Tiffany Case’s price tag was the most money spent on a horse at the January sale since 2019, when 2017 three-year-old Eclipse champion filly Abel Tasman brought $5 million from Coolmore’s MV Magnier.
Tiffany Case was the only purchase for Whisper Hill, the session’s biggest buyer.
Tiffany Case is a 13 year old daughter of Uncle Mo, who was sold pregnant to the great sire of Taylor Made Stallions Not this time . In addition to multiple Grade 1 winner Nitrogen, who is a finalist for Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Fillies, she is also the dam of the Ranked Stakes winner Love to shop which surpassed last year’s January sale at $700,000. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for DJ Stables graduate, commissioned the mare.
The mare was purchased by DJ Stable at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $320,000 in 2019, in foal to Violence . The stable campaigned the mare’s first two foals and plans to race her 2-year-old filly Sniper by Rifle runner .
“She is a very neat mare,” says Frank Taylor of Taylor Made Sales. “She just has an A foal; every time she has a foal, it’s an A individual. (Her Gun Runner filly) is a beauty. She’s going to run here. She’s going to be held by the Greens (DJ Stables), and they’re going to race her.”
Taylor said he expected the mare to fall in the $2-3 million range.
“That was good money for her,” Taylor said. “Not This Time had 17 yearlings this year that grossed over a million (dollars), and none of them were as well bred as this colt is going to be bred. Hopefully they get lucky with it.”
“You always like that when there’s a (bidding) battle going on. I thought the other mare (Simply in Front) could potentially top the sale. I was hoping (Tiffany Case) would do that, but the right people were lining up for her, and she presented herself very well here at the auction. I think with Not This Time he’s so popular right now, and Nitrogen is (nominated for) champion 3-year-olds (filly), everything was on a row.”
Nitrogen has never left the board in all twelve career starts, six of which came in 2025, beating Grade 1 winners Good cheer , Luscious lips , Scylla And Thorpedo Anna under the tutelage of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. Nitrogen is a winner in both field and grass commitments, proving her versatility as a runner. She enjoyed Grade 1 success in the Alabama Stakes (G1) last summer, and ended the year with two gutsy second-place finishes in the Spinster Stakes (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1).
Day 1 Statistics
Keeneland closed Day 1 of the January sale with 319 main changing hands for $31,706,400, including private sales. The number of horses sold is up by 100 compared to the corresponding 2025 session, partly because this year’s sale has been condensed into two sessions, compared to three last year. The average was $99,393 with a median of $42,000. The buyback rate was 25%, which corresponds to the 106 horses that failed to replenish their reserves.
At last year’s sale, 219 horses sold for $19,438,000, with an average of $88,758, and an average of $60,000.
“Today was a great day,” said Tony Lacy, Keeneland vice president of sales. “It’s obviously a long day, but I think the structure of what we did in creating two big sessions helped build momentum that carried through to the end of the day. Seeing the final Gun Runner (Hip 537) raise $575,000 at the very end was just reflective of a really positive, strong day across the board.
“I think the mares were incredibly healthy, not just from the top, but all the way up to the strong mid-range,” Lacy continued. “I think that was incredibly encouraging. There was a really big crowd here – probably the biggest crowd we’ve seen at a January sale in a long time, even though we had a few bad days.”
The short yearling market was considerably strong as the highest priced yearling overtook a colt Rifle runner sold to Marc Gunderson of MWG for $800,000. That is the highest price paid for a small yearling at the January Sale in 11 years. A half-brother of world record setter and grade 1 winner Tooth burn raised $625,000 from Glen Hill Farm by the end of the sale.
Marc Gunderson
READ: Gunderson goes to $800,000 for well-bred Gun Runner Colt
The most expensive yearling filly (Hip 542) was also by Gun Runner, who sold for $575,000 to Three Chimneys Farm. The filly comes from the immediate family of Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu. She was shipped by Four Star Sales, agent.
Taylor Made Sales Agency was the top consignor of the day, selling 44 of the draft for $7,602,500.
The second and final session of the January Sale kicks off on January 13 at 10am ET, with Hips 551-1105 set to go through the ring. As of Monday evening, Keeneland had reported 114 zeros.
“It’s a new sale, a new year, and the January sale offers a lot of opportunity,” said Cormac Breathnach, Keeneland’s senior director of sales operations. “We were pleased with the catalog when it came out, and pleased that there were opportunities for people to buy foundation mares and reassess their plans to reinvest or sell horses after a strong 2025.”
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