Street Sense Colt Tops Midlantic Sale Opener

Topped by a Street Sense  colt sold for $500,000, the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale kicked off on a strong note May 20, with gains in average and median compared with the same session a year ago.

Trainer Kenny McPeek purchased the juvenile consigned as Hip 156 on behalf of Paul Fireman from James and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales.

"(He is) just a real physical," McPeek said. "He's fast and looked like a real good version of a Street Sense (offspring). It looked like he'd have early speed too. He was the best horse in the session. The price was more than I expected." 

The Street Sense colt was a pinhook score for Carlo Vaccarezza, who bought the colt for $280,000 from Taylor Made Sales Agency at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was bred in Kentucky by Galtree and is out of the Forest Wildcat mare Forest Fashion.

Torie Gladwell said the colt had been entered in The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected 2-year-olds in training sale at Gulfstream Park, but was withdrawn to allow more time to develop and a fresh start at the Midlantic sale where he was sure to stand out.

"We had him entered in the Miami sale but he was just a heavier horse than other horses we took there, so we opted to scratch him, keep training him, get him a little bit fitter, and get him ready for up here," Gladwell said. "We knew he would be a big fish here. He did everything right."

With the May 14 first session of the under tack show workouts delayed after heavy rains, the Gladwells opted to send the colt to the track during the last set of the day, a move that proved successful as the colt breezed a quarter-mile in a bullet :21 4/5, with :22 1/5 the second-fastest breeze on the day.

"He breezed two ticks faster than everything else on the first day," Gladwell said. "The first day was pretty tough and we sent him in the last set, hoping the track would dry out a little. And it worked out. He breezed and galloped out really well."

Fasig-Tipton reported 156 horses changed hands for total receipts of $11,402,500. At last year's opener, 172 horses grossed $12,066,000. This year's session average of $73,093 represented a 4.2% gain over the $70,151 figure a year ago and the median price rose 19.4% from $36,000 to $43,000. From 300 cataloged and 210 offered, 54 horses went unsold for an RNA rate of 25.7%. Last year's first session RNA rate was 22.9%.

"It was a solid opening to the 2019 Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. "Average was up slightly, the median was up slightly. It was pretty much the same market we have seen through the 2-year-old market of 2019 and about as expected. I think we have more top-end horses tomorrow based on the chatter on the sales grounds among both buyers and sellers so hopefully we'll have some fireworks tomorrow.

"It was certainly a good, solid, consistent marketplace at a variety of levels today."

The day's second-highest price of $475,000 price came from Martin Schwartz, via a phone bid, for Hip 236, an Uncle Mo  colt from Eddie Woods, agent. The colt had been bought for $225,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale from Bridie Harrison, agent for her Kentucky breeder Peter Blum.

Named Candy Bar, the colt is out of the unraced Unbridled's Song mare Lady Godiva, the dam of Leofric, a winner in eight of 14 starts, including the Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare (G1). His second dam, Lady of Choice, is a daughter of prolific sire Storm Bird and produced multiple grade 3 winner Multiple Choice. She is also the granddam of stakes winners Inspired, Silver City, Elope, and Initiation.

The colt breezed an eighth-mile in :10 2/5 during the second under tack show session.

"He's a lovely horse," Woods said. "He was immature and very backward and it took a long time for him to come around. We never took him to another sale. This is the last (sale) for a horse like this and I had a partner who wanted to sell."

Woods said selling the colt was "icing on the cake" for his day's consignment.

"We got everything sold, bar one," the consignor said, noting the marketplace was not unlike that seen in other sales over the last several years. "It's either $35,000 or $400,000. This was the slowest I've seen it for showing in recent years. Usually on Sunday before the sale we're swamped. We were busy in spots."

With the Midlantic Sale the third from the end of the major juvenile market, Woods said his clients were motivated to sell.

"I was a little concerned for the bottom-end horses, but we got them sold," Woods said. "We had very realistic reserves and some of the breeders that don't have top-end horses just want to move on."

Meredith Daugherty contributed to this story