Fasig November Sale Monday

LEXINGTON, Ky – The Fasig-Tipton November Sale will offer buyers a night of stars Monday in Lexington, with 177 catalogued offerings, including the dams of Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Classic one-two finishers, scheduled to begin selling at Newtown Paddocks at 5 p.m. The auction will open with 50 weanlings and be followed by a standout selection of broodmares, broodmare prospects and racing prospects.
“I expect a strong sale, but I don't think it will be outrageous,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said on a brilliantly sunny morning at the sales grounds Sunday. “I think we live in a world where there is a good marketplace, both buyers and sellers are cognizant of the realities of the marketplace. So I think it will be strong and there will be a demand for quality, but I don't think the buyers are going insane. I don't think they are going to bid without limitation. I think we'll see a continuation of the marketplace that we've seen for the last three years.”
When Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) and California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) battled it out in Saturday's Classic at Santa Anita, it wasn't just a gift to racing fans, it was also a boon to Fasig-Tipton, which will offer the dams of both stars Monday. Love the Chase (Not for Love), the dam of California Chrome, sells in foal to Tapit through the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment as hip 59. Arrogate's dam Bubbler (Distorted Humor), in foal to Into Mischief, sells as hip 110 as part of the Clearsky Farms consignment.
“You almost couldn't have scripted it any better,” Browning said of the Classic finish. “We would have thought we were being greedy when we were out recruiting mares earlier in the year, to say our goal is to have both the winner and the runner-up in the Classic. We're very, very fortunate to have both the dams of Arrogate and California Chrome. It certainly creates some excitement, energy and enthusiasm at the sale.”
The November sale will also offer the first mares in foal to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
“That adds a lot of excitement and there is also a lot of pride,” Browning said of the champion's first crop. “American Pharoah is a [Fasig-Tipton] Saratoga [sale] graduate. And you develop emotional attachments to these horses. You treat them like your own children and they are your family. So it's really cool the quality of the mares that are being offered in foal to American Pharoah. We look forward to selling the first mares in foal to American Pharoah and we look forward to next Fall to sell the first foals by American Pharoah. Hopefully we'll be selling high-quality yearlings for many, many years to come. He is one of our own.”
The four mares in foal to American Pharoah catalogued at Fasig November are: Light the City (Street Sense) (hip 55); Maybellene (Lookin at Lucky) (hip 62); Halljoy (Ire) (Halling) (hip 141); and Im a Dixie Girl (Dixie Union) (hip 150).
Carl McEntee of Darby Dan, which consigns Halljoy on behalf of HNR Nothhaft Horseracing, admitted having a Triple Crown winner as a covering sire would bring with it extra attention.
“If you look at it, there are only 13 mares in the sales in foal to him between [Fasig] and Keeneland November,” McEntee said. “He bred a good number, so I think you're looking at about 7.2 or 7.3% of the total available crop that is in the marketplace. I think that bodes well for all of us with mares in foal to American Pharoah.”
Sunday morning, Fasig-Tipton announced the addition of two late supplemental entries to the November sale. Shelbysmile (Smart Strike), who won Saturday's River Memories S. at Woodbine, sells as hip 176 through Hunter Valley Farm, while Saturday's GII Chilukki S. winner Kiss to Remember (Big Brown) sells with Taylor Made Sales Agency as hip 177.