Curlin Half Sister to Mind Control Sails to $1.95M

The big, leggy bay filly (Hip 220) by Curlin and a half sister to multiple grade 1 winner Mind Control lit up the Keeneland bid board after Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm bought her for $1.95 million—the highest-priced filly of the sale thus far—early during the second session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Sept. 15. Pope is known for buying blue-blooded fillies to add to her prestigious broodmare band. Beyond the residual value as a future broodmare, general manager and racing manager for Whisper Hill, Todd Quast, believes the filly has a bright future on the racetrack as well. "Obviously, Mandy loved the pedigree, the Mind Control in the family; there's a lot of residual value as a broodmare there," Quast explained. "But we thought, especially as a physical, she was a very, very good physical. "Light on her feet, a good walk, everything was there. I think she could be a racehorse. So, that's what we're very excited about." Quast said the price was more than they wanted to pay but understood why the bidding was so competitive for that type of filly. "Good fillies are hard to buy with any kind of pedigree that look good, that pass the vet, that do everything," Quast said. "There's not going to be very many Curlins left, and we love Curlin. I mean, as a broodmare sire, with that female side, with Mind Control coming, we just think it's an exciting family." Quast said the filly's body type suggested she may be an early type, but said they will let the filly tell them when she is ready. She will head back to the farm and will be started under saddle next month. A trainer has not yet been determined. I don't know who's going to get her. We use everybody, so we try to suit the horse to the trainer," he said. Consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, Hip 220 was bred by Red Oak Stable out of the Lightnin N Thunder stakes winner and Red Oak homebred Feel That Fire. Besides Mind Control, Feel That Fire is the dam of multiple graded-placed winner Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft) and stakes-placed winner Blue Flame Six (Uncle Mo). Hill 'n' Dale's director of bloodstock, Jes Sikura, was pleased with the sale of the filly from their prominent sire Curlin. "She showed great all week. She was beautiful," Sikura said. "We'd had her at the farm the last few months and the expectations coming into this sale were pretty high." Curlin is the sire of this year's Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Golden Tempo. The 22-year-old son of Smart Strike was unable to finish the duration of the 2026 breeding season due to a low fertility issue. "When you get something beautiful that looks like she's probably a two-turn, classic kind of filly with a big page, she's kind of a collector's item," Sikura said. "She's something that obviously Mandy Pope would want to be a part of her incredible collection, and hopefully she can succeed on the racetrack as well. "The sale's been great for us so far. Just getting started. A lot more to sell, but happy at the moment."