Fueled By On-Track Success, Midlantic Yearling Sale Kicks Off Monday

TIMONIUM, MD. – After a rainy start to the autumn in Maryland, blue skies and warm temperatures greeted visitors to the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds over the weekend ahead of Monday's first session of the Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale in Timonium. Fueled by a number of significant accomplishments by graduates in the past year–most notably undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Army Mule (Friesan Fire)'s victory in the GI Carter H.–the auction is likely to see a further influx of interest from new faces as it enters its second year as a two-day event. Speaking with the TDN over the weekend, Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sales Director Paget Bennett said the future appears bright as the October sale seeks to follow in the footsteps of the ever-popular Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in May.

“These sales grounds have gotten a lot of attention from a lot of the top people, and we're just thrilled to have everyone back,” Bennett said. “Everyone is excited and we've got people here who haven't come in the past. Based on the successes they've seen others have the following spring, they are thinking, 'Maybe this is a sale that I need to attend as well.' We have a lot of new faces–faces we see in May, but not always at the yearling sale.”

Consistent with the returns from other yearling sales this season, Bennett said the ability to add depth beneath the top end of the market will be crucial to the sale's success.

“As we know, the top will have no problems, and it's always the middle to lower end where we see that they can struggle a little bit,” Bennett acknowledged. “But hopefully we will get a lot of horses sold. That's what we want to do.”

Replicating the new format adopted last year to accommodate a larger catalogue, the Midlantic Sale will be held as a two-session event, with the first 150 lots selling Monday evening beginning at 4 p.m. and the remaining 350 slated for Tuesday with a 10 a.m. start. Bennett said the expanded size of the sale in recent years has brought a new level of excitement to the barn area.

“We're very excited to be able to fill the barn area and get to 500,” said Bennett. “The supplement is 55 this year, and we have the same structure with two days as last year. We sell the first 150 late Monday afternoon, so that people who might be racing in Maryland can get over.”

With the Midlantic Sale's success directly tied to thriving regional breeding and racing programs, Bennett said the earning power demonstrated by recent sale graduates on the racetrack makes the October marketplace all the more appealing. Among the yearlings on offer are Hip 43, a Pennsylvania-bred by El Padrino who is a half-sister to undefeated GII Saratoga Special S. winner and 2017 Midlantic graduate Call Paul (Friesan Fire), as well as Hip 85, a Maryland-bred Jump Start colt who is a half to 2016 Midlantic grad and GII Woody Stephens S. hero Still Having Fun (Old Fashioned).

“We have the half to Call Paul, and we have a lot of other additional family members to the stars who have come out of this sale,” Bennett said. “The local breeders choose this marketplace for those horses, because that's where they're known. There are so many options now for rewards with these different programs. It started with Delaware-certified, then the Maryland-breds got boosted and the Pennsylvania-breds have always been appealing, in addition to Pennsylvania-sired rewards. Now with the Virginia-certified program, it's exciting because it's not just here in this area. It's throughout the Midlantic.”

Underwood Passing the Test With Inspire Consignment

High school junior Amara Underwood has attended plenty of sales and gained ample first-hand experience while working alongside her stepfather Clovis Crane, but the Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale will afford her a unique opportunity to launch a test run of sorts with her own five-horse Inspire Thoroughbreds consignment. Underwood, who is scheduled to graduate from high school in central Pennsylvania a year early with the goal of ultimately increasing her involvement in the sales business, said she has developed a particular interest in yearling sales.

“I've always worked with Crane Thoroughbreds and gone to the 2-year-old sales at Timonium, OBS, Miami, and Barretts,” Underwood said. “I help Clovis short-list at the yearling sales. It's something I enjoy–the pinhooking and consigning–but I'm particularly interested in buying weanlings and short yearlings and selling them as yearlings. I was given this opportunity to do it for our client Kim Campbell, who buys and sells yearlings. Out of the five horses I have, four of them are owned by her and one is for Clovis.”

While Underwood had the chance to manage the Crane Thoroughbreds consignment at this year's Barretts Spring 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale while her stepfather was in Miami for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, she described the experience of having her own consignment as a “different ball game.” Nevertheless, the Midlantic Sale will allow her to continue to learn while still working closely with her parents. Underwood said she has particularly high hopes for Hip 120, a Take Charge Indy colt.

As for the future, Underwood explained she intends to remain active at the sales while attending college.

“I'm lucky enough to graduate this year as a junior,” Underwood said. “I got all my work done and tried to be really diligent, so my school is allowing me to graduate. That being said, I need to be enrolled in a post-secondary education and my mom wants me to get a degree, so I plan on attending college and getting a degree in business. But I want to continue being involved in the Thoroughbred business. I don't think I could ever see myself doing something else.”

Thoroughbreds are indeed a way of life for Underwood, who will be traveling to Lexington after the sale's conclusion to participate in her fourth year of the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover.

“I find a lot of Thoroughbreds from programs or Penn National, and even horses who are graduates of Crane Thoroughbreds,” Underwood said. “I love bringing them in and retraining and selling them and watching them succeed in their second careers.”