Record Price at Auction:
$16 Million Forestry Colt at Fasig-Tipton Calder Sale
From Bloodhorse.com/Thoroughbred Daily News
The most expensive horse ever sold at public auction was hammered down today at the Fasig-Tipton Calder sale when a Forestry colt brought a staggering $16 million from Demi O’Byrne.
O’Byrne purchases for the Coolmore team headed by John Magnier and Michael Tabor. The colt also represents a huge pinhooking homerun, having been purchased as a yearling for $425,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky auction.
The colt is the second foal out of the winning Unbridled mare Magical Masquerade. The Feb. 4 foal was bred in Florida by Satish Sanan’s Padua Stables and sold as a yearling by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent. He was purchased by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds, which resold him Tuesday. He worked in 9 4/5 during the Calder breeze show.
“I used to rave that the best video that I ever saw was Unbridled’s Song, when he sold at the two year-old sale at Barretts”, said consignor Dean De Renzo after the work. “And I said that until I saw this (Forestry) colt go. I’ve seen fast works, but not like that, not so easily
The previous record for a horse of any age was the $13.1 million paid for Seattle Dancer, a half-brother to Seattle Slew by Nijinsky II, as a yearling in 1986. The record for a 2-year-old was set just last year, $5.2 million for a Tale of the Cat colt sold at the same Calder sale last year.
Auctioneer Walt Robertson took 14 bids after the price reached $10 million, an area only two horses had ever reached before. Besides Seattle Dancer, Snaafi Dancer, by Northern Dancer, sold for $10.2 million at the 1983 Keeneland summer yearling sale.
Robertson took a bid at $15.5 million, then O’Byrne bid $16 million. Robertson then quipped, “Does anyone else want to bid,” before dropping the hammer.