Our Book 1 Fillies: Another Early Report Card
Following our self-examination of the colts, here is our audit of the fillies.
Following our self-examination of the colts list, it is time to put our Book 1 fillies through the same audit.
Before the sale, we ranked the active Book 1 fillies strictly on pedigree-based racing potential. Price played no role. We asked which five pages we would most want in our racing stable if every filly cost the same amount and passed the same physical and veterinary examination.
Our original favorite, Hip 202, a Curlin filly out of Dreaming of Julia and full sister to champion Malathaat, was already out. Hip 120, a Gun Runner filly out of Amour d'Ete and full sister to Preakness winner Early Voting, was out as well.
That left the five we published on September 12:
- Hip 251, Nyquist out of Heavenly Love, 94.1
- Hip 110, Gun Runner out of Akron Moon, 93.2
- Hip 220, Curlin out of Feel That Fire, 92.4
- Hip 53, Curlin out of Stormy Welcome, 91.3
- Hip 235, Gun Runner out of Glinda the Good, 90.7
An Already Select Group
As we noted in the colt audit, Book 1 starts with an unusually high bar. Great sires, accomplished racemares, major producers and Grade 1 families are everywhere.
The challenge is separating very good pages from other very good pages.
As with the colts, this public exercise stopped at the page. We had the catalog and data, while buyers could evaluate the individual horses and conduct their own physical, veterinary and repository work. In direct client assessments, horse-specific inputs supplied by the client's team can sit alongside our analysis.
Here is how the five sold.
No. 1: Hip 251
Nyquist out of Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon
- Racing score: 94.1
- Sale price: $900,000
- Buyer: Robert & Lawana Low
Heavenly Love gave us an unusual combination of juvenile class and immediate production.
She won the Alcibiades [G1] at two and then produced Sierra Leone, champion three-year-old colt and winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic, Whitney, Blue Grass and Risen Star. He also finished second in the Kentucky Derby and placed in both the Belmont and Travers.
The next two generations kept adding class. Second dam Darling My Darling was Grade 1-placed and produced Heavenly Love and Grade 2 winner Forever Darling. Forever Darling produced multiple international Grade 1 winner Forever Young. Third dam Roamin Rachel won the Ballerina [G1] and produced Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy.
Nyquist fit the page particularly well. He was champion at two, won the Kentucky Derby at three and has already demonstrated the ability to sire elite juvenile fillies.
The question we identified before the sale was production volume. Heavenly Love had only two runners in our detailed record, with Sierra Leone accounting for the championship result.
Even with that small sample, the close-up evidence put Hip 251 at the top of our active list.
Robert and Lawana Low bought her for $900,000.
No. 2: Hip 110
Gun Runner out of Akron Moon, by Malibu Moon
- Racing score: 93.2
- Sale price: $1.4 million
- Buyer: New River Equine
Akron Moon had already produced exactly the kind of runner we value heavily in a yearling pedigree.
Bellafina won the Del Mar Debutante [G1], Chandelier [G1] and Sorrento [G2] at two, then returned at three to win the Santa Anita Oaks [G1]. Akron Moon also produced multiple stakes winner and graded-placed Diamond King.
The mating gave us another reason to like her.
The direct Gun Runner/Malibu Moon population in our supplied data contained 16 starters, 15 winners and six stakes winners. Among fillies, 10 starters had produced nine winners and three stakes winners.
The cross had also shown middle-distance ability, with an average winning distance just beyond eight furlongs and the fillies stretching slightly farther.
New River Equine paid $1.4 million.
No. 3: Hip 220
Curlin out of Feel That Fire, by Lightnin N Thunder
- Racing score: 92.4
- Sale price: $1.95 million
- Buyer: Whisper Hill Farm
Whisper Hill Farm paid $1.95 million for Hip 220, making her the highest-priced sold filly in Book 1.
Our interest in the page started with Mind Control.
Feel That Fire produced a horse who won the Hopeful [G1] at two, the H. Allen Jerkens [G1] at three and the Cigar Mile [G1] later in his career.
He won 11 races and more than $2 million.
Mind Control gave the page much more than Grade 1 typography. He demonstrated early ability, development and the durability to remain a high-class racehorse across multiple seasons.
Feel That Fire also produced Goddess of Fire, Grade 1-placed in the Alabama and Grade 2-placed in the Rachel Alexandra and Gulfstream Park Oaks. Blue Flame Six added current stakes form.
The mare had eight runners and six winners. Mind Control supplied the highest ceiling, while the other runners gave us more evidence behind him.
Curlin brought a different ingredient. The female family supplied speed and earlier development. Curlin added scope, route ability and a long record of horses improving into and beyond their three-year-old seasons.
The exact Curlin/Lightnin N Thunder evidence was limited, so the mare's actual production carried considerably more weight in our assessment.
No. 4: Hip 53
Curlin out of Stormy Welcome, by Storm Cat
- Racing score: 91.3
- Result: RNA at $975,000
Hip 53 had one of the cleanest pieces of evidence in the entire group.
She is a full sister to Raging Sea.
Raging Sea earned more than $2.2 million and became a multiple Grade 1 winner, taking the La Troienne and Personal Ensign along with the Beldame, Shuvee, Doubledogdare and Comely. She also finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at two.
The exact Curlin-Stormy Welcome mating had already produced a filly with high-class juvenile form who developed into an elite two-turn dirt mare.
The family underneath was exceptional. Second dam Welcome Surprise was a Grade 3 winner and half-sister to Horse of the Year A.P. Indy and Preakness winner Summer Squall. Third dam Weekend Surprise was Broodmare of the Year.
Stormy Welcome's broader production was less consistent. Nine runners had produced five winners, with Raging Sea clearly the standout. Welcoming was stakes placed and Weather Wiz won six races.
Bidding on Hip 53 reached $975,000, but the reserve was not met. The $975,000 was a final bid rather than a sale price, while still reflecting substantial demand for the filly.
No. 5: Hip 235
Gun Runner out of Glinda the Good, by Hard Spun
- Racing score: 90.7
- Sale price: $300,000
- Buyer: Ball Dance Racing / W. Stroud
Hip 235 was the most complicated pedigree in our five when we published the rankings.
The appeal was easy to find.
Glinda the Good was a stakes winner and Grade 2-placed at two. She produced Good Magic, champion two-year-old colt and winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Haskell and Blue Grass, with a second in the Kentucky Derby.
The deeper family was prolific. Second dam Magical Flash produced 14 winners from 16 runners, including Grade 3 winner Take the Ribbon and several other stakes winners. Third dam Gils Magic produced 10 winners from 11 runners, headed by multiple Grade 1 winner Magical Maiden and Grade 2 winner Magical Mile.
The mating kept us from being as confident in Hip 235 as we were in the other four.
Our available sources disagreed on the broader cross, and the direct Gun Runner/Hard Spun sample contained only one starter. Glinda the Good had seven runners and four winners, with Good Magic accounting for the direct black type.
We liked the ceiling enough to rank her fifth, but she was the only filly in our five carrying Medium Confidence rather than High Confidence.
Ball Dance Racing and W. Stroud bought her for $300,000.
We knew Hip 235 carried more uncertainty than the other four. Her price gives us another reason to keep a close eye on her.
So, How Did We Do?
Our top three fillies sold for $900,000, $1.4 million and $1.95 million, with Hip 220 becoming the highest-priced sold filly in Book 1. Hip 53 attracted a $975,000 bid before going RNA. Hip 235 sold for $300,000.
Our reasons for liking the five were quite different.
Hip 251 had a Grade 1 juvenile dam, a champion sibling and exceptional depth. Hip 110 paired proven first-dam production with unusually strong direct mating data. Hip 220 came through a mare whose best runner won Grade 1 races at two, three and later while compiling 11 victories. Hip 53 gave us exceptional exact-mating evidence through Raging Sea. Hip 235 combined championship juvenile class with the least settled mating of the five.
That is where the Thoroughbred Intelligence platform helps. Recognizing Sierra Leone, Bellafina, Mind Control, Raging Sea or Good Magic on a catalog page is easy. Comparing hundreds of already excellent pedigrees on the same terms is much harder. Our platform lets us weigh production, proximity, development, durability and mating evidence consistently across the entire book.
Hip 220 cost $1.95 million. Hip 235 cost $300,000. Now they both have to run.
We put the scores down before the sale. We'll keep them there and see what the horses teach us.
We scrutinize the horses. It is only fair that we hold our own work to the same standard.
The original Book 1 filly rankings were published September 12, 2026. The racing scores and rankings above are unchanged from that publication. The public exercise was based on pedigree and racing data and did not incorporate our own physical, veterinary or repository evaluation. In direct acquisition work, horse-specific information supplied by a client's team can be considered alongside our analysis. Racing performance remains the real test.