In the past 38 years, there have been 130 two-year-olds sold for seven figures at public auction in North America. That’s an average of a little over three per year.
Only three times has a stallion seen three of his offspring bring more than $1 million during a single year. Medaglia d’Oro is one of the three. And only twice has a stallion topped three of the major two-year-old sales with his progeny. The latest? Medaglia d'Oro.
At Fasig-Tipton’s Gulfstream Sale in March of this year, Stonestreet Stables went to $1.2 million for a filly out of the Stakes-placed Distorted Humor mare Mi Vida. The dark bay or brown juvenile, from the Niall Brennan consignment, clocked the co-fastest time during the under tack show of 10 seconds flat. Stonestreet’s Barbara Banke was glowing in her comments about both the filly and her sire when she said, “I like Medaglia d’Oro fillies. I’ve had very good luck. I actually have two really good ones back at our training center, one out of Kauai Katie and one out of Fully Living, and this will be the third. I love them to race and I love them as broodmares.”
Fast forward 30 days to the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s Spring sale of two-year-olds in training and a very similar result occurred. Again with the co-fastest under tack time (9.4 seconds) of any was another filly by Medaglia d’Oro, hailing from the consignment of Randy Bradshaw. A half-sister to G1 winner Stormello, G2 winner My Best Brother, G3 winner Gala Award (by Bernardini), and G1-placed Cherry Lodge, also by Bernardini, Steve Young went to $1.1 million to secure the popular offering.
Young was equally as impressed with his Medaglia d’Oro purchase when he said, “She is very good on the racetrack. Her breeze was terrific. She is by a tremendous sire, which goes without saying.”
Three weeks later, it was another Fasig-Tipton Sale at their Midlantic venue in Maryland, that saw yet another Medaglia d’Oro juvenile top the sale. A colt out of G3 winner Tapicat brought $1.2 million after posting a workout time of 10.1 seconds, bettered by only one other during the under tack show.
Consigned by Hartley/de Renzo Thoroughbreds, Dennis O’Neill was on hand to secure the well-bred daughter of “MdO”. Purchased for a new client from the Middle East, O’Neill commented, “It’s a new guy from overseas. He just said he wanted the best horse in the sale and I thought this was it from day one, from the first time we laid eyes on him. We were hoping not to go that high. But we did and we’re really excited. We are looking for a Derby horse and we hope this is the one.”
To date in 2018, Medaglia d’Oro has been represented by 10 two-year-olds that have passed through the auction ring. His average of $589,375 is tops among all North American sires, a group that reflects the best of the best (chart courtesy of the TDN):
