By Jessica Martini
The Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale, which gives breeders one last chance to buys mares at auction before the breeding season opens later this month, begins its two-day run at Newtown Paddocks Monday morning with the first of 300 catalogued hips scheduled to head into the sales ring at 10 a.m. A further 235 head have been catalogued for Tuesday's second session, which is largely dominated by supplemented offerings from the dispersal of the late Robert Lothenbach's Lothenbach Stables.
The auction added some late fire power to its catalogue Sunday when Zetta Z (Bernardini) (hip 536) was supplemented to the catalogue a day after her sophomore son Nysos (Nyquist) dominated the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita. The 14-year-old broodmare, who is in foal to Cyberknife, will be offered through the Grovendale Sales consignment.
“Nysos has been brilliant in each of his starts,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “His numbers lead all 3-year-old colts and his potential is unlimited. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer his dam, who is in foal to the exciting first-year stallion Cyberknife.”
The winter mixed sale brings a close to a season of breeding stock auctions which featured plenty of money for top offerings and a mixed reception for horses under that level. Consignors expect those same trends to continue this week in Lexington.
“I think it will be the same as all of them,” said Vinery Sales' Derek MacKenzie. “The top will be strong, the bottom probably not so much and the middle, probably a little polarized back and forth. The catalogue is smaller than it has been and with this big group of Lothenbach horses getting added, thinking positively, I think it will be a good sale.”
Vinery and Taylor Made Sales Agency will each be consigning horses as part of the dispersal, which will bring increased interest to the winter catalogue.
“It's been a few years now and not quite this quality, but when we had the Rockin' Z dispersal a few years ago at this sale, I remember, it really drew a lot of people in,” MacKenzie said. “And this one should bring even more.”
Taylor Made's Marshall Taylor agreed the buying bench at Fasig-Tipton might be deeper this year due to the dispersal.
“Anytime there is a dispersal, the first thing that people think of is 'no reserve' and opportunity is the first word that comes to your mind as a buyer, especially when you look at the type of roster that Mr. Lothenbach and his team accumulated and what they've got on the roster. That drives people to the sale. So I think you're going to see a lot more people at the sale than traditionally come to the February sale because of the dispersal.”
Its placement directly ahead of the opening of the breeding season gives the Winter sale a pivotal spot on the calendar.
“If you look at the February sale from the past, it's always a really solid, good sale,” Taylor said. “I think every year, you see these young fillies selling well, young fillies with page or a little bit of race record. They tend to really sell well because I think everyone is looking for a nice young mare to breed.”
MacKenzie said, “I think it is good timing. A lot of these mares that are empty are maidens that can go straight to the breeding shed almost. So, they don't have carrying costs. The timing is probably perfect.”
During last year's Winter Mixed sale, 402 horses sold for $14,105,200 for an average of $35,088 and a median of $15,000. The broodmare prospect Lemieux (Nyquist) topped the auction when selling for $400,000 to Nice Guys Stables. Bred to Not This Time just after the auction, she produced her first foal, a colt, Jan. 26.
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