Phipps Reduction Part of Keeneland Sale

When Keeneland kicks off its breeding stock sale Nov. 8, buyers will have an opportunity to purchase some of the rich bloodlines from the prominent Phipps Stable that has been among the leading breeding and racing entities in North American racing for decades.

Consigned by Claiborne Farm, which has had a long and successful relationship with the Phipps family, the reduction of Phipps Stable holdings consists of four broodmares, five broodmare prospects, and one racing or broodmare prospect. Included in the reduction is 2005 Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Distaff (gr. I) winner Pleasant Home (543), who is in foal to Orb  , the 2013 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner co-owned by Phipps Stable and now stands at Claiborne.

Established by Ogden Phipps and continued under the stewardship of the late Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, the stable is now under the direction of co-owner and racing manager Daisy Phipps Pulito, who previously worked for The Golf Channel before turning her talents to the family’s racing and breeding operation.

Pulito said the reduction is an effort to streamline the Phipps’ holdings in conjunction with buying some fillies at auction to race before being added to the broodmare band. Represented at this year’s Keeneland September yearling sale by Florida horseman Niall Brennan, who has always prepared the stable’s horses for racing, Phipps Stable bought a Tapit   filly for $430,000 and a daughter of Malibu Moon   for $675,000.

Selling some of the stable’s horses is nothing new, as the Phippses have always sold some horses privately and at public auction from time to time.

“We always sold horses privately off the track and one or two in the sales,” Pulito said. “So this year we said that instead of cherry-picking the ones we are going to put in the sale and the ones to sell privately, we are not going to sell any privately and put them in all in the Keeneland sale. That is why you see a higher number this year, it is just that we are not cherry-picking any to sell privately.

“This reduction is from families that we have a lot of or from families that we think other people can have more success with than we did. We wanted to streamline that a little bit and also buy a couple of new fillies over the next few years to make it stronger. It is something we have not done in a long time and is something that really needed to be done. We thought this was a good time to start the process.”

In addition to Pleasant Home, who romped to a 9 1/4-length triumph in the 2005 Distaff, the well-bred mares in the Phipps reduction include Satisfaction (Hip 581), a half sister to grade I winner Dancing Forever from the family of champion Heavenly Prize who is in foal to Point of Entry  , and Sea Island (Hip 590), a daughter of Pulpit who is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Sightseeing and is in foal to Hard Spun  .

Because the goal is for the mares to find new homes, Pulito said they will be sent through the ring with reasonable reserves.

“These are nice horses,” she said.  “We will be fair with our reserves but we are not going to give them away. There are plenty of people who have done well buying into these families and flipping them.”