The Winchell Thoroughbreds team did not sit idle as the action commenced on the sixth day of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Bidding from inside the still-bustling pavilion, the team struck early Sept. 18 for a $500,000 Gun Runner colt and set the day's early leading price. Consigned as Hip 1681 by Hidden Brook, the colt was purchased in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm.
De Sousa Stables bred the colt in partnership with the Gun Runner Syndicate and Cranford Bloodstock.
"He was a pretty popular horse, so we were hoping he was going to do well," Hidden Brook Farm managing partner Sergio de Sousa said after the sale of the colt. "We came in here pretty confident, thinking he was going to do OK."
The March-born colt is out of the Broken Vow mare Wedding Jitters, who set a course record at 3 when she went 7 1/2 furlongs in 1:30.62 at Gulfstream Park. The mare comes from the family of Lightfoot Lane, who produced four stakes runners, including stakes winner and grade 3-placed Shopton Lane; stakes winner Street Prancer; and stakes-placed Smoothee Lee and Light Up the Lane.
"It's a pretty good price. I own the mare and her second dam, so it was good to see the family keep doing well for us," de Sousa said. "It's special for us."
The colt will be going to a familiar partnership in Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys, whose faith in their leading sire Gun Runner has been amply rewarded in 2022 with grade 1 winners in Cyberknife , Early Voting , and Taiba .
De Sousa added: "Absolutely the best for him. I assume Steve (Asmussen) will be the trainer. He knows the Gun Runners very well and will give this horse the best shot. It's fantastic."
Winchell Thoroughbreds picked up another member of a familiar family earlier Sunday in the half sister to Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) winner Epicenter . The filly by Tapiture was consigned as Hip 1600 by Blandford Stud (Padraig Campion) on behalf of breeder Westwind Farms and sold for $170,000.
The filly out of Silent Candy, by Candy Ride, is a half sibling to the Asmussen star Epicenter, who has added four graded wins in 2022 alone and increased his bankroll to more than $2.9 million for Winchell Thoroughbreds.
Ron Winchell went to $220,000 for Hip 1631, a colt by Lane's End stallion Candy Ride from the consignment of Stone Farm, agent. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Payson Stud out of Summer Solo, who was second in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) and is the dam of Maedean (by Tapit ), second in the Demoiselle Stakes (G2).
Later in the day, Winchell picked up a Runhappy colt, consigned as Hip 1799 by Hidden Brook, agent for Bonne Chance Farm. The colt out of Elementar, by More Than Ready, sold for $65,000 and is a half sibling to the Kitten’s Joy grade 2 stakes-winning performer Ready to Purrform. The 3-year-old Brad Cox trainee added a timely update to the catalog page by winning the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Aug. 8.
