Fly On Angel Tops Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Sale

When Fly On Angel, a graded stakes-winning daughter of Palace Malice , went through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale Dec. 8, she was picked up by Cypress Creek Racing for a sale-topping $195,000. For seller Joseph Besecker, the moment was an emotional one. 

Fly On Angel's signature victory, a half-length triumph in the Aug. 28 Charles Town Oaks (G3) at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, coincided with the wake for Besecker's mother, Helen Marie "Lynne" Besecker, who had died Aug. 4 at age 86.

"It's bittersweet," Besecker said after the 3-year-old filly was sold Tuesday as part of the Northview Stallion Station consignment, acting as agent for a reduction of Besecker's holdings. "It was a little emotional for me. My mother had died Aug. 4 and we had the memorial on Aug. 28 due to COVID-19. I had forgotten I had a horse in a grade 3 that night, and Clovis Crane reminded me and I watched her win. My mother got her across the wire.

"It's tough to sell one like that. It was a little emotional, but we got the price we wanted. I was on the fence about selling her. It's time for her to be a mom."

Fly On Angel, out of the stakes-placed Posse mare Runge, was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall and Haymarket Farm. Select Sales sold her to Tollgate Farm for $15,000 as a weanling at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Crane, agent, picked her up for $20,000 at the following year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Nick Cammarano Jr., with Guadalupe Preciado as agent, paid $23,000 for her at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

The filly was claimed for $50,000 Aug. 10 at Parx Racing by Besecker and trainer Claudio Gonzalez, just 2 1/2 weeks before her Charles Town Oaks victory.

Fly On Angel was one of two six-figure transactions during the one-day auction that saw across-the-board declines from the 2019 edition of the sale. The downturn came despite the sale being bolstered by a significant reduction of Besecker's racing stock.

Fasig-Tipton reported 182 horses grossed $2,345,600, for an average price of $12,888 and a $5,000 median. The 55 horses not sold represented a 23.2% rate for horses falling short of their reserves. During the 2019 sale, 249 horses grossed $4,383,700, with a $17,605 average price and an $8,000 median.

Fly On Angel was among more than 80 supplemental entries in the catalog that followed the mixed portion of the sale that was topped by a weanling colt by second-leading first-crop sire Laoban  purchased by Machmer Hall Farm for $150,000.

In the time since the colt—who was bred in New York by Millennium Stable out of the Stonesider mare Dixie Gem—was entered in the auction as Hip 182 by Vinery Sales, agent, Laoban's stock had soared and the son of Uncle Mo  had been relocated. Previously at New York's Sequel Stallions, where his fee was $5,000, Laoban has moved to WinStar Farm in Central Kentucky to stand in 2021 for $25,000.

Machmer Hall's Carrie Brogden, who purchased the colt to resell as a yearling, said Laoban's success played a role in her purchase, as did the colt's looks.

"I saw Laobon for the first time last week, and he is a specimen," Brogden said. "I didn't book a mare to him before he got full. If I had looked at him, I would have. I didn't realize he was that tremendous of a specimen himself.

"This colt is a mixture between his sire and dam. He has a robust body of the sire and has a little bit more of a refined head from his mother's line. It was way past my budget. In any market he would be spectacular."

"He was a beautiful colt," said Vinery's Derek MacKenzie, noting that the colt was entered in any previous mixed sale and was targeted to the December sale. "He had everything—great balance, size, bone, and was correct. He's the full package. He was a very good-minded horse. His sire heating up was nice. He was targeted for this sale for months. When Laoban got hot it sealed the deal. When you have a beautiful horse by the right sire, it's great.  

"I think the buyers will do great with him, whatever they do going forward, because he's that kind of horse."

Brogden said the Midlantic sale, the last major auction of the 2020 calendar year in North America, was solid with a deep middle market.

"I thought there was a lot more trade in the middle market than there was at the November sales," said Brogden, noting the auction was conducted in safe environment with COVID-19 measures. "There were a lot of protocols in place. I would say 95% of people wore masks the entire time."