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NEWS 
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During the second session the following day, prices skyrocketed for fillies, as 5 yearling fillies exceeded the $400,000 prize range, with the toppers up in the stratosphere at $875,000, $700,000 and $600,000. Jumping in at $200,000, Irwin made 5 bids. His only competitor bid methodically, while Irwin slammed back immediately each time his rival carefully timed her salvos. “You know it was just you and me all the way,” said Murray Smith, who specializes in buying yearlings for resale at the 2-year-old sales. Ms. Smith is considered the most successful pinhooker in the game and her eye for a horse is second to none. Her success stories include Kentucky Derby hero Monarchos and Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante winner and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly runner-up Wild Fit. Consigned by Darby Dan Farm of Lexington, Kentucky, the filly was bred and owned by Jess Jackson, who owns a substantial interest in the filly’s sire Saarland and imported the filly’s double stakes-producing dam La Sorbonne. Jackson, who is a leading American vintner and part owner of Preakness Stakes winner Curlin, operates in the horse business as Stonestreet Farm. His equine advisor is John Moynihan, who arranged for the sale of Curlin and has long been regarded as one of the premier prospector’s of sales yearlings, his auction nuggets including many horses raced by his late client, Bob Lewis, among them Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic. “You bought the best filly in the sale,” Moynihan said to Irwin. “If I was not working for Mr. Jackson and did not have a conflict of interest, I would have bought her myself. “We have 89 fillies on the farm with some of the fanciest breeding available. A. P. Indys, Kingmambos, Giant’s Causeways, Storm Cats—you name it. This filly is far and away the best. “The only reason Mr. Jackson sold her at public auction is that he wants to establish a reputation for the sire, because he owns a substantial part of him. Barry, this filly is a 10. Congratulations.”
“What separates this filly from the madding crowd,” explained Barry Irwin “is her physical quality. “Her front legs are perfect to start with,” he said. “The front legs are always my starting point. “Looking at her from the side, you are first struck with her physical depth. She is a powerhouse, without being over done. She is not a slob. “The has a beautiful sloping shoulder. Her hindquarters are plentiful without being Quarter Horse-like or gross. “She has a neck that is put on at the correct angle and her head is bold and honest. “This was the last filly I looked at after two days of inspecting more than 200 horses and I can tell you that she stuck out at first glance. The more I looked at her, the better she got. “When I came back the next day to do my final inspection, she was still my number one pick among the fillies and the only one I planned to bid on. “It never occurred to me that I would not get her. We reserved her named in advance. “How high would I have gone if forced to get her? Another $200,000.” Born on March 11 of 2006, the filly is from the first crop of Saarland, a son of Kentucky Derby winner and Kentucky Derby sire Unbridled. As a racehorse, Saarland won the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at 2, placed in several top races including the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile. He was effective from a mile to a mile and three-eighths.
Although first or second in 10 of 21 starts, Saarland was basically an underachiever. As a stallion prospect, however, his bloodlines could very well carry him to the fore. La Sorbonne, dam of the filly, is an unraced daughter of Southern Halo, a good racehorse for D. Wayne Lukas and a phenomenal sire, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. The first two foals produced by La Sorbonne are The Student and Good Student. The Student is a gelding by Kentucky-based Mutakddim that has won 18 races in the United States and Argentina for earnings of more than $435,000. Among his victories is the Hoover Stakes at Pimlico. Good Student is a filly by Louis Quatorze that won 5 races in the United States and Argentina for earnings of more than $200,000. Among her victories are the Grade 3 Premio Manuel J. Guiraldes and the Listed Tuzla Handicap at Santa Anita. She also placed second in the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap in California. The new filly’s pedigree is 100 percent American both on the sire and broodmare side. Collegiate is the name that has been selected for this filly, who is out of a mare named La Sorbonne, which is the university of Paris. Her two stakes winners both had “Student” in their names, so Team Valor wanted to keep the education theme going.
When Collegiate comes to the racetrack, her trainer will be Mark Hennig, who races in Florida, Kentucky and New York. Formerly the private trainer for Team Valor after leaving the employ of his mentor D. Wayne Lukas, Hennig currently trains Jazzy for Team Valor, for whom she was beaten a nose in her United States debut. “I consider Mark to be one of the best filly trainers in the country,” said Barry Irwin. “He has won several Graded stakes for us with fillies and is good with all type of fillies and mares. Mark also has had plenty of experience with the Unbridled sire line, having trained Unbridled’s son Eddington, a $1.2-million earner who won the Grade 1 Pimlico Special. Collegiate will be syndicated on the basis of $500,000, reflecting the original purchase price of $400,000, plus a mark up of 25 percent, which is Team Valor’s standard practice in the acquisition and syndication of yearlings. The filly will be sold on the usual first-come, first-served basis, with Team Valor’s clients getting a 48-hour head start on newcomers. Parties interested in participating are asked to contact Amy Collingsworth at (888) 434-2677 or teamvalor2@aol.com. Interests will be offered at 10 percent ($50,000), 5 percent ($25,000) and, if available, 2 ½ percent at $12,500). In addition to the syndication value, partners will be invoiced for their pro rate share of expenses for mortality insurance, which has been written for a full year. It bears repeating that the last two yearlings bought at Saratoga by Team Valor were Audacious Chloe, a multiple stakes-winning 3-year-old filly, and Fairbanks, a Grade 3 winner, Grade 1 placer and owner of the nation’s second-leading Beyer speed figure of 115 handicap horse going long on dirt. Additional press: http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=15479
There was but one offering in the sale by Darby Dan Farm’s Saarland, but hip 37 made a splash during lastNight’s opening session, selling to Barry Irwin’s Team Valor International for $400,000. The imposing bay filly is a daughter of the Argentinian-bred mare La Sorbonne (Southern Halo), who’d already had a distinguished produce record when she was purchased privately by Jess Jackson. The 13-year-old mare is the dam of The Student (Arg) (Mutakddim), a stakes winner in this country with earnings in excess of $435,610, as well as Good Student (Arg) (Louis Quatorze), a Group 3 winner in her native country and a stakes winner and Grade I-placed following her export to the U.S. Jackson hopes that this filly, who was consigned by the sales arm of Darby Dan, can continue the winning ways. “We were looking for mares of a high quality who have produced stakes winners and she was one of the best that we saw,” Jackson explained. “We were pleased with the results, but we knew she was good. We think she was one of the top three fillies in the sale. The female side is fantastic and we think that Saarland is going to make a very good sire. This is a good start.” Jackson says he maintains about a 40-percent interest in GSW and GISP Saarland, who stood the 2007 breeding season for $10,000. Related Links:
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