Fasig-Tipton Makes Gulfstream Home

Coverage by Jessica Martini and Justina Severni

Fasig-Tipton's Florida 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale returned to South Florida with its inaugural run at Gulfstream Park Wednesday and sales officials were quick to call the boutique auction's flashy new home a success. 

“We couldn't be any more pleased with the results of the inaugural sale at Gulfstream Park,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said Wednesday night. “I'd like to thank the management and staff at Gulfstream Park. We had a vision and they had a vision to try to create something special here. It's never easy in the first year in a new venue. It's been a transitional year in the 2-year-old marketplace in 2015 and they worked hard to accommodate us to make something special. I think what you saw tonight was the beginning of a major North American marketplace for quality 2-year-olds.”

After three years away from South Florida, Browning acknowledged the change in venue created a buzz around one of the country's premier juvenile sales that should make the auction a must-do destination for years to come. 

“There was some electricity and excitement around here tonight and it was a welcome opportunity to sell quality horses in a quality facility,” Browning said. “We are happy with the results tonight, but probably more important the vision that we have and the opportunities that we have over the next 20 years, not only for this sale, but I think it can be an important event for the industry.” 

Coolmore's M. V. Magnier signed for the night's top-priced lot, a colt by Scat Daddy, who sold on a final bid of $1.4 million. Magnier also signed for a Tapit colt at $900,000 and teamed up with Barbara Banke's Stonestreet to secure a colt by Bernardini for $900,000 to give the Irish operation the sale's top three lots. 

With the addition of 47 horses from the Adena Springs consignment who all galloped at the sale's under-tack preview Monday, Fasig-Tipton declined to provide comparison figures to last year's Florida sale. 

“With the inclusion of 47 Adena Springs horses that galloped and were frankly a little bit different variety of pedigrees then you would have expected to find in this catalogue, we didn't think the results were going to be comparable and that was a decision that was made a month ago,” Browning explained. “I think this was a transitional year and I didn't think it was fair from any perspective to compare this year's average to last year's average because I don't think they are comparable. The gross–we had more horses this year–so I didn't think that was comparable.” 

In all, 89 juveniles grossed $20,095,500 and averaged $225,792. The median was $130,000. With 43 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 32.6%. 

“I think what we saw was a healthy 2-year-old marketplace tonight,” Browning reflected. “It's not easy. I don't think we've said at any sale in the last three to five years it's been easy. But we found a competitive marketplace–men and women willing to pay for quality horses. We saw very, very competitive bidding from a wide variety of bidders. There was a wide variety of buyers at all levels and that is probably the most encouraging thing for this sale today and for the overall marketplace. It's a healthy marketplace. I don't think there are many buyers who said, 'We stole that one.'”

“And I don't think there are many consignors saying that was really easy tonight,” Browning continued. “It's kind of the marketplace we've been dealing with, whether it's yearlings, broodmares or 2-year-olds. It's a fair marketplace. It's not easy, but there is balance between buyers and sellers.” 

Adena Spring's draft of 47 horses included three horses over $200,000, led by an Awesome Again colt out of Ginger Brew who sold for $275,000 to Fabio Mazzarella. 

“There were no big surprises–we were surprised on the high side on a few and a couple of others I think we got pretty fair market value for some of our better horses considering they just galloped into the sale,” said Adena Springs' Jack Brothers. “I think the reception was very good and I think this is going to be a strong venue here going forward.” 
Asked if he expected similar Adena consignments at future Florida sales, Brothers said, “It's hard to say year by year. I'm sure Frank [Stronach] will want to be supportive of the sale going forward and I think this is going to be a good springboard for future success here.” 

Scat Daddy Tops Coolmore Buying Spree 
by Jessica Martini 

In a busy span of some 20 hips, Coolmore's M. V. Magnier signed for the Florida sale's top three lots, with a colt by Scat Daddy leading the way at $1.4 million. Out of Alittlebitearly (Thunder Gulch), hip 130 is a half-brother to last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Bayern (Offlee Wild). The juvenile was consigned by Jim Crupi's Crupi's New Castle Farm and worked a furlong Monday in :10 1/5. 

As the press descended on Magnier, bloodstock agent Jamie McCalmont started the question-and-answer session off with an old stand-by. “What did you like about him,” the Brit laughed. 

“He is a very fantastic mover,” Magnier obliged. “His brother is a very good horse. His mother can obviously produce a good horse, let's hope she has done it again, and Scat Daddy is going very well in all parts of the world.” 
 
Coolmore campaigned 2013 G1 Prix Morny and 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) and Magnier is hoping this colt will follow in those same footsteps. 

“If he is anything like No Nay Never, we'll be laughing,” Magnier said. 

Crupi's New Castle Farm purchased the colt for $450,000 from Gainesway's consignment at last year's Keeneland September sale. The operation also used that pattern for pinhooking success last year, selecting Tennessee (Giant's Causeway) from Gainesway for $150,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and reselling the colt for $1.15 million to Coolmore's Demi O'Byrne at the 2014 Barretts March sale through Steve Venosa's SGV Thoroughbreds consignment. 

Stonestreet, Coolmore Team Up Again 
by Jessica Martini 

Powerhouse owners Stonestreet and Coolmore, who joined up to purchase Stanford (Malibu Moon) for $550,000 at last year's Barretts March sale, teamed again during Wednesday's Florida sale, going to $900,000 to purchase a colt by Bernardini from the Northwest Stud consignment. Hip 111, a $400,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, is out of Temporada (Summer Squall) and is a half to stakes winners Third Chance (Kafwain) and Banner Bill (Rockport Harbor). He worked a furlong Monday in :10 1/5. 

“They liked the horse and we liked the horse, so we decided to team up,” Stonestreet's John Moynihan explained. 

Of the juvenile, Moynihan added, “I thought he worked fabulous. He is a horse that is immature. He's going to run two turns and he went :10 1/5 as easy as a horse can do it. We are excited about him.” 

Stanford will go postward Friday in Gulfstream's Islamorada H. 

Stonestreet has already had success buying from Northwest Stud. Barbara Banke's operation purchased Carpe Diem (Giant's Causeway) for $1.6 million at last year's OBS March sale. The TDN Rising Star won last year's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and was second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He goes postward in Saturday's GII Tampa Bay Derby and is drawn alongside fellow Stonestreet colorbearer Ocean Knight (Curlin). 

“They bought a horse from us last year–they are trusting us again and I think they have another very, very nice horse,” said Northwest stallion director Dr. Alfredo Lichoa. “Hopefully it will work out the same as Carpe Diem. We're very happy with the sale.” 

Lichoa couldn't have been more pleased with the Florida sale's new venue at Gulfstream Park. 

“This is the best place to be,” he said. “Now we need to bring our best horses here all the time. Everybody is here–you can't ask for anything better.” 

Coolmore Goes for Tapit Colt 
by J.M. Severni 

Coolmore rounded out their trifecta of top-sellers with hip 120, a colt by Tapit, who they scooped up for $900,000. The bay is the third foal out of stakes winning and graded stakes placed dam, the TDN Rising Star West Coast Swing (Gone West). He covered a furlong in :10 2/5 at the under tack show. 

“He's a nice horse, he comes from a good family and the lads really liked her,” said Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. 

Bred by WinStar, he RNA'd for $370,00 at Keeneland September. Joe Minor's JSM Equine then purchased him privately. He was consigned by Thomas & Casse in this inaugural 2-year-old consignment for the partnership. 

“This colt brought a good, fair price for this type of horse,” said Minor. “I have to thank Justin [Casse] and Becky [Thomas] and their whole team, they really did a good job. Justin picked him out. I appreciate the buyers, he's a special horse–they don't look much better than that. I wish him a good career.” 

Giant's Causeway Closes Sale on a High Note 
by J.M. Severni 

Hip 172, one of the last horses through the ring, provided some late-session fireworks when the hammer dropped at $850,000 on a bid from Katsumi Yoshida. The Giant's Causeway filly is the first foal out of Sovereign Award-winning mare Embur's Song (Unbridled's Song), another TDN Rising Star. She was consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, Agent V and breezed in :10 2/5 Monday. “She's a very elegant horse, I loved everything about this horse,” said Kiyofumi Sugaya, who signed on behalf of Yoshida. 

“She's a collector's item, in my opinion, she's a beautiful filly,” Brennan offered. “We were hoping she'd sell really well. She's at the end of the sale, and obviously, that's a little bit of a difficult mark. It's like chicken or feathers–are people really there? In this case they were. She was well over reserve and there were several people who really wanted her and I'm very happy that Katsumi Yoshida got her, they've bought very good horses from me in the past, so we're really happy that they've got her. She's got a great home and I think it was a smart buy for them looking down the road for their program.” 

Let's Go Gets Hard Spun Filly 
by J.M. Severni 

Let's Go Stables was extended to $850,000 to secure hip 109, a Crupi's New Castle Farm-consigned Hard Spun filly Wednesday. The racing syndicate, which is headed by brothers-in-law Kevin Scatuorchio and Bryan Sullivan, could have quite the week at Gulfstream Park, with their co-owned colt Daredevil (More Than Ready) set to contest the GII Fasig-Tipton Swale S. Saturday. Wednesday's is the most expensive purchase for Let's Go Stables, who has campaigned a number of notable male runners the past few years including multiple Grade I winner Verrazano (More Than Ready), multiple graded stakes winner Divine Oath (Broken Vow) and graded stakes winner El Padrino (Pulpit). Let's Go currently has seven horses in their stable–six of which are colts–including three juveniles that were purchased at Keeneland September. 

The filly is the first foal out of the unraced Scat Daddy dam Swaythisaway, a half-sister to group placed Mutakddim (Seeking the Gold) and Grade I-placed Smooth Charmer (Easy Goer). She is from the family of Get Lucky, Girolamo, Super Saver and Bluegrass Cat. Bred by Nursery Place, Crupi's New Castle Farm purchased the filly for $175,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. Her breeze in :10 1/5 sealed the deal for the Let's Go-Todd Pletcher braintrust. 

“I thought she had the best work of the sale, just an outstanding breeze,” the conditioner noted. “She was really impressive moving over the track and she's a beautiful filly. She has a good Phipps family pedigree.” 

Kevin Scatuorchio stated, “She separated herself at the breeze show. We weren't necessarily looking for a filly or a colt, she just happened to be number one on our list. Todd really loved her and she had a good breeze and gallop out. She has a strong family from the second dam on down, so there weren't any question marks in her pedigree. We came to this sale looking to buy, not just any horse, but the right horse, and she happened to be the one. We're excited and our partners are going to be thrilled. She's a great addition to the stable and we're looking towards a pretty fun year.” 

A Smart Strike for Live Oak 
by Jessica Martini 

Bruce Hill, general manager for Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Stud, signed the ticket at $800,000 to secure hip 55, a full-brother to champion juvenile filly My Miss Aurelia (Smart Strike) from Tami Bobo's Secure Investments consignment. 
“The typical answer is he ticked all the boxes,” Hill said when asked about the juvenile's appeal. “He has the pedigree, the work, the soundness, the vet work, and the conformation. He just did everything for us. Mrs. Weber was very pleased with that.” 

The dark bay colt, out of My Miss Storm Cat (Sea of Secrets), worked a furlong in :10 3/5, but Hill said the time wasn't as important as how the colt looked doing it. 

“We loved the work,” Hill said. “We loved the way he did it. We don't watch the clock very much, but the work was just beautiful.” 

Eddie Plesa, who conditions Saturday's GII Swale S. contender Souper Colossal for Live Oak, will train the youngster. 
The sale was gratifying for Bobo, who purchased the colt privately after he RNA'd for $325,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. 

“Going in, I felt like I brought a really good colt here–I knew I had a really good colt,” Bobo said. “I felt like anyone here was going to respect him if they watched him train. I think Fasig-Tipton puts on a great sale and I wanted to bring a quality product here.” 

Bobo continued, “Mentally this colt is a 4-year-old. He is a strong colt that I trained during the break when it was extremely busy. And nothing seems to rattle him. I look for a huge career for this colt. I think Live Oak will be very proud of the purchase. I think the colt will do right by them.” 

The colt's work didn't concern his consignor. 

“I felt like the horsemen were going to find him,” Bobo said. “I'm proud of them for finding the horse with a :10 3/5. I know sometimes they get lost in the bullet works. I'm glad that people are starting to see that your class horses that are going to the Derby and going to the big races are these class, two-turn horses. This colt is just exceptional and I feel honored to have had him. And I know that I am passing on a product that is ready to go on. I do buy two-turn Derby type horses, so I don't bring speedballs in. I'm not a consignor that is known for speed. I sell class horses and that is the quality of horse that I buy and that is what I like to sell.” 

In her sixth year of selling under the Secure Investments banner, Bobo said she will pinhook 22 juveniles this spring. 
“I don't do large numbers,” she explained. “I don't work for the public. I do my own horses and I have one partner on some of my horses.” 

More Pioneerof the Niles for Baffert 
by J.M. Severni 

Trainer Bob Baffert went back to the Pioneerof the Nile well yesterday when he signed the $685,000 ticket on hip 34, a Pioneerof the Nile colt. Baffert trained the multiple Grade I winning Zayat colorbearer during his racing career and now conditions his 2-Year-Old champion and dual Grade I winning son American Pharoah. Baffert was successful with another Pioneerof the Nile offspring in 'TDN Rising Star' and multiple graded stakes winner Jojo Warrior. Hip 34 covered a furlong in :10 2/5 at the breeze show Monday. 

“I liked hip 29 and him,” Baffert said of his purchases. “They were just two big two-turn horses with speed.” As for his sire, Baffert stated, “He throws brilliance.” Baffert declined stating who he signed for. 

Bred by Maximo Figueredo, the second foal out of dam Lady Bonita (Smart Strike) was purchased by Carrie Brogden and Michelle Redding as a Keeneland November weanling. 

“As a rule, I try not to buy anything with two young parents,” Brogden explained. “But my partner Michelle Redding and I loved him, we were gaga over him. So Michelle, my mom and I bought him for $70,000—and this is before Pioneer was Pioneer. We were in the back walking ring after we bought him feeling all happy with ourselves. And my husband–who knew he was on our shortlist, but had no idea we bid on him—was like who were those dumbasses that bought that Pioneerof the Nile for $70,000? We brought him down to Michelle Redding's and she did a fantastic job–she's one of my closest friends and best partners.” 

Brogden added, “We decided to go to the July sale and Pioneer was doing well, but he hadn't become the breakout stallion that he did by September. He had a lot of action and had a lot of vets, but we were pretty proud of him and we really wanted $140,000 for him. We ended up RNAing him for $135,000 and that didn't work. The McKathans approached us about buying him, so finally, we came to an agreement to sell him for $120,000 and Michelle and I retained a leg of him. He's a spectacular mover, he never turned a hair. The rest is history. They called me in January and I asked how he was doing–I don't see them when they leave my farm until they come to the sales–and JB McKathan said 'he breathes a different air, he's just a different kind of horse. I knew the whole time they were high on him. WinStar was the underbidder–and I love breeding over WinStar–and Bob Baffert bought him and he couldn't be in better hands. I'm thrilled–the underbidder was amazing, the buyer was amazing. So after he sold, I got a text from my husband 'It's a good thing those crazy people bought that horse for $70,000 as a baby.” 

Eskendereya Colt Half of Early Baffert Exacta 
by Jessica Martini 

Trainer Bob Baffert kick-started the Fasig-Tipton Florida sale, purchasing a colt by Eskendereya for $650,000 on behalf of Bernie Schiappa and Michael Lund Petersen. Baffert, who was in action just a few hips later to secure a Pioneerof the Nile juvenile for $685,000, admitted the flashy colt's work in :10 1/5 was a main selling point. 

“We liked his work–he worked really well,” Baffert said of hip 29. “He went fast and he got over the track well. And that's what we are looking for–fast horses who look good.” 

Baffert said the colt's price tag was no surprise. 

“They are going to be high–good horses now cost more money,” he said. “It's like anything. Anything at the top level is going to cost. That's part of the game. If he breaks his maiden, you won't be able to buy him for that.”

The colt was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables. Dunne purchased the youngster for $85,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale. 

“He is a lovely horse,” Dunne said. “We were very proud of him and when we brought him down here, he didn't disappoint us. He showed himself like a champion. We've been doing this a long, long time and he is the most vetted horse we've ever sold. I think everybody loved him.” 

Of the colt's bargain yearling price, Dunne added, “We were just lucky. He was a lovely horse when we bought him. He stood over a lot of ground, he was attractive and he moved well. Just at the time we bought him, everyone was down on the stallion. The stallion has had a bit of a revival and this colt produced, as a 2-year-old, everything you hoped he would when we watched him walk as a yearling.” 

In addition to Sunday's new “TDN Rising Star” Frosty Friday, Eskendereya was also represented by GII Davona Dale third-place finisher Eskenformoney. 

Dunne produced another pinhooking score just a little later when hip 41, a colt by Quality Road, sold for $260,000 to Richard Scibelli. The dark bay was a $100,000 purchase at last fall's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale. 

“I didn't actually go to Maryland,” Dunne admitted. “I had Marette Farrell look at him for me. We are very thankful to her. It was the same thing with him–when he came in we were delighted. He was a very backwards sort of a horse and he's probably a horse who has a lot of improvement in him.” 

The juvenile was originally targeted for Keeneland's cancelled April sale. 

“He was originally slated to go to Keeneland and when that went by the wayside, we jammed on him a little to get him here,” Dunne admitted. “So I would say he is a horse that they are going to be delighted with in 60 days.” 

Also from the Wavertree consignment, hip 86, a son of Court Vision sold for $300,000 to West Point Thoroughbreds. The colt was a $147,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling purchase. 

Dunne felt the early Fasig results were more of the same. 

“We were unbelievabley busy at the barn,” he said. “It probably didn't translate into the amount of vetting that we thought we were going to get, but by the same token we got plenty. I think it is business as usual. The good horses are going to sell well. It's going to be very hard underneath.”