Texas Juvenile Sale 'Bigger and Better'

Following a one-day delay in the under tack show due to inclement weather, the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s sale of 2-year-olds in training remains on track for April 4, with an amended starting time.

Pre-sale workouts at Lone Star Park scheduled for April 2 were postponed until April 3 after powerful storms rolled through Dallas and Fort Worth. The National Weather Service reported rainfall totals of 2.11 inches at DFW International Airport through 6 p.m. CT.

In addition to the rescheduled under tack show, the auction at the racetrack near Grand Prairie will begin at 2 p.m., two hours later than originally planned.

Including supplemental entries, there are 105 head cataloged for the auction, well above last year's catalog of 80 entries. As of Monday, the following hips have been withdrawn: 26, 46, 51, 52, 64, 90, 92, 93, 98, 99, and 100.

This is the second year for the sale under the auspices of the TTA after Fasig-Tipton withdrew from the Texas market. Sales director Tim Boyce hopes to improve on the 2016 edition that saw 53 horses average $18,515 on gross receipts of $981,300. The buy-back rate was a moderate 20%.

"I know I say this every year, but this is probably the best group we've had," said Boyce, who also directed the sale when it was conducted by Fasig-Tipton. "Our numbers increased, and the quality has increased."

Boyce said consignors, for the most part, were understanding about the decision to postpone the under tack show and management's decision to delay the sale's start time to allow additional time for inspections.

"It's the first time I've done that in 20 years," Boyce said. "But it was for safety reasons—we had lightning, wind, and rain."

Although the initial times for the workouts were relatively slow because of the track condition, Boyce said the works improved as the track dried out throughout the day Monday.

"It's a good safe track and the buyers will be able to sort it out," Boyce said of variables that impacted workout times.

The fastest time of :10 1/5 for an eighth-mile during the under tack show was posted by Hip 31, a gray son of Redding Colliery consigned by Richardson Bloodstock, agent. The Louisiana-bred colt is out of the winning Johannesburg mare Bond's Babe, a half sister to stakes winner Miner's Escape, from the family of grade 1 winner and sire Indian Charlie.

Among sires represented in the catalog are Uncle Mo  , the third-leading general sire of 2016 and currently the leading third-crop sire, as well as such nationally prominent stallions as Into Mischief  , Tale of the Cat  , and Shanghai Bobby  .

The highest-priced previously sold 2-year-old in the auction (after withdrawals) is Hip 32, a Shanghai Bobby colt named Terracon consigned by Garza Bloodstock as agent. Produced from the stakes-winning Giant's Causeway   mare Bow Bells, the Kentucky-bred colt is from the extended female family of grade 2 winner Alpha Kitten.

Consigned to the 2015 Keeneland November breeding stock sale by Greenfield Farms, agent for the complete dispersal of Northwest Farms, the colt was bought by Mersad Metanovic Bloodstock for $80,000.

Another pricey pinhook is Hip 8, a gray Creative Cause   filly being offered by Twin Oaks Training Center, agent. The Kentucky-bred filly is out of Saint Audrey, an unraced Harlan’s Holiday mare who is a half sister to French group 1 winner Flemensfirth. Initially sold for $20,000 by breeder Brereton Jones as a weanling at the 2015 Keeneland November sale, the filly was bought by Richard Davis for $65,000 from the Lane's End consignment to the Keeneland September yearling sale.

The only Uncle Mo juvenile in the sale is Hip 13, a supplemental entry from Inside Move, as agent. Produced from Pure Value, a winning half sister to multiple stakes winner Got Shades, the gray filly, named Mo Value, is from the female family of grade 1 winners Madcap Escapade and Dubai Escapade, among others.

Consigned by Select Sales to the 2015 Keeneland November sale, the Louisiana-bred filly was bought by Tunley Farms Louisiana for $35,000.

A Texas sale entrant with a timely catalog update is Hip 66 (Twin Oaks Training Center), an Oklahoma-bred Euroears colt produced from the stakes-winning mare Key Cents. The colt is a half brother to Rebridled Dreams, the stakes-winning Unbridled's Song mare whose 10 foals include grade 1 winners Carpe Diem   and J. B.'s Thunder.

Farrell, the 3-year-old Malibu Moon   filly out of Rebridled Dreams, continued to display her readiness for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), winning the April 1 Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) for her fifth victory in seven starts.

Another well-bred horse is Hip 47 (Frederick Sales and Racing, agent for Steve Baker), a Quality Road   filly named Quality Cure produced from multiple stakes winner Deputy Cures Blues and a half sister to multiple stakes winner and grade 1-placed Wine Police.

Hip 22, a Texas-bred Littleexpectations colt named Toledo Pache consigned by Asmussen Horse Center, agent, is a half brother to Country Candy, a graduate of the 2016 TTA sale who went on to win two stakes last year and earn three stakes placings, including the Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs.

"The best advertising you can have is for your horses to win stakes, and do well especially when they go out of state," Boyce said.

Bling On the Music, last year's sale-topper purchased by Danny Keene for $95,000, has excelled on the track and graces the catalog's front cover. The Too Much Bling   filly won stakes at Lone Star and Arapahoe Park and finished third in the Pocahontas Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.