LEXINGTON, Ky. – As it heads into the last stop on the North American yearling sales calendar, Highgate Sales has enjoyed several milestones already in its inaugural year. The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale is set to conclude the season with its four-day run from Monday-Thursday at the company’s Newtown Paddocks headquarters in Lexington. There are 1,594 yearlings in the catalog, prior to outs, for this sale, which has expanded from three sessions to four in recent years to meet demand. Fourteen of those yearlings are in the consignment of Highgate Sales, the company Jacob West and Jill Gordon announced the launch of last December. Gordon, formerly in sales and client relations roles at Claiborne Farm and Warrendale Sales, and West, a noted bloodstock agent, launched their joint venture with a consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale in February. It was an auspicious beginning, as they sold Grade 1-placed Brilliant Cut for a sale-topping $750,000. Excluding dispersals, Brilliant Cut became the second most expensive filly or mare sold at the Fasig-Tipton February auction, trailing only Better Begin for $900,000 in 1984. “We couldn’t be more thankful to the owners that entrusted their horses to us,” Gordon said. “You can only sell what people are willing to give you.” Highgate then moved on to its first yearling sale season, and recorded another milestone at the Keeneland September sale. The consignment traded a $1.3 million Constitution colt, its first million-dollar horse. “We knew he was pretty damn popular,” West said. “He was bred by China Horse Club and raised at WinStar, and they did an incredible job getting him ready. It was easy for us to lead him up here and let these guys battle. “That was Jill Gordon’s first million-dollar horse and a lot of credit has to go to her in putting this consignment together.” The consignment Highgate has assembled at Fasig-Tipton October is highlighted by a filly by three-time leading sire Into Mischief who sports an active pedigree. The filly’s dam is Grade 1 Alabama Stakes winner Embellish the Lace, whose first starter is a winner. Embellish the Lace is a half-sister to Grade 1 Travers Stakes winner Afleet Express. This is the family of graded stakes winner and Kentucky Oaks runner-up My Miss Sophia, who is the dam of Annapolis, a recent Grade 1 winner at Keeneland and a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales Highgate also will consign a colt by classic sire Uncle Mo who is out of graded stakes winner Daveron, dam of Canadian champion Global Access and graded stakes-winning millionaire March to the Arch; it is the family of Kentucky Derby winner and champion Animal Kingdom. The consignment also includes an Uncle Mo colt out of a half-sister to Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar; a filly from the first crop of Catalina Cruiser and out of Grade 1 winner Hooh Why; and a filly from the first crop of champion Mitole who is from the immediate family of Grade 1 winners Bullsbay and Grace Adler. The October sale looks to wrap up what has generally been a strong yearling sales season. This year’s sale will face a high bar when matched up against last fall’s figures, with West playing a role in that. West, acting as agent for Repole Stables and St. Elias Stables, went to $925,000 to purchase the sale-topping Street Sense colt. That tied for the highest price in the sale’s history, matching a Storm Cat filly at the 1999 edition, and set a new high-water mark for a colt. With strength at the top of the marketplace, the 2021 October sale finished with record figures across the board – 1,153 horses sold for $52,607,500, surpassing by 38 percent the previous sale record gross of $38,258,900 set in 2019. The average was $45,627, jumping 20 percent over the record of $37,955, also set in 2019. The median rose to $22,000, a sale record 19 percent higher than the previous record median of $18,500 set in 2014. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.