F-T Spa opener crackles with Mo money, Mo money, Mo money

[Kasept]

Mo Momentum: Sheikh Boosts Saratoga Sale
By Deirdre B. Biles

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...-saratoga-sale

Boosted by the Sheikh Mohammed stimulus package, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale got off to a sizzling start Aug. 10 in New York at a time when the struggling economy is causing prices to fall at other Thoroughbred auctions. The gross revenue for the 76 horses that sold was $25,470,000, which was a whopping 40.3% increase from the opening session a year ago. The average price grew 10.7% to $335,132, and the median price increased 6.4% to $250,000.

Sheikh Mohammed, who rules Dubai, “has kind of a rock star status, and when he shows up, it gets everybody’s adrenaline pumping,” said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency.

And the bids start soaring.

By the end of the night, Sheikh Mohammed, who mingled with the crowd outside the sale pavilion, had spent $5.5 million through his bloodstock manager, John Ferguson, for six horses, including three of the four yearlings that sold for seven-figure prices. They were the session’s most expensive horse, a $1.5-million Medaglia d'Oro –- Cat Dancer filly, a $1.3-million Bernardini – Bird Town colt, and a $1.2-million Bernardini -- Storm Beauty colt. A number of associates of Sheik Mohammed and Ferguson, including Richard O’Gorman and trainer John Gosden, also were active, and another member of Dubai’s ruling family, Sheikh Hamden, purchased horses in the name of Shadwell Estate Co., but did not attend the Saratoga auction.