An Into Mischief colt (Hip 242) and half brother to grade 1 winner and sire Mo Town topped the Sept. 15 second session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale when Coolmore's M.V. Magnier and Peter Brant's White Birch Farm went to $3.7 million to secure the colt.
"He has the pedigree. He has everything," Magnier said of Hip 242. "It's clearly a lot of money for any yearling. The sale is so strong now, and business is going well here. When a horse ticks the right boxes, I suppose they should be entitled to make their money."
John Gunther and his daughter Tanya Gunther's Eurowest Bloodstock bred the colt out of the Bernardini winner Grazie Mille, the dam of Mo Town (Uncle Mo) and graded-placed stakes winner Justique (Justify ). The colt was sold through the Gunthers' Glennwood Farm consignment.
"He was a very nice horse, and Into Mischief, clearly, he's a very good stallion," Magnier said. "All the lads really liked the horse a lot. He's very well bred, and in fairness to John and Tanya Gunther, they're very big supporters of ours. We're just glad to give something back, and they're great breeders. They do an incredible job.
"They're very happy with the horse and you have to listen to them. They're one of the best breeders in the country and it's just great to give them something back because they're great supporters of ours."
WATCH: Keeneland September Yearling Sale Book 1 Comes to a Close
John Gunther bred 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, who currently stands at Coolmore's Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.
Magnier said the colt will stay in the United States, and a trainer has yet to be determined.
John Gunther offered deep gratitude to the team at Glennwood Farm, crediting them for being able to produce high-caliber yearlings.
"My heart's still pounding, and I just have to thank the team at Glennwood for what's happened. I can't thank them enough," Gunther said. "I mean, we're so lucky. Unbelievable.
"Tanya plans all the matings. She works 24/7, and she comes to the farm and works with them walking yearlings. The whole team puts a tremendous amount of effort into it."
Gunther said Hip 242 had always commanded a lot of attention and he had high hopes coming into the sale.
"He was just a big, strong colt, tremendous walk, a great presence about him," Gunther said. "I've never had so much vet work done on a yearling, ever. Everybody loved this colt.
Gunther said the price exceeded his expectations, though he thought the colt could get into the $2 million-$3 million range.
"He's in good hands now," he said. "They mentioned he's going to stay in the U.S. and race here, so that makes me feel really good as well."
The highest-priced filly of the session and of the sale thus far was Hip 220, a Curlin half sister to multiple grade 1 winner and freshman sire Mind Control .
The leggy bay filly, consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, lit up the Keeneland bid board as Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm bought her for $1.95 million.
"Obviously, Mandy loved the pedigree, the Mind Control in the family; there's a lot of residual value as a broodmare there," said Todd Quast, general manager and racing manager for Whisper Hill Farm. "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."
READ: Curlin Half Sister to Mind Control Sails to $1.95M
Day 2 Statistics
Lively bidding continued through the second and final session of Book 1, seeing 23 yearlings sell for $1 million or more. At the end of Tuesday's trade, 115 horses had changed hands for gross receipts of $81,490,000, including private sales, up 6.1% from last year's corresponding session. The average price climbed 7% to $708,609, and the median was a healthy $550,000, up 4.8% from 2025. Thirty-seven horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 24.3%.
Coming off a record sale last year, Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said there was some selectivity in the market, but overall he was very pleased with the numbers.
"Last year we did not expect those increases, and this year to see us actually surpassing that in most metrics is really, really encouraging," Lacy said. "It's not that they're massive increases; they're more sustainable increases, which I think is more encouraging. We're not on a sugar high; we're very much on a solid trajectory."
In addition to the proven sires such as Curlin, Gun Runner , Into Mischief, and Justify, freshman sire Flightline saw three of his progeny sell for seven figures, highlighted by Hip 351, a colt out of the Quality Road mare Park Avenue who brought $2.6 million from Flying Dutchmen. Hip 351, consigned by Lane's End, was bred by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Equine, who bred 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline.
Flying Dutchmen, owned by Travis Boersma, co-founder of Dutch Bros Coffee, led all buyers Tuesday, purchasing five head for a total of $6 million. The ownership that campaigned graded stakes winner and 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1) participant Owen Almighty has been on a spending spree this summer. They were also the leading buyer at Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale, spending $21,625,000 on 11 horses.
"With the ones we are buying, I am very confident we will have a nice group of racehorses," said Payton Boersma who signed on behalf of Flying Dutchmen. "The goal of everyone here is to buy these top colts for stallions. They all have the pedigrees, they all have the physicals, they all vet clean.
"We're loving it and we're having a heck of a time. Every single person on our team loved the Flightline colt (Hip 351). We are a big believer in Flightline. The first time I ever came to Keeneland was 2022 when Flightline won the Breeders' Cup Classic."
Freshman sire Early Voting was also represented by a seven-figure sale when Hip 218 brought $1.25 million from M.V. Magnier and White Birch Farm. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Ramspring Farm, Stuart Angus, TMSI, and Yalc and consigned by St George Sales.
"You know, he (Early Voting) looks a very good stallion, and had the filly (Miss Monica) that won in California (in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes) two weeks ago that looks a very nice filly," said Archie St George of St George Sales.
"Expectations were good because he was popular, but to expect a horse to bring a million, it's a lot of money for us. It's a huge thrill, and we're just lucky to have a horse this good to sell."
Taylor Made Sales Agency was the leading consignor of the day, selling 24 from their draft for a total of $16,030,000. They sold the second-highest-priced filly of the day when Hip 312, a daughter of Gun Runner, commanded $1.55 million from Lael Stable. Hip 312 is a half sister to the multiple stakes-winning juvenile Waggley (Life Is Good ).
The 23.6% RNA rate of Book 1 was something mentioned by Lacy and Eaton Sales' Reiley McDonald, who consigned the second-highest-priced colt of the day in Hip 313, a son of Gun Runner who brought $3.1 million from Amo Racing USA.
READ: Amo Racing Makes Splash With $3.1M Gun Runner Colt
"The only problem with Book 1 is if you look at yesterday, you've got 50% out or RNA," McDonald explained. "That's a statistic we've got to do something about. But on the whole, this upper-end market is through the roof. We've never seen anything like it.
"I think the sale has been what we thought it would be coming after (Fasig-Tipton's) Saratoga (Sale). I thought it would be very much like this, and thank God for the Big Beautiful Bill."
Lacy also expressed that the RNA rate is something Keeneland is keeping a close eye on.
"The RNA rate ticked up higher than we would like it to," Lacy said. "It means we may have some sellers excited to keep their stock, and we may have some sellers disappointed that they didn't find a spot in the market. So we are definitely paying close attention to that."
The first day of Book 2 starts Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. ET, with hips 381-757 set to head to the ring. As of Tuesday evening, Keeneland had reported 48 outs.
"We've got confidence in the market and we look forward as we roll into Book 2," Lacy said. "This is another key part of the sale where a lot of investment is wrapped up in these horses and a lot of very athletic individuals that I think people will be very happy to try and obtain."
