Four Share Furlong Bullet in F-T Under Tack Finale

The under-tack preview of next week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded with a third session Thursday in Timonium and four juveniles added their names to the list of furlong bullet workers in :10 flat, while a filly by Tiz Wonderful tied the week's fastest quarter-mile time of :21 2/5.

“It went great,” Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's Director of Sales Paget Bennett said after the conclusion of the under-tack show Thursday. “The track has been great. Chris Bosley, the guy in charge of taking care of the track, has done a great job and the consignors have had nothing but praise for what he does. It is just a win-win. We hear everybody is coming back well.”

Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds sent out two of the fastest furlong workers, with a filly by Smart Strike (hip 79) first to reach the :10 flat mark during Thursday's first set and a colt by Curlin (hip 388) matching the :10 flat time during the day's second set.

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo went to $475,000 to secure the Curlin colt at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Yearling Sale and Hartley admitted expectations were always high for the handsome chestnut.

“I knew he was going to breeze well,” Hartley said. “He had prepped really well here and he's been one of our best horses all year. He is just a neat horse and, for a Curlin, he's got speed. He is the prettiest horse–he's gorgeous. But he cost a lot of money as a yearling–we had to outbid end-users on him. But we all loved him.”

The colt is out of Franscat (Stormin Fever) and is a half to stakes winners Swinger's Party (Medaglia d'Oro) and Hubba Shake (Street Sense). He was originally slated to sell at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, but was withdrawn after working a furlong in :10 4/5.

“He went to Miami and bucked shins down there and just didn't perform,” Hartley explained. “So we pulled him out and took him home and went ahead and pin fired him because he had shin-bucked pretty good. But we just gave him plenty of time and [Thursday] was his first breeze back since he's been through all that. He's a neat horse, really smart and so classy.”

Hartley/DeRenzo purchased the Smart Strike filly, now named Smart Response, for $275,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale. She also worked at the Gulfstream sale, going a furlong in :10 2/5, but was withdrawn before going through the sales ring.

“She has been fast from the get-go,” Hartley said of the filly who is out of Salty Response (Cozzene) and is a full-sister to graded stakes winner Salty Strike. “She went to Miami and she worked good down there, but it seemed like people were leaning more towards my colts down there. They really didn't get on my fillies like they did my Medaglia and Bernardini in Miami. It seemed like everyone was colt hunting.”

Hartley thinks the added time between sales has only helped the filly mature.

“If you look at her, she's a tank,” he said. “She was maybe a little meatballish [at Gulfstream]. She's grown since then and if you look at her, she looks like a sprinter, but she's bred to go long.”

The filly had originally been slated to work during the preview's first session in Timonium, but the team was forced to call an audible Tuesday morning.

“She scratched her hind leg–when I got here on the day she was supposed to breeze, her leg was this big. So I called [Fasig-Tipton's] Boyd [Browning] and told him I didn't want to breeze her if she's not right. He said, 'We want to do the right thing by these horses, so if it's good and you want to take her, you can bring her Thursday.' So he let me take her today.”

The Midlantic sale continues to cement its place on the sales calendar and Hartley agreed the Maryland auction has become a destination in its own right.

“This has been our second go-to place,” he commented. “We go to Miami first, and we did really well down there this year, and then we come here. The biggest thing for us is the dirt. Dean wants to breeze and train horses on the dirt. And the later date helps, too, when you have these kinds of horses.”

“Paget and everyone has done so well–they've built this sale up to now where it's going to give Miami a run for its money,” Hartley added.

A filly by Shackleford (hip 487) was the day's third :10 flat worker. Consigned by Wavertree Stables, she is out of Latent Charm (Latent Heat), a half-sister to stakes winners Simmstown (Limehouse) and Toccet's Charm (Toccet). The chestnut was purchased for $92,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

“We bought her in September and she's part of a partnership group,” Dunne explained.

During three under-tack sessions, 13 juveniles shared the fastest furlong time and Wavertree sent out four of them, as well as one of seven to work the fastest quarter-mile time of

:21 2/5. Those results reflect something of a refocusing for the Ocala operation.

“We decided to keep [hip 487] for [the Midlantic sale] because it always seems we come up here with leftovers,” Dunne explained. “And they sell well, but we decided to give the sale a chance with new blood. So for nine of the 11 [in the Wavertree consignment], this is the first sale they've been to and they were targeted specifically for here–her being one of them. We just figured, let's see what happens if you bring a nice horse up here who is a fresh face–we'll find out.”

Also targeted specifically for the Timonium sale was hip 198, a colt by Majestic Warrior who worked in :10 flat during Wednesday's second session of the under-tack preview.

“It always seems like there is maybe a shortage of really top-end colts here, so we thought we would try to bring a couple and see what happens,” Dunne added.

A filly from the first crop of GI Malibu S. winner Jimmy Creed became the under-tack show's final bullet worker when accomplishing her furlong work in :10 flat during Thursday's fifth and final set.

Hip 390, consigned by Endswell, is the first foal out of the unraced Freedom Fire (Harlan's Holiday), a half-sister to multiple graded stakes placed Travel Advisory (Stormy Atlantic). The bay filly was a $25,000 Keeneland September yearling.

Hip 481 completed the list of quarter-mile bullet workers when working in :21 2/5 during Thursday's first set. Consigned by SBM Training and Sales, the bay is out of Lady Leftennant (Officer), a half-sister to stakes winners Jet West (Western Fame) and Jetinto Houston (Houston), as well as stakes winner and Grade I placed Jetin Excess (In Excess {Ire}).

The Midlantic sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, with sessions beginning daily at 11 a.m.