Speedy Orb Filly Attracts Attention at Fasig-Tipton

With a brisk breeze whipping through her mane, an Orb  filly entered in the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale stood in the traditional conformation pose March 27 as potential buyers assessed her attributes.

Nearby, consignor Tom McCrocklin and his client and business partner Billy Koch engaged in a friendly debate over which pop culture icon the filly most reminded them of. McCrocklin leaned toward Taylor Swift, ostensibly due to the filly's "blonde hair" (mane) and a play off the singer-songwriter's last name, while Koch voted in favor of Charlize Theron.

Regardless of whether either or neither is correct in their comparisons of horse to human, one thing for certain is that the filly consigned as Hip 54 is one of the sale's top prospects. In addition to her looks, the filly displayed her abilities March 26 when she breezed the fastest quarter-mile in :21 during Monday's under tack pre-sale workouts. The Fasig-Tipton sale begins at 3 p.m. March 28 in the Gulfstream Park walking ring.

Produced from Taboo, a winning Forestry mare who also produced stakes-placed Smartly Agree, the filly's second dam is grade 1 winner and $1.9-million earner Dream of Summer, the dam of grade 1 winner and sire Creative Cause  and of grade 2 winner Destin. The Orb filly bred in Kentucky by Merriebelle Stable cost $130,000 when purchased from the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services' consignment at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale.

Merriebelle acquired Taboo while carrying the Orb filly in utero for $125,000 from the Burleson Farms offerings at the 2015 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.

"She's very, very classy with a great mind," McCrocklin said, as he observed teams of buyers keeping the filly busy. "She's been standing there for 10 minutes and hasn't moved a muscle. She has the pedigree, breezed well, and vets clean. I can't make them any better than that. We'll let them (buyers) show up and figure it out.

"For somebody that's looking for a racehorse and broodmare, she's the entire package."

The Orb filly is half of the McCrocklin consignment that also includes a Shanghai Bobby  filly (Hip 97). Two others he had cataloged were withdrawn after developing a few setbacks.

"When you come down here, you had better bring the right ones or you're going to get overlooked," McCrocklin said, adding that buyers at the selected sale are looking for individuals that can compete in bigger races. "Don't bring a Wednesday afternoon horse. You'd better have a weekend horse."