By Jessica Martini
LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale, looking to build on a record-setting 2021 renewal, opened with a day of competitive bidding Monday. A pair of yearlings by Into Mischief topped the day's activity, with a filly going the way of Ben McElroy for $425,000 and a colt selling to the Green family's DJ Stable for $400,000.
“It was a very good opening session to the 2022 Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “There was very good trade. The parking lot was jammed pack, we saw lots of faces on the sales grounds, lots of trainers, pinhookers and end-users and lot of representatives from overseas.”
During Monday's session, 253 yearlings sold for $12,342,100. The average of $48,783 was up 21.3% from the same session a year ago and the median of $27,000 was up 58%.
The 2021 auction set records for both average and median–of $45,627 and $22,000, respectively–and the opening session of the 2022 sale was ahead of both marks.
“The 2021 sale was a quantum leap from previous year levels, so to be able to sustain that and potentially improve on that–I hate to get too far out because it's hard to judge the composition of which days are the best when there are 1600 horses on the grounds. But it was a very solid session with lots of activity.”
With 96 yearlings reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 27.5%. It was 19.6% during last year's first session.
The Fasig-Tipton October sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.
McElroy, Ward Strike for Into Mischief Filly
Bloodstock agent Ben McElroy, sitting alongside trainer Wesley Ward, made a session-topping final bid of $425,000 to acquire a filly by Into Mischief (hip 336) at Monday's first session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale. The yearling is out of stakes winner Velvet Mood (Lonhro {Aus}) and was bred by Alpha Delta Stables, which purchased the mare with the filly in utero for $1 million at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November sale. She was consigned by Mill Ridge Sales.
“She's by a great sire, whether it's colts or fillies, and she's out of a precocious mare who was a stakes-winning 2-year-old,” McElroy said of the filly's appeal. “She just fit our model for getting them out early with Wesley and she looks like she could be turf or dirt, or even synthetic. She is a very nice filly. For me, she was the pick of the fillies today. We were happy to get her at that price and fingers crossed from here on out.”
McElroy said he expects to find partners for the yearling.
“We will put together a partnership on the filly and see how it goes,” he said. “That's good money for a horse, but by that sire, I think we did good.”
McElroy signed for four yearlings Monday and three were acquired with Ward. Keeping busy throughout the yearling sales season across the globe this fall, he also signed for eight yearlings at the Keeneland September sale and three yearlings at the Goffs Orby sale.
“It was really tough to buy what I wanted at Keeneland,” McElroy said. “In Europe, I think we got some really nice horses. We got four today and we are really happy with what we got. This sale always gets better day by day, so hopefully by Thursday these will look like good value.”
Greens Continue to Pick Their Spots
The Green family's DJ Stable, which purchased the co-toppers at the OBS October sale earlier this month, continued its yearling buying spree at Fasig-Tipton Monday, acquiring a colt by Into Mischief (hip 80) for $400,000 just minutes are purchasing a son of Gun Runner (hip 74) for $200,000.
“We are just trying to find a competitive advantage,” Len Green explained. “There are people with more money, so the idea is to try to find the spot and then buy them correctly. Because someone told me a long time ago, you run out of money before they run out of horses.”
Green admitted the team was searching for horses who might not be attracting the attention of heavy-hitting buyers.
“For example, there was an Uncle Mo (hip 197) that came in the ring later on and every big guy was on the horse,” he explained. “I looked at the list of who had visited him and they must have had 14 or so. So I said there is no sense to bid against those guys. Whereas on ours, we looked at the list and we said we have a chance to get this horse at the price we want this horse for.”
Of DJ Stable's buying process, Green said, “We have [trainer] Mark Casse, who certainly knows physical horses, and Jon Green knows what the value of horses is, he follows them all the time.”
Hip 80, bred by Emily and Oliver Bushnell and consigned by Lane's End, is out of Shysheisnot (Tribal Rule).
“This one looks like a runner,” Green said of the yearling.
DJ Stable is currently represented by a daughter of Into Mischief, Wonder Wheel, who is expected to go postward in next week's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
“It wouldn't make any difference,” Green said of the sire. “We don't look at the pedigree page. We look at the physical first. And then we look at the pedigree page to figure out a valuation for the horse.”
Hip 74, bred by Three Chimneys Farm and consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, is out of Shocking Fast (Distorted Humor), a half-sister to this year's GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner).
“These are the kind of runners that, if they make it, they are worth a heck of a lot of money,” Green said. “You can say to me, 'Well, there are horses with no pedigree who win Grade I races,' but more likely the ones that win Grade I races are the ones that have the pedigree and the physical. So that's what we are looking for.”
DJ Stable purchased six yearlings at the OBS October sale, including a colt by Mitole and a filly by The Factor for matching $210,000 sale-topping figures. The operation also purchased the $600,000 sale-topping son of Curlin at the Fasig-Tipton July sale this year.
“We are also selling a lot right now,” Green said. “We were very heavy in fillies because we have a breeding program now. So we have the ability to do foal sharing. We never had that before. If you get a good filly, physically and with a pedigree and she does well on the track, then you have the opportunity to breed it and get into Book 1.
“We found that you can sell certain horses and then we have the advantage that, if we don't get the number we want, we can actually race them. So the number [of horses in the stable], believe it or not, is the same as it was last year.”
DJ Stable struck again late in the session to acquire a colt by Vino Rosso (hip 387) for $60,000.
Arrogate Filly Helps Kick Off October Sale
A filly by Arrogate (hip 7) will be heading west to the barn of that late sire's trainer Bob Baffert after bloodstock agent Donato Lanni made a final bid of $350,000 on behalf of John Rogitz to acquire the yearling early in Monday's first session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale.
The yearling was bred by Paul Tackett and his late son Phil and was consigned by Tackett. She is out of Saharan (Desert Party), a half-sister to Grade I winner My Conquestadory (Artie Schiller).
“She looks like a good Arrogate,” said Lanni. “She looks fast and she was light on her feet. She was a cool filly who did everything right.”
Lanni said of Rogitz, “He's a new guy for us and we thought this filly would suit him very well.”
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