Fasig-Tipton's May Digital Selected Sale closed Tuesday afternoon with impressive 2-year-old debut winner Awesome Strong (Awesome Slew) topping the sale, bringing $500,000 from Bill Childs. He was consigned as Hip 24 from the draft of Elena Racing, agent.
The Florida-bred colt won by an eye-catching six lengths on debut for Elena Racing, Inc. and trainer Jorge Delgado at Gulfstream Park May 6 in an open maiden special weight. Awesome Strong is from the first crop of Awesome Slew out of the Pleasant Tap mare Pleasant Ring. That mare is a full sister to stakes winner and graded stakes producer Pleasant Chimes. Pleasant Ring has produced six winners to date, including multiple stakes winner Bad Debt (Grand Reward), a multiple graded stakes placed earner of $838,000.
Three-year-old Sareeha (Ire) (Shamardal) (Hip 10) was the leading racing/broodmare prospect offered, selling for $150,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. The filly was consigned by Carriganog Racing (Joseph O'Brien). Placed in her second career start Apr. 23 at Limerick, Sareeha is daughter of European champion Shamardal out of the winning Dansili (GB) mare Saraha (GB).
“We believe a good horse can come from anywhere, at any time,” Eclipse's Aron Wellman said. “Sareeha is a filly who was on our radar as a potential private purchase in Ireland after her race last month, so when she was entered in the Digital Sale, it made sense for us to monitor her status. The world is getting smaller by the day, especially in our industry, so we cannot rule out any avenue by which horses can be acquired. We were able to connect with Joseph O'Brien, who trains for Eclipse in Ireland, which made it a bit more comfortable. That said, the process was seamless and the technology was user friendly. We applaud Fasig's willingness to be innovative and we certainly hope Sareeha is a success story for the program sooner rather than later.”
At the close of active bidding, 13 horses sold for $1,150,000, good for an average of $88,500. The median was $60,000. There were 120 bidders registered for the sale. Each offering attracted at least five unique bidders. Prospective buyers placed 609 cumulative bids, averaging better than 25 bids per horse.
Buyers may still make offers on horses that failed to meet their reserve by visiting the sale page, then clicking “Make Offer” next to the horse they are interested in purchasing.
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