Jack Christopher Colt Tops July Sale; Stakes Winning Juvenile Romeo Sets New Record at July Selected Horses of Racing Age
Fasig-Tipton held it’s 2025 July Sale, followed immediately by the July Selected Horses of Racing Age sale, Tuesday at the Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Kentucky. With overall figures similar to last year’s edition, The July Sale matched its record median of $90,000 for the third time in the past four years. Among the July Selected Horses of Racing Age, a new sale record was set for a single offering when stakes winning juvenile Romeo sold for $1,700,000, while the average, median, and RNA rate were also new highwater marks.
A colt from the first crop of multiple Grade 1 winner Jack Christopher (hip 35) topped the sale when sold for $350,000 to CHC Inc & Maverick Racing from the consignment of Buckland Sales, agent (video). The chestnut colt is out of the winning Discreetly Mine mare Above the Crowd, making him a half-brother to three-time winner Norwich (Munnings). From the immediate family of multiple Grade 1 winner Strategic Maneuver, hip 35 was bred in Kentucky by Susan King.
The sale’s top filly was a daughter of Vekoma (hip 141), sold for $345,000 to Kenny McPeek, agent, from the consignment of Shawhan Place, agent (video). “She was an exceptional standout,” said McPeek of his purchase. “She’s a classic-type filly… you know, the Alcibiades, the Ashland, Kentucky Oaks – fingers crossed.” The chestnut filly is the first foal out of Sundar, a Bernardini half-sister to graded stakes performer Groveland, from the immediate family of multiple Grade 1 winning millionaire Better Lucky. Hip 141 was bred in Kentucky by Shawhan Place.
McPeek purchased a total of eight yearlings, earning him a $25,000 bonus awarded to the trainer who purchased the highest quantity of yearlings at this year’s sale.
“It was a really solid start to the yearlings sales season,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “It was, as we expected, a very similar yearling marketplace to last year. Trade was solid. If you brought a well-conformed horse here that was athletic, mature, and vetted well, you were rewarded.”
Overall, 156 yearlings sold for $16,828,000, good for an average of $107,872, just short of last year’s gross of $17,361,000 for 156 sold, with an average of $111,288. The figure marked the fifth time the sale has averaged $100,000 or more. The median was $90,000, tying the sale record set in 2022 and matched in 2024. The RNA rate fell 4.4% from 2024.
The July Selected Horses of Racing Age sale – conducted immediately following the selected yearlings sale – set new highs in average, median, and RNA rate, led by sale-record priced stakes winner Romeo (hip 370).
Romeo, stakes record setting winner of the Bashford Manor S. at Churchill Downs, sold for a record $1,700,000 to Mahmud Mouni from the consignment of Paramount Sales, agent (video). A two-year-old colt by Honor A. P., Romeo is a two-time winner in his first three starts, with an additional third in the Tremont S. at Saratoga. The Maryland-bred has earned $156,760 to date.
Red Route One (hip 329), a Grade 2 winner and multiple graded stakes winner by prolific young sire Gun Runner, sold for $550,000 to Narvick International from the consignment of Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent (video). Red Route One is a four-time graded stakes winner whose victories include last year’s New Orleans Classic S. (G2) and the Essex H. (G3) earlier this year.
Among those catalogued for the horses of racing age sale were six offerings from the Estate of D. Wayne Lukas, consigned by Mullholland Springs, agent. Of these, Delancey Street (hip 368), a two-year-old colt as yet unraced son of Street Sense was the top offering, sold for $400,000 to Justin Casse.
“I’m not going to say we knew it was going to be this strong, but we knew it was going to be strong,” Browning said of the horses of racing age sale. “The demand (for racehorses) is off the charts, and you saw that demand today.”
Overall, 51 horses of racing age sold for $8,037,000, up 18.1% from when 67 sold for $6,803,500 last year. The average of $157,588 rose 55.2% from $101,545 last year to establish a new sale record. The $95,000 median, up 53.2% from $62,000 in 2024, was also a new highwater mark. With only three (3) horses of racing age unsold, the RNA rate was a record 5.6%.
Full results are available online for The July Sale and July Selected Horses of Racing Age.
