Hickory Lane consignment smaller, but quality remains

by James Platz

Hickory Lane Horse Farm may have only five yearlings in this year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, but the Findlay, OH operation has a proven record of consigning horses that make an impact on the racetrack. Kevin Greenfield believes that, despite smaller numbers, the consignment is filled with the kind of quality that has previously produced Dan Patch Award winners and other top racehorses.

“We try to build quality,” he said. “We’ve sold It’s Academic. We bred Yo Tillie, we bred Victorianas Secret, we bred Mr Mouton and Ardonne, who have all sold at this sale just in the last three years. So, I feel like we bring a good product to the table.”

Greenfield and Hickory Lane arrive in Lexington off a strong showing at the Ohio Selected Jug Sale. There, Perls Hotshot, a Lou’s Pearlman filly consigned by Hickory Lane as agent was one of three yearlings to top the sale with a $200,000 bid.

“It was a really, really exciting day for us,” Greenfield said. “I’d never had a sale topper before, so that was really cool.”

While down in numbers this year, Greenfield likes the group set to sell at the Fasig-Tipton Newtown Paddocks. The first of the consignment is up for auction Tuesday, with three trotters slated for the sale ring.

“I have two Tactical Landings, a filly whose mother is a sister to Decadence, which is a nice filly, and then a colt whose mother is a sister to Peyton Hanover out of the Wheeling N Dealin family, which is really nice,” he said.

Freshbreath Of Air, Hip #314, is a New Jersey and Kentucky eligible filly that is the first foal from six-time winner Penelope J. Second dam Decadence has also produced graded stakes-placed My Degenerate (3, 1:51.1 $521,116).

Immediately following is colt Epic Landing, Hip #315, also dual eligible and the first foal from International Moni mare Penny Hanover. As Greenfield noted, the dam is a sister to graded stakes winner Peyton Hanover (3, 1:51.2 $244,574) and New York Sire Stakes leg-winning freshman Celebrity Dubai.

Greenfield believes the dual eligibility is a big selling point for yearlings consigned at Lexington.

“It’s extremely important, in my opinion, because it gives the yearling buyers an additional market, gives them more choices as to where they want to race, and it allows the consigner to maximize the value of the yearling at the auction as well,” he said. “I just think when you give buyers more options and more choices, you’re more likely to get more interest in your yearlings.”

Closing out the Tuesday offerings is a colt with a well-known sibling currently racing.

“We have Victorianas Secret’s brother, a Gimpanzee selling the second day right near the end,” Greenfield said. “He looks like a spitting image of his sire and has a really good video. So, we’ll see what happens with him.”

Hip #388 Stock Ledger is the third foal from the Donato Hanover mare Victoriana. His Tactical Landing sister, Victoriana Secret, is a Grade 1 winner this season, with career earnings of $450,531 and a sophomore mark of 1:50.

“We have a first foal Downbytheseaside the fifth day out of the family of JK Endofanera that’s very nice,” he said. “And we have an Always B Miki filly out of a very good family and a 1:50 mare.”

Hip #484 Bona Fide Beth, a daughter of Always B Miki, sells Wednesday. Out of the American Ideal mare Up Front Elizabeth, the filly is a sister to Stay Hungry mare Hungry Lizzo, now a winner of over $430,000.

Hip #730 Down By Contact is an Ohio and Kentucky eligible Downbytheseaside colt out of Always B Miki mare Miki Angelo. The mare is a sister to JK Mardi Says, dam of the speedy sophomore filly Be Perfect BG (p, 3, 1:48.4-’26 $511,283).

“We try to bring the best product we can to the market and hope that those yearlings turn into champions like Yo Tillie and Victorianas Secret,” Greenfield said.