Mares at the 2025 Kentucky November Sales

The November breeding stock sales at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland are star-studded events where some of the best broodmares, and broodmare prospects, are offered each year. The 2025 editions were no exception. At Fasig-Tipton’s elite November sale, Secretariat descendants brought the top six prices, and eight of the top 10. At Keeneland, nine of the top 10 prices were for Secretariat descendants.

Most of Secretariat’s influence comes through his grandsons Storm Cat, A.P. Indy and Gone West. They have been in the pedigrees of top horses for generations, both as sires and broodmare sires. The dominance of Into Mischief and the increasing importance of Not This Time have secured the Storm Cat male line for generations to come. A.P. Indy’s male-line influence continues primarily through Tapit, Pulpit and Malibu Moon. Gone West’s sons Speightstown, Elusive Quality and Zafonic (in Europe) remain prominent, as does Elusive Quality’s son Quality Road.

Those three grandsons are the gifts that keep on giving, and they appear in many of the mares sold at the November sales. A few other Secretariat grandsons can also be found in some of today’s pedigrees, most often are Chief’s Crown and Dehere. The real fun, though, comes in finding more unusual sources of Secretariat in today’s pedigrees. I’ve highlighted a few of them here among the mares offered for sale at the two November sales. Enjoy learning a bit about these pedigrees, and be sure to see them in the accompanying photo gallery.

Fasig-Tipton sale-topper Streak of Luck, with her own image on the barn wall.

A foal of 2022, Adeera won first out at Churchill Downs, then went on to place in two stakes races. She’s by Horse of the Year Authentic, a son of Into Mischief out of a mare by Gone West’s son Mr. Greeley. Better still, Adeera’s dam Majestic Presence is by one of my favorites, Majestic Warrior. He’s a G1-winning son of A.P. Indy out of G1 winner Dream Supreme, who in turn was out of G1 winner Spinning Round, a daughter of the Secretariat mare Take Heart. All four were bred and raced by George Steinbrenner’s Kinsman Farm. Adeer sold for $900,000 in foal to hot sire Not This Time. As noted, Not This Time is a grandson of Storm Cat; in addition, his female line goes back to the stakes-winning Secretariat mare Tweak.

Born in 2020, Batucada is a stakes winner who fell just a head short of being a G2 winner when second in the 2024 Beldame. She’s by Union Rags, the 2012 Belmont Stakes winner whose broodmare sire is Gone West. Batucada is out of the Tapit mare Lady Pamela, and her second dam is the Storm Cat mare Life is Sweet, who won the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (one of five BC winners sired by Storm Cat). In foal to Curlin, Batucada sold for $675,000.

Bless the Broken is a stakes winner who was third in the 2025 Kentucky Oaks. She’s by Jim Dandy winner Laoban, whose dam Chattertown provides three appearances of Secretariat in this pedigree: two from her sire Speightstown (Gone West and Storm Cat), and one from her broodmare sire Lost Soldier (a son of the outstanding Secretariat producer Lady Winborne). In addition, Bless the Broken’s dam The Nightingale is by Tapit; her second dam is by the Storm Cat stallion Catienus. The Nightingale is a half-sister to Princess of Sylmar, a top 3-year-old filly in 2013. Bless the Broken, with five appearances of Secretariat in her pedigree, was sold for $950,000 as a racing or broodmare prospect.

A multiple stakes winner as a 2-year-old in 2024, Bullet is out of the Tapit mare Marlinspike. Most interesting is her whole female line. Bullet’s fifth dam is the stakes-winning Cinegita, one of the most significant Secretariat mares whose influence continues today. The bottom line of this pedigree includes two champion fillies – Cinegita’s granddaughter Flanders and HER daughter Surfside. Bullet was sold for $475,000 as a racing or broodmare prospect.

Bullet was one of many interesting gray mares offered at the sales.

There’s nothing unusual about seeing Storm Cat in a pedigree these days, but you don’t often see his son Newfoundland. He’s the broodmare sire of Distorted d’Oro’s second dam Our Khrysty, a multiple stakes winner. Newfoundland himself was a multiple graded stakes winner who brought $3.3 million as a yearling. He entered stud in Kentucky, but had more success as a sire after relocating to Chile. A stakes-placed winner, Distorted d’Oro was sold for $2.1 million in foal to Into Mischief.

OK, she has a fun name so I just had to include her in this group. But Dorth Vader has talent as well – a G1 winner with a solid record and earnings of more than $1 million. She’s by Girvin, whose sire Tale of Ekati is a Storm Cat line stallion; Girvin’s dam is by Malibu Moon. At age five, Dorth Vader was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect, but the final bid of $1,950,000 did not meet her reserve.

A foal of 2020, Elysian Field comes from one of my favorite families. She was Canada’s champion 3-year-old filly in 2023, winning the Woodbine Oaks and finishing second to the boys in both the King’s Plate and Breeders’ Stakes (the latter by just a nose). Her fifth dam is the important Secretariat mare Chosen Lady, a multiple-G1 producer and full sister to stakes winner Academy Award. Elysian Field was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect, but a bid of $775,000 did not meet her reserve.

The 2025 G1 Diana was won by 5-year-old Excellent Truth, racing in America this year after campaigning in France from age two to four, winning a G3 event in that country. Gone West is a great-great grandsire on both sides of her pedigree – her sire Cotai Glory is out of an Elusive Quality mare, while her second dam is by Zafonic. Excellent Truth sold for $2.5 million as a racing or broodmare prospect.

A winner in just two starts, Go Ny Go is by Nyquist, a great-grandson of Storm Cat. The mare’s female line is more interesting – her second dam is stakes-placed Escrow Agent, one of 15 foals produced by Secretariat’s stakes-winning daughter Viva Sec. There’s a lot of black type coming from those foals, with Escrow Agent leading the way; for example, her son Vicar won the Florida Derby. In foal to Volatile, Go Ny Go was sold for $60,000.

The third dam of Go Ny Go is the stakes-winning Secretariat mare Viva Sec.

Two closely-related mares whose female lines go back to Secretariat’s daughter Sister Dot were offered at Keeneland. Sister Dot is best known for her champion son and sire Dehere, but her daughter Demi Souer launched a whole line of stakes-winning descendants herself. Demi Souer is the third dam of both Hollywoodland and Humor Me Dixie.

Hollywoodland, by Quality Road, placed in half of her eight starts at three and four; she was sold in foal to War Front for $100,000. Humor Me Dixie placed in three of seven starts; her only foal of racing age is the stakes-placed Presha, by Omaha Beach. Humor Me Dixie was sold in foal to Upstart for $200,000.

Triple Crown winner Justify (who is a great-great grandson of both Storm Cat and A.P. Indy) has gotten off to a great start as a stallion. In his second crop was 2023 champion 2-year-old filly Just F Y I, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Frizette. Spirited bidding resulted in her sale for $4.5 million, in foal to Into Mischief.

Also in that second crop was Justify’s unraced daughter Just Duet. Her fourth dam is Nellie Forbes, yet another of Secretariat’s top stakes-producing daughters; her descendants have won graded stakes in several countries. In foal to Munnings, Just Duet was sold for $285,000.

I almost couldn't believe the pedigree of French-bred Macadamia! Her sire Wootton Bassett is a great-grandson of both Gone West (through Zafonic) and Chief’s Crown. Her dam Eldacar is a great-granddaughter of 1984 Epson Derby winner Secreto, whose dam Betty’s Secret was the very first Secretariat mare to produce a G1 winner. Yet it’s Macadamia’s sixth dam who most captured my interest – Secretive. A 1978 French-bred daughter of Secretariat, Secretive was unplaced in her only start, but as a broodmare she produced French G2 winner Secret Form. Better still, she has numerous European stakes-winning descendants through several generations of her female line. Macadamia, who won two races, sold in foal to Justify for $270,000.

Yet another pretty gray at the sales, Macadamia's pedigree showcases four Secretariat descendants.

Oakhurst was a three-time winner at the races, and her third dam is the stakes-producing mare Amuse, a member of Secretariat’s second crop born in 1976. Amuse’s daughter Mckaymackenna was a multiple graded stakes winner who went on to be a stakes producer; among her daughters was the stakes winner Happiness Is, who produced Oakhurst when bred to Pulpit’s son Mr. Speaker. Oakhurst, in foal to Quality Road’s son City of Light, was purchased for $200,000.

You have to go a little further back to find Secretariat in the pedigree of multiple stakes winner Opus Forty Two. She’s by the Storm Cat line stallion Mendelssohn, and on the opposite side of her pedigree is the Secretariat mare Office Affair, her fifth dam. Unraced, Office Affair was born in 1988; most of her broodmare success comes through her first foal Charge d’Affaires and HER daughter Pretty ’n Smart. Among the successful runners from this line include Cupid, Heart Ashley, Fiano Romano and Ashley’s Kitty. In foal to Flightline, Opus Forty Two sold for $700,000.

Puca joined the exclusive ranks of mares that have produced two classic winners when her son Dornoch won the 2024 Belmont Stakes a year after Mage took the Kentucky Derby. There are only nine members of this very select group, but six of them were a hundred or more years ago. The first since the late 1920s was Secretariat’s daughter Weekend Surprise, whose A.P. Indy won the 1992 Belmont Stakes two years after Summer Squall won the Preakness. And Summer Squall happens to be the sire of Puca’s second dam Rocktheboat. (The third mare in the modern era to produce two classic winners is Better Than Honour, whose daughter by A.P. Indy, Rags to Riches, won the Belmont Stakes, as did the mare’s son Jazil.) Puca brought $5 million at the Fasig-Tipton sale.

Puca spent little time in her stall during showing hours, with everyone wanting a look at the dam of two consecutive classic winners.

I had to include Shisospicy here, even though she “only” carries a Storm Cat cross, which is not at all surprising these days. After all, she won the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, and was the first 3-year-old filly to ever win that race. She was shipped to the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds soon after her victory. Shisospicy is by champion sprinter Mitole, a male-line grandson of Storm Cat’s champion son and leading sire Giant’s Causeway. The filly’s broodmare sire is phenomenon Into Mischief, whose male line also goes back to Storm Cat. Shisospicy was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect, and she brought $5.2 million.

Only one horse brought more than Shisospicy at the Fasig-Tipton sale, and that was Streak of Luck at $6.2 million. That’s so surprise, as the 10-year-old gray mare’s second foal is leading 2025 2-year-old colt Ted Noffey, expected to be named divisional champion at the Eclipse Award ceremonies in January. Streak of Luck’s broodmare sire is Elusive Quality, a leading sire by Gone West. She was another mare sold in foal to Not This Time.

Trenchtown Cat is a multiple stakes winner by Discreet Cat, yet another stallion whose male line goes back to Storm Cat. Her second foal is Mr. A.P., who was second to Ted Noffey in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The most interesting part of Trenchtown Cat’s pedigree comes from her broodmare sire Afternoon Deelites. He was a grandson of Medaille d’Or, a son of Secretariat who was the Canadian champion 2-year-old colt in 1978. In a private sale, Trenchtown Cat brought $500,000, in foal to McKinzie.