On the racetrack and in the sales pavilion, Black Type Thoroughbreds keeps garnering attention.
With agent Maddie Mattmiller purchasing on the partnership's behalf and for another, undisclosed client, the group acquired the day's top-priced hip in the ninth session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Sept. 22. Hip 3158, a $250,000 Army Mule filly out of Panamanian stakes-producer Henny's Hurricane (Henny Hughes), was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency and bred in Kentucky by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings.
September has been good to Black Type Thoroughbreds, which registered two big paydays as co-owners with other partners. The month began with Breaker of Chains' exorbitant Sept. 11 maiden win at Kentucky Downs. The 3-year-old Bernardini filly was recently brought over from Ireland in what proved to be a financially prudent import.
Next came Hidden Connection's 9 1/4-length blowout in the Sept. 18 "Win and You're In" Pocahontas Stakes (G3) under the lights at Churchill Downs. In just her second start, Bret Calhoun's precocious Connect filly earned her standing as one of the favorites to win the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar.
"So far it's been a good September," admitted Jake Ballis, who heads Black Type Thoroughbreds.
The partnership parlayed some of its newly minted bankroll into the session-topping chestnut filly, whose brawny nature caught the eye of Mattmiller.
"Her physical was the best of the day," said Mattmiller. "That aside, mentally she was all there, as well. She was the full package. For a filly, she looked like a colt. She's big and strong. I absolutely loved her. I can't say enough things about her. We had missed opportunities earlier in the sale, and then I saw her yesterday, and when I showed her to (Jake), he was like, 'Alright, that one's it.' I said, 'I had to have this filly.'
"We tended to lean toward fillies lately," she continued. "We've just had a lot of success with fillies, and with it being such a colt-heavy market—people spending among those conglomerates—we just found you get some value with the fillies. Especially when people are brought into the business and people are able to get some black type with a filly, you realize you're not losing everything at the end of the day because of the residual (value) there. We've had some good luck with that. … We spent a little more on her than what we were thinking, but nonetheless, we're entirely thrilled to have her."
Army Mule was last seen on the track in 2018, trouncing a Carter Handicap (G1) field by 6 1/4 lengths in a final time of 1:20.94 for seven furlongs, which kept him perfect in three starts. The Pennsylvania-bred was purchased by Crupi's New Castle Farm on behalf of St. Elias Stable for $825,000 from the Scanlon Training & Sales consignment at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. In 2021, Army Mule stood at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa for an advertised fee of $7,500.
