VanMeter Over the Moon With Sale

A filly by Malibu Moon shot to the leader board of Thursday’s third session of the November sale when selling for $750,000 to bloodstock agents Alex Solis and Jason Litt. The duo were purchasing the weanling on behalf of an undisclosed New York-based client. 

Consigned by VanMeter Sales, Agent III, the chestnut weanling (hip 690) is a daughter of multiple stakes placed Life Lesson (Unbridled’s Song). Her second dam is graded stakes winner Wander Mom (Maria’s Mon). 

“Physically, I don’t know if you can find one as good as that,” Solis said after seeing off John Moynihan to secure the filly. “We love Unbridled’s Song mares and it’s the family of Serena’s Song. She just checked all the boxes–she was that good.” 

Of the final price, Solis added, “You always want to get them for less, but I’m not surprised it went that high. She was a very good filly and the market is really strong. So if you want something, you are going to have to pay for them.” 

Life Lesson was purchased by Maurice Miller for $370,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 2006. 

“I bought her as a yearling with Maurice Miller and we were going to pinhook her,” explained Tom VanMeter. “That didn’t happen, so we raced her.” 

Racing for VanMeter and Ricky Stivers, Life Lesson was twice stakes-placed in 2010 and returned to the Keeneland sales ring in November where she RNA’d for $120,000. 

“She was in the sale way back when and didn’t have much action, so we just plugged her in and that was it,” VanMeter said. 

Life Lesson’s first foal, a colt by Indian Charlie, sold for $165,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November sale. 

VanMeter said the mare’s Malibu Moon weanling was special from the start. 

“She had a blue eye–The Jockey Club told me it was about 1 in 5,000,” VanMeter said. “So there are five or six a year for the whole registry. She was just a really cool horse.” 

The filly’s final price tag exceeded expectations. 

“Coming over here, I was hoping she would make $200,000, because she is really nice and I really liked her. But then she got, not a whole ton of scopes, but the right ones and we could kind of feel the momentum building. So then we were hoping she would make $300,000. But two tough guys hooked up and neither one wanted to quit.” 

Life Lesson is currently in foal to GI Belmont S. winner Union Rags and VanMeter has her 2015 mating already planned. 

“She is booked back to Malibu Moon–I’ve got my season already,” VanMeter smiled. “I went and got my season right now, I called Spendthrift and they said, ‘Yeh, bring her back.’ We’re overjoyed with the result.”