Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 171 selected yearlings for its inaugural The Turf Showcase, Presented by Woodbine Racetrack, which will be held Sunday, Sept. 10, with a 4 p.m. start time at Fasig-Tipton's Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. The Turf Showcase is the first North American sale consisting entirely of yearlings chosen by the Fasig-Tipton team for a proclivity for the turf–either through conformation or pedigree.
“We are very pleased with the quality of this catalogue for the inaugural sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “These yearlings have sire power, depth of pedigree, and physical conformation that will appeal to a broad range of domestic and international buyers. In North America this year, 40% of all graded stakes races will be conducted on turf, along with nearly 7,000 races. Internationally, U.S. breds continue to excel on the world's biggest stages. This sale represents a perfect opportunity for buyers from around the globe to find yearlings that suit their racing programs in a convenient, single-sale session.”
Bloodstock agent Jacob West of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners has already put the Turf Showcase sale on his calendar.
“We will definitely be shopping there,” West said. “Like everybody else, we want to win as many American Classics as we can, but we are also going to try and win as many races as we can and a lot of races in America are run on the grass.”
West continued, “I think the concept really makes sense. It's another avenue for breeders to market horses they are trying to sell. It's an interesting angle because I know the idea was that some of the Europeans would be here for [Keeneland] Book 1 to shop. If you can showcase a couple of other maybe lesser known stallions for those guys, they may take home an athletic individual that would have normally been in Book 3 or Book 4 and they would not have been here for. We always need to applaud innovation in our game and I think Fasig-Tipton is stepping outside the box a little bit to offer something nobody else is doing.”
Bloodstock agent Justin Casse said he thought recent results, both on the racetrack and in the sales ring, made the Turf Showcase a timely concept.
“It just seems like over the past three or four years, Americans have been more interested in European pedigrees and Europeans have been somewhat more interested in American pedigrees,” Casse said. “In the past three or four years, Americans have been active at Ascot with horses that we've brought over there that have performed well. And several American-bred horses that were bought by European interests and Middle Eastern interests have been brought back to England and have run well.”
Casse continued, “And there have been a large number of breeze-up horses from America that have been brought to Europe and have sold well that you wouldn't necessarily have thought would suit. So, I think there is enough interest from both sides of the Atlantic to put a sale like this on.”
Temple City leads all sires with 18 catalogued; Declaration of War and Noble Mission are next with 13 entries apiece; Kitten's Joy, Magician, Data Link, and English Channel are represented by seven each. There are five Scat Daddy yearlings. War Front has one filly entered in the sale, a half-sister to Grade II winner Parading (Pulpit).
“I think they assembled a really nice group of horses that definitely have a turf influence, like they said they were going to do,” bloodstock agent Alex Solis II said after his initial perusal of the catalogue. “There are some really nice pedigrees in there. I hope it is successful from the start because if it is, it will definitely open up another avenue for sales for them, which would be great for all of us. It would be nice if we could get more of the European buyers to look at our stuff.”
Each page of the Turf Showcase's catalogue includes information on the yearling's turf connection.
“That's something different and unique, which makes the initial catalogue a little different than the traditional one,” Browning said of the turf facts.
Woodbine, which is presenting sponsor of the inaugural sale, is just one racetrack which has expressed interest in the auction, according to Browning.
“It's interesting to note the interest from the racetracks, starting with Woodbine as the presenting sponsor,” he said. “When you see the printed version of the catalogue, you'll see that NYRA has added some information about their turf stakes on the back cover. We're also going to have some involvement with Kentucky Downs, so it's nice to note the interest in the sale from those major racing operations. That's been pretty neat.”
Taylor Made Sales Agency leads all consignors with 29 yearlings in the sale.
To view the entire catalogue, Showcase">click here.
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