Animal Kingdom Colt Tops Barretts Paddock Sale

A 2-year-old colt by Animal Kingdom was one of three offerings to bring six figures when he topped Wednesday's Barretts Paddock Sale at Del Mar with a final bid of $180,000. Consigned by Bruno De Berdt's Excel Bloodstock, the colt was purchased by Steve Gasparelli.
In all, 13 horses sold in the Del Mar paddock Wednesday for a total of $686,000, an average of $52,769 and a median of $33,000. Last year, eight horses changed hands for $302,000. The average was $37,750 and the median was $22,500.
From the first North American crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, hip 35 is out of multiple graded stakes placed Alyssum (Storm Cat). His second dam is champion Althea (Alydar). De Berdt purchased the colt for $90,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale and had originally planned to offer the youngster at the Barretts March sale.
“We let our babies tell us when they are ready,” De Berdt said. “And this particular colt went through a growth spurt. He was a beautiful yearling and then in January, he was an ugly duckling. But he was training really well, so we brought him out to the March sale and he was still at a very awkward stage. He prepped really well for us, but I still thought there was a lot more in him. I thought he was a little immature, so rather than push him we decided to give him the time he needed. We gave him six weeks off.”
The chestnut came into the Paddock sale with three published works at San Luis Rey. During Monday's under-tack preview of the auction, he worked three furlongs in :34.20.
“We got in a series of works, which he did very well for us, and then he worked very nicely for us at the preview,” De Berdt said. “More importantly, he developed. It was amazing the change in that colt from March until now. He was a completely different horse. He grew a lot, he came into himself. He did what I was hoping he would do.”
The sale topper was one of seven 2-year-olds to sell Wednesday for a gross of $571,000 and an average of $81,571. All three horses to bring six figures at the sale were juveniles. In addition to the sale topper, Duck and Cover (Run Away and Hide) (hip 34) brought $140,000 from B.B.A. Ireland. Consigned by American Sales and Racing, agent for Imagine, the half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Melatonin (Kodiak Kowboy) was purchased by Imagine for $18,000 at the 2016 Keeneland January sale. Rounding out the trio of six-figure juveniles was hip 30, a son of Uncle Mo purchased by trainer Jeff Bonde for $100,000. The youngster, consigned by McKathan Bros., agent, worked the bullet three furlongs Monday in :33.80.
As Barretts condenses its two juvenile sales into one March sale next spring, De Berdt thinks the Paddock sale will attract an even stronger bench of 2-year-old offerings.
“If your goal is to sell in California, which mine is, and you know your horse isn't going to make the March sale and now there is no May sale, you just say, 'Let's go for the Paddock sale.'”
He continued, “I think the Paddock sale is good for California. We have to have a presence here–there are just too many good horsemen and too many owners that want good horses and there is no reason why we shouldn't have this sale. I think a combined March/May sale, along with a nice Paddock sale is good. It gives owners an opportunity to shop for the meet. This colt [hip 35] will run by the end of the meet, he's ready. In theory, Mr. Gasparelli bought himself a horse that hopefully he'll get to see run in the next 35-40 days.”
Gasparrelli's Slugo Racing purchased the top-priced offering at last year's Barretts Fall Sale as well, acquiring a colt by Smiling Tiger for $190,000. Gasparrelli, a California native who owns a medical supplies company based in Chino and Singapore, has horses in training with Mike Puype.
De Berdt's sales ring success came shortly after success on the racetrack as, Curlin Road (Curlin), sold by the consignor for $95,000 out of the 2015 Barretts May sale, captured the GIII Cougar II H. at Del Mar.
“It's always nice to make a profit on a horse, but it's equally important for those horses to go on and do well,” De Berdt said. “I think our track record the last three or four years has been phenomenal. We're selling runners. Curlin Road was very similar to the [Animal Kingdom colt]. Not only was he a late-developing colt, but he got injured a week before the sale, he cut himself, so he didn't really work to his potential. But he was a really sound, good-looking horse and we always liked him. Obviously, it's taken some time, but he is doing what he should be doing.”