Contrary Thinking sold for $130,000, targets Saratoga summer return

Contrary Thinking changed hands for $130,000 because Amanda Gillman and her partners saw more than a well-bred 5-year-old with a resume full of strong company. They saw a horse whose recent third-place finish at Aqueduct, over a muddy one-mile trip, suggested there was still enough speed and class left to make a summer campaign worth the gamble.

Gillman, acting for Lucky Hat Racing and Eric Bensussen, secured the Into Mischief colt through Fasig-Tipton’s May Digital Sale. The horse was consigned by ELiTE, agent for White Birch Farm, Inc., and was listed at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York when he was offered. For the new connections, the appeal was obvious: Contrary Thinking already owns Grade I form, and he has repeatedly shown he can hang with better horses when everything is right.

He debuted for Peter Brant and Chad Brown, added an allowance win at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet, and then ran in three Grade I races as a 5-year-old last year, including the Whitney, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The ceiling has been defined by those races, but so has the opportunity. Fasig-Tipton’s digital catalog said he delivered a 95 Beyer and 10 Ragozin in a Belmont allowance last year, defeating Tuscan Gold, which is the sort of form that can justify a new investment even after top-level losses.

The latest sign came on April 25, when Contrary Thinking returned from a freshening and finished third in an allowance optional claiming race at Aqueduct. The race was for four-year-olds and up, carried a purse of $86,000 and was run one mile in 1:37.25 over a muddy dirt track. Bramito won, Dreamlike was second and Contrary Thinking earned a 93 Beyer and 13 Ragozin off the bench, enough to convince Gillman the horse still matters in the right spot.

That is why Saratoga remains in the conversation. Fasig-Tipton listed a possible next start on May 23 at Belmont at the Big A, a nine-furlong allowance optional claimer worth $90,000, and the broader target could be Belmont at Saratoga weekend. The digital sale itself finished May 12 with $2,229,500 in gross sales from 69 horses sold and a 91% clearance rate, a reminder that this was not just a one-off buy but part of a market that still rewards careful homework, pedigree, and a horse with enough residual quality to justify one more push.