Elite Power: A First-Crop Yearling Sire to Watch

Juddmonte Farms' first-crop yearling sire Elite Power heads into Keeneland September Yearling Sale as of one of the top sires of his class to watch. The dual champion male sprinter of 2022-23, back-to-back winner of the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) during his championship years, and son of prominent sire Curlin has been represented by 10 North American sales yearlings sold so far, excluding the winter mixed sales. His year-to-date yearling average is $284,200 and his median is $300,000. Ahead of the September sale, he ranks third in his sire class by average behind Spendthrift Farm's Forte ($386,111 from nine sold) and Darley Stallions' Cody's Wish ($368,995 from eight sold). Elite Power's median is second-highest behind Forte at $375,000. Elite Power was represented by two that sold for more than $500,000 during Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale. Warrendale Sales as agent for Sandra Sexton and Silver Fern Farm sold a filly out of the Mr. Sekiguchi mare Rose and Shine for $550,000 to Live Oak Plantation, while Taylor Made Sales Agency sold a filly out of the Speightstown mare Bay Harbor for $525,000 to Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds. As for representation in Book 1 of Keeneland's September sale, Elite Power ranks second by number of yearlings entered with seven, as of Sept. 11, behind Cody's Wish who has the most entered with 15. One of the more intriguing Elite Power entries in Book 1 is a striking chestnut colt, out of multiple grade 1-placed winner K P Dreamin, who is cataloged as Hip 292 with Padraig Campion's Blandford Stud. K P Dreamin is also the dam of the undefeated Into Mischief colt Hughes, who most recently won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) by 4 3/4 lengths Sept. 6 at Del Mar. "If Hughes is not the best 2-year-old in the country, he is certainly the most accomplished," said Campion, who sold the colt for $675,000 during the 2025 September sale. "He is 3-for-3, won two graded stakes, and hopefully will go on to do better things." Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni bought Hughes on behalf of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables. Since the sale, the ownership group expanded to include Front Row Club, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Albaugh Family Stables, Robert Masterson, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan. The colt is trained by Bob Baffert. While Hughes' physical makeup favors his sire Into Mischief, Campion said Hip 292 definitely favors Elite Power. "He is a mature, strong colt that is a very easy mover, very light on his feet," he said. "He is balanced with a lot of quality. He is the finished article. So far so good, the colt has been very well received." Campion is selling Hip 292 on behalf of the colt's breeder, Breffni Farm, that bought K P Dreamin for $260,000 out of Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale in 2020 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. Other Book 1 Elite Power yearlings include: Hip 136, a filly out of multiple stakes winner Bode's Dream (Bodemeister) being consigned by Paramount Sales, as agent. Hip 141, a colt out of grade 3-placed multiple stakes winner Bronx Beauty (Liaison) being consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. Hip 197, a colt out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Don'tforgetaboutme, who is the dam of grade 1-placed, grade 2 winner Crupi. He is consigned by Scott Mallory as agent for Determined Stud. Hip 228, a colt out of the unraced Carpe Diem daughter Friendly Skies, who is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner United, grade 3 winner Harlan Punch, and stakes winner Tensas Punch. He is consigned by Fedamore Stable. Hip 267, a colt out of the winning Indian Charlie mare Indian Safari, who is the dam of multiple graded stakes winner Chatalas (Gun Runner). He is consigned by Greenfield Farms as agent. Hip 321, a colt out of the unraced Medaglia d'Oro mare Manet, who is out of the graded stakes winner Jacaranda and from the immediate family of prominent sire Constitution. He is consigned by Woods Edge Farm as agent. Regarding how he thinks the September sale may perform overall, Campion said the traffic in the barns has been good, but he will make no predictions. "So far so good, but I have no expectations going in. We put everything in play and make adjustments as we go. We have a long way to go," he said.