Highgate Sales Packs Powerful Punch With 10-Horse Draft

Inaugural consignment for new outfit is at the F-T Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale

• By Lauren Gash

Two of the Thoroughbred industry’s bright, young talents have teamed up to offer their clients a focused-based, no-nonsense experience. Jacob West and Jill Gordon, now selling under the banner Highgate Sales, bring their first draft to market at the Feb. 8-9 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale.

“Two young, hungry, ambitious faces to roll out a new banner was another big push. It’s been a while since the industry had a new burst of energy, and we are two people that will put our heads down and grind away,” Gordon said.

Neither is new to the sales scene and both are graduates of the University of Kentucky, where they got their initial starts in the industry. West began at Taylor Made Sales, holding various positions, before moving on to Three Chimneys Farm as director of bloodstock and eventually Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, where he is the current vice president of bloodstock. In 2021 Irish/British auction house Goffs appointed West as the U.S. agent.

Gordon, a native of Texas, initially got her feet wet working for Kitty Taylor’s Warrendale Sales and, more recently, was the sales and client relations manager for Claiborne Farm. Gordon was newly elected to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club board of directors for the 2022 term.

Highgate Sales will look to bring a focused approach to selling horses for its clients at public auction.

“I always wanted to branch out and take the reins of my own consignment,” Gordon said. “I got to a point where I had enough momentum behind me and clients to support me, I sat down with Jacob one evening, just to bounce ideas off of him, and he pitched the idea that we just go and do it.

“It’s one of those things where you are never comfortable making these kinds of changes, but knowing that we both had each other, we got excited to step out and begin the next chapter.”

More often than not, West can be found in the back rings of Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, working to secure purchases on behalf of his portfolio of clients. West will continue with the successful Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and offer Gordon more pre-sale help.

Each partner brings a different aspect to the Highgate table. Gordon has managed the pieces of putting a sale together and carrying out the day’s work at the sale for quite some time from start to finish.

“We work in very different ways and see things from different angles, which I think packs a powerful punch when you combine that,” said Gordon.

“At the end of the day, our strengths are different,” West commented. “I am more of the outside/before the sale support for Jill. My main role is being a bloodstock agent for my clients and representing them, buying at the sale, and helping facilitate selling horses (sometimes, even with other consignors). My main goal is to keep that charging straight ahead.”

West continued: “My role with Highgate Sales is pre-sale, and Jill will take the reins at the barn. She’s done that for a long time, loves it, it’s what she wants to do, and is very good at it. It’s a blessing that we can come together and have the synergy of what I can offer pre-sale and what she can do at the sale.”

WATCH: Gordon, West Talk Highgate’s Inaugural Consignment

Highgate will hang its shingle outside Barn 9 at Fasig-Tipton’s Newtown Paddocks in Lexington with a draft of 10 horses to sell at the Winter Mixed Sale. For a first consignment, they have brought a nice collection of broodmares, broodmare prospects, and racing or broodmare prospects including Had a Nice Weekend (Hip 304), a 3-year-old filly by Uncaptured that is a half to grade 1 winner Patternrecognition . The broodmare prospect is from the family of Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Battle of Midway and multiple stakes winner Moretti . West purchased Moretti in 2017 at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s select yearling sale in New York, on behalf of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Mike Repole for $900,000.

“Further down the page is the family of Musical Romance , a Breeders’ Cup winner. It’s a real family that has a lot of highlights,” West commented. “I think Uncaptured will make a nice broodmare sire, and he was fast himself. With the injection of speed from him into some of the dirt families, it isn’t a bad thing.”

Risk Premium (Hip 475), a 6-year-old Take Charge Indy mare, “is an exciting mare. She is big and pretty and in foal to Munnings , which is a big shout-out for her. It’s hard to name a stallion with more momentum behind them,” said Gordon. “She’s a mare you could do a lot with. She’s young, half sibling to two outstanding horses (graded stakes winners Iliad and Melmich ).”

Holidays Saratoga (Hip 315), a 9-year-old Harlan’s Holiday daughter in foal to Maclean’s Music , “is off to a good start as a broodmare,” Gordon continued. “Physically, she is a pretty mare, and you can see how she would give you a nice foal. Her Union Rags foal she had in 2020 sold at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale as a short yearling and brought $95,000. Her Mitole colt for 2021 just sold at this year’s January sale for $100,000. She is a consistent mare, in foal on one cover and should have quite a bit of appeal.”

Of Vacay (Hip 501), a 4-year-old broodmare prospect, West recounted, “I’m very familiar with her. I purchased her as a yearling for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Mike Repole. She is absolutely gorgeous, a stakes winner at 2, multiple stakes-placed at 3, and by Not This Time , who seems to be on an absolute terror right now. I think she offers a lot of upside to breeders.”

Vacay is the only horse by Not This Time in the sale.

Brilliant Cut (Hip 541), a 4-year-old Speightstown racing or broodmare prospect, “is the star of the show, the queen of the shedrow,” Gordon said. “She is the total package for people, a beautiful physical, she’s correct, and a great mover. Lemieux , the now 3-year-old, her half sister by Nyquist , was a stakes winner at 2 for trainer Mark Casse. Under the second dam, you find Bonnie Blue Flag , who had a major update in Life Is Good winning the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1). You add to that, she is by one of the leading broodmare sires in Speightstown. It’s hard to imagine a more exciting filly, and to boot, she ran second in a grade 1 (the Dec. 26 La Brea Stakes) in her last start. As a 4-year-old, you have options on the racetrack, or you can take her straight to the breeding shed. The sky is the limit, and there is a lot of blue sky with her.”

This year Highgate will set a short-term goal of selling a million-dollar horse.

“Any consignor will tell you it’s a milestone that is quite an achievement when you can do that,” West said. “It’s a realistic goal that everyone shoots for and it’s neat when it all comes together.”

Long-term, Highgate Sales wants to be seen as a respectable consignment among its peers.

“We want to be known as people that represent our clients well. We are honest, hard-working, and want to be known as a consignment that will work hard, do a good job, stays out in front of everybody,” West said. “We try to be as transparent as possible on our transactions.”

“We don’t want to be a 250-horse consignment at the September sale. I think there is a certain amount of strength in staying somewhat small. I think by focusing on the smaller group of horses, you can personalize it more for each horse and client,” said Gordon. “On the selling side, it’s a huge advantage. If you are going to place your horse with a consignor, place it in a spot where it’s small, and the focus can be on your horse. We think it’s a huge advantage to our clients.”

Jose Vaquera will head up the shedrow for Highgate, a loyal showman that has worked with Gordon under several sales banners.

Gordon noted: “He is someone I could trust with my life. He has great attention to detail. You can’t find better hands at the end of a shank. He’s the real deal.”

‘Quality sells’ is something that West learned during his nine and a half years working at Taylor Made and carries into Highgate.

“What sets consignments apart at the sales is the people that are selling the horses, because at the end of the day everybody is trying to go after the quality,” he said. “All the different consignors are competing against each other. I think what people who are selling those horses felt comfortable with was the people they were selling with, so as long as you are genuine and authentic with your clients, that is where it will set you apart.”

West concluded: “Being authentic, being real with people, telling the truth… sometimes the truth hurts, but in the long run, it will pay dividends for you.”

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