The July Sale: Right Time, Right Horse, Right Result
Statistics unquestionably show that The July Sale is one of the very best places to buy a yearling in America. According to the most recent stats published by The Blood-Horse's MarketWatch (June 2011) The July Sale ranked FIRST or SECOND in six key categories that measure racetrack success.
The July Sale ranked first in percentage of runners (87%), winners (67%), and tied for the top spot in repeat winners (67%).
July ranked second in perhaps the two most important measurements of horse quality – percentage of stakes winners, graded stakes winners and Grade 1 winners. Only Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Select yearling sale ranked higher than July in those categories.
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Big Brown, Big Number at Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale
Led by a $1.3-million colt by freshman sire Big Brown, intensely competitive bidding on the most desirable horses led to gains in average price and median at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Florida sale of selected two-year-olds in training.
Irish bloodstock agent Demi O'Byrne, bidding for the usual partnership that includes John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, outlasted John Moynihan, with client Barbara Banke at his side, for the half brother to stakes winner Dagnabit, by Freud. The sale topper is out of the winning Silver Ghost mare Cool Ghoul, a half sister to Grade 2 winner Comeonmom.
“He’s a very good-looking horse and breezed very well,” said the taciturn O'Byrne. ”He’s got lovely action. I expected he’d probably make that in view of what I saw here.”
“No, we were hoping for more,” consignor Ciaran Dunne joked after the sale. “I hope [the price] looks cheap [after his racing career]. We certainly feel he's as good as we've ever had the opportunity to go through our hands. Hopefully, he goes on and it's the same for someone else.
“Chris Brothers bought him and sent him to me. He's done everything that a horse could possibly do.”
Bred in Pennsylvania, the colt was listed as sold for $220,000 to IEAH Stables at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of selected yearlings. The colt breezed an eighth in :10.20 at the presale under-tack show.
On the day, 60 horses sold for $19,215,000 for an average of $320,250. The number of horses sold declined 31% compared with 2011, but the 34.7% rise in average price pushed total sales to within 7.1% of the total in 2011. Median rose 13.8% to $227,500, while buy-back rate declined to 28.6%, compared with 39.2% last year.
“Overall, I was pleased,” said Boyd Browning, Fasig-Tipton's president. “I think we continue to see that there is tremendous demand for what are perceived to be quality horses. There were multiple bidders on virtually every horse that sold.
“The two-year-old business has been for many years and continues to be a high-risk, high-reward enterprise. You generally either have multiple bidders or no bidders on your horse.”
Of the 167 horses cataloged, only 84 actually passed through the ring.
Trainer Todd Pletcher signed the ticket as agent at $575,000 for the usual Coolmore partnership for the top-priced filly, a racy daughter of Bernardini consigned by Becky Thomas' Sequel Bloodstock, agent.
“She's a really nice filly, maybe a little small, but Bernardini is a really top sire,” said Paul Shanahan, racing manager for the partnership. “That's what you'll have to pay for a good one by him.”
“She was absolutely the pick of my whole litter this year,” Thomas said. “She's a phenomenal filly and just exudes class. Obviously, my reserve was nowhere near there, so I'm really, really happy.
“We're only as good as the last horse we sold, so going to Todd Pletcher is big.”
Stephens Thoroughbreds bought the daughter of stakes-placed Running Ute, by Indian Charlie, from the family of A Phenomenon privately after she failed to reach her reserve at $80,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September sale.
John Ferguson, bloodstock adviser to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, led all buyers with four two-year-olds purchased for $3,670,000. Ferguson purchased four of the seven highest-priced horses, topped by a $1.2-million Distorted Humor colt from the consignment of Lynn Boutte.
Eddie Woods led all consignors with seven two-year-olds sold for $3,585,000.
Courtesy of thoroughbredtimes.com
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Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale
Fasig-Tipton’s sales division in Texas at Lone Star Park has deftly positioned its 2012 Two-year-olds in Training Sale to avoid conflicts with two major area sports – racing and baseball!
“We have 150 entries in this year’s catalogue and they will be offered from 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 5, the day before The Texas Rangers begin the regular season with a home game in nearby Arlington,” director of sales Tim Boyce explained. “And our under-tack show will be on Monday, April 2nd, to avoid any clash with local racing. It will give potential buyers plenty of time to see our horses on the racetrack and to complete any pre-sale inspections and checks.”
The catalogue is now accessible online and will be available from all Fasig-Tipton offices by February 24. The list of stallions represented in the Texas sale lifts it out of a regional market and places it firmly in a national perspective. It features such sires as Awesome Again, Curlin, Empire Maker and Medaglia d’Oro.
“We are very excited about the quality of the two-year-olds in the sale and about racing in general in Texas,” concluded Boyce. “The new owners of Lone Star have made a lot of physical improvements here and are fully committed to re-energizing racing in the south-west.”
For further information
Tim Boyce
(972) 262-0000
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Next up…..The Florida Sale
The two-year-olds in training scene now moves to Palm Meadows, where, on Monday March 26, Fasig-Tipton will conduct The Florida Sale of 2012. The under-tack show will be held over the Palm Meadows strip from 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 23. Among the four 2011 grade I winning graduates on this year’s catalogue cover is Union Rags, sold at Palm Meadows last year and one of the leading favorites for The Kentucky Derby.
Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning is very encouraged by indicators from the marketplace so far.
“The conformation and breeze equation is obviously uppermost in most buyers’ minds,” he said, “but there is also a huge premium on quality stallions, pedigree and proven performance. “Our consignors are bringing a terrific group of juveniles to Palm Meadows. As for performance, the Thoroughbred Times recently published an analysis which shows that The Florida Sale, over a ten-year-period, is clearly the Number One selected two-year-olds in training sale by percentage of graded stakes-winners and overall stakes-winners. “If you are looking for superior stakes horses, The Florida Sale is your best shot!”
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The Florida Sale of Selected two-year-olds In Training
Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 167 entries for The Florida Sale of Selected two-year-olds In Training at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Florida. The sale is scheduled for a Noon start on Monday, March 26, with the under-tack show on Friday, March 23, beginning at 10 a.m.
“This will be our second year at Palm Meadows and there is no question that our sellers and buyers appreciate and enjoy the training and sales facilities there,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “For more than thirty years, Fasig-Tipton has had the privilege of offering the finest of the in-training sales crop in South Florida. The quality of this year’s Palm Meadow offerings, in terms of both our pedigree and physical evaluations is outstanding.”
“This sale has earned the distinction of being an outstanding source of top class runners and this tradition continues,” Browning added “Florida Sale Grade 1 winning graduates in 2011 include Breeders Cup Mile winner Court Vision, Travers S. winner Stay Thirsty and Shadwell Mile winner Gio Ponti. In addition, the co-high weight two-year-old of 2011 and winner of the Grade 1 Champagne S., Union Rags, sold at our sale last year and is sure to generate a lot of momentum and interest for this year’s sale.”
The catalogue is currently online at www.fasigtipton.comand will be available from all Fasig-Tipton offices from February 20.
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Thunder Moccasin leads parade of July Sale graduates
The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Yearling Sale’s reputation for producing athletic, precocious racehorses continued to grow when undefeated THUNDER MOCCASIN won the Grade 2 Hutcheson Stakes on February 11 at Gulfstream Park.
Thunder Moccasin’s 6 ¾-length victory was the fourth graded victory by a July Sale graduate already in 2012, and eighth graded stakes victory by a July graduate since December 1st.
The July Sale’s other graded winners so far this year have been MR. COMMONS, INCLUDE ME OUT, and Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) winner BATTLE HARDENED. All four of these horses were purchased by end users. Last year, seven of the top-ten leading buyers by gross at the July sale were end users.
D.M.I. Racing purchased multiple graded stakes winner Mr. Commons for $70,000 from Lane’s End, agent, at the 2009 July Sale. At that same auction, Jay Em Ess Stable bought Include Me Out for $150,000 from breeder Brereton C. Jones’ Airdrie Stud, agent.
At the 2010 July Sale, Starlight Partners bought Thunder Moccasin for $95,000 from Gainesway, agent, and a Coolmore partnership bought Battle Hardened for $170,000 from Buck Pond Farm, agent.
The July Sale has produced the winners of 36 graded stakes in 2011-12.
Fasig-Tipton would like to remind sellers that they can still nominate horses to the 2012 July Sale, scheduled for July 10-11 in Lexington, Kentucky.
“Few things spur interest as well as graded winners on the Derby trail, and the July Sale continues to build its reputation as a source of precocious, high-quality equine athletes,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd T. Browning, Jr. “We want our sellers to be in a position to reap the benefits of the improving marketplace and this sale’s continued racetrack success. Come July, buyers will be hungry for horses, and we encourage anyone on the fence to nominate.”
There is no cost or obligation to nominate. Nominations are subject to pedigree evaluation and physical inspection,
At last year’s July Sale, the average price was $69,890, and the median was $60,000 (a 20% increase from 2010).
Summer Yearling Nomination Form
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Fasig-Tipton Winter Caps Successful Mixed Sales Season
The fall and winter mixed sales provided plenty of reason for optimism in the Thoroughbred industry, so it was fitting that the mixed sale season closed on a high note on Monday in Lexington at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale.
Fasig-Tipton Co. reported a 63.1% increase in total sales compared with the 2011 edition, albeit from a 31.1% larger catalog, as well as gains in average price and median.
The results followed suit with earlier Kentucky mixed sales this season, including the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky selected fall mixed sale, Keeneland November breeding stock sale, and Keeneland January mixed sale, each of which posted double-digit increases across the board.
Fasig-Tipton reported 270 horses as sold for $4,601,800, compared with 183 horses bringing $2,821,500 in 2011. Average price improved 10.5% to $17,044, and median rose 5.3% to $6,000. The buy-back rate also was a positive indicator at 22%, which was almost identical to 22.8% in 2011
Bluegrass Hall purchased the two highest-priced horses of the sale, including sale topper Fancy Prancer. Consigned by Paramount Sales, agent, the 13-year-old Bertrando mare was purchased by Bluegrass Hall for $200,000 in foal to Bluegrass Cat. A multiple stakes winner on the racetrack, Fancy Prancer is the dam of four stakes winners among five winners from as many starters.
Bluegrass Hall also purchased Misty Daylight, a seven-year-old Seeking Daylight mare, for $185,000 from the consignment of James B. Keogh’s Grovendale, agent. Misty Daylight was offered in foal to dual French classic winner Lope de Vega. She is a half sister to stakes winner Quiet Dance, dam of 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam and three other stakes winners.
Paramount consigned three of the six top-priced horses of the sale and led all consignors by total receipts with 18 horses sold for $667,900. Bluegrass Hall purchased four horses for $425,000 to lead all buyers.
Compliments of www.thoroughbredtimes.com
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Stakes Raised for Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses in 2012
The Thoroughbred Celebration Horse Shows, presented by the Virginia Horse Center Foundation, is pleased to announce added purse money for 2012 totaling $9,000. With support from Fasig-Tipton, North America’s oldest Thoroughbred auction company, and Friends of After the Finish Line, the nationally recognized 501(c) 3 funding non-profit for former Thoroughbred racehorses and broodmares, the $1,500 Fasig-Tipton Jumper Stake and the $1,500 After the Finish Line Hunter Stake will be offered at the March 16-18, June 8-10 and November 2-4, 2012 Thoroughbred Celebration Horse Shows (TCHS).
Fasig-Tipton’s Saratoga sale of selected yearlings is one of the premier horse auctions in the world. The great Man O’War sold as a yearling at the 1918 Saratoga sale. Numerous household names such as Raise a Native, Natalma, Hoist the Flag, Danzig, Miswaki, Conquistador Cielo, and two-time champion filly Open Mind are also Saratoga sale graduates. More recent graduates of Fasig-Tipton sales include such notables as Awesome Feather, Plum Pretty, Blue Bunting, Flat Out, Stay Thirsty, Summer Soiree, The Factor and current Kentucky Derby hopefuls Union Rags and So Brilliant. Fasig-Tipton’s main office is located in Lexington, Kentucky. The company values the horses’ on and off-track careers as evidenced by this significant gift of support. Please visit www.fasigtipton.comfor more information.
2012 marks the third year of the TCHS’s partnership with After the Finish Line. With support from Friends of After the Finish Line, competitors will be vying for purse money in the $1,500 After the Finish Line Hunter Stake at each of the three shows in the series. This all volunteer funding non-profit awards monthly emergency funds and yearly grants to rescue organizations throughout the United States that save, rehabilitate and retrain off the track Thoroughbreds for a non-racing career. After the Finish Line has 15 fundraisers and awareness events planned for this year to raise money to help ex-racers. With continued support from the racing industry, many more horses can be helped. After the Finish Line believes, “The greatest victory for a Thoroughbred is not winning a race, but winning the race to live long past their days on the racetrack.” Please visit www.afterthefinishline.orgfor more information.
Thoroughbreds can qualify in advance for the $1,500 Fasig-Tipton Jumper Stake and the $1,500 After the Finish Line Hunter Stake at TCHS events by competing at partner shows in Maryland, Kentucky, New York and Virginia, or by winning specified classes at each TCHS. Exhibitors will find qualifying classes hosted by BEST Horse Shows in Maryland, Deep Run Spring & Fall Shows in Virginia, 60th Annual Long Island Professional Horsemen’s Association Horse Show, St. James and Glen Head Horse Shows in New York, Central Virginia Show Jumping Association, Farmington Hunt Club in Virginia, Thoroughbred Horse Shows Association in Kentucky, Glenmore Hunt Pony Club in Virginia, and the House Mountain Horse Shows, also hosted by the Virginia Horse Center.
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425 Catalogued for Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale
Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 425 entries for its upcoming Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, scheduled for Monday, February 6. The one day sale will begin at 10 am at Fasig-Tipton’s Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Kentucky.
This year’s catalogue features several racing and broodmare prospects with black-type credentials, as well as a large selection of broodmares in-foal to sires such as BELLAMY ROAD, CONGRATS, CURLIN, DISCREET CAT, GIANT’S CAUSEWAY, HARLAN’S HOLIDAY, INDIAN CHARLIE, LOOKIN AT LUCKY, QUALITY ROAD, SCAT DADDY, TAPIT and WAR FRONT. Approximately 90 yearlings, horses of racing age, and a lifetime breeding right to CONGRATS will also be featured.
“We are extremely pleased with the size and quality of this year’s catalogue,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “There are several attractive racing and broodmare prospects, a number of mares in-foal to prominent stallions, and the short yearlings should prove very popular. Additionally, the sale’s placement on the calendar works very well for those looking to buy a mare prior to breeding season.”
Catalogues will be available from all Fasig-Tipton offices by Friday, January 20 and on-line at the company’s websiteby January 16. The catalogue will also be available via the equineline sales catalogue app.
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