Fasig-Tipton July Sale Strong to the Last Hip

The July Sale was good all the way to the finish July 12.

The last hip of the yearling session, a son of Curlin   out of the unraced Lookin At Lucky mare Four Sugars, strode into the ring at Fasig-Tipton and commanded $600,000 to rank as the day's top offering. The Kentucky-bred colt, a half brother to 2018 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) runner-up and earner of more than $3.1 million Gronkowski , sold to Jon Green of DJ Stable and was consigned by Gainesway as Hip 302 for breeder Diamond Creek Farm.

"It was a long day but worthwhile. When you come to a sale like this, you want to try and take a shot at a stallion prospect, which he is," Green said at the close of bidding. "Being a half to Gronkowski and by Curlin, it's the type of family we look for. We were outbid on the half sister, Miss Greer, by Nyquist  , a little while ago. 

"Today, we wanted to take a full swing at a horse like this; these horses don't come along often. We have been doing this a long time, and I can honestly say you don't have a horse that checks all the boxes as this colt does."

DJ Stables picked up two other yearlings earlier Tuesday; a $50,000 colt by Preservationist (Hip 227) and a $100,000 Mucho Macho Man filly (Hip 292). The colt, from the Airdrie Stud consignment, is a homebred for Brereton Jones out of the stakes-placed Yankee Gentleman mare Yankee Union . The filly was sold by breeder/consignor Frankfort Park Farm and is out of the Speightstown   mare Discovery Bay, from the family of grade 1 winner Harmony Lodge , dam of Armistice Day .

"We bought a few others today, but this horse was always on our radar. The colt was the last horse in the sale, and we were going to stay until the bitter end; $600,000 was our last bid, so I am glad we did get him," Green said. "Any time you raise your hand for a four-legged animal at this kind of level, it's always nerve-racking, but we feel if he fulfills his potential, he's going to be a stallion, and that's why we do this. We try to race the great ones on the first Saturday in May."

After some rest and relaxation, the colt will be headed to trainer Mark Casse in Florida to be broken with the other DJ Stable yearlings. 

"Now we just have to think of a good stallion name for him," Green said.

Numbers Rise Across the Board

A total of 189 horses sold of the 248 under the hammer Tuesday for gross receipts of $21,763,500, with a rise of 10.8% in average price to $115,151 and a median of $90,000, which shows a $10,000 increase over last year's edition. The average is the second-highest in history for this sale, surpassed only by a $115,954 average in 2006. The median price was last seen this high in 2006 and ties the record for this sale. The 59 horses who failed to meet their reserve represent an RNA rate of 23.8%

"Today was a terrific start to the 2022 yearling season," Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. said. "We are thrilled with the activity across the board today. The average and median were up, and we had a respectable RNA rate for the first yearling sale of the year." 

In 2021, 208 yearlings of the 277 through the ring sold for a gross of $21,608,500, at an average price of $103,887 and a median good for $80,000. Sixty-nine horses failed to meet their reserve, representing an RNA rate of 24.9%.

"I think there is a sense of relief," Browning said. "When you start the season, there is always a little uncertainty. We have seen changes in the financial marketplace in the past six months, so there was some stomach anxiety today."

A quality catalog ushered in Tuesday's success and can be traced to the yearling inspection team and the owners and consignors who trust Fasig-Tipton to bring their product to market, Browning said.

"The inspection team is responsible for 90% of it, and we have a great group of people," he remarked. "When you walk on a farm and tell someone what you think their horse is worth, we take it personally. It's our livelihood and the people who are selling horses. 

"There is a time and a place where you can maximize selling your horse. They don't all fit in July or Saratoga. The inspection process is a sense of great pride, and hopefully a differentiation of why we have had some selected sales success. The select sales are part of our culture and have been for the past 30 years; Bill Graves started it in the early '90s."

Perennial leading consignor Taylor Made Sales Agency closed out the sale as leader by gross after selling 27 of the 32 head on offer for total receipts of $2,973,000 at an average price of $110,111.

Gainesway ranked second with a gross of $2,335,000 for nine horses sold at an average of $259,444. Gainesway consigned the two top prices of Tuesday's session (Hip 302 and 153).

"We were hopeful; we knew we had a chance to top the sale with the Curlin colt. We came here to try and be one of the best colts in the sale," Gainesway general manager Brian Graves said.

Pete Bradley of Bradley Thoroughbreds purchased six horses for receipts of $1,275,000 to be the day's leading buyer. Trainer Kenny McPeek purchased eight yearlings for $1,125,000 to be the day's second-leading buyer. 

"I thought the market was very solid," Bradley said. "Fasig-Tipton put together a good group of horses today. I don't think there is anything tougher than having athletic-looking horses mature enough to sell in July. Looking back, it's something for the consignors and mare owners to pick out the right horses to then have Fasig-Tipton go through and put together a group that fits this time of the year. As a group, these horses have enough depth in pedigree and DNA to make racehorses. Hats off to Fasig-Tipton for getting these together."

"The reality is the sale exceeded our expectations," Browning said. "You love to see increases in the key statistical categories, but you also love to see the energy that was on the sales grounds since Saturday morning and continued through to the last horse in the sale. It's always nice to have a major horse at the end of the sale."