Jack Christopher Yearlings in Demand at Fasig-Tipton

Jack Christopher was difficult to miss on the racetrack, not only for his glistening chestnut color and blaze but for winning five of six starts and $1.2 million. Among those victories from the son of Munnings were four in graded stakes, including three grade 1s. With his first foals now yearlings, his progeny are now turning heads. On July 8, during Fasig-Tipton's The July Sale near Lexington, nine yearlings were sold by the 6-year-old stallion, highlighted by Hip 35, a $350,000 purchase by CHC and Maverick Racing—the buying arm of WinStar Farm. Hip 35 was the sales topper of the yearling portion of The July Sale. CHC and Maverick Racing also acquired Hip 87, a Jack Christopher colt out of the unraced Malibu Moon mare Melanias Moon, for $110,000. High-priced Jack Christophers sold to other buyers Tuesday included Hip 68, bought for $270,000 by trainer Kenny McPeek as agent, and Hip 78, purchased by Flying Dutchmen for $200,000. Only one of 10 Jack Christopher yearlings that went into the ring fell short of its reserve. The others had an average sales price of $162,778. Jack Christopher, who entered stud at Ashford Stud in Kentucky in 2023 for a $45,000 fee, stood for $40,000 in 2024, and this year for $25,000. "Jack Christopher—we thought a very highly of him as a racehorse, very fast, very good racehorse," David Hanley, senior vice president of bloodstock services for WinStar Farm, said of Hip 35. "So, this horse fit the mold of kinda that, with distance and everything like that. We thought a lot of class about him, a really nice colt." Hip 35, consigned by Buckland Sales, is also a chestnut, produced from the winning Discreetly Mine mare Above the Crowd. Bred by Susan King in Kentucky, the colt is related to one starter from three foals of racing age: the three-time winner Norwich, an earner of $105,666. Norwich is bred similarly to Hip 35, being by Jack Christopher's sire Munnings. Hanley said Hip 35 is "a very nice horse, nice way of moving. A lot of quality we really liked." CHC and WinStar Farm, successful partners for years, are in the midst of a rewarding 2025 with their stable currently led by the Brad Cox-trained Patch Adams, winner of the June 7 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. "A lot of success, very lucky together. We've had a lot of very good horses, and delighted that they're hanging in there with us and firing at them," Hanley said. Jack Christopher also won the Woody Stephens in 2022 at Belmont Park for trainer Chad Brown and owners Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud, and Peter Brant. His other top-level stakes wins came in the 2021 Champagne Stakes (G1) and the 2022 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1).