Eclipse Homebred Filly Tops Day 2 Of Keeneland Sale
By: Lauren Gash BloodHorse
During Day 2 of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, Jan. 9, John Stewart of Resolute Bloodstock picked up a Candy Ride filly for $430,000 to add to his growing operation.
The filly is tied for the lead as the highest-priced short yearling in the sale’s opening two days.
Consigned by Stone Farm as Hip 497 for her breeders, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Spearmaco, the May foal out of the Union Rags mare Rags Pauline turned heads, including agent Gavin O’Connor, who assists Stewart in buying.
“She was absolutely stunning; she has great size and is a May foal,” O’Connor said. “She was balanced and squeaky clean, an excellent quality, classy, and young filly.
“We’ll probably keep her right now, she screams racehorse. She’s just a fabulous filly.”
Rags Pauline, an 8-year-old mare, is a half sibling to Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) winner Keen Pauline and the stakes-winning Buck Moon . Rags Pauline has produced three foals, including a 3-year-old Copper Bullet filly and a 2-year-old Complexity filly.
“She’s by Candy Ride, an outstanding sire,” said Lynn Hancock of Stone Farm. “She came up here and showed great. She didn’t turn a hair, was very popular, and had a great walk. She moved well and showed well. I think she had all the right people on her. (It was) a little bit of a bidding war. It’s hard not to be happy with that.”
Later Tuesday, Resolute Bloodstock picked up Ravenna, Hip 499, for $8,000. Claiborne Farm consigned the racing or broodmare prospect by Quality Road . Resolute Bloodstock also added Russiarussiarussia, Hip 510, a racing or broodmare prospect by Bernardini, for $15,000; and Indian Mound, Hip 768, for $250,000 from Lane’s End, with the Medaglia d’Oro mare selling in foal to City of Light .
Stewart purchased the Midway Shadwell Farm property in 2023 and began filling the barns in earnest. He landed the Fasig-Tipton November sale topper and dual Breeders’ Cup winner Goodnight Olive ($6 million); 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) champion Pizza Bianca ($3 million), and Queen Caroline ($3 million), dam of 2022 Juvenile champion Forte , among others.
At Keeneland November he landed Puca ($2.9 million), dam of 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage.
Those November sales followed a Keeneland September Yearling Sale where Stewart scooped up 13 yearlings for a total of $8,425,000 to add to the 800-acre farm.