Three years ago, Bob and Jill Baffert attended the Fasig-Tipton November Sale with big dreams for their Grade I-winning homebred. Fun to Dream (Arrogate) fulfilled all their hopes when she sold for $1.9 million to Japan's K I Farm.This year, the Bafferts will be back at the Night of the Stars with another Grade I-winning filly. Bottle of Rouge (Vino Rosso) took her owner, Jill, and Hall of Fame trainer, Bob, to the winner's circle for the 2025 Del Mar Debutante. Now, her connections are preparing for a bittersweet farewell when the 3-year-old sells in foal to Gun Runner with Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa.“There will definitely be tears because Jill loves her horses,” said Bob Baffert. “She's been a lot of fun and brought us a lot of joy. When we have these fillies that are so valuable, we can't afford to keep them. She's a beautiful mare, a Grade I winner, and in foal to the hottest horse in Gun Runner, so hopefully we do well.” Jill Baffert's racing stable has seen plenty of Grade I success over the years, from 2012 Acorn and Test Stakes winner Contested (Ghostzapper) to 2024 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes victor Du Jour (Temple City), who was campaigned in partnership with Debbie Lanni. While some stars are part of the Bafferts' boutique breeding program, many are hand-picked by Baffert as yearlings.Donato Lanni was the one who first directed Baffert toward Bottle of Rouge.“Donato called me and said he'd found a horse for Jill,” Baffert recalled. “I went to look at her and when they brought her out, she was a gorgeous filly and a daughter of Vino Rosso. I saw Silver Ghost on the bottom. That's where she got the grey from and it's really a great line. Since I've been in racing, Silver Ghost pops out.”Purchased for $100,000 and named by Jill as a nod to a popular Harry Styles lyric, Bottle of Rouge showed promise early enough to land in the starting gate as a 2-year-old last June. Second to fellow Baffert trainee Himika (Curlin), who was named a 'TDN Rising Star' that day, the filly was back in action two months later and broke her maiden at Del Mar by 6 3/4 lengths over future Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion Super Corredora (Gun Runner).Bottle of Rouge bests Explora in the GI Del Mar Debutante | BenoitNext out in the GI Del Mar Debutante, Bottle of Rouge pulled the upset over Baffert's favored contender Explora (Blame), who has since collected five stakes victories including her win this year in the GI Test Stakes.“I remember I had just landed in Kentucky, so I watched it on television,” said Baffert. “Explora looked like she was cruising easy and then here comes Bottle of Rouge. She just wore her down and beat her on the wire. To me, it's awkward when I beat one of my horses with a horse I own, but Jill was so excited. It's nice to see her enjoyment.”After a disappointing bid in the Breeders' Cup, Bottle of Rouge stepped up as a 3-year-old to collect back-to-back scores in the Sunland Park Oaks and the Virginia Oaks at a mile and a sixteenth. She was preparing for a bid in the GI Kentucky Oaks when she incurred a setback a week before the race.“She was going to need 90 days off,” said Baffert. “It was tough for me to break the news to Jill because she was so looking forward to the Oaks. I was tempted to bring her back and run her, but luckily we got her in foal to Gun Runner on one try and that was it. She's not too big, but she's scopey and a beautiful mare. She's in foal to the right horse, so it's a no-brainer.”Bottle of Rouge is slated to sell as Hip 172 at Fasig-Tipton. Boyd Browning said the filly's credentials make her one of the standouts of the sale.“When you've got an opportunity to buy a filly that was hand-picked by Bob Baffert for his wife Jill, you know for sure that Bob is going to find a beautiful filly with great conformation,” he noted. “I can't think of a better scenario if you're a breeder than to buy a young, Grade I-winning daughter of Vino Rosso–who is a very well-bred stallion himself and a champion–and she's in foal to Gun Runner.”Gun Runner has been responsible for 25 yearlings that have sold for $1 million or more so far this year and the Three Chimneys sire is in the race for the leading general sire title in 2026.“You look up every significant Grade I race and he's represented by colts and fillies there,” said Browning. “Year after year, he produces Classic-type horses. You think about how to start off a young mare. Breed her to one of the best stallions in North America like Gun Runner and it's a perfect combination.”Fellow Grade I winner Clicquot will also be offered with Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa on the Night of the Stars | Sara Gordon“We're very excited to consign Bottle of Rouge at Fasig-Tipton November because she has all the accolades to be a potential star of somebody's broodmare band,” added Hill 'n' Dale's Director of Bloodstock Jes Sikura. “I think she appeals to any of the top-class breeders who want to sell a potential million-dollar yearling one day or someone who is breeding to race and wants a star of their broodmare band. I think she appeals to a wide range at the top level.”Among the group of broodmare and racing prospects Hill 'n' Dale will consign on the Night of the Stars, Clicquot (Quality Road) is another Grade I-winning highlight. The earner of just under a million dollars, the 4-year-old scored in last year's GI Cotillion Stakes over a field that included three Grade I winners. After making one start this year, Clicquot took time off over the summer, but has since returned to light training and will be offered as a racing or broodmare prospect.“She's a beautifully bred Quality Road out of a Tapit mare,” said Sikura. “She finished just off the board in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff last year and I think she's going to be very appealing to the highest level of shoppers that will be at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.”The post Bafferts’ Bottle of Rouge, Grade I Winner Clicquot Anchor Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Night of Stars Lineup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.