Vibrant Market in Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale Opener

Prominent horse owner Susan Chu is a big fan of American Pharoah   and very much wanted a mare to breed to the Triple Crown winner who stands at Ashford Stud.

So she asked Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Donato Lanni to scout the sales in search of a mare and with time running out, the Kentucky agent landed on Super Majesty, topping the Feb. 6 session of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale at $475,000. The sale in Lexington is the final mixed sale before the mid-February start of the breeding season.

"Susan, like everybody else, is a fan of American Pharoah,” Lanni said. “She wanted a mare to breed to American Pharoah, so this was our last stop. I told her, 'This is the last stop. There are no more broodmare sales after this.”

A 5-year-old daughter from the first crop of WinStar’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Super Saver  , Super Majesty was consigned as Hip 238 by Darby Dan Farm, agent for LNJ Foxwoods. The mare, purchased by Solid/Litt on behalf of LNJ Foxwoods for $400,000, won or placed in five of her nine starts, with her three victories including the 2015 Dogwood Stakes (G3).

"I thought she was a grade 1 type of filly,” Lanni said. “When she broke her maiden, she was a very impressive filly, and she was a really good racehorse, from what I remember. She's a pretty mare.”

Susan Chu and her husband Charles, who purchased Super Majesty under the Baoma Corp. name, campaigned 2016 champion sprinter Drefong, among other top-class runners.

Darby Dan sales director Carl McEntee said the February sale is an ideal spot to sell a filly just off the track like Super Majesty, considering its time in close proximity to the breeding season.

"This is a fantastic marketplace for a mare coming off the track, a stakes horse, they just do very well. We're a week away from the breeding season, everyone has one mare that they want or they've got no other chances to grab one. We knew we were going to come here all along. We nominated her for the November sale, but I think this was a better marketplace for her."

McEntee said Super Majesty was one of the first horses to be sold at public auction by LNJ Foxwoods.

"It was fantastic. I'm very pleased for the owners,” he said. “It's one of their first really big offerings at the sales, and I'm delighted for them. I thought it was a solid price. She was probably out 85-90 times, so she was a very popular filly, and we'd heard lots of people say she was one of the best mares in the sale. So it's nice when they look like that and they perform at the racetrack and go on to do well in the sales ring.”

Buoyed by some strong offerings at the top end, and a particularly warm February day in Central Kentucky, there was a vibrancy on the sale grounds, resulting in across-the-board increases when compared with the 2016 opener.

Fasig-Tipton reported 164 head sold for $4,702,300, compared with the $3,294,500 gross last year for 184 sold. The average soared from $17,905 last year to $28,673 and the median price of $9,750 was up from $8,000. With 86 horses withdrawn, the remaining 74 were not sold, reflecting an RNA rate of 29.4%. Last year, 64 of 248 through the ring did not sell during the comparable session.

A dozen head brought final prices in excess of six figures, compared with five such transactions during the 2016 first session.

Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. was pleased with the outcome, which reflected the continuing trend of polarization between the top and bottom.

“There was significant bidding competition on the upper end offerings and unfortunately there is very little market on the less expensive horses,” Browning said. “It is really hard to compare the context of a February sale from year to year. The composition of the catalog can change pretty significantly. Last year, we had an imbalance between the two days because of how the catalog fell.

“The reality is the market is probably stronger on the upper level horses because people are concentrating on those and it is definitely weaker on the lower, lower level horses. It goes to show there is a vibrant market, even in February. If somebody has a nice broodmare prospect or nice mare in foal, they can bring her here with complete confidence there are going to be plenty of buyers willing to bid for her, or for a short yearling or any horse of quality.”

Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales’ John Sikura said the fractured market is resulting in value for buyers willing to take some risk.

“The top (horses) bring more than they are supposed to and the bottom bring less than they’re supposed to,” Sikura said. “I think there is good value here. Some of these mares selling for under $10,000; there is no one willing to give them a try.

“For a mare that is 12 years old and has had a winner or two, her next foal could be her good horse,” said Sikura, who in partnership with Glen Hill Farm under the name Bayern Partnership, went to $270,000 to purchase the broodmare prospect Vickie Wins.

Consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale, Vickie Wins was previously owned by Sikura and partner Jerry Durant. Sikura said the 4-year-old daughter of Unbridled’s Song was purchased to be bred to Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion Bayern  .

The day’s second-highest price of $325,000 was paid by Ran Leonard’s RML for grade 3 winner She's All In, consigned by Vinery Sales, as agent for the dispersal of Dr. Robert Zoellner’s Oklahoma-based Rockin’ Z Ranch.

Leonard, who earlier signed the ticket for a Temple City   yearling filly out of She’s All In for $20,000, said he bought the mare for a different undisclosed client.

"I'm from Oklahoma and a longtime friend of Dr. Zoellner, so obviously, I've been a fan of this mare ever since he had her. I own a mare named Tiz Miz Sue, and her and She's All In ran against each other all the time," Leonard said. "I've been a fan of her's and I'm lucky enough to be able to buy and sell horses for different people, and had some people interested in her.”

A $1.1 million earner whose 16 wins included eight stakes, She’s All In is in foal to Magna Graduate   on an April 17, 2016 cover.

For personal reasons, Zoellner, an optometrist and successful businessman, is dispersing his bloodstock and selling his 240-acre ranch, while leaving the door open to a possible return to Thoroughbred ownership.