Flightline, with Flavien Prat up, wins the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course on Saturday, November 5, 2022, in Lexington, Kentucky Michael Clevenger and Christopher Granger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Seven-Figure Fireworks at Keeneland September as Book 1 Hits $150M

Originally posted on Horse Racing on SI | By Mary Rufo | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 5:15 PM ET

Monday kicked off Book 1 in the 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and the fireworks lasted throughout the day.

Session 1 of Book 1 ended with 15 yearlings selling for seven figures.

The first seven figure yearling, Hip 10, went to John Stewart’s Resolute Racing for $1.5m. The Flightline colt is out of Lady Shipman, making him a half sibling to stakes winning Golden Pal. Stewart jumped the bid on the colt, named Stock Rising. He later took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to explain why he jumped the bid to secure the yearling.

For those who want to know. I jump the bids to actually pay less not more. It shuts down other bidders when they are bidding in $10k increments or $50k increments and I bid in $500k increments.

I also know the reserve for the horses and know what the final price will/should be.…
— Jstewartrr (@jstewartrr) September 9, 2025

Champion and 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Flightline has seen an immense amount of success at the sales as his first crop enters the sales ring as yearlings. Hip 45, also a colt by Flightline, hammered down at $1.7m to Naohiro Sakaguchi. The dam, Mira Alta never raced, although she has produced three foals that were graded stakes winners.

Hip 98 was a full brother to multiple Grade 1 winner, Jack Christopher. The colt by Munnings out of Rushin No Blushin RNA’d at $800k.

The sales topper of Book 1 went in Session 1. Hip 177, a colt by Gun Runner sold to M.V. Magnier, White Birch, and Winchell Thoroughbreds. Magnier and Peter Brant’s White Birch purchased recent three-year-old champion and 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, Sierra Leone at the Saratoga Sale for $2.3m. Winchell Thoroughbreds campaigned sire Gun Runner and continue to purchase and breed a high percentage of progeny including graded stakes winners such as Gunite.

The momentum of high priced yearlings entering the ring continued through Session 2.

Session 2 ended with 20 horses sold for seven figures.

Of those 20, two horses crossed over the $2m threshold on Tuesday including another colt by Gun Runner out of Amore d’Ete, making him a full brother to 2022 Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting. Hip 243 sold to Wesley Ward for $2.2m.

The other yearling that hammered down for over $2m was a filly by Flightline out of graded stakes winner Four Graces. Hip 338 also went for $2.2m and sold to LSU Stables.

Sales from Book 1 totaled to nearly $150m across the 228 hips sold. The reported average sale price was $652,698 while the median sale price was $525k. Out of the 228 hips sold, 217 were sold in the sales ring while an additional 11 were reportedly sold post sale.