Agent Casse Acquires Violence Colt for $370,000

Agent Justin Casse went to $370,000 for a bay son of Violence  just after the mid-point of The July Sale July 10 at Fasig-Tipton's Newtown Paddocks near Lexington.

Consigned by Paramount Sales as Hip 176, the colt bred in Kentucky by Scarteen Stud was produced from the multiple graded stakes-winning Carson City mare Classic Elegance, the dam of stakes-placed Divine Elegance and Unbridled Endeavor.

"He will go to a long-standing client of the Casse family," Casse said, adding that his brother, Mark Casse, will train the colt.

"He stuck out very early for us, " Casse continued. "The pedigree stood out before we even came up here. We love Carson City as a broodmare sire, love Violence's body of work. To me he looks a lot like Medaglia d'Oro ; very athletic, a very good walker."

Casse said he was pleased the final price fell exactly within his expectations. 

"That's what we expected to pay, especially after you've seen the market earlier. It seems very bullish," Casse said. "I'm obviously not selling so I don't know what the middle market is like or the lower end, but all the ones that you would covet, they are tough to get."

Of the colt's sire, he added, "(Violence) has been commercially well-supported even as he's had runners, and I take it that he's very consistent. I would expect more of that to come because of how well he was supported with yearlings last year. So I don't see him being an early flash in the pan type. I think that he obviously will have good 3-year-olds and good 2-year-olds."

Purchased as a short yearling by James R. Layton for $100,000 from Buckland Sales at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February Mixed Sale, the colt was a departure from Layton's usual modus operandi as a pinhooker of yearlings for resale as 2-year-olds. 

"I started buying some weanlings and selling them back as yearlings," Layton explained. "We buy whatever we think fits the program.He's a really nice colt with a great pedigree. I was fortunate enough to get him bought. He is smart and smooth. Good-minded. He does everything you ask him to do." 

Based out of his farm in South Carolina, Layton explained that his foray into pinhooking short yearlings to the major yearling sales was an easy transition, as his operation is already fully outfitted to prep any horse that comes into his barn. While he has no future plans to shift the focus of his program from 2-year-olds to yearlings, the profits made from such sales, Layton said, were an added bonus that helps fill the gaps needed to subsidize his regular business. 

"I do everything in-house," he said. "We have a farm down in South Carolina where we train 2-year-olds. I have everything I need to work with, so it's easy. But you have to have a good horse to work with; it makes it a lot easier."