Anticipation High for Authentic's First Sale Yearlings

The first true market test for the first yearlings by Spendthrift Farm's 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic   comes in Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale where 15 select prospects are on course to be offered Aug. 7-8.

If the two Authentic fillies being offered by Tim and Nancy Hamlin's Wynnstay Sales are any indication of the overall quality at Saratoga, then expect a robust reception from buyers.

"The two we have are very athletic and very beautiful-moving horses out of great families," said Tim Hamlin, who co-bred a bay filly out of the Street Sense   mare Blue Gallina (Hip 8) with Allen Poindexter. The other filly is out of the stakes-placed Lemon Drop Kid  winner Kid Majic  (Hip 83) and also bred by Poindexter.

"They have been so easy and are just so smart, I can't explain how unbelievably good-minded they are. They are all class," Hamlin continued.

Hip 83 sold herself immediately when Fasig-Tipton's inspection team came to the farm near Winchester, Ky. 

"She stepped out of the stall and both inspectors said "Saratoga" at the same time," Hamlin said, of the striking chestnut filly with streaks of blonde hair in her mane and tail. "The assistant riding with our vet said she looked like a Barbie dream horse, and that is what we called her all summer. We didn't even know about the movie. She has as much class as any horse I've been around, and I've been doing this for 40 years."

The Kid Majic filly is a half sister to 2015 Canadian champion female sprinter and champion older mare Miss Mischief  (Into Mischief  ) and to stakes-placed winner Mind Out  (Tapit  ), who Gainesway sold for $1.2 million as a broodmare prospect during the 2021 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale to Dana Bernhard. The immediate family also produced grade 1 winner and 2008 champion 3-year-old filly Proud Spell , 2021 champion older dirt female Letruska , and grade 1 winner J P's Gusto .

Hamlin said the proven success of Miss Mischief, who is by the same sire as Authentic, should get buyers' attention.

"Statistics show that certain crosses work, so it can't hurt," he said.

Hamlin said Hip 8 being a May foal created some uncertainty as to whether she would "be enough filly" by the Saratoga sale. But the heavier-bodied filly matured into a smooth-striding gem.

"She is heavier bodied but the way she moves is crazy good, and she's so intelligent. These good horses just don't come around that often," he said. 

Ned Toffey, general manager at Spendthrift, said Authentic has been producing the scopey, athletic individuals expected from the winner of the 2020 Kentucky Derby (G1), Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), and Haskell Stakes (G1).

"When you think about the contrast between Authentic and Into Mischief, Authentic has a bit more leg and is a lighter, racier, more two-turn type of a horse," he said. "If you bred to Authentic hoping to get that, that is what we are seeing. We are seeing horses that athletic, scopey, and very balanced like he is."

Another indicator of quality is Authentic's strong representation at the boutique Saratoga sale.

"Fasig-Tipton Saratoga horses have always been known for their conformation," Toffey said. "They have a very good selection team. To have this number of yearlings that qualify for this sale speaks volumes to the kind of individuals Authentic is throwing."

Authentic, who entered stud at $75,000, led his sire class last year by weanling average and median. Thirteen of his foals sold in 2022 for a $242,692 average and $230,000 median. The sire's first book of mares also leads the sire class with a 2.94 Comparable Index, which indicates how good the mares are collectively as producers. Claiborne Farm's War of Will   had the second-highest CI at 2.02. Authentic's first mares had the sire class's second-highest Class Performance Index at 3.38, which indicates how good the mares were collectively as racehorses. WinStar Farm's Improbable   has the class's highest CPI at 3.73.

Authentic was represented by one yearling at Fasig-Tipton's July Sale, where Alex and JoAnn Lieblong bought a filly out of the Rock Hard Ten mare Scent of Summer for $475,000 from Spendthrift, who consigned the filly with Taylor Made Sales Agency.