.jpg)
Sparking bids from multiple corners while handling the pressure of the Keeneland sale ring with poise and presence, Runnymede’s First Samurai filly was sold on September 13 for $450,000.
The price was well above the respective average and median prices of $348,858 and $285,000 generated by the two select sessions of Book 1 at the world’s largest yearling auction.
British-based agent Oliver St. Lawrence signed the ticket for the filly, who drew interest from American as well as international buyers. Bred by Runnymede and Robert P. Levy from the Unbridled’s Song mare Adventure, the filly is a half sister to Irish Group 2 stakes winner Laughing Lashes, who finished second in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) at the Curragh on August 29.
“She is a truly special filly,” said Runnymede General Manager Martin O’Dowd after the daughter of First Samurai went through the ring as Hip 115. “She is one of the best we’ve ever raised.”
The filly ranked as the fifth highest-priced yearling of her gender during the September 13 session, which overall was the stronger of the two days of Book 1 that began on September 12.