Juveniles Impress Early at Gulfstream Under Tack Show

It was a tale of sunny skies and strong winds at Gulfstream Park during the March 29 under tack show ahead of The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select 2-year-olds in training sale, March 31. Close to 150 horses took to the track Monday and put their talent on display for some of the most recognizable faces in the business—all of them ready to buy the next top-level winner. 

"I thought we had a really outstanding display of talented horses on the racetrack today," said Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. "The consignors have been very positive prior to the breeze show about how the horses have trained on the farm and how they breezed here. They sure showed up today.

"There are a lot of quality horses and we had a lot of positive feedback from people looking at horses on the grounds beforehand thinking that we would have a really good breeze show, and we did. We're very encouraged by that and expect the barn area to be very busy tomorrow and most of the day Wednesday before the sale starts." 

Working the fastest eighth-mile of :9 4/5 on the day was Hip 28, a bay colt by Darley's Nyquist   from the consignment of Wavertree Stables (Ciaran Dunne), agent. Bred in Kentucky by G. Watts Humphrey, the colt is out of Spinning Wheel (by Smart Strike) and from the family of grade 1 winner Victory Ride  and multiple grade 1-placed Ride On Curlin  . The colt was purchased for $160,000 by Red Wings from the consignment of Lane's End to the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. 

"He's different. He's been a special horse from Day 1," said Dunne. "Mentally, he's like a pony around the barn. He does everything right. Thankfully it worked out for him." 

Impressing with his breeze time of :10 and with his pedigree was Hip 67, a colt by Ashford Stud's Uncle Mo   who is a full brother to grade 1 winner Dream Tree . Bred in Kentucky by Mike and Pat Freeny, Hip 67 is out of Afleet Maggi (Afleet Alex  ) and was purchased by Knights Bloodstock for $335,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment to the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

"He's a special little horse isn't he?" said Dunne, who also consigns Hip 67. "He was a beautiful yearling and I couldn't believe they let us buy him." 

Dunne said the colt does not share many physical characteristics with his sister Dream Tree, who was also consigned through Wavertree at 2 and was purchased for $750,000 by Kerri Radcliffe. 

"He's a smoother horse than Dream Tree was. He's maybe a little heavier, a little coarser," said Dunne. "He's a prettier horse than she ever was. He's still just a baby. He's got so much improving left to do. There's no telling where he will end up." 

While Dunne said he was happy with the way the majority of his horses breezed Monday, there was no denying that the strong headwind, which picked up significantly in the third set, had an adverse impact on the later runners. 

"It was about like we expected. The horses early on obviously had a distinct advantage," said Dunne. "The first two sets obviously got the best of the conditions. The track was a little faster, there was a little more moisture in it, and there was no headwind. It got tougher as the day went on. I think anyone who was up there would realize that. We would be disappointed with some that went in :10 3/5, but they're nice horses when you come to the barn and I think they'll pull them out because people will realize what the conditions were. We thought they were a good group of horses coming in here and they showed up. 

"We stand on the end here (in the barn) and people are stabled in the same spot and you watch horses walk around. Physically, they're a beautiful bunch of horses and Fasig has done a great job of gathering them up. I would have to think there is something here for everybody. The traffic was good earlier in the week so I would expect it to be solid." 

"Certainly the wind didn't help," echoed Browning. "Weather is a variable you can't control. The one thing I do know is buyers are smart enough to know which set horses worked in and the latter set worked though a bit of a headwind. I wish we had a temperature-controlled environment and I wish we conducted under tack shows in a bubble, like an indoor stadium, but we don't. I thought all in all the track was pretty consistent and there were some exceptional works even in the last set. I have a high level of confidence that the buyers take into consideration the various elements when evaluating how horses worked."

The fastest quarter-mile breeze of the day in :21 1/5 was logged by Hip 113, a gray or roan filly by Arrogate out of Flatter Up  (Flatter  ). Consigned by Tom McCrocklin, agent, the filly was bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm and is from the family of Shoemaker Mile (G1T) winner Midnight Storm  . She was purchased by Parker Place Racing for $260,000 from the consignment of Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency to the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. 

"We loved the work," said McCrocklin. "I thought it was beautiful and I try not to be a slave to the stopwatch. I like to look at the work, see how they move, how they switch their leads, and all that stuff. She breezed a quarter a week ago and it was a very good work so it didn't come as a surprise. 

"It's interesting because I never clock horses. I don't clock them here. When they come on breeze day, I feel like I know who can run but the literal time is always a surprise to me. It was tough conditions today and I'm not a whiny baby about the track, the sun, the wind … but it was tough out there. Big time headwind and they could not keep enough water on the track. I'm very happy with her, she's a very honest filly. 

"She is more compact, more short-crouped than you would picture coming from an Arrogate. She probably has a lot of the Flatter in her. It's the family of Midnight Storm, but there are a lot of good horses in there. This filly is substantial, but she's not a big, stretchy, scopey filly."

Hip 113 is one of seven horses consigned to the sale by McCrocklin, all of which breezed a quarter-mile during the under tack show. 

"I always work quarters but I think visually it's a prettier breeze. I think your horses are not scrambling as much. I'm not knocking the guys who go an eighth, but to execute a quarter-mile breeze is easier for me. My training is very straightforward and we don't train them like Quarter Horses, we train them like racehorses. We gallop in company, we breeze in company. Obviously, when you come to the sale you take time out of company but we want to sell racehorses not sales horses. I'm proud of some of the horses we've sold." 

While McCrocklin has plenty to look forward to at this week's auction, the icing on the cake for the consignor comes as he looks ahead to April 3 at Santa Anita Park, where Bobby Bo, a graduate from his training program, is slated to make his debut for trainer Bob Baffert. 

Consigned to the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale on behalf of Solana Beach Sales, the Speightster   colt was purchased from McCrocklin by Larry Best's OXO  Equine for $1.1 million and later returned after he was reported to be a cribber—a condition not disclosed at the time of sale. Now racing in the colors of Solana Beach, McCrocklin said that while there had been other offers to buy the colt, they retained interest and are more than ready to watch his debut performance on Saturday. 

"He's working like freaky good. He's supposed to run at Santa Anita on (Runhappy) Santa Anita Derby (G1) day," said McCrocklin. "I watch his breezes and the hair stands up on the back of my neck. We're very excited. It's like poker, sooner or later you have to turn your cards over. Bob Baffert is a pretty harsh judge of a horse but in his last description, he sent me a one-word text that read, 'Beast.'" 

The only blight on an otherwise strong day came during the set featuring turf workers. Hip 47, a colt by Ashford Stud's American Pharoah   who was consigned by Scanlon Training & Sales, dropped his exercise rider ahead of his scheduled breeze. The colt ran loose in the opposite direction on the track before colliding with the inside turf rail. Injured from the impact, the colt was disoriented and waded into the infield pond where he suffered a catastrophic collapse. 

"It was an unfortunate incident. Obviously, it occurred before the horse trained," said Browning. "The horse dropped its rider, ran through the rail, and suffered a catastrophic injury. 

"We are highly committed to doing things in the safest manner possible and to take care of the horses and humans. I don't know of anything that could have been done in hindsight to prevent this accident. We have much sympathy for the connections for the horse and we're deeply sorry that it occurred." 

But with hopes high and more buyers expected to arrive in the coming days, Browning said he's gearing up for what he hopes to be a strong market buoyed by new optimism as more and more vaccines for COVID-19 become available and the world slowly adopts a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy. 

"I've seen all the right faces and apparently the suites upstairs were all full too. We had a ton of interest pre-sale. I think people are excited to be back in the sales process in a little bit more normal setting and in a little bit more normal environment. We sure missed not being here last year and we're thrilled to be back.

"People are happy and I think it helps create a positive vibe and atmosphere for everybody. We had a spectacular weekend of racing here at Gulfstream Park on Saturday and it certainly helps set the mood and tone as well. We're headed into Derby fever and Oaks fever and I think people are excited about racing and happy that at least owners can go back to the racetrack. We're beginning to see some fans able to return so we're beginning the cycle and I think people are generally upbeat."