Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale

The last time the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale was held, Curlin recorded a memorable trifecta with the auction's top three seven-figure yearlings. Leading the way was the $1.5-million co-topper First Captain, who was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' and captured  the GIII Dwyer S. The Hill 'n' Dale stallion will be represented by five yearlings when bidding returns to the Humphrey S. Finney pavilion in upstate New York next week. "Curlin is truly a Classic sire," said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency, which will consign two fillies...

Fasig-Tipton has partnered with Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency company with the world's fastest-growing crypto app, and Swapp Protocol, a blockchain-based DeFi platform, to offer cryptocurrency payment and rewards services at the upcoming Saratoga Sale. Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale, to be held Aug. 9-10, will be the first Thoroughbred auction to accept cryptocurrency as payment for equine purchases. Buyers who use cryptocurrency at Saratoga will receive cryptocurrency rewards with the buyer of the most expensive horse--paid with cryptocurrency--receiving one million SWAPP tokens, which are exchangeable for various fiat and cryptocurrencies. "As Fasig-Tipton...

When regally-bred Grade I winner Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy-Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek) joined the stallion roster at Ashford Stud in 2019, his half-brother Into Mischief had just received a bump in stud fee from $100,000 to $150,000 at nearby Spendthrift Farm. The next year, as Mendelssohn's first foals were hitting the ground, Into Mischief was represented by GI Kentucky Derby hero and eventual Horse of the Year Authentic. Today, as Into Mischief is now widely regarded as the leading stallion in the world, Mendelssohn awaits the day when his first...

1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:00p.m. Trainer Shug McGaughey unveils West Point, Siena Farm, Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing's FIRST CAPTAIN (Curlin), a $1.5 million purchase at the Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Select sale last summer. The colt is the first foal out of GSW & GISP America (A.P. Indy), a homebred for the Iron Chef. The 3-year-old sports a bullet four-furlong work in :48 1/5 at Payson Apr. 10, and most recently, registered a :48 4/5 (28/63) for the same distance at Belmont Apr. 17. Also suiting up for the first...

A Triple Crown winner in his native Barbados, Saffie Joseph Jr. took his first shot at America's Classics in 2020 with GISP Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic), who failed to hit the board in both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. last fall before heading to the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Fast forward to 2021, Joseph returns to the Triple Crown trail with another exciting prospect in Three Chimneys Farm and eFive Racing's Collaborate (Into Mischief), who is slated to contest Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby...

2nd-AQU, $70K, Msw, (S), 3yo/up, 6fT, 12:50 p.m. ET RIFT VALLEY (Pioneerof the Nile), the $600,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling topper in 2018, debuts for Shortleaf Stables and Jimmy Jerkens. The bay has posted four bullet moves on his worktab, including a four-furlong breeze in :47 1/5 (1/8) at Belmont Oct. 27. Rift Valley, produced by a daughter of MGISW Educated Risk (Mr. Prospector), hails from a deep Phipps family, including champion Inside Information. TJCIS PPs

Reigning champion turf mare Uni (GB) (More Than Ready), who finished third in her seasonal debut in the June 27 GI Just A Game S., may make her next start against colts in the GI Fourstardave S. Aug. 22 at Saratoga Race Course. The Chad Brown trainee, who suffered her only loss of 2019 in last year's Fourstardave, wrapped up her championship-earning season by taking the GI First Lady S. at Keeneland in course-record time and the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita. "The only Grade I going a...

4th-TAM, $20k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 2:30 p.m. ET BRANCO MARIA (Candy Ride {Arg}) faces seven rivals in this unveiling for trainer Mike Stidham. The sophomore, a $385,000 FTSAUG yearling purchase by Phoenix Thoroughbred III, worked five furlongs in 1:01 1/5 (3/7) at Tampa Bay Downs May 7. The son of two-time Canadian stakes winner Heidi Maria (Rockport Harbor) hails from the extended female family of 'TDN Rising Star' Sweet Whiskey (Old Fashioned), heroine of the 2014 GIII Old Hat S. and runner-up in the GI TVG Acorn S. TJCIS PPs

As Honor A. P. (Honor Code) was gearing up for his career debut at Del Mar last summer, owner Lee Searing had some fun with trainer John Shirreffs while inquiring about a potential rider for his stunning $850,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling acquisition. "I asked John, it wasn't like I didn't know, and said, 'Who are you going to be putting on this big horse,'" Searing said of the veteran conditioner widely known for playing his cards close to his vest. "He said, 'Well, I don't know Lee.' As we got...

Fasig-Tipton will consolidate its July, Saratoga, and New York-Bred yearling sales into one selected yearling auction--the 2020 Selected Yearlings Showcase--to be held Wednesday and Thursday, September 9-10, at its Lexington, Kentucky facility. The company came to the decision after evaluating the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic for the last several weeks and it was made after consultation with Keeneland, whose September Yearling Sale begins Sept. 14. "We are excited to offer our buyers and sellers a selected yearling venue in Kentucky," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "We envision this catalogue...