EFFINEX’S FIRST AND LAST CROP ON OFFER

Recent years have seen a surge in New York-breds successfully facing open company at the top levels of the game, including wins or placings in the Breeders’ Cup and the Triple Crown series. Among those standouts was Effinex, a Grade 1 winner who knocked heads with the likes of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Effinex returned to his home state to begin his stud career, but died suddenly after standing just one season, at age 7. Eight yearlings from his first and last crop will be featured at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale, which rides a wave of momentum from the strong program into this renewal on Aug. 11 and 12 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Effinex, by Mineshaft, raced as a homebred for Russell Cohen, who famously named the horse in reference to a tumultuous relationship with his ex-wife, and was trained by Jimmy Jerkens for most of his career. Effinex won the 2014 Empire Classic against New York-breds and earned statebred horse of the year honors in 2015, as he regularly faced toplevel company with solid results. He won the Grade 3 Excelsior, won the Grade 2 Suburban over multiple Grade 1 winner Tonalist, and later finished third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup behind Tonalist and Wicked Strong. Effinex then finished second to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland, beaten 6 1/2 lengths while earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 112. Champion Honor Code was third, followed, in order, by Keen Ice, Tonalist, Hard Aces, Frosted, and Gleneagles.

Effinex was the only member of the field who was not a Grade 1 winner. But that changed in his subsequent start, when he earned his signature victory, defeating Hoppertunity by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs.

The following year, Effinex won the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap and another edition of the Suburban, was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and was third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. He retired at the end of that season with more than $3.3 million in career earnings.

Effinex retired to Questroyal North in Stillwater, N.Y., just up the road from Saratoga, for the 2017 breeding season. He covered 110 mares that season, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred. That summer, Effinex was relocated to McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds to continue his stud career. However, in October he died in his stall of a pulmonary aneurysm.

“It’s one of the most difficult moments and days of my life,” Cohen told Daily Racing Form at the time. “He just did everything so easy and was so cool. He was gorgeous.”

Effinex’s eight yearlings in the New York-bred catalog include a colt out of stakes winner Queen Amira, the dam of stakes-placed Lupo’s Way; and yearlings out of stakes winners Double Mint and Margies Smile.

In addition to the late Effinex, other New York-based stallions with their first crop of yearlings represented in the catalog for the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale are graded stakes winners Laoban, by Uncle Mo; and War Dancer, by War Front. New York’s longtime leading sire Freud again makes his presence felt with seven yearlings in the catalog. Leading New York sires Bellamy Road and Big Brown along with breakout young successes Central Banker and Mission Impazible also are represented.

Last year’s New York-bred auction was led by a sale-record $600,000 Pioneerof the Nile colt as it bested the records for gross, average, and median established just the year prior. The two-day auction finished with 172 yearlings sold for gross receipts of $18,492,000, a gain of 14 percent from 2017. The average price was $107,512, soaring 21 percent, and the median was up 9 percent to $76,000.

New York-breds in ‘open company’

While the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale provides a showcase for the Empire State’s breeding program, a number of statebreds instead are ticketed for “open company” at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale the week prior. A dozen New York-breds are cataloged for this year’s select sale, including several from a prominent state breeding program that has already made auction headlines this year.

Chester and Mary Broman, perennial leading breeders and owners in New York, have begun to downsize some of their Thoroughbred holdings as they look ahead to preparing their estate. A Tapit colt out of their Grade 1-winning homebred Artemis Agrotera drew a high bid of $2 million at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March sale of 2-year-olds in training, establishing a sale record. L.E.B signed the ticket for West Point Thoroughbreds, Rob Masiello, and Siena Farm. The Bromans later retained a one-third share in the colt, named Chestertown for their farm in New York.

The Bromans, with Sequel Thoroughbreds acting as agent, have half of the dozen New York-breds set for the open Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, including a Medaglia d’Oro filly who is a full sister to their Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Bar of Gold, and an Uncle Mo filly out of Artemis Agrotera. The Bromans, who have long developed the latter family, also will offer a Pioneerof the Nile filly out of a half-sister to Artemis Agrotera.

Also among the New York-bred offerings in the select sale is a half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner and statebred horse of the year Diversify. The More Than Ready colt, bred by Fred W. Hertrich III and John D. Fielding, is consigned as agent by Taylor Made Sales.

The bulk of the yearlings cataloged for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected sale were bred in Kentucky, but in addition to the 12 New York-breds, there are eight Florida-breds, six Ontario-breds, five Pennsylvania-breds, three each bred in Louisiana and Virginia, and two each born in Ireland and Maryland.

Into Mischief in demand

Into Mischief is a leading juvenile sire and also has had classic-placed colts in the two most recent editions of the Triple Crown series. Young horses by the Spendthrift Farm stallion have, thus, come into vogue in the auction ring. Into Mischief was represented by his first milliondollar yearling last year at Keeneland September and recorded four sevenfigure lots during the juvenile auction season.

Into Mischief comes into this yearling sale season with momentum, as in addition to his strong recent commercial results, the stallion’s progeny have not slowed down on the track. Into Mischief is second on the general sire list by earnings, with a progeny bankroll of more than $8.8 million. He is closing in on Quality Road, who got an early-season jump start from Pegasus World Cup winner City of Light, at $9.2 million. Into Mischief also stands out on Daily Racing Form’s exclusive Beyer Sire Performance Standings. His progeny had recorded 28 benchmark Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or higher through July 15, placing him fifth among all sires in that regard. Those figures are led by Covfefe, who earned a figure of 107 for her dominant victory

in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness Stakes. Into Mischief also factors prominently with this year’s 2-year-olds, sitting second on the earnings list and leading the Beyer Sire Performance Standings with two individuals already to crack the benchmark 80 figure for juveniles. Those are led by Comical, winner of the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga.

Into Mischief’s yearlings cataloged for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale, the first high-market boutique auction of the season, are led by a full sister to Grade 1 winner Mia Mischief, one of several examples of breeders going back to the well on a successful cross. His group also includes a full brother to his stakes winner Cool Arrow, and a filly out of a half-sister to his multiple Grade 1 winner Practical Joke. Into Mischief’s 16 yearlings cataloged include a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Salty and a colt out of multiple graded stakes winner Quiet Temper.

Speightster off to fast start

Speightstown has long been a stalwart sire for WinStar Farm – and the farm may have a worthy heir in first-crop yearling sire Speightster, who has proven popular early in his career.

Speightstown was the Eclipse Award champion sprinter of 2004 and entered stud the following year, and his career standouts include Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz and Grade 1/ Group 1-winning millionaires Force the Pass, Golden Ticket, Haynesfield, and Reynaldothewizard. Through July 15, Speightstown led Daily Racing Form’s Beyer Sire Performance Standings with four individual runners to record Beyer Speed Figures of 100 or higher. Those were led by Qurbaan, who posted a 103 when he was a narrow second to Bricks and Mortar in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. Speightstown’s other top runners this season include graded stakes winners Bobby’s Wicked One and Lexitonian.

Speightstown has three yearlings cataloged for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale – as does his son Speightster, who will be looking to build on a successful start to his commercial career. Speightster was represented by a $285,000 colt sold to Robert and Lawana Low at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky summer selected yearling sale in July, the fourth-highest price of the day for a firstcrop yearling sire, and the sixth-highest price of the sale overall.

Speightster won three of his four career starts while racing as a homebred for WinStar, including the Grade 3 Dwyer.

He covered a sizeable book of 174 mares in his first season, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred.

Khozan colt on offer

Khozan, who had a brief but brilliant racing career, has had a brilliant start to his stud career which well might continue continue in the sale ring at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

Khozan, the leading freshman sire by both winners and earnings through July 15 in this strong class, has one yearling cataloged for Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. The colt was bred in Florida by Brent and Crystal Fernung, who stand Khozan at their Journeyman Stud, and will be consigned as agent by another prominent Florida-based outfit, Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield Sales. The colt, already named Master of Disaster, is out of the Notebook mare Nikki Kai, making him a half-brother to stakes winner Lucas Brady.

Khozan, by Distorted Humor, is a halfsibling to several stakes horses, most notably multiple Eclipse Award champion Royal Delta, who was to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Saratoga days before the Fasig-Tipton sale. Khozan won his debut going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Park by 3 3/4 lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 102. He followed up with a 12 3/4length optional-claiming win going a mile, with an 88 Beyer. Those proved to be his only starts.

Through July 15, Khozan had eight winners from 17 starters for progeny earnings of $354,157. All of his progeny’s wins came at Gulfstream, where their sire thrived, six in maiden special weight company. Following Khozan on the earnings list is Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, with five winners from 15 starters, including Group 3 winner Maven, for earnings of $285,469. Next after Khozan by individual winners is Tapiture, with seven winners from 19 starters.

Mellon influence felt at sale

Sea Hero, who raced as a homebred for multiple Eclipse Award-winning breeder Paul Mellon’s Rokeby Stable, died this year in Turkey at the age of 29. At the time of his death, Sea Hero was a pensioner who had stood overseas since 2000 and was the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner.

Sea Hero’s presence is impossible to forget at Saratoga, where he won the 1993 Travers Stakes. Not only does his statue stand watch in the track’s picturesque paddock – where it was bedecked with flowers in the days following the news of his death – but the active female family that was cultivated to many stakes successes at Saratoga for Mellon has been ably carried on by other major outfits. Several horses from that family are expected to contest stakes at the meet, led by Grade 1 winner Elate. The family also is represented in the catalog for the FasigTipton Saratoga selected yearling sale.

Sea Hero was out of the Graustark mare Glowing Tribute, whom Mellon raced as a homebred to multiple graded stakes victories, including the 1976 Diana at Saratoga. Glowing Tribute went on to a stellar career as a broodmare. In addition to Sea Hero, she produced multiple Grade 1 winner Hero’s Honor, two-time Diana winner Glowing Honor, fellow Diana winner Wild Applause, Grade 3 winners Coronation Cup and Mackie, and stakes winner Seattle Glow.

Wild Applause was purchased by Claiborne Farm for $1.025 million at the 1992 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, as Mellon whittled down his Thoroughbred holdings in the years prior to his death in 1999. Wild Applause followed in her dam’s footsteps by becoming an influential broodmare, producing Grade 1 winner Eastern Echo and graded stakes winners Blare of Trumpets, Roar, and Yell. Her daughter Praise foaled stakes performers Congrats and Flatter, both now successful sires, while her granddaughter Meghan’s Joy produced five graded stakes winners.

Yell won two graded stakes races and also finished third in the 2003 Kentucky Oaks for Claiborne and partner Adele B. Dilschneider before going on to a successful broodmare career of her own. She is the dam of stakes winner Cheery, Grade 1-placed Chide, and stakes-placed Shrill. Cheery is the dam of Elate, a multiple Grade 1 winner for Claiborne and Dilschneider. The Medaglia d’Oro mare recently rolled in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap and is eyeing the Grade 1 Personal Ensign in August at Saratoga. Yell also is the granddam of graded stakes winner Tax, among the 3-yearolds expected for Saratoga’s Travers Stakes. Meanwhile, stakes winner Fashion Faux Pas, a great-granddaughter of Wild Applause via another daughter, also could start at the meet. Both those runners were bred and sold by Claiborne and Dilschneider.

Last year, Elate’s family made a splash at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale as a Medaglia d’Oro filly out of Veracity, a full sister to Cheery and therefore bred on the same cross as Elate, sold for $1 million to Lael Stables. A full sister to that filly is cataloged for this year’s edition of the sale.