By Christie DeBernardis
The Fasig-Tipton July sale gets underway Monday evening with 110 Horses of Racing Age set to go through the ring at Newtown Paddocks beginning at 5:00p.m. The Horses of Racing Age section, which is being run on its own day since it was added to the sale three years ago, will be followed by the yearling sale Tuesday, which has 347 horses catalogued.
Consignors are not surprised by the expansion to two days as the Horses of Racing Age section has become more and more popular.
“I think it's a really useful sale for buyers and sellers alike,” said Allaire Ryan, Sales Director at Lane's End Farm. “I think there is a demand for horses with current form and this is a good time of year for people to find something that is turn key, that they can go right on with. I think it works well for people who have horses that aren't fitting their program, but would be useful to someone else in another region or what not. We've had success with it, so it doesn't surprise me that it has taken off how it has.”
This year's sale has several standouts, including last term's GI Matriarch S. winner Stormy Lucy (Stormy Atlantic) (Hip 430), recent GIII Pegasus S. upsetter Donegal Moon (Malibu Moon (Hip 508) and Grade III winner Best Behavior (Into Mischief) (Hip 499), all of which are consigned by Taylor Made Farm, who is also handling the dispersal of Elizabeth Alexandra's Eutrophia Farm.
“On the top end, you've got Grade I winner Stormy Lucy, you've got Donegal Moon, who could be in the elite group of top 3-year-old colts, and we've got Best Behavior, who is a proven Grade III winner,” Taylor Made's Mark Taylor said. “You've got everything here in this sale. The more people you can get at a sale, the more crossover in the different types of product you are selling. We are even showing Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro) up here because we are auctioning off one of his seasons at the charity event. So literally it is one stop shopping for everybody. I think that's a good recipe in this market though. I think you need to get people on the sales ground to have a good sale and I think that's what Fasig is trying to do.”
The sale also offers several promising juveniles, such as the Tale of the Cat filly Priss (Hip 492), who ran without Lasix in her decisive debut win at Pimlico May 27. The bay's dam is a half-sister to GISW Cat Moves (Tale of the Cat) and this is also the family of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hootenanny (Quality Road).
“She is a big, good-looking, well balanced, very correct filly,” remarked consignor Paramount Sales' Leslie Campion. “She broke her maiden first time out at Pimlico with no Lasix. She got a 21 minus Rag for that, which is very competitive within this sale. It's one of the best Rags of the 2-year-olds in this sale. She's a nice, straightforward filly, ready to go on with.”
Last year's Horses of Racing Age section saw 65 horses bringing $3,996,000 for an average of $61,477. It was topped by the then-3-year-old filly Temper Mint Patty (Congrats), who brought $350,000 from Jacob West on behalf of Repole Stables and finished second in the GIII Charles Town Oaks in her second start for that operation.
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