$300,000 Colt Leads Way for Gunite at Keeneland January

The popularity of Gunite’s first crop carried over to 2026 when the stallion’s short yearlings were led by a $300,000 colt purchased by Cherry Knoll Farm.

Selling as Hip 65 with Hunter Valley Farm, he was the most expensive short yearling sold by a first crop sire and the fifth most expensive yearling colt overall at the sale.

Out of the winning Into Mischief mare Breaking Beauty and bred by Camas Park Stud, the colt is a half-brother to three winners from four to race. Those winners are headlined by Tiz The Law’s Gr.3 winner and Gr.2 placed Tiz Dashing with the mare also seeing two of her other runners winning last year.

Breaking Beauty is out of the Gr.2 winner and Gr.1 placed Que Belle, whose eight winners include Gr.3 winners Osidy and Quetsche.

Gunite’s New York-bred Hip 496 sold for $250,000 to Chief Stable as the ninth most expensive yearling colt of the sale.

Offered by Burleson Farms, the Sequel Thoroughbreds-bred is the first foal out of West Coast mare Vita de Vito. Vita de Vito is a half-sister to the stakes placed Wilson Q and the dam of the stakes placed Canned Heat among the three winners out of her Speightstown dam. That mare is a full sister to Gr.3 winner Bridgetown and half-sister to stakes winners Notary, Clement Rock, and Carnacks Choice.

In all, there are nine stakes horses on the page with five winning stakes.

Other yearlings sold by Gunite brought $125,000, $110,000, $100,000, etc. for an average of $118,500 – the third highest of any first-crop sire and highest of any first-crop sire with five or more sold.