Julie Castaneda came to own the 2006 AAA stallion Dashin Dynamo on a wing and a prayer.

The Kansas transplant originally from California had long coveted the son of First Down Dash out of the Ronas Ryan mare Ronas Covergirl, but her horse program was small and new, put together after a lifetime building a dog-boarding business. Dashin Dynamo, who’d won $26,000 on the track, had ended up in Melanie Smith’s Solo Select program. Smith was planning to transfer his Pink and Ruby Buckle spots to her stallions and sell Dashin Dynamo in her online Solo Select Sale that summer.

“I purchased a broodmare in the March Solo Select Sale in 2020, and I saw Dashin Dynamo again,” Castaneda said. “I have a lot of faith, and I believe in making things happen and seizing the opportunities you can, so I thought ‘How fun would it be just to be able to bid on him?’”

Castaneda had $31,000 in an account set aside to buy broodmares, but she got online during the next Solo Select Sale (which allows buyers to automate their bid by setting a limit) and put in $31,000 as her maximum bid.

“Because he was just coming with his Breeder’s Challenge spot and not his Pink and Ruby Buckle spots, nobody came out of the shadows to bid on him,” Castaneda said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Castaneda enrolled Dashin Dynamo in 16 incentives, including the $2.5-million Riata Buckle, Ruby Buckle and Royal Crown.