Catalina Cruiser Filly Shines at F-T Saratoga Fall Sale

The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Sale was highlighted by sale records for both gross receipts of $3,657,800 and the top price paid for a weanling. The sale-topping, record-setting weanling filly is from the first crop of Lane's End's Catalina Cruiser  . She was purchased for $195,000 by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.

Sequel New York, agent, consigned the chestnut filly as Hip 215.

"She drew a lot of pre-sale attention. A lovely filly and the highest-priced foal we have sold at this sale," said Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. "It's nice when a stalwart of the New York program (Becky Thomas of Sequel New York) is the sale-topping consignor. They have been a long-time supporter and breeder."

Hip 215, bred in New York by Gentry Stable, is the third foal out of the stakes winner Catcha Rising Star  (by Red Giant ), an earner of $235,030. The dam is a half sister to stakes-placed Her Royal Highness and the female family includes multiple stakes winner Zucchini Flower, who produced this year's Cincinnati Trophy Stakes runner-up Phantom Vision .

Sequel's Becky Thomas said Hip 215 was popular in the barn ahead of the sale's start.

"She is a beautiful filly, had a great walk and presence about her," Thomas said. "She is by a brilliant horse, Catalina Cruiser—I'm a big fan of him. I feel like those horses have a license to do something, and being a New York-bred is lots of icing on the cake.

"Dean Reeves has another New York-bred, Dakota Gold  (by Freud  ), who was purchased from the 2019 sale for $83,000 (from The New Hill Farm consignment) that is pointed to the Breeders' Cup, and he's a big proponent of the state program.

"Reeves returned to the well for the Freud colt (Hip 256) from us for $100,000—a big believer in the program. Steve and Debbie Weston were the underbidders on Hip 215, so there was a lot of action from great New York players."

The Sequel-consigned Freud colt is from the female family of champion turf male Stormy Liberal .

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing purchased four weanlings Monday for total receipts of $430,000. In addition to the Sequel-consigned yearlings, Reeves bought a Malibu Moon colt out of a half sister to Vosburgh Stakes (G1) winner Taste of Paradise consigned as Hip 159 by Vinery Sales, agent, for $95,000; and a Mucho Macho Man   filly from the family of this month's Woodward Stakes (G1) winner Art Collector  consigned as Hip 92 by Harry L. Landry Bloodstock for $40,000.

Catcha Rising Star, the dam of the sale topper, also went through the ring Monday as Hip 55 under the Sequel New York banner, selling to Thorndale Farm for $53,000. Sold in foal to Sequel Stallions New York resident Honest Mischief  , Catcha Rising Star was the second-highest priced broodmare of the 2021 sale.

"Sequel not only sold the highest priced New York-bred weanling, but they sold the highest priced mare in foal to a New York sire. Overall when you analyze it, it's significant to us moving forward, as a New York sale," Thomas said.

Sequel sold 22 head of 24 offered Monday for a total of $497,600.

The top-priced mare of the sale was Nice Smile, who is carrying her first foal. She is in foal to Spendthrift Farm's Vekoma  , whose first foals will be hitting the ground in 2022. Goose Wickes bought Nice Smile for $70,000. The 5-year-old Smiling Tiger   mare was consigned as Hip 12 by Stuart Morris, agent for Rocky Top Racing and Highclere, et al.

Nice Smile is out of Murky Waters (Storm Creek), making her a half sister to stakes stakes winner Red Vine , who placed in the Cigar Mile Handicap (G1), $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic (G1), and Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

Goose Wickes also purchased two weanling colts to bring total receipts for the day to $132,500. The two weanlings were Hip 89, a $47,500 privately purchased Hard Spun   colt consigned by The New Hill Farm; and Hip 168, a $15,000 Laoban colt consigned by Vinery Sales, agent.

Monday's auction at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., produced a record gross of $3,657,800—which is up from $3,384,700 in 2019, the last time this sale was held. The Saratoga Fall Sale was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were 292 horses were cataloged this year. Fasig-Tipton reported 163 horses sold from 232 offered Monday. The average price was $22,440, the median was $10,000, and the RNA rate for the 69 horses not sold was 29.7%. In 2019, 134 head sold from 216 offered and the average was $25,259, the median was $15,000, and 82 horses went unsold for an RNA rate of 38%.

"We saw the same strong demand for quality offerings with good attendance," Browning said. "The buying bench was deep and diverse, which made for another encouraging sale."

"It's like any sale, the top end of the market is very good; underneath that, there is no bottom," Thomas said. "We had a tough go with some of our horses. If you have a freshman sire that doesn't come out popping with runners, then you are up against it to have commercial value."

Fasig-Tipton's next auction will be its last yearling sale of the year, the Kentucky October Yearlings Sale at the Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. The October sale begins selling Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. ET and will continue through Oct. 28 with 1,586 yearlings cataloged.

"I think we have a great catalog for the Kentucky October sale," Browning said. "The numbers are similar to recent years, but the quality of the catalog in terms of physicals and pedigrees is going to be the strongest we have ever had. We are anxious to get showing this weekend and selling next week."