Uneven Market Continues at Fasig-Tipton

It was a hit-or-miss day of selling during Tuesday’s second session of the Fasig-Tipton October Fall Yearling Sale. Though direct comparisons are difficult, with a three-day sale in 2014 compared to the four-session 2015 sale, numbers generally held steady from last year’s aggregate figures. In all, 222 horses sold Tuesday for $8,144,700, an average of $36,688. The median was $16,000. Last year, the sale average was $35,850, while the median was $18,500. But many sellers said the stable numbers don’t tell the story of the market’s significant soft spots.

“It’s tough,” said Mill Ride Farm’s Headley Bell. “There’s probably an oversupply of horses here that people don’t need. There aren’t enough buyers to support them at the lower level. There are people here that buy [at the top end], but then it falls off very quickly. It’s a challenging market for buyers and sellers.”

A high buy-back rate continues to be a cause for concern, though Tuesday’s figure of 29.3% was an improvement on Monday’s opening-session rate of 35%.

Fasig-Tipton’s president and CEO, Boyd Browning Jr., said he saw improvements on Day 2 of the sale.

“The buyback rate moderated some, and overall the numbers were a little better that [Monday],” he said. “All in all, I felt that the session had a little more energy. On Monday, we probably didn’t start off very strong, just the way the catalogue fell, and it took a while to get some enthusiasm going. And it felt better today, and I think we’ll see a similar marketplace the next two days. The good news is that the buyers are all complaining it’s not easy to buy a horse. The bad news is that the sellers are saying it’s not easy to sell a horse.”

A pair of colts brought $250,000 each to share top billing yesterday in Lexington. First up was Hip 584, a West Virginia-bred colt by Candy Ride (Arg) who went to John Oxley for $250,000. Trainer Mark Casse signed for the son of Mantekilla (Lemon Drop Kid), who sold from Bell’s Mill Ridge Sales consignment.

Later in the afternoon, Bo Hunt, acting for Team D, hit the same mark when he secured Hip 662, a muscular son of Street Boss. Hunt said he was representing trainer Tony Dutrow. “He picked the horse out–I was just raising my hand,” said Hunt, who confirmed he would break and train the youngster for Team D. Hidden Brook consigned the colt, the first foal from the winning Moojha (Forest Wildcat), herself a daughter of the GSW Kiss the Devil (Kris S.) and a half to the GSW Kiss Moon (Malibu Moon). Another sibling to Moojha produced the recent

G2 Lowther S. heroine Besharah (Kodiac {GB}).

Top price for the fairer sex went to two fillies who made $160,000 each. Hip 473, an Ontario-bred miss by Exchange Rate, sold to Conquest Stables, with Casse once again representing the winning bidder. The filly is out of the stakes-placed Kissin Party (Kissin Kris) and was consigned by Peter O’Callaghan’s Woods Edge Farm. Everest Bloodstock later secured Hip 702, a filly by Into Mischief, for the same $160,000. Another Ontario-bred, that filly is the first foal from Narrate (Medaglia d’Oro), a winning half to the Grade II winner Jill Robin L (Precocity) and to the recent Victorian Queen S. winner Caren (Society’s Chairman).

Considering the October Sale itself was on the chopping block just a few years ago, Browning said it’s worth keeping in mind the advances this sale has made. “It’s pretty remarkable,” he said. “It would be impossible to continue that slope upwards that we’ve seen in the last five years, and we’re seeing a maturation of this marketplace, but we’re seeing the sale is become a viable option for people to sell a horse, whether it’s a late-maturing horse or one that had a minor injury along the way. It’s a very legitimate marketplace, whether you have a horse that’s worth $10,000, or one that’s worth in excess of $200,000. I think we saw that once again today.”

The October Sale continues with sessions Wednesday and Thursday. Action gets underway each day at 10:00 a.m. For complete results, visit www.fasigtipton.com.

WV-Bred Candy Ride Colt Brings $250K…

Five years ago, Headley Bell’s Mill Ridge Farm began working with Jim Miller, a Maryland-based breeder who wanted to take advantage of neighboring West Virginia’s lucrative program. The partnership has yielded dividends. In addition to turning out state-bred champions in the last two years, Miller and Mill Ridge teamed to sell Tuesday’s co-top-priced lot, a colt by Candy Ride (Arg) who was hammered down to John Oxley for $250,000. Trainer Mark Casse signed the winning slip on Oxley’s behalf.

Offered as Hip 584, the colt was produced by Mantekilla (Lemon Drop Kid), a half to SW Mr. Pee Vee (Eltish) and the Grade I performer Erinsouthernman (Eltish) from the family of Sultry Song and Mizdirection. He is a half to the multiple stakes winner Harlan’s Destiny (Harlan’s Holiday).

“He was actually a horse for Saratoga, but he got a little blip and we had to skip that sale,” explained Bell. “But he stood out here, and proper horsemen have supported this market. Mark [Casse] has supported us and we really appreciate it. He’s got great owners and does well.”

Bell added of the final price, “I thought that was right on the button. The reserve wasn’t half of that, so Mark wasn’t competing with the reserve. The horse had 10 or 12 scopes and is a nice horse.”

The transaction marked a nice score for Miller, who acquired the colt’s dam for $70,000 at the 2011 Keeneland November Sale. Miller sold the foal Mantekilla was carrying at the time, the winning Daylight’s Promise (Stormy Atlantic), for $50,000 at this sale in 2012, but opted to buy back the mare’s next for $60,000. That proved the right call when the filly, Harlan’s Destiny, won four juvenile stakes at Charles Town in 2014. Harlan’s Destiny went on to finish fourth in this season’s GIII Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway.

Miller, who is involved in airport management, maintains a broodmare band of around eight mares. “He foals them out in West Virginia, and then we get them after a while,” said Bell. “He’s a smart guy and he’s had some luck. He’s had two 2-year-old champions in West Virgina in the last two years [including Harlan’s Destiny]. He hasn’t been in it for very long, but he’s got it figured out pretty well.”

Miller’s best runner has been Aurelia’s Belle (Lemon Drop Kid), a $170,000 KEESEP auction buy who went on to win the 2014 editions of the Bourbonette and GIII Arlington Oaks. Aurelia’s Belle has earned $346,387 to date.

 

Striking Colt Leaves ‘Em Cry-ing…

When buyers visited the Allied Bloodstock consignment in the days leading up the sale, they would more often than not have omitted Hip 626, a colt from the second crop of Victor’s Cry, from their inspection lists. Allied’s Clark Shepherd would encourage them to look at the horse, they’d shrug him off when the heard the sire’s name, and he’d persist, “No, you’ve got to see this horse.”

“And it was funny to sit back and watch their faces,” said Shepherd. “The horse has as good a walk as I’ve ever seen. You should ingrain it in your mind–watch this horse walk, and judge every other horse on that standard. It is that good.”

In the end, plenty of would-be buyers agreed, and the sleek dark bay sparked a bidding duel yesterday that ended with a $200,000 salvo from agent Alistair Roden. From the Tale of the Cat mare Minstrel Show, the Kentucky-bred colt is a half-brother to SW Beliveau (Where’s the Ring) and the MSP Super Colerosa (Bold Executive). The mare had a filly by Overanalyze this spring.

Allied was selling the Mar. 15-foaled colt for his breeders, the Canadian-based Windways Farm. “They did a great job getting him ready,” said Shepherd. “We were asked to represent the horse, and the first time we saw him, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. I don’t care who he’s by or who he’s out of, he is a serious horse.”

Victor’s Cry is a Grade I-winning son of Street Cry (Ire) who did his best work in California for trainer Eoin Harty. He has two winners from his first crop to race, including the Woodbine maiden special winner Keeplaffinleslie.

Despite selling one of the day’s priciest lots, Shepherd admitted it’s been tough sledding of late. “It’s basically the same people chasing after the same horses,” he said. “You can have a good horse that vets well, but if you’re not ‘that’ horse that everyone’s chasing, it’s as if you don’t exist. We’re not even showing our vet sheets in the back ring hardly anymore. Back at the barn, you might have five, six scopes, but it’s people all playing at the same level, and it doesn’t mean you’re going to get all the money. It’s tricky. You better have a good horse. It doesn’t matter which market level you’re at–you better have a good one.”

Shepherd was echoing sentiments shared by other sellers. “We felt it brewing in September,” he said. “It was hard to explain to our clients, because we took good horses over there. There was just nobody there. I’m a very positive person, and I’m just stating facts. It seems like everyone’s appetite for risk has shrunk. No one’s just buying ‘a horse’ anymore. You’ve got to feel blessed if you have the one they all want, because they’re few and far between.”

Shepherd concluded, “We’re almost just trading money around right now. It’s the same group of people, and it’s like, ‘OK, you take this, and now I’ll take this.’ That’s kind of what’s happening.”