Bell's the One

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale, which had never produced a seven-figure offering in its history, had three million-dollar mares go through the ring in an action-packed final hour of its two-day run in Lexington Tuesday. The final horse through the ring, Zetta Z (Bernardini), supplemented to the auction just Sunday, provided an exclamation point of the auction when selling for $2 million to Coolmore Stud. As expected, the dispersal of the bloodstock of the late Robert Lothenbach dominated the results sheet, accounting for the $1.3 million Bell's...

Grade I winning Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) brought a final bid of $1.3 million from bloodstock agent Catherine Hudson, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, Tuesday at Fasig-Tipton. Part of the dispersal of the bloodstock of the late Robert Lothenbach, the 8-year-old mare was consigned by Vinery Sales. She will remain in the U.S., according to Hudson, who added mating plans are still to be decided.

For nearly 20 years, trainer Neil Pessin didn't have to worry about filling up his barn. His principal owner, Bob Lothenbach, kept sending horses his way. That included a Grade I winner in Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) and several useful allowance horses. Pessin was training a 22-horse stable and 19 of them were owned by Lothenbach. "Bob was an excellent owner," Pessin said. "He knew our field of expertise was training horses and his was the paper business. Anytime I asked for anything that involved the welfare of the horse...

This year's renewal of the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale will have extra appeal to buyers with the addition of the dispersal of the late Robert Lothenbach's breeding stock. The dispersal's offerings, most of whom were supplemented to the auction's catalogue, will be handled by Vinery Sales and Taylor Made Sales Agency. Both consignors emphasized what a unique opportunity the dispersal represented. "Mr. Lothenbach was a great ambassador for racing and he strictly bred to race," Vinery's Derek MacKenzie said. "He also bought a lot of nice yearlings over the years...

The Lothenbach Stables of the late Robert Lothenbach will completely disperse its breeding stock, yearlings, and horses of racing age with Fasig-Tipton over the next three weeks. All breeding stock and yearlings will be sold at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, to be held Feb. 5 and 6 in Lexington. The 65 entries of breeding stock and yearlings at the Winter sale will be spread among two consignors: Vinery Sales and Taylor Made Sales Agency. The majority of these entries will be offered in the sale's supplement, but the main...

Robert John Lothenbach, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder who was a passionate booster of horse racing in his home state of Minnesota and also enjoyed success in the sport on the national level, has died unexpectedly. He was 64. The Minnesota chapter of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (MHBPA) announced his passing late on Monday. The cause of Lothenbach's death has yet to be publicly disclosed, and funeral arrangements are pending. Shortly after Canterbury Park first opened in 1985, Lothenbach and three friends each put up $1,000 to claim...

Bell's the One (Majesticperfection), arguably the best horse to carry the silks of the late Bob Lothenbach and who was among the first book of mares bred to Horse of the Year Flightline (Tapit), lost her foal at the seven-month stage in September, her trainer Neil Pessin confirmed Wednesday. "Bob loved her and he was really looking forward to having that foal," Pessin said. Pessin purchased the daughter of Street Mate (Street Cry {Ire}), bred by Bret Jones, on behalf of Lothenbach for $155,000 as a yearling at the 2017...

Veteran jockey Corey Lanerie posted the 5,000th victory of his riding career Wednesday at Keeneland, coming with a patented move up the fence to guide the Chris Hartman-trained I Feel The Need (Keen Ice) in race three. He is the 38th jockey in history and is the 12th winningest among active riders behind the ageless Perry Ouzts. "It's beautiful," he said. "I have been waiting a long time and it seems like I got right on it and I could never get over the hump, but today we got over...

The most exciting and highest-priced horse to go to stud in 2023, at a fee of $200,000, Flightline has amassed a book of mares as deep as any in recent memory for a first-season sire. We sat down with Lane's End Bloodstock's David Ingordo to hear about just 10 of those famous mares--a tough number to narrow down in a book so full of riches. "We've got a ton of great support for the horse, from Eclipse Award-winning owner-breeders to successful commercial breeders," said Ingordo. "We went out and bought...

After Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) did not meet her reserve of $2.6 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, owner Bob Lothenbach has decided to retain the 6-year-old mare and will breed her, reports her trainer, Neil Pessin. "More than likely, the plan is to send her to the breeding shed," Pessin said. "We don't know who we'll breed her to yet. It's yet to be determined, but we should decide that within the next two or three weeks. Bob is a breeder and has about 40 mares. He breeds a...

A few weeks before Bell's the One (Majesticperfection - Street Mate, by Street Cry {Ire}) made her career debut, her trainer Neil Pessin set aside a few dollars to place a wager on the promising juvenile. But in the days leading up to the race, he started to rethink the idea. Every morning as Bell's the One went out to gallop, the juvenile would stop in the middle of the track, somewhere around the sixteenth pole, and refuse to move. Pessin would have to take to the track, red-faced with...

A total of 299 main-catalogue entries--the largest in the history of the sale--have been taken for Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale, the auction house's boutique mixed sale, to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, Sunday, Nov. 6, beginning at 1 p.m., one hour earlier than last year's 2 p.m. start in order to accommodate the extra volume of offerings. "The Fasig-Tipton November Sale annually offers the highest concentration of quality breeding stock in the world, and this year's catalogue more than lives up to that billing," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr....