It’s been a long and wonderful journey for the family of Dark Hollow Farm’s foundation mare Safely Home, and her granddaughter Safe Journey continues to build on tradition. David and JoAnn Hayden’s homebred mare became the dam of her third six-figure sales horse as her Bodemeister yearling colt brought $280,000 during the third session of Keeneland’s September sale, Wednesday, Sept. 13. The price well exceeded the day’s average.

The handsome bay, born April 14, was picked out by Patti Miller of the savvy EQB bloodstock agency, with Justin Zayat signing the ticket. EQB has become well-regarded for its selection of future stakes horses by using analytics and sports medicine on top of horsemanship.

The Bodemeister colt has stakes horses and quality in spades, as his sire has a Kentucky Derby winner in his first crop, and his dam has produced three stakes horses from her first five foals. Safe Journey has had a stakes performer every year since 2013, as the dam of Joy, a multiple stakes winner of $245,204, 2017 stakes-winning 3-year-old O Dionysus (also by Bodemeister), who has earned $216,272 in 10 starts; and Combat Diver, a stakes-placed earner of $153,080.

Zayat, whose family campaigned classic-placed Bodemeister, said the new purchase reminds him of Bodemeister, and they know the family, having been following O Dionysus throughout his campaign. O Dionysus sold for $190,000 at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling sale, the highest price for a yearling colt in that sale. Combat Diver was a $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-year-old.
Safe Journey has a stellar Malibu Moon colt this year, and was bred back to champion sprinter Runhappy.