Emerging Australian thoroughbred outfit Mulberry Racing has made its presence felt during trading at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Mulberry Racing struck early in the sale, signing for a $US550,000 colt by Quality Road from the Group 1-winning sprinter Lady Aurelia.
Quality Road, a son of Elusive Quality, is the sire of Grade 1 winners Abel Tasman and National Treasure, while Lady Aurelia is a Scat Daddy mare who claimed the 2017 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot among five wins racing under the Stonestreet Stables banner.
Backed by billionaire investor Mike Gregg, Mulberry Racing is building an increased profile in Australian and American racing.
Sydney-based Brad Widdup trains for Gregg, and he is at Keeneland acting in an advisory capacity for his biggest owner.
Gregg, a board member of Australian technology company WiseTech Global and a co-founder of investment firm Shearwater Capital, has extended his thoroughbred interests even further this year to become an Everest slot holder.
He bought the Everest slot vacated by embattled casino operator Star Entertainment in a three-year deal.
Keeneland sold 15 horses for $1 million or more led by a colt by Gun Runner for $3.3 million to MV Magnier and Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm.
A filly by Not This Time, who was consigned by Hinkle Farms and sold to David Lanigan, Ted Durcan as agent for Cindy Heider, sold for $2 million.
The number of seven-figure horses for the first session was the highest since 2006.
Total sales for 106 horses were $69,240,000, which jumped 26.36 per cent from last year’s first-session gross of $54,795,000 when 98 yearlings, including 14 seven-figure horses, sold.
The average of $653,208 was up 16.83 per cent above last year’s $559,133, and the median rose 19.44 per cent from $450,000 to $537,500.
Session 1 was also marked by strong demand at the top of the market, with 66 yearlings bringing $500,000 or more, up from 46 in 2024.
“We saw a really healthy environment,” Keeneland vice president Tony Lacy said.
“Everybody here who came to buy horses felt that they had to spend more to get them. They were willing to do it and they had fun doing it.
"At the end of the day, that’s what we’re trying to create: a good, fun environment. We put the right horses in front of the right people.”
Magnier and White Birch also spent $1.5 million for a colt by Into Mischief out of Grade 2 winner and Grade 1-placed Point of Honor, by Curlin. Consigned by Lane’s End, he is from the family of Grade 1 winner Wicked Whisper and Grade 2 winner Mr Freeze.
Naohiro Sakaguchi paid $1.7 million for a colt by Flightline, who is a half-brother to Grade 3 winner Promise Keeper and stakes winner Wicked Awesome.
The colt will race in Japan, said trainer Makoto Saito through a translator.
“He looks like he will fit in Japan,” Saito said. “We feel like Flightline has good potential, and he is a favourite in Japan.”
