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Led by Princess of Sylmar's $3.1 million purchase by Japan's Shadai Farm, Fasig-Tipton's November mixed auction saw a mix of expensive sales and high-priced buybacks Monday night as the breeding stock sales kicked off in Kentucky.

Fasig-Tipton's one-night sale ended with mixed results after grossing $63,678,000 for 108 sold, 13.8% lower than last season's total for 129 horses. The median also fell significantly, dropping 20% from last year's $250,000 to $200,000, but the $589,611 average was up 3% from a year ago.

Buybacks were 28.9%, up from last season's 20.9%.

Last year's November sale featured the $5.2 million sale of Betterbetterbetter to Mandy Pope and the $4.9 million sale of Love and Pride to Borges Torrealba Holdings, lifting that year's figures significantly.

"You've got to be gratified when you sell 23 horses for over $1 million, and 12 brought $2 million or more," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning, who cautioned against reading too deeply into either the decline in median or the gain in average, noting that the November sale is a relatively small market with highly variable stock from year to year. Browning called Monday night's market "very solid and strong" with a "very, very diverse group of buyers."

"At the top of the market, people continue to bid with restraint in the mixed marketplace, the 2-year-old sales, and the yearling sales," he said. "It was more fun when it was irrational at the top of the market, but it's probably healthier long term with some level of rationality, and I think buyers set general parameters and general limits on how far they're going to go, and they stick to them pretty closely."

Princess of Sylmar stole the show Monday night.

Princess of Sylmar, cataloged as hip 125, came into the Fasig-Tipton auction ring on a wave of accolades from announcer Terence Collier, who drew attention to all of her racing accomplishments: the $2 million in earnings, the four grade I wins.

The bidding opened at $1 million, well off the $5 million the auctioneer audaciously asked for, but still enough to cause a small gasp from the crowd of spectators. From there, bidding shot up by $100,000 increments. It paused at $2 million before roaring off again. At $3 million, it appeared that bidders in the back ring were out, but then a quick bid of $3.1 million crackled from the back-ring bidspotter to the auctioneer's stand. That was Shadai Farm, making their first and only offer. The hammer fell, and Princess of Sylmar is headed to Japan.

Ed Stanco, whose adoration of his special filly contributed to her immense popularity, did not attend the auction, said consigning agent Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales.

"He said that he couldn't bear to be here," Taylor said. "I told him, 'It's gonna be fun,' but he said, 'Nah, it won't be fun, I'm staying home.' "

Taylor said that he was pleased with the ultimate buyer.

"I'm very, very happy the Yoshidas got her, she's going to a great home," he said. "And, actually, Mr. Stanco does a lot of business in Japan, so hopefully they'll let him have visiting rights."

Stanco had offered Princess of Sylmar as a broodmare prospect only, Taylor noted, to discourage buyers from returning her to the racetrack.

"If somebody wanted to race her, they could," said Taylor, "but he was hoping she would just go be a broodmare. She doesn't have anything left to prove. He was happy, and he's happy she's going to a good place."

Jane Lyon of Summer Wind Farm near Lexington went to $3 million for grade I winner Sweet Lulu, in foal to War Front  , and to $2.1 million for American Pharoah's dam, Littleprincessemma, who is carrying a full sibling to that grade I winner. Taylor Made also consigned Sweet Lulu.

"Every year, we try to get one or two good mares to add to our broodmare band," Lyon said, "and I think today we've been extremely successful with both."

Lyons acknowledged that she'd hoped to pay less for each mare, but added, "Apparently, the market is the market."

The bullish market might benefit Lyon later, though. As a high-end commercial breeder, her best hedge against market downturns is to breed the best-pedigreed yearlings possible.

"Our goal since we got into the business in 1995 was to be at the top 5% of the market," she said. "In order to do that, you have to have the mares, and you have to breed to the best stallions and the stallions who are commercially in favor, which gets a little dicey, in my opinion. If I had it my way, I wouldn't give up on stallions as early as a lot of buyers do. But I believe that if you're trying to be in that 5%, you have to have the product, and the only way you can actually get it is to have both the dam and the sire."

Tom Ryan's DATTT Farm also paid $3 million for the Hill 'n' Dale agency's Wine Princess, a daughter of the great champion Azeri now carrying a War Front foal. The purchase was part of an effort to concentrate his breeding program on a high level, according to Denali Stud owner Craig Bandoroff.

Ryan's mares are based at Denali, and they have been high-end producers. In September, Ryan sold a $1.3 million War Front colt out of Score that Coolmore Stud bought.

The Hill 'n' Dale agency consigned Wine Princess.

The auction's only Breeders' Cup winner, Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT) winner Dayatthespa, sold for $2.1 million to Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Farm, which is likely to retire the 5-year-old mare to the Stonestreet broodmare band. Bidding occurred in fits and starts but ultimately landed almost exactly where Pete Bradley, who campaigned the mare with six other partners, had estimated it would.

"This is a sale that you don't get many commercial breeders at," Bradley said. "You get collectors, and the collectors just put a ceiling on what they're buying here. ... She's an exceptional filly, and $2.1 million, that's a great price. Could she have brought $3 million in a market at some time? Yes, but it wasn't the market tonight. I think you'll see these high-end horses bring very good money, but, for the most part, not foolish money.

"(Two-time Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, gr. I, winner) Mizdirectionbrought $2.7 million here after her Breeders' Cup win last year, and I thought that would be the high-water mark for this filly. I thought somewhere between $2 million and $2.5 million was realistic for her."

Lane's End consigned Dayatthespa.

The night's highest prices revealed a richly international list of buyers at the highest echelon of Thoroughbred racing and breeding, although at least one of them, the Chile-based Don Alberto Corp., has a substantial American operation. Don Alberto owns the former Vinery property in Kentucky, which is where they will send their new broodmare, $2.6 million Sarah Lynx. The Canadian grade I winner is carrying a foal by the late Darley sire Street Cry. Brookdale Sales, as agent, consigned Sarah Lynx.

The operation's matriarch, Bethia Holdings chairman Liliana Solari, was on hand to make that purchase and two others: $2.4 million La Cloche (in foal to Tapit  ) from the Darby Dan agency and $650,000 My Gi Gi (in foal to Medaglia d'Oro  ) from Taylor Made, agent.

Other $2 million-and-up prices were $2.5 million 2013 champion juvenile filly She's a Tiger, whom Katsumi Yoshida bought from the Hill 'n' Dale agency; $2.4 million Discreet Marq, whom Moyglare Stud bought from Patricia Generazio (Christophe Clement, agent); $2.35 million Taris, whom the Darby Dan agency sold to Simon Callaghan; $2.15 million My Miss Sophia, second in this year's Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), whom Reynolds Bell Jr., agent, bought from Taylor Made's agency; and $2 million Concinnous, the dam of grade I winner Iotapa now in foal to Tapit, whom Bridlewood Farm bought from the Gainesway agency.

One that did not sell, but who caused a thrill anyway, was the $3.95 million buyback Stephanie's Kitten. Her owner and breeder Ken Ramsey, wearing a firetruck red sweatshirt emblazoned with his red and white racing silks and a cap of similar design, said afterward that he wouldn't take less than $4 million for her, and also that he'd never again run her without a rabbit in a race, after the heartbreak of losing to Dayatthespa (like Stephanie's Kitten, trained by Chad Brown) in last Saturday's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

"She's kind of like one of the family, named after my granddaughter Stephanie, and she's perfectly sound, and I talked to Chad before the sale, and he said he would try his best to find a stall for her next year," Ramsey quipped, adding that he intends to campaign her in 2015. He will likely return her to auction next fall, by which time he hopes she'll have an Eclipse Award to her credit, and chances are good he will try to atone for her Filly & Mare Turf defeat, which he called one of his two greatest disappointments in the sport (the other, incidentally, was her sire Kitten's Joy  's finishing second as the favorite in the 2004 John Deere Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT).

Ramsey said Stephanie's Kitten will head to Ramsey Farm for a rest and then run much the same course she took last year: the Flower Bowl (gr. IT), the Diana (gr. IT), and on to the Breeders' Cup again.

The most notable buyback, however, was that of 2012 Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can, who returned to seller Airdrie Stud on a $4.9 million hammer price. Believe You Can was in foal to leading sire Tapit.

The night's most expensive weanling was a $500,000 Tapit colt out of stakes winner Maple Forest that Bridlewood Farm and Three Chimneys teamed up to purchase from the Taylor Made agency.

The November sales cycle now shifts to Keeneland, which will conduct its own mixed auction from Nov. 4-14.