $5.7 million in purse winnings. The colt’s sire, ON-bred Danish Dynaformer, was a graded stakes winner who retired with a record of 5-3-1 and $764,645 in purses. He won the Breeder’s Stakes, came second in the Queen’s Plate, and won the G3 Singspiel Stakes over the course of a career in which he met and defeated 16 grade 1 winners and 40 graded stakes winners.
The unexpected but very welcome discount on the club’s Danish Dynaformer colt facilitated some additional shopping when Hip 1214 came up. Bred by Hill ‘N Dale, the price on this Frac Daddy colt out of Saratoga Sunrise went up quickly with several buyers interested. However, when the hammer fell, Canuck Racing Club had the bid topper.
A black-type winner of $701,236, the colt’s sire Frac Daddy has sired 5 crops of racing age and boasts more than $3.2 million in progeny earnings and 95 stakes winners including Mendelssohn, a $3,000,000 record yearling and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf stakes winner. The sire’s sire Scat Daddy was a KY-bred millionaire with a record of 5-1-1 in nine starts.
On the mare’s side, Sarasota Sunrise’s sire Thunder Gulch was a KY-bred Kentucky Derby winner who retired with more than $2.9 million in winnings and a record of 9-2-2 in 16 starts.
Canuck Racing Club has now acquired 9 yearlings in 2023.