Breeding & Racing Magazine

Maryland 2YOs Day-2: US$575k Lion Heart Colt

In the US, trainer Steve Klesaris (as agent for Puglisi Racing) paid top price of $575,000 for a colt by Coolmore shuttler & dual Gr1-winning freshman sire Lion Heart (out of Balzac mare Bye The Bye) during the closing session of the 2-day Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale of 2YOs-in-training at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium in Maryland. The colt (bred in Kentucky by Gaines-Gentry Thoroughbreds & consigned by Crupi's Newcastle Farm as agent for an undisclosed pin-hooking partnership) is a half-brother to multiple Gr1-winning sire Shossberg. He was previously a US$190,000 purchase at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale & clocked 21.0sec for 2 furlongs in the pre-sale breeze-up session, "believed to be the fastest 2-furlong drill in Timonium history," noted thoroughbredtimes.com. Klesaris commented: "He displayed brilliance on the racetrack. To me, it superseded everything else we saw at this sale. We knew there was going to be a little fight to get him. But if we took one home from this sale, we wanted it to be him. So we just got tied on & ready for the battle." (Lion Heart recorded his 4th individual 1st-crop winner earlier this week at Belmont Park in New York; meanwhile his 1st Australian-bred progeny are yearlings this season & have sold up to A$230,000.)