A day after landing a $1.75 million Into Mischief colt, Monique Delk stretched to $900,000 to secure a colt by first-crop sire Yaupon during the Sept. 11 session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Consigned as Hip 571 from Highgate Sales, the colt became the young sire's highest-priced yearling to sell at public auction to date.
Bred in Kentucky by Jackpot Farm, the colt is the out of the stakes-placed Quality Road mare Q Go Girl, the dam of 2023 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) show finisher Stretch Ride (Street Sense ). Q Go Girl hails from the family of grade 1-winning race mare Flat Fleet Feet.
"(Hip 571 is) an incredible horse. We just happened to be lucky that Jackpot (Farm) entrusted us with him," said Highgate's Jacob West. "We knew he was a star from the day we saw him. When we went through all their yearlings, he was the one we earmarked. Terry Green and John Gray, their farm manager, wanted to support us with a nice horse. He had the hair looked off him at the barn. I think every vet on the sales grounds vetted him. He handled everything with nothing but class."
A grade 1-winning sprinter, Yaupon stood the 2024 breeding season at Spendthrift Farm for a $25,000 fee. The stallion's offspring have been well received at Keeneland through three days of selling with 13 yearlings exchanging hands for a gross of $3,895,000 for an average of $299,615.
"(Yaupon is) a son of Uncle Mo who is one of the most brilliant horses we've seen of my generation if not in the entire industry," said West. "Yaupon was a gorgeous horse who was incredibly fast. So this is not entirely shocking. It wouldn't shock me at all if they didn't light up the racetrack."
