Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
New York-breds in demand
A handful of New York-bred yearlings could have gone through the ring this weekend at the Fasig-Tipton New Yorkbred preferred yearling sale and likely would have stood out in the catalog.
But instead, with New Yorkbreds a hot commodity as they succeed in graded and group stakes worldwide, 11 statebreds went through the auction ring against “open company” at the elite Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale Monday and Tuesday and acquitted themselves well. Of the 11 offered, eight sold, fetching an average price of $303,750.
“Some folks would rather have the opportunity to be in the select sale with their New York-breds, other people would prefer to be what they perceive to be a standout in the New York sale,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said. “Oftentimes, it’s just personal preference by the seller and consignor to say, ‘I think this is going to be more effectively marketed here.’ There are some horses that could go to either sale, and more often than not, it’s just their decision.”
The New York-breds in the select sale were led by a $750,000 Curlin filly purchased by Juddmonte Farms. The filly, whose dam is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Sky Diva and to Grade 1-placed Quick Little Miss, was bred by Newtown Anner Stud in Millbrook, N.Y., and was consigned as agent by BlakeAlbina Thoroughbred Services.
Blake-Albina also consigned the second-most-expensive horse in the group, a filly by the recently deceased City Zip, who began his stud career in New York before moving to Kentucky. The filly was a $325,000 purchase by noted bloodstock agents Alex Solis II and Jason Litt. Other major outfits to pick up New York-breds included Three Chimneys Farm (a $225,000 Will Take Charge filly) and Spendthrift Farm (a $235,000 Super Saver colt).
Since the start of 2015, prominent New York-breds on the track have included Eclipse Award champion La Verdad and Grade 1/Group 1 winners Effinex, Haveyougoneaway, Mind Your Biscuits, and Princess Violet. Those top a plethora of graded stakes winners who have given the program steam nationally heading into this renewal of the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale, set for Saturday and Sunday in Saratoga Springs.
There were 296 yearlings cataloged for the sale, including 10 by Freud, New York’s perennial leading sire. The Sequel Stallions resident’s group includes full sisters to stakes winners Fourstar Crook and Dr. Shane. Prominent Kentucky stallions represented in the catalog include classic sires Awesome Again, Curlin, Distorted Humor, Malibu Moon, Pioneerof the Nile, and Uncle Mo.
The 2016 renewal of the New York-bred yearling sale was a memorable one for the severe weather that dropped a tree on a barn – there were no injuries to horses or humans – and forced the cancellation of the first session of the sale, with the full catalog offered as a single session the following day.
The sale was led by a $450,000 Uncle Mo colt sold to Cheyenne Stables. However, after posting gains in five consecutive years, last year’s sale posted an 8 percent decline in gross, a 5 percent decline in average, and an 8 percent drop in median compared to the record figures of 2015.
Juddmonte more active at sales
Juddmonte Farms is renowned worldwide for its homebred program, but in recent years, the multiple Eclipse Award-winning owner
and breeder has been playing the auction game as well.
This is illustrated by the outfit’s top two horses on the track in the United States this season, champion Arrogate and multiple Grade 1 winner Paulassilverlining. Both were outside purchases, at the Keeneland September yearling sale and as a private acquisition, respectively.
Juddmonte continued building up its base of young stock with four purchases totaling $2.1 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale Monday and Tuesday, ranking among the most active buyers. Its purchases were led by a $750,000 Curlin filly and a $575,000 Pioneerof the Nile filly.
Juddmonte’s activity on the auction scene is a product of farm owner and Saudi Prince Khalid Abdullah’s decision to reinvest in a California racing string that had gone by the wayside following the death of Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel in 2009. Following Frankel’s death, fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott, based on the East Coast, took over most of Juddmonte’s stock in the U.S.
But in 2012, Abdullah decided to expand back into California, choosing Bob Baffert, yet another Hall of Famer, as his divisional trainer. The decision was made to hit the yearling sales and procure stock that would fit Baffert’s program.
Arrogate is expected to eventually enter stud at Juddmonte’s Kentucky farm, and the operation has been acquiring mares with an eye toward his future book, with Paulassilverlining being one example. Three of Juddmonte’s four yearling purchases this week were fillies.