'Last Stop': Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale

The two-day Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale gets underway Feb. 6, beginning at 10 a.m. ET with short yearlings, broodmares in foal, broodmare prospects, racing/broodmare prospects, and horses of racing age on offer. With 594 horses cataloged, every buyer will have a horse at various price points to suit any program—from racing to breeding to pinhooking—later this summer.

"I am optimistic about the sale; there are a wide variety of horses that will have an appeal to virtually anybody and everybody," Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. said. "It looks like some nice short yearlings on the grounds, and there seems to be plenty of action. Fortunately, we have some exciting racing and/or broodmare prospects that came into the sale a little later as part of the supplement. I think Lemieux (Hip 588), Karakatsie (Hip 591), and Wasp (Hip 592) are very attractive offerings that came in later."

Short yearlings include ones represented by enticing first-crop sires Complexity  , Echo Town  , Fog of War  , Gift Box  , Global Campaign  , Higher Power  , Honor A.P., Improbable  , Instagrand  , Instilled Regard  , Maximum Security  , McKinzie  , Promises Fulfilled  , Shancelot  , Spun to Run  , Thousand Words  , Tom's d'Etat  , Vekoma  , Volatile  , War of Will  , and Yorkton  . Popular newer sires Audible  , Bolt d'Oro  , Good Magic  , Mitole  , and Upstart   are for consideration as well as regionally bred offerings.

"The babies have some good pages as well; we have a nice Instilled Regard and two by Maclean's Music who is becoming a sire of sires," Amy Bunt of Baldwin Bloodstock commented. "One of our fillies, Hip 318, is a half sibling to First Peace, who is grade 3-placed in the Cecil B. DeMille (G3T) and second in the Eddie Logan Stakes this past fall on the West Coast."

Broodmares in foal come on both ends of the buying bench, with mares in foal to stalwarts American Pharoah  , Ghostzapper  , Justify  , and Twirling Candy  , and to new sires Charlatan  , Core Beliefs  , Independence Hall  , Known Agenda  , Maxfield  , Modernist  , Rock Your World  , and Yaupon  .

"One of the nice things about this sale is it gives people options as racing plans change or for people that might have an expensive season or two they are trying to get a nice mare for. We have some high-quality mares in foal; I think this will be a very typical February Sale, and there will be plenty of demand," said Browning. "We live in a world where the horse business and overall economy are good; I don't expect dramatic changes over last year."

During last year's two selling sessions, Fasig-Tipton recorded 431 horses changing hands of the 487 through the ring for gross receipts of $17,245,500, for an average price of $40,013 and a median of $16,000. Fifty-six horses failed to meet their reserve to represent an RNA rate of 11.5%.

The Speightstown   race mare Brilliant Cut  headlined last year's edition, selling to Japan's Katsumi Yoshida for $750,000 to top the two days of selling. Highgate Sales consigned the mare (Hip 541), who added a second-place finish in the La Brea Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park in December before coming to the sale. The mare departed the U.S. for Japan in November last year, likely in foal to a U.S. stallion.

Yoshida was the leading buyer with his single purchase, followed by fellow overseas buyer K I Farm, who purchased the second highest offering, Bodhicitta , for $450,000. St George Sales consigned the Showcasing  mare (Hip 177) as a racing/broodmare prospect.

Taylor Made Sales Agency offered 58 head over the two days, selling 52 of those horses for a gross of $4,323,500, at an average price of $83,144 per head, to be the leading consignor by gross.

"We are excited to start a new year, the January Sale was a good start, and we are here and ready to roll," Ashley Franz, director of bloodstock for Four Star Sales, said. "It's the last stop shop where people are still looking for babies or broodmare prospects for seasons they might still need to use. It's a good place to shop, and we have some nice stock."

Pat Costello, managing officer of Paramount Sales, echoed a similar feeling, "It's a good final sale for all the broodmares, broodmares prospects, and short yearlings. There are always some bargains coming out of here. I believe Fasig-Tipton has improved its sale by taking in some later entries, and I think it should be a good market here. I think the market is strong in all aspects right now, and I don't see any change coming for it."

Selling Monday will consist of Hips 1-300, followed by Hips 301-465 in the original catalog and Hips 466-594 from Tuesday's supplement. As of Sunday afternoon, there were 117 horses withdrawn from the sale.