Hoolie's $1.6 Million Buy Grants Dream for Smiths

Denise Smith came into The Saratoga Sale, Fasig Tipton's select yearling sale, with the dream of selling a million-dollar horse, but realistically hoping they would at least earn a half-million dollars with Hip 36, a Good Magic colt named Alekazam. Should he fetch that price, he would become Mesingw Farm's highest-selling yearling in their five years of operation. As it turns out, she and her husband, Steve, wished on the correct star as a little bit of good magic entered the sales ring with the Warrendale Sales-consigned colt to the tune of $1.6 million from Legion Bloodstock as agent for Hoolie Racing. "I'm speechless," Denise Smith said. "I didn't think I was going to get (my million-dollar horse) this year. It's so exciting, I'm thrilled." READ: Adirondack, F-T Sale Important Milestones for Smiths The good-looking son of Good Magic was the lone horse the Smiths had brought to the sale this year. "That far exceeded our expectations," Steve Smith said. "What a wonderful experience. The first comment I have to make is thank you to our yearling staff and our sales prep staff at the farm. They turned him out to be such a good-looking baby." Those good looks caught attention from a variety of buyers and drew high praise from Hoolie Racing managing partner Andrew Hudson. "We thought he was the best-looking colt up here," Hudson said. "We thought this horse looked like an early type for next year. We love Good Magic as a sire. He just really looked like the type to bring a little excitement 12 months from now." The competition was tough, as Hoolie Racing found themselves going just a tick over the $1.5 million they thought they might have to pay, but ultimately that came as no surprise given the attention the colt received before the sale. "When they first brought him out, he seemed like a physical standout," said Legion Bloodstock's Kyle Zorn. "He carried the same walk three days in a row. He had quite the entourage every morning that we looked at him as well, so we knew there'd be some of the big players on him." Hill 'n' Dale Farms stallion Good Magic, who stood for a $125,000 fee in 2025, speaks for himself as a sire of five grade 1 winners and two classic winners. The colt is the first foal to hit the sales ring out of the winning Shanghai Bobby mare, Alpha Zulu, who is a half sister to grade 2 winner Recapturetheglory. The colt is from the family of grade 2 winner Are You Kidding Me; grade 2 winner and grade 1-placed Kehoe Beach; and stakes winner Core Values. Hudson, who runs Hoolie Racing with his brother, David, and father, Greg, admitted he was not as familiar with Shanghai Bobby mares—the stallion moved to stand stud in Japan in 2019—but thought the athleticism of the colt was too good to pass up. "I don't think his page is probably as deep as some of these other colts in here," Hudson said. "But physically, for us, this was the best horse." The future of Alekazam's name is up for debate, but the certain future plans for the colt is a winter at Travis Durr Training Center near St. Matthews, S.C., with a trainer to be named in the spring.