First-Crop Yearling Sires Shine Bright in F-T July Sale

Fasig-Tipton's The July Sale in Lexington plays a dual role, as North America's opening sale in the yearling auction cycle and also in providing the initial look at the progeny by first-crop yearling sires.

Among the 242 selected yearlings that, as of July 7, are still to be offered during the July 9 sale are representatives of the three first-crop yearling sires who exited 2023 with the highest weanling averages for their sire class. They include Darley Stallion's Belmont Stakes (G1) winner and dual champion Essential Quality  , Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa's multiple grade 1 winner and multi-millionaire Charlatan  , and Darley's six-time graded stakes winner (two in grade 1s) Maxfield  .

Essential Quality, a son of Tapit  , was represented last year by five weanlings averaging $308,000 and a class-topping $280,000 median. 

Charlatan, a son of prominent sire and champion sprinter Speightstown, was represented in 2023 by 18 weanlings averaging $210,278. Three of his weanlings sold for more than $300,000.

Maxfield, a son of Street Sense  , was represented by 11 weanlings averaging $165,182. His top seller last year brought $500,000 during Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale, its boutique fall mixed sale.

Essential Quality will be represented by two gray or roan fillies in The July Sale: Hip 34, a half sister to listed stakes winner Supreme Aura being consigned by Denali Stud as agent; and, Hip 43, a filly out of the stakes-placed Medaglia d'Oro   winner Knarsdale who is being consigned by Scott Mallory for owner/breeder Determined Stud.

"What comes to mind when I look at Hip 34 is her sense of quality—her class and intelligence," said Conrad Bandoroff with Denali Stud. "The more you watch her on the sales grounds, the more she displays professionalism."

Mallory said Hip 43 has matured tremendously in the past couple of months into a big, strong filly with a great walk. 

"She moves really well and there is a lot of upside with the dam," he said. "Her 3-year-old (an Uncle Mo   filly named Seismic Beauty) is with Bob Baffert at Los Alamitos and her 2-year-old (a Bernardini colt named Cincazul) is with Wesley Ward at Saratoga. If they are going to do it, those two trainers will get them there."

Seismic Beauty sold for $550,000 during the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to agent Kerri Radcliffe for Peter Leidel and My Racehorse. Agent Jesse Longoria went to $500,000 to acquire Cincazul for owners Zane Kiehne and Grier Brunson during Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky October Yearlings Sale. 

Gainesway consigns The July Sale's only yearling by Charlatan.

The colt, Hip 22, was bred by Green Lantern Stables out of the stakes-placed Into Mischief   winner Criminal Mind, whose second dam is graded stakes winner Danzig's Beauty, the dam of leading sire Distorted Humor . 

"Charlatan was a brilliant horse who threw triple-digit Beyers from his maiden race and through the Malibu (Stakes)," said Brian Graves with Gainesway. "This colt we have is well-balanced and correct with a good walk and presents himself well. He looks like he'll be early."

Maxfield will be represented by a colt (Hip 1) being consigned by Legacy Bloodstock, and a filly (Hip 79) being consigned by St George Sales.

Legacy Bloodstock's Tommy Eastham said it is not ideal to have the leadoff batter role for the sale but he said there are plenty of reasons that buyers should be interested in Hip 1, the first pinhook venture for Jorge Gonzalez. 

"He is a big, strong, powerful horse," he said. "He is a big walker and really swings through his hips nicely. Being Hip 1 is a bit of an obstacle but I'm glad we have a good one. I think he is a good enough horse and is going to overcome it. He has a racehorse's temperament and is a 2-year-old-looking type of horse."

Brookstone Farm and Lee Mauberret bred Hip 79 out of the Take Charge Indy   stakes winner Takechargedelilah, who is out of grade 3 winner Lilah and a half sister to stakes winner Mo Don't Know (Uncle Mo) and Hopeful Stakes (G1) third-place finisher and winner Big Blue Nation .

Bandoroff, Mallory, and Eastham all noted that their yearlings by first-crop sires had been pointed for The July Sale because Fasig-Tipton gives these sires extra attention in its Freshman Sire Showcase, the first 88 hips in the sale. 

"The new sires showcase lets them stand out. Fasig-Tipton does a good job of getting good representations of these sires," Mallory said. Six of the eight yearlings in his consignment are by first-crop yearling sires with the others including Spendthrift Farm's Known Agenda  , Taylor Made Stallions' Knicks Go  , and Calumet Farm's Lexitonian  .  

"We're really happy with all of them," Mallory said. "The Knicks Go filly is a good size and looking really fast. Known Agenda seems to be putting a lot of body on them from Curlin  , and the Lexitonians look really racy."

Spendthrift Farm is represented this year by five first-crop yearling sires. Besides Known Agenda, their roster includes Basin   (four entered), By My Standards   (three), Rock Your World   (10), and Yaupon   (12).

Yaupon's first weanlings also produced a six-figure average and median last year. The grade 1-winning son of Uncle Mo was represented by 36 weanlings that averaged $130,889 and had a $100,000 median. The sire was represented by four weanlings that sold for $300,000 or more, with one of those top sellers being offered in The July Sale. A filly out of the graded-placed Forestry mare Lady Lumberjack was sold for $300,000 during the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale by Taylor Made Sales to AAA Thoroughbreds, a weanling-to-yearling pinhook venture owned by Randy Hartley and his longtime pinhooking partner Dean DeRenzo. The filly is Hip 45 in The July Sale, again consigned by Taylor Made.

AAA Thoroughbreds, incidentally, bought three of Yaupon's highest-priced weanlings.

"This sale is really good for the new sires. You get a lot of interest from the pinhooker guys but this year we have seen more end-users, so Fasig is doing a good job recruiting a more diverse buying population," said Eastham.