By Jessica Martini
The Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale gathered strength throughout the day Tuesday in Lexington and hit a crescendo just 10 hips from the auction's end when Larry Best of OXO Equine bid $1 million to secure a filly by Medaglia d'Oro (hip 290) from the Bluewater Sales consignment. The price, co-record for a filly at the July sale, was the auction's fifth overall seven-figure purchase and its first since 2006.
“You always are thrilled to have a horse break out and kind of get through the glass ceiling like that $1-million filly did today,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “She was a lovely filly. It was encouraging that there was bidding from all over the place. You could see the magic getting ready to happen when you see all the doors to the pavilion opening two or three hips beforehand and you see people start to file in in pretty serious numbers.”
The million-dollar filly put an exclamation point on a strong day of selling at Newtown Paddocks. In all, 172 yearlings sold for $16,107,000. The average of $93,645 was up 8.76% from a year ago and the median rose 16.67% to $70,000. The buy-back rate was 29.5%.
“Obviously, it was a very, very good day,” Browning said. “The average was up. The gross was up, the median was up and the RNA rate was down. You're always pleased when your statistics reflect positive trends. It demonstrates the strength of the market and the ability, if you put good horses in front of quality buyers, that anything can happen.”
The $1-million topper was one of 18 yearlings to sell for $200,000 or over in 2017. That figure was 17 in 2016.
“It was a very, very good sale,” Browning continued. “It certainly gives us great optimism as we head to Saratoga next. I think it should give everyone in the marketplace some confidence for the upcoming yearling sales in 2017. The only cautionary tale would be that it remains a very rational market. The market is good, but there is still some discipline. It's not runaway or overly heated. There is still some selectivity in the marketplace, as we've seen in recent years. So you better have a pretty good feel for the quality of the horse you've got and you better be realistic in accessing its pedigree, vetting and physical conformation and have to have a really good idea of who is involved on your horse.”
Saving the Best for Last
Larry Best, who made several high-ticket purchases at the juvenile sales this spring, bid on only one horse at Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July sale, but he made the most of it, going to $1 million to secure a filly by Medaglia d'Oro from the Bluewater Sales consignment.
“I try to review as many horses as I can and, if one strikes me as special, I consider it seriously,” Best explained after signing the ticket on hip 290. “I like fillies, I love Medaglia d'Oro and I found this was the only horse I was interested in here. It's as simple as that. It's a long way before she races, so don't give me any credit just yet.”
After his most recent purchase, Best now has a stable of seven horses. In the name of his OXO Equine, he topped the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale this year with a $1.5-million Uncle Mo filly (hip 57). He purchased a More Than Ready colt (hip 156) at that same sale for $1.1 million. At the OBS March sale, he purchased a Tapit filly (hip 349) for $1.1 million and an Arch colt (hip 515) for $1.05 million.
“I'm very happy with the portfolio,” Best said. “I have two out with Jerry Hollendorfer and I just shipped three to Chad Brown in Saratoga.
He continued, “I just pick the horse that I want to own. The market determines the value of it. This was the horse I was interested in and it was in the range–obviously the high end of the range–that I wanted to pay. But I am building a portfolio for a 10-year ride. I don't count chips for a long, long time. I hope to have a return on my investments here, but it's like business. It takes seven to 10 years to determine whether you've done well or not.”
A native of Boston, Best founded the investment company OXO Capital LLC and he also served as chief financial officer of the medical device company Boston Scientific Corporation. He made his first appearance on the sales sheets at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale with the purchase of two offerings, including a Medaglia d'Oro filly (hip 298) for $750,000.
“If you recall, the first horse I bought was a Medaglia d'Oro filly at Keeneland,” Best said. “And I just love the sire and she's coming along really well and I saw this one today and I felt she had potential.”
Best plans to continue shopping for his portfolio at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and Keeneland September sale.
“I observe every time I come to a market and I'm learning a lot,” Best said. “A lot of people have offered me help and have been very kind. It's been all good. I know it's a little unusual, but the challenge here is to pick good horses. But then you need a team, the horse has to be broken–I use Eddie Woods for that–and right now I've got two trainers, one on the East Coast, one on the west. I'm building a portfolio on both coasts. I do not deserve credit for anything. I have not had one horse begin in one race.” @JessMartiniTDN
Bluewater Makes Largest Splash of All
Moments after watching Hip 290 hammer for a stunning $1 million–nearly $700,000 greater than the next highest price at the July Sale–Bluewater Sales' Meg Levy took a moment to reflect on a successful pinhook near the outdoor walking ring. Although Levy said she knew the Medaglia d'Oro filly had the potential to attract significant attention, she was pleasantly surprised at the yearling's final price.
“My highest hopes were not even close to there,” Levy said. “We brought her in here thinking her sire power and precocious, athletic physical would make her a standout here. Being the first yearling sale of the year, I thought she might bring $500,000 to $600,000 or so if we had the right folks. But that was beyond my expectations, for sure.”
Mike Levy purchased the stakes winning mare Hung the Moon (Malibu Moon) for $280,000 with Hip 290 in utero on behalf of Southern Equine Stables at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale. The filly hails from the extended female family of stakes winner and 2016 GI Beldame S. third Catch My Drift (Pioneerof the Nile).
“I'm really grateful to Southern Equine and to my team at the farm for preparing her,” Levy said. “And grateful to my husband for buying the mare with her in utero for Southern Equine.”
When asked about the decision to enter the filly in the July Sale, Levy said the fact Bluewater topped the auction in 2010 with a Medaglia d'Oro colt named Gold Rally gave them added confidence. As forecasted by their past experience, Hip 290 triggered a frenzy of activity in the sales pavilion.
“We've had a lot of luck in this sale,” said Levy. “At the top of the market, everybody's always looking for a filly with some residual. And sometimes people don't want to take a chance at the first sale of the year because they feel like they have plenty of other sales–but it's always nice to galvanize several people from the top of the market on one individual, because with that kind of stud fee, there was risk, but since we have had good luck here before with that type, we felt comfortable doing it. There was just nothing about her that stopped us.”
Orb Colt Shines
Ken McPeek made a number of acquisitions Tuesday–none of which brought more attention than Hip 194, a colt by Orb out of the Arch mare Aurora Prospect. Signing the $310,000 ticket from the balcony on behalf of former Reebok CEO Paul Fireman's Fern Circle Stables, McPeek said he was fine with venturing slightly outside of his projected price range for the colt.
“I really felt like he was around $200,000, but he's an exceptionally well-made individual and he's a horse that has a lot of energy and very good balance,” McPeek said. “All the vet work was fine and we did a genetic test on him as well.”
McPeek explained that he works in partnership with Byron Rogers' Lexington-based Performance Genetics LLC to determine if potential sales purchases have adequate “speed genes.”
Hip 194's second dam is a full-sister to MGISW Scan (Mr. Prospector), while his 2-year-old half-brother by Mineshaft recently sold for $130,000 to Calumet Farm at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale.
McPeek also purchased yearlings for clients Susan Moulton, Jim Morris and Scott Leeds. The latter owner, who races as Walking L Thoroughbreds, secured Hip 6, a colt from the first crop of Cairo Prince [see more below], for $130,000. As for Fireman, McPeek said his immediate success with the likes of GIII Coolmore Lexington S. winner and GI Preakness S. third Senior Investment (Discreetly Mine) has fueled a desire to grow his stable.
“He's got a good taste for the game, just a wonderful nice guy to work for–and he's given us a bit of opportunity here and there,” McPeek said of Fireman. “The 3-year-old crop is his first crop, so he's new to the game. But out of the first crop, he has two stakes winners–Senior Investment and Perfect Wife (Majesticperfection). We also have a group of Harlan's Holidays he imported from Argentina, and then the 2-year-old crop is started to get rolling, too.”
The drop of the hammer also signified a cool pinhooking score for bloodstock agent Brian Graves, who purchased Hip 194 for $55,000 at Keeneland January.
“He had a beautiful walk–well-balanced,” Graves said. “I liked Orb. From the time I bought the horse, Orb had a hellacious 2-year-old sales season.”
Hartley/DeRenzo Get Into Mischief
Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo topped last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale with a $475,000 son of Curlin and returned 10 months later to re-offer that juvenile for a sale-topping $1.5 million at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale. The Florida horsemen, who were outbid on a Cairo Prince yearling earlier in Tuesday's July sale, are hoping to repeat that formula after stretching to $300,000 to secure a colt by Into Mischief.
“We were just sort of waiting for this colt–we thought he was the best horse in the sale,” Hartley said. “Into Mischief is just one of the most honest stallions there is out there right now. Everybody pretty much has had a good one. We locked up with the same group of pinhookers we got outbid on for the Cairo Prince for him, but the other horse was by a first-time stallion and we just felt we were going to go with the proven factor.”
Hip 235 is out of Diamond Fancy Free (Cherokee Run), a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner First Samurai (Giant's Causeway). He was consigned by Paramount Sales and was co-bred by the sales company's Gabriel Duignan and Pat Costello, along with Bruce and Patsy Pieratt and Petaluma. Duignan's Foxtale Farm purchased Diamonds Fancy Free, in foal to Scat Daddy, for $100,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November Sale. That Scat Daddy filly sold for $230,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Sale and she was followed by a Giant's Causeway filly who brought $475,000 at the 2015 September sale. The 12-year-old mare produced a Liam's Map filly this year.
“For an Into Mischief, he was a good size and really correct,” Hartley said. “We thought he had the whole package for what we were looking for here. We loved a lot of the other ones, but a lot of times when we stretch a lot, we like to have the blue chips, the more proven stallions. We feel we'll get more people at the other end that way. When you spend a lot of money, it can be kind of questionable with some of these other stallions. If we have ones that have already been doing it, that's probably a better spot for us.”
Hartley continued, “It's a lot of money. No doubt about it. He's got to do everything right, but if everything goes right, we'll do well. There is a good market here, you never want to buy in a bad market. You have to pay for a good horse.” @JessMartiniTDN
Strong Result for Greathouse
When bloodstock agent Steve Young made a final bid of $240,000 to secure a colt from the first crop of 2013 GI Hopeful S. winner Strong Mandate (Tiznow), it marked a pinhooking coup for Deuce Greathouse's Cockaigne.
“I never expected him to end up being as gorgeous as he did,” Greathouse admitted of the youngster he purchased for $30,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale. “He was just a big solid, neat horse with a big walk and he just kept getting better every day. Every once in a while one just gets better every day from the time you buy them and it works out. He was just a really cool horse.”
Hip 225 is out of Comeon Dixie (Mr. Greeley), a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Limehouse (Grand Slam) and group winner Blues and Royals (Honour and Glory). Consigned by Four Star Sales, the yearling is a half to stakes placed Mineswept (Mineshaft).
Strong Mandate, who stands at Three Chimneys Farm for $10,000, had five horses go through the July sales ring Tuesday for an average of $123,000.
“The stallion is a big, beautiful horse,” Greathouse said of Strong Mandate. “He had a little more speed and he has a little more hip than a lot of the Tiznows and you see it in his yearlings. They have a lot of quality and they are very powerful horses.” @JessMartiniTDN
Verrazano Filly Turns Heads at Fasig
A filly by GI Haskell Invitational S. winner Verrazano (More Than Ready) helped get her first-season sire off to a strong start in the yearling market when selling for $230,000 to the bid of pinhooker John Brocklebank.
“I just really liked her,” Brocklebank said. “She made my heart thump and the kind like that has always worked for me in the past. I knew she was going to cost a little bit of money. And if you look at the page, you might not earmark it that high, but I think a lot of people, including this guy, thought she was one of the best fillies on the grounds.”
“This guy” was Gainesway's Brian Graves who was passing by and paused to confirm, “That filly he bought would make the hair stand up on your arms, she's so beautiful.”
Hip 103, bred by Epic Thoroughbreds and consigned by Runnymede Farm, is a daughter of She's a Wow (Speightstown) and from the family of graded stakes winners Esteemed Friend and Yarrow Brae. The dark bay filly RNA'd for $65,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.
“The plan is definitely to resell her,” Brocklebank said. “I'm a big fan of Barretts and Fasig has been very good to me, so we'll just see how she develops.”
Hip 103 was the fifth purchase of the July sale for Brocklebank, who admitted he had to fight for the offerings he wanted.
“I think it's been a good sale so far, but you kind of had to have your gloves on to get it done,” he said.
Verrazano, who won the 2013 Haskell, was represented by three yearlings, all fillies, during Tuesday's July sale. Hip 90 sold for $125,000 to Crupi's New Castle 17; and hip 67 brought $57,000 from Cromwell Bloodstock.
Verrazano stands at Coolmore's Ashford Stud for $17,500. He ranked fourth by weanling average a year ago, with 26 sold for an average of $70,807.
“We've seen all the Verrazanos here at the sale and we're very happy with them,” said Coolmore's Charlie O'Connor. “They all look beautiful, racy and correct. They look like quality. We're looking forward to seeing more of them in September.” @JessMartiniTDN
Cairo Prince Stakes Claim to the Crown
With the July Sale marking the beginning of the yearling sales season, much discussion on the sales grounds in the days leading up to the auction focused on first-crop sires. A considerable amount of that buzz seemed to center on Airdrie Stud's Cairo Prince, and the sire made a powerful statement Tuesday, with two of his yearlings among the sale's top seven and four more selling for $100,000 or greater.
Governor Brereton Jones said the decidedly warm reception for Cairo Prince–the latest addition to a highly successful sire line–was rewarding in light of Airdrie's longstanding faith in the horse.
“We've been very fortunate because we had followed the horse–even as a yearling–and we watched him as he was growing up,” Jones said. “We went ahead and got behind him, and as we did that, we were able to purchase a certain percentage, which has been very helpful.”
Hip 152, a half-brother to GISP Putthebabiesdown (Closing Argument), hammered for $265,000 to a pinhooking venture organized by bloodstock agent Justin Casse.
“I thought he was debatably the best Cairo Prince in the sale,” Casse said. “Pioneerof the Nile has obviously done fantastic and hopefully he is a sire of sires.”
Casse agreed that Cairo Prince's successful July Sale was a major step toward justifying the significant buzz at Newtown Paddocks in recent days.
“When you walk around the sales grounds, you understand why [Cairo Prince was so popular],” Casse said. “They were really good-looking horses and they really stood out amongst their peers. Cairo Prince is by the right sire. We bought [Hip 152] for a pinhooking syndicate. Ciaran Dunne at Wavertree will get him.”
Shortly before Casse's winning bid, Sam Siegel's Jay Em Ess Stable landed Hip 137 for $260,000. Siegel, who signed the ticket sitting alongside Governor Jones, said she was not surprised to see a high level of interest in Cairo Prince's first crop.
“We've seen quite a few Cairo Princes that look nice,” Siegel said. “[Hip 137] is a well-balanced colt–Brerry raises a lovely horse. They let them be horses, and we've had good luck with them. You go back to who you do well with. He ticked all the boxes and fell in the right price range.”
While Siegel acknowledged that the colt hammered at the high end of her expected price range, she observed that the July Sale offers buyers the opportunity to acquire one of the sire's first yearlings to pass through the sales ring.
“You strike while the money gets you more bang for your buck,” Siegel said, adding that the colt will be sent to Taylor Made for the summer months before traveling south to begin the breaking process. “Cairo Prince is putting together a well-balanced horse. They walk nice, they carry themselves well and all signs look good so far.”
While Airdrie's July consignment understandably included some exemplary members of Cairo Prince's first crop, Jones predicted that buyers will see the depth of the sire's quality as the sales season unfolds.
“We have a number of others that will be in different sales that are equally of the same quality,” Jones concluded. “I know that sounds like it may be asking for too much, but the bottom line is that as a group, they seem to be way ahead of the average horse.”
Violence Pays for Gonzalez
Adrian Gonzalez, owner of the California-based Checkmate Thoroughbreds, admitted he wasn't shopping for mares when he purchased Grade I placed Yolanda B. Too (Two Punch) for $14,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November Sale, but he was rewarded for the spur-of-the-moment purchase when the Violence colt (hip 171) she had been carrying sold for $125,000 during Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July Sale. Alistair Roden made the winning bid.
“I was at the November sale and we were looking at all the first-year babies and the Violences really stood out,” Gonzalez said. “We weren't able to afford any of the Violence babies, so we started looking at mares in foal to him. For whatever reason, she fell through the cracks and the baby rewarded us.”
When the hammer fell on stakes-winning Yolanda B. Too, third in the 2005 GI Gazelle S., Gonzalez said he had a few anxious moments.
“I actually was surprised to get her for that,” he said. “We thought she must not be pregnant or were we missing something because it was a last-minute thing. We vet checked her and she was good, so we thought, 'Let's hope we get lucky.'”
A regular on the pinhooking circuit, Gonzalez said the purchase of a mare was unusual for him.
“I think we've bought one mare in the last three years, so this was pretty random.”
As for future plans for the now 15-year-old Yolanda B. Too, Gonzalez said, “She is a little bit older and this Violence was a huge baby, so we're giving her a break and we'll bring her back this fall and try to re-breed her in the spring. We'll keep her, she doesn't owe us anything. This horse got us out and we're ahead, so she'll have a good life with us.” @JessMartiniTDN
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