Thoroughbred horsewoman Mandy Pope, after the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, stated, “We are picking out what we think are really nice horses.” One of these ended up being hip 189, a well-made Medaglia d’Oro filly that was knocked down at a final price of $500,000. Out of the Stakes winner and G2-placed mare West Coast Swing, the filly was consigned by Woodford Thoroughbreds, Agent, and hails from the strong family of champions Classy ‘n Smart, Dance Smartly, Regal Classic and many others.
But the fireworks didn’t come until the next Medaglia d’Oro came into ring, hip 191, from the consignment of Denali Stud, owned by Craig and Holly Bandoroff. With a final sale-topping price of $1.45 million, the filly had attracted a lot of attention prior to the sale as indicated by Craig Bandoroff. “I’ve been doing this 25 years and I’ve never had a horse show as many times as she showed. She had something like 280 shows. It was unbelievable.” Mandy Pope, whose Whisper Hill Farm was listed as the purchaser, echoed those sentiments when she was asked what she like about the filly; “Oh my gosh, everything! Everything! Todd [Quast] picked her out to begin with. He had seen her before I did, but she was the standout horse at the sale.”
The filly hails from the pedigree-rich family of Chris Evert, Chief's Crown, Winning Colors and many more, and is a half-sister to G2 winner Overheard having been produced from the Stakes-winning Thunder Gulch mare Whisper To Me.
All in all, all six of the Medaglia d’Oro yearlings fetched six figures, including other prices of $630,000 and $550,000, with a final average of $609,000.
