SARATOGA SPRINGS — He went a little over budget by his own count, but Barry Irwin got his girl.

Irwin, who heads the Team Valor International syndicate, spent

$1.5 million for a Storm Cat filly, the opening-night topper of Fasig-Tipton’s 88th annual Saratoga Sel­ected Yearlings sale.

It was one of two seven-figure purchases during part one of

two-day auction, which concludes tonight at the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion.

“She’s just the most athletic thing,” Irwin said. Irwin had the 2007 sales topper, paying a Mr. Greeley colt that cost $2.2 million.

“I’ve only seen one other filly in the sale that looked like this. She’s just incredible,” he said. “I wanted to spent a million-two, but it was worth it.”

The filly is a half-sister to three major stakes winners out of the dam Totemic, whose progeny include stakes winner Lil’s Lad.

“I’ve never spent this much for a filly,” Irwin said. “I loved Lil’s Lad the way he looked, and she’s got that robust physique that you just don’t see on a horse. She looks like she’s ready to go out there tomorrow and run.”

A total of 60 horses sold for $18,160,000, an average of $302,667 and a median of $235,000, with 25 horses bought back. The average was up 13 percent over last year’s $261,408, and the median saw a 13 percent increase from the $207,500 of 2007.

Last year’s first night saw 76 horses sell for $19,867,000, with 21 bought back.

“It was a good sale,” Fasig-Tipton president Walt Robertson said. “I thought going in, this segment would perform pretty well. There weren’t a lot of surprises. That segment of the market has been pretty healthy so far this year, and that hasn’t changed. People want a nice horse.”

Pyramid Indy, an A.P. Indy colt out of the Broad Brush mare Pyramid Lake, was purchased for

$1.2 million by William S. Farish.

“He was an outstanding ind­ividual, as you can imagine,” Farish said. “I felt conformation-wise, he’s from a wonderful family that I’ve been very interested in. We have a half-sister to him. I thought he was a very good buy.”

Starlight Partners, the high-end syndicate headed by Schenectady native Don Lucarelli and Saratoga resident Jack Wolf, was the leading buyer at Fasig-Tipton’s Keeneland July sale, and they were active again on Monday.

Agent Barry Berkelhammer signed the ticket on three horses for a total of $695,000, led by hip

No. 63, a filly by 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow that went for $335,000.

“We just got in on that one,” Lucarelli said. “It was one of our top horses of the sale. She’s got the walk; she’s beautiful. We think she’ll turn out to be a real class kind of horse.”

Starlight also paid $210,000 for hip No. 38, a colt by 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus; and $150,000 for hip No. 65, a filly by multiple graded stakes winner More Than Ready.

“We like More Than Ready

horses,” Lucarelli said. “She showed Barry a lot, and he felt we should have the horse.

“We’ve always wanted to get [a Fusaichi Pegasus]. They’re a little out of favor right now, and it’s a good value. A couple of years ago, you would have probably paid $200,000 or $300,000 more for the same horse.”

Starlight also had interest in hip No. 13, an Indian Charlie colt that eventually was sold to John Ferguson for $500,000.

“We would have liked to get the Indian Charlie, but we’re not going to outbid Ferguson,” Lucarelli said. “Actually, the three horses for tonight’s session that we were after we were successful.”

Bloodstock advisor to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai, Ferguson was the top individual buyer on opening night. He purchased five horses for a total of $3.1 million, led by $900,000 for hip No. 68, a bay Medaglia d’Oro colt.