Nyquist x Spa Treatment colt
One of the colts of the sale is set to compete in colours made famous by Justify, Life Is Good, Improbable et al after the partnership of WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and Siena Farm fended off repeated rivals to claim a Nyquist x Spa Retreat yearling on the fourth day of the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
The bay, offered by Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, had been much talked about prior to entering the ring and there were few surprises when those discussions percolated into bids and counter bids pushing him all the way to being the sale-topper for the day. At the close, it was WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden as the last bidder standing with a winning nod of USD1,300,000 for the individual listed as Lot 984.
“Obviously Nyquist over Bernardini is a great cross,” said Walden. “[He was] one of our favourites of the whole sale. Book 1, Book 2, it didn’t matter. We were very bullish on him.
“Everybody seems to want a Nyquist, Gun Runner, Justify or Constitution. There are a lot of them in here [and] you have to sort through them. This was the one we landed on. He was one of our favorite horses in the sale.”
The physicality of the colt is unmissable and was a determining factor in his auction price carrying him to the top of the leader board as the highest priced yearlings by one of the hottest sires in the United States right now.
“I went to the farm in the spring to look at some of the horses we were looking at selling and this is definitely one of the yearlings that caught everyone’s eye,” said Hanzly Albina of consignor Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services.
“He’s just a beautiful horse all around. He really stood out…a man among boys. He was always a very nice individual but he developed properly.”
Lot 984 was the second Nyquist colt the partnership has secured in as many days was followed an earlier purchase of a Gun Runner x High Tech colt. The partnership has secured five yearlings to date at the 2024 September Yearling Sale.
Gun Runner x High Tech colt