Tapit on Top at Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale opened its two-day run at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Monday evening, with a pair of yearlings by Tapit causing the biggest fireworks during a session which produced slight increases in both average and median compared with the auction's 2018 opener.

“It was an outstanding opening session of the 2019 Saratoga sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “I thought we saw very competitive bidding throughout the evening. There was a lot of strength and a lot of diversity in the buying bench and overall we're very pleased. And we're very excited to have another group of outstanding horses on deck for tomorrow night. I think it will be another outstanding session tomorrow.”

A total of 61 yearlings sold Monday for a gross of $22,775,000. The average of $373,361 was up 7% from the 2018 opening day figure of $348,976 and was ahead of the cumulative 2018 figure of $369,376, which was second best in the auction's history. The median of $315,000 was up 5% from last year's first-session median of $300,000.

“We're pleased to have increases in the average and median compared to day one last year, although I always caution that you have to look at the whole sale as a composite,” Browning said. “There can be some fluctuations and variations from day to day, but I think we are set for another strong session tomorrow.”

West Point Thoroughbreds, which partnered to purchase the 2018 Saratoga sale topper as well as this year's $2-million OBS March-topping colt Chestertown (Tapit), made the highest bid of Monday's opening session of the 2019 auction, going to $1 million to secure a son of Tapit from the Lane's End consignment. Minutes later, Scott Heider secured a filly by the Gainesway stallion for $950,000. A filly by Medaglia d'Oro rounded out the trio of yearlings to sell for $900,000 or over Monday.

The Saratoga sale continues Tuesday with bidding beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Tapit Colt Shines Brightest at Saratoga

A colt by Tapit out of Grade III winner Feathered (Indian Charlie), was the first and only yearling to reach $1 million during Monday's opening session, selling to David Ingordo, acting on behalf of West Point Thoroughbreds, after a furious round of bidding about halfway through the evening's festivities. Hip 80 was consigned by Lane's End on behalf of breeder Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm.

“He is by Tapit and we love Tapit,” said West Point President and CEO Terry Finley. “We thought he was a great physical, so we tried to buy him. We thought we would have a good shot at that level, so we are glad we had the winning bid at the hammer drop.”

The West Point team had hip 80, currently named Flightline, on their radar before he reached the sales grounds thanks to Ingordo, who is the leader of Lane's End's bloodstock team.

“He saw him for the first time in the middle of the spring, so that is a big help. We are really happy with the relationship we have with Ingordo and the Lane's End family.”

Finley continued, “I am just very excited. We keep buying these types of horses and we just hope we will get back to the big time. That is what partners want. They want really top end horses to take a shot at the brass ring, so to speak.”

Breeder Jane Lyon was equally excited after the sale, wearing the beaming smile of a proud mother while seated alongside her farm manager Bobby Spalding in the middle of the pavilion.

“We did expect the colt to bring this much because we think he is an extremely nice colt and he has been since birth,” Lyon said. “You always hope you get paid for good colts, so we are very happy.”

Out of a stakes-placed daughter of MGISW Finder's Fee (Storm Cat), Feathered was a graded winner on turf and Grade I-placed on both turf and dirt. Lyon purchased her for $2.35 million carrying a foal by War Front at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale. The resulting foal was a filly now named Good On Paper. The 7-year-old mare produced a colt by the late Pioneerof the Nile Apr. 15 of this year and was bred back to Tapit.

“Feathered is a mare we bought several years ago,” Lyon said. “She is a lovely mare who ran well on both dirt and turf. This is her second foal for us. We loved him since the day he was born. We are very, very happy that he is such a nice yearling and we are happy with the price.”

Summer Wind Farm has been on fire the past few seasons both on the racetrack and in the sales ring, including selling an $875,000 American Pharoah filly at last year's renewal of this auction and topping the 2018 Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale with a $520,000 son of Flatter. The Georgetown nursery has produced the liked of champion Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}), Saturday's GI Whitney S. victor McKinzie (Streer Sense), MGISW Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon), GISW Chasing Yesterday (Tapit) and Japanese Group 1 winner Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}). —@CDeBernardisTDN

Heider Adds Tapit Filly to the Family

It was a big couple minutes for Gainesway's super sire Tapit, who followed up a $1-million colt with a $950,000 filly Monday in Saratoga. Scott Heider, sitting alongside bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, made the final bid on the filly (hip 82), who will be trained by Steve Asmussen.

“She is a lovely filly with an unbelievable female family,” Heider said. “She is exactly what we look for when we are looking to buy from the ring. And on this particular filly, when Steve Asmussen says special and Donato Lanni says special, I have to pay attention to the two of them.”

As Heider was talking, Asmussen walked by and congratulated him on the purchase. Heider told the Hall of Famer, “She's all yours,” and Asmussen responded, “I love that.”

The dark bay yearling, bred and consigned by Gainesway, is out of Pension (Seeking the Gold) and is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Annual Report (Harlan's Holiday). The filly's second dam is Grade I winner Furlough (Easy Goer) and her third dam is Blitey (Riva Ridge), dam of Grade I winners Dancing Spree and Fantastic Find.

“We are trying to balance out some of our turf pedigrees with the dirt,” Heider said. “And we really like the folks at Gainesway. We breed to Tapit and we all have all the faith in the world in Tapit. I think this is a special filly. I hope Steve is excited.”

Heider said the filly was purchased with an eye toward her potential to join the family's broodmare band.

“That's what we try to do, do well at the track, but we would love to have this filly long term. That would be the plan. Eventually, we would absolutely would want to keep her in our portfolio.”

Heider will switch gears during Tuesday's second session of the Saratoga sale and, through the Hill 'n' Dale Sales consignment, will offer a buzz-worthy son of Curlin who is the first foal out of Grade I winner Taris (Flatter) (hip 134).

“We're cautiously optimistic,” Heider said of the pending offering. “That colt out of Taris has been a superstar from the day he was born and he's never looked anything other than incredible. We sell the colts. Otherwise we would keep him and race him, but he's been phenomenal from day one. It appears that everyone likes him and he is absolutely here to sell. I hope the right folks end up with him. We want him to do well. Tomorrow night is going to be a different kind of nervous.”

Tapit ended the session with the two top-priced offerings and the results were gratifying to Gainesway's Michael Hernon.

“Two super offerings,” Hernon said. “That was a lovely colt from Lane's End, he was just a top-drawer product (hip 80). And then our own filly, she was aggressively pursued by three leading buyers and thanks to buyers Scott Heider and Donato Lanni. Roy and Gretchen Jackson were aggressive underbidders and chased her all the way. We are delighted with the sale. She is a filly with great potential, a great family behind her–her third dam is Blitey, it's top Phipps blood there. And she's a daughter Tapit, who speaks for himself. It's all there. The pedigree is there, the physical is there she had a lot of class. She's in good hands and we wish them the very best.”

Gainesway purchased Pension for $160,000 as a 5-year-old at the 2008 Keeneland November sale. She was bred back to Tapit this year.

—@JessMartiniTDN

Partnership Strikes for Medaglia d'Oro Filly

A filly by Medaglia d'Oro (hip 49) set off fireworks midway through Monday's opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, selling for $900,000 to bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe. Radcliffe did her bidding out back flanked by George Bolton and Sheila Rosenblum. The yearling will be campaigned by a partnership which includes those two prominent owners.

“We said if we get this filly our slogan would be, 'Hot women buy fast horses,'” Bolton said with a chuckle. “I am holding on for dear life.”

He added, “Basically this was [Kerri's] pick of the whole sale. She was the athlete she loves to buy. So you get another partner and get the horse versus lose the horse and that's what we are going to do.”

Radcliffe said, “She's very special. She looks like an athlete and she's by a great sire. I loved her. She has a beautiful head. She's very quality.”

Of the new ownership group, Radcliffe said, “There is a whole group of them–a lovely big partnership. She'll stay in America, but we haven't picked a trainer yet.”

The dark bay filly is out of Grade I-placed Light the City (Street Sense). Consigned by Eaton Sales, the yearling was bred by Mike Hall and Sam Ross's Breeze Easy. The operation purchased Light the City, in foal to American Pharoah, for $600,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Her American Pharoah filly RNA'd for $525,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale. She produced another daughter of the Triple Crown winner in 2019 and was bred back to Medaglia d'Oro.

Breeze Easy's fledgling broodmare band was represented by its first few yearlings to sell a year ago and was represented by weanlings to sell for $450,000 and $300,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

—@JessMartiniTDN