By Jessica Martini
LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale continued its brisk pace Wednesday, with figures tracking towards a record gross figure as the auction heads into its final session Thursday.
“It was another excellent session of the October sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “The sale continued to show strength and consistency in bidding activity from the beginning to the end of the session.”
Through three sessions, 839 yearlings have grossed $43,346,500 for an average of $51,664 and a median of $20,000. At the same point a year ago, 790 yearlings had sold for $38,981,000 for an average of $49,343 and a median of $23,500. The 2023 cumulative average was $48,045 and the median was $24,000.
With a session still to go, the auction is closing on its record gross of $55,426,500, which was set in 2022.
With just 184 horses failing to meet their reserves, the three-day buy-back rate stands at 18.0%. As of Wednesday night, an additional 20 horses were listed as post-sales for a gross of $1,176,000.
“There was a great RNA rate and we continue to sell a lot of horses who were RNAs in the first two days,” Browning said. “We are seeing a tremendous amount of horses that are walking through the sales ring sold through the ring and a tremendous number sold on a post-sale basis.”
For the second day in a row, a yearling by Curlin brought the session's top price late in the day with trainer Mark Casse, bidding on the phone on behalf of Gary Barber, going to $500,000 for a filly by the Hill 'n' Dale stallion from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.
“It's been a really, really fun three days so far, in terms of seeing the level of energy and the level of activity,” Browning said. “The feel of the grounds again today was strong. People were smiling, people were bidding. The horses were coming in and bringing three and four times the reserves people had set on them. Bid spotters were saying it was really hard work because you've got so many people bidding, as opposed to just one or two people bidding on a horse.”
The October sale's final session begins Thursday at 10 a.m.
'A Beautiful Filly:' Casse, Barber Strike for Another Late Session Topper for Curlin
For the second day in a row, a session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale was topped by a yearling by Curlin who went through the sales ring late in the day as darkness fell over Lexington. Trainer Mark Casse, bidding on the phone on behalf of owner Gary Barber, outlasted Ramiro Restrepo to secure a filly by the Hill 'n' Dale stallion (hip 1195) for $500,000 in the auction's third session Wednesday. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, the dark bay is out of Achalaya (Bellamy Road) and is a half-sister to hard-knocking multiple Grade I winner Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), as well as graded winner Chess' Dream (Jess's Dream), and the Casse-trained 2-year-old filly Charlotte's Heart (Authentic).
“Obviously, Curlin is one of Gary's favorite sires,” Casse said. “And the mare has been such a great producer. I train the 2-year-old filly out of her for Live Oak, Charlotte's Heart, who broke her maiden at Saratoga first time out and was just second in a stakes at Woodbine. So it's a real live family. Gary liked the pedigree and we liked the horse.”
The yearling was bred by 30 Year Farm, which purchased Achalaya, in foal to Authentic, for $725,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation purchased the mare's Authentic filly for $725,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.
Named Charlotte's Heart, she broke her maiden on debut over the Saratoga lawn Aug. 25 and was a late-closing runner-up over Woodbine's synthetic surface in the Oct. 13 Glorious Song Stakes.
The mare's yearling filly by Curlin also went through the ring at Saratoga, where she RNA'd for $475,000 in August.
“I think she has grown up since Saratoga,” Casse said. “When I saw her at Saratoga, I thought she was a little immature and I think she's matured in the last couple of months. Obviously, to make the Saratoga, it takes a pretty good horse. So she made that and I think she's improved since then.”
Taylor Made's Duncan Taylor said he was happy with Wednesday's result.
“With the way the sale is, I am thrilled that we got the $500,000,” Taylor said. “I think she is worth every penny of it. She's a beautiful filly. She is just a later-developing filly. We had her in Saratoga and she's improved so much since then. And everything the mare throws has been a runner. The Authentic filly ran a heck of a race the other day.”
$450k Into Mischief Colt 'a Diamond' for Libyan Buyer
Bloodstock agent Mahmud Mouni, representing Libya's Interior Minister Emad Trabelsi, went to $450,000 to acquire a colt by Into Mischief (hip 855) during Wednesday's session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale. The yearling, who was consigned by Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, was one of five yearlings signed for by Mouni through three sessions of the four-day auction.
“He's a new client in the horse business,” Mouni said of Trabelsi. “We would like to keep the horses here [in the U.S.] for one year. We are planning, discussing with the seller, to send them to [Todd] Pletcher. Our main target is the G1 Saudi Cup and G1 Dubai World Cup for the following year or the year later. After we see how they do next year. If they are doing really well, maybe they will go to the GI Kentucky Derby.”
Hip 855, who RNA'd for $475,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale in August, is out of Shopit (Yes It's True) and is a full-brother to multiple Grade I placed Shoplifted. He was bred by Newtownanner Stud Farm, which purchased Shopit for $65,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November sale. The mare had Into Mischief colts sell for $1 million at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and for $600,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September sale.
“I would like to buy from the new generation, the yearlings by younger stallions like Charlatan or Maxfield or McKinzie, but when you see a diamond like this horse, you can't forget him,” Mouni said. “That's why we decided to buy him. [Trabelsi] told me two or three horses, but when you see a diamond like this, we decided to buy him in the last five minutes.”
Mouni's other purchases at the October sale include colts by Good Magic for $270,000 (hip 429) and $180,000 (hip 615).
Mouni said the Libyan racing and breeding industry has been on the improve in recent years and he has high hopes for its future.
“Horse racing in Libya is increasing and jumping up with increasing prize money, especially in the last few years,” he said. “The people are spending more money on horses because it's worth it now. Before it wasn't. Now everything is stable, especially after the revolution. Now everything is stable and everyone is supported to buy the horses. I have many clients who are still interested until the end of the sale.
“We can't buy horses for half a million for Libya now, the target is for those quality horses to go to Saudi Arabia and Dubai and racing in the U.S. in the Kentucky Derby. But we will see in the near future. Maybe there will be a Libya World Cup.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
