SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Yearlings by American classic sires Curlin and Quality Road sold to operations that race both domestically and internationally as the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale opened on Monday night with relatively steady activity. Fasig-Tipton reported that 74 horses sold during Monday's first of two boutique sessions at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion on East Avenue, just down the street from Saratoga Race Course. The auction company reported gross receipts of $30,785,000. Last year, 69 horses sold for $28,930,000 in the opening session of a sale that eventually finished with record gross, average, and median figures, giving this year's figures a high bar to meet. Monday's average price was $416,014, dropping less than 1 percent compared to $419,275 in last year's opener. The session-to-session median was steady, at $350,000. The buyback rate jumped to 28 percent, compared to 20 percent in 2022. "I thought it was a very fair marketplace," Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said, noting that he was encouraged by the bidding on the first evening. "Great diversity of buyers -- very, very, very good mix of buyers tonight, and very, very, very good mix of bidders,” Browning said. “The love was kind of spread around. ... The money spread, really, across the board amongst a good number of horses." After steady activity in the price range north of half a million for most of the evening – 18 yearlings ultimately changed hands in that price range – the Quality Road colt who was the first yearling to break the seven-figure ceiling got a pat on the neck from the ring handler as the hammer fell at $1.1 million. Bloodstock agents Alex Elliott and Ben McElroy, seated together in the sale pavilion, signed the ticket on behalf of Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing for the colt who was consigned by Gainesway, as agent for breeder Stonestreet Farm. Amo Racing has become a major international name this season, with runners such as Royal Ascot victors King of Steel and Valiant Force, both purchased in the U.S. as yearlings. Elliott said this colt will be shipped to Ireland for his early training before ultimately returning to the U.S. to help expand the footprint of an operation whose stateside runners include Grade 2 winner Affirmative Lady. That filly was off the board in this year's Kentucky Oaks, and Joorabchian has his sights on the rest of the classics. "I think he's looking for Derby horses in the States," Elliott said. "[This colt has] size, scope, he's by the right sire, and he's got a great pedigree. "Obviously, a lot of people wanted him for him to have brought what he brought," Elliott continued. "But we're happy to have him." The colt is out of the Henny Hughes mare I'm a Looker, winner of the Grade 3 Winning Colors Stakes and the West Virginia Secretary of State Stakes. The mare, who finished on the board in five other stakes, is the dam of one winner from two starters to date. Champion Lakeville Miss appears on this colt's catalog page, as do Grade 1 winners Dortmund and Mogambo. Less than 10 horses later, David Lanigan, standing in the busy area near the back holding ring, won a prolonged bidding war for a $1.05 million Curlin filly on behalf of Scott and Cindy Heider's Heider Family Stables. The filly was consigned by Denali Stud, as agent for breeders Scott and Evan Dilworth. Although the Heiders have horses overseas with trainer Joseph O'Brien, they campaign on both sides of the Atlantic, and Lanigan said this filly will eventually be trained by Steve Asmussen, who selected her from the agent's shortlist on the sale grounds. "Steve had a look at those three," Lanigan said of the horses he scouted for the Heiders, "and he thought this filly was the nicest horse in the whole sale, which I'd agree with. She's got a great walk -- she showed herself really well the whole way through the week. She's got a great, big wide chest and a great, big back end on her. Hopefully she's lucky." The filly is the first foal out of the Justin Phillip mare Lady T N T, winner of the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks and second in a pair of stakes at Oaklawn. Lady T N T is out of Grade 1-placed stakes winner High Heeled Hope, also the dam of Grade 3 winner Sweet Hope; of stakes-placed Highgate Park; and of Well Heeled Lady, dam of stakes winner Zanotti. The sale concludes with a Tuesday evening session that will include the sale of a share in prominent young sire Not This Time – although the price of that sale will not be folded into the overall sale grosses. There is plenty of pedigree power among the yearlings cataloged for Tuesday night, however, including a colt by Curlin and out of four-time Eclipse Award champion Beholder, both Hall of Famers. The second night of the catalog, which is arranged in alphabetical order by broodmare names, also wound up with half-siblings to champions Improbable and Shamrock Rose, and yearlings out of Grade 1 winners Paola Queen and Rachel's Valentina, among other accomplished runners. "I think there's a deep breath, a sense of relief tonight," Browning said, "and I think there's optimism that tomorrow night, we have another really, really, really good group of horses. I'll sleep a whole lot better tonight than I did last night, knowing that there's a very viable marketplace." For hip-by-hip results from Monday's session, click here. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.