First-Crop Sires Deliver Range of Quality Yearlings

The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected yearling auction in Kentucky, kicks off the yearling sale season and serves as the premiere for foals by 21 first-crop yearling sires.

The sale company used to leverage the popularity of first-crop sires with a special "New Sire Showcase" session in July but no longer holds this session. Yet, first-crop sires remain an integral part of this auction's offerings. 

"When Bill Graves and Walt Robertson and Boyd Browning resurrected this sale, they used those sires to rebuild the market. And it is still a legacy that carries on," said Stuart Morris, who has 11 entered in the sale, of which three are by first-crop sires Frosted , Nyquist , and Tourist . "We're creatures of habit, right? If we have been bringing first-crop yearlings here and selling them well, then we're going to keep doing that."

First-crop sires have appeal at this auction for several reasons. The July Sale puts emphasis on the physical build of the horses. Because of the time of year, these yearlings need to be ahead of the development curve—precocious and early maturing—to attract buyers' attention. The market value of first-crop sires, as determined by stud fee, also makes The July Sale an ideal spot to have well-conformed individuals stand out and not get lost among a larger group of yearlings by pricier stallions, claim consignors. Add into the mix the popularity of The July Sale with yearling-to-juvenile pinhookers and a strong interest to include progeny by first-crop sires into their consignments for next year.

"I do like bringing yearlings by first-crop sires to this sale," said Chris Baccari of Baccari Bloodstock, which has six cataloged to The July Sale, including four by first-crop sires Anchor Down , Cinco Charlie , Runhappy , and Speightster . "They seem to do well, and the buyers like to shop those kinds of horses."

Regarding this year's first-crop sires overall, several consignors said the group is being represented by high-quality foals possessing a broad range of physical types.

At this point in the season, the yearlings attracting early attention are by sires who were market leaders during the November sales: Darley's Nyquist, last year's crop leader with a $279,000 weanling average; Darley's Frosted, who had the second-highest weanling average of $181,500; Claiborne Farm's Runhappy ($148,667); and WinStar Farm's Exaggerator  ($116,333).

One sire consistently on consignors' and buyers' watch lists is WinStar Farm's homebred sprinter/miler Speightster, a 7-year-old son of the farm's top sire, Speightstown.

"I just thought he was one of the most consistent new sires at the November sale," said Baccari, who has one Speightster colt consigned as Hip 77 at The July Sale. "They have a lot of quality about them, and the one we have reminds me of a good Speightstown  colt. It is only a matter of time for one of these Speightstown sons to really blast off, and he could be the one. They have quality and look fast."

Speightster was undefeated at 3, capturing his biggest win in the Dwyer Stakes (G3). He made only one start at 4 and was retired with $368,800 in earnings. 

Adrian Regan, a partner in Hunter Valley Farm, is not offering any Speightsters at The July Sale, but he has a couple aimed for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale that he describes as "really nice."

"They have a lot of Speightstown in them. They are solid, strong-looking horses," he said.

Hunter Valley's eight yearlings cataloged to The July Sale include four by first-crop sires Regan said are showing plenty of quality and athleticism. A colt by WinStar's classic winner Exaggerator consigned as Hip 215 is a standout, according to Regan.

"I've been really impressed with him so far, and this fella we have—I really, really like this horse," he said of the colt out of stakes winner Flattermewithroses. "They are not overly big, which is a little strange considering how big his daddy is, but he's big enough and balanced and a fabulous mover."

Regan also has two fillies (Hips 248 and 357) cataloged in The July Sale by Ashford Stud's multiple group 1 winner Air Force Blue , another first-crop sire mentioned consistently as one to watch.

"The ones I've seen have great balance and great action. They are very good movers," Regan said. "I haven't seen a lot of them, but he is definitely shining through in the ones we have. They both have similar builds."

Air Force Blue possesses the right blend that makes a young sire stand out at The July Sale.

"The market tends to be heavy on the sire of the sire, the first-crop sire's race record and his precocity, and then the physical nature of his yearlings," said Carrie Brogden with Select Sales, which has 13 cataloged in The July Sale. The Select Sales consignment includes six by first-crop sires Anchor Down, Brody's Cause , Firing Line , Mshawish , and Outwork . 

Air Force Blue is a son of Claiborne Farm's War Front , who attracted a lot of attention on this year's Triple Crown trail from his sons War of Will, winner of the Preakness Stakes (G1), and Omaha Beach, winner of the Arkansas Derby (G1). As a racehorse in Europe, Air Force Blue won the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes (G1), Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (G1), and the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes (G1) at 2. He won four of his nine starts and retired with $844,919 in earnings. 

For Brogden, all the first-crop yearlings in her July consignment must be good movers and precocious because that is what this sale requires. She is a particularly big fan of Airdrie Stud's Upstart  because she loved him as a racehorse, is a fan of Upstart's sire Flatter , and was close to the horse's trainer, Rick Violette Jr., who lost a battle with cancer in October.

"I am sentimental when it comes to his trainer. Rick and I had many discussions about Upstart after his career, and Machmer Hall bought a share in him," Brogden said, referring to her breeding operation. "We supported Flatter and pinhooked and raised Flat Out .

"When I saw Upstart at Airdrie, I thought he was big and beautiful. Most of the ones I've seen (by Upstart) have been stamped with a lot of A.P. Indy, which I love. We have a colt (Hip 15) and a filly (Hip 286) who are both correct and nice walkers. They have really good minds, and I'm feeling they will do well."

Both Outwork and Speightster have the largest representations among the first-crop sires at The July Sale with 13 each.

Brogden said the Outwork offspring she has seen strongly favor their grandsire, Uncle Mo .

"If I put (an Outwork yearling) in front of you and said it was by Uncle Mo, you'd say: 'Oh, OK,'" she said. "They are very much in line with Uncle Mo. They look precocious—like Outwork and Uncle Mo—and the filly we have is very fast-looking."

Morris said a surprise among this year's first-crop sires for him was WinStar's grade 1 turf sire Tourist, who won the 2016 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T).

"In fairness to Tourist, he just wasn't on my radar, so I was not expecting his foals to be as nice as they are," Morris said. "We have a very balanced, mature colt who is very athletic with good motion. I've educated myself now, and I think Tourist is an exciting young prospect and has a bright future."

Other standouts for Morris are Nyquist and Frosted. Though their progeny are built quite differently, he said they all exude quality.

"As a group, the Frosteds tend to be a medium-sized horse with that miler look," Morris said. "They kinda look like the Tapit s but with a bit more heart girth, hip, and substance than your typical Tapit.

"My Nyquist colt is a nice, big, robust, powerful, stretchy, long-walking Indian Charlie-looking Derby kind of horse. I think he'll win in the fall of his 2-year-old year. You're not going to have to wait on him," he continued. "Both of these colts (Hip 227 by Frosted and Hip 333 by Nyquist) are extremely nice horses that I am planning to sell for a lot of money."

Brogden said it is fascinating each year to watch the market try to figure out the first-crop sires.

"It is always interesting because the ones that are perceived as the most forward, best physicals are the ones the best-received at the sales but not necessarily the ones that go on. The way the market can zag on you based on racetrack performance (is) the way it should be, and that's what makes it challenging," she said. "Everyone wants to put them in a box. This year is going to be fascinating because all these stallions are very different physicals."

What Else They Said:

Anchor Down (Gainesway):

"The colt we have has a lot of leg. He is a big, raw colt with a lot of bone and very two-turn looking." — Baccari

"We don't have any at the farm, but the one we have in the sale is a very, very pretty horse, very much in the line of Tapit." — Brogden

"I have not seen a lot of them, but the filly we have is very fast-looking and moves well. She has a lot of substance and bone." — Regan

Brody's Cause (Spendthrift Farm):

"Brody's Cause is a fantastic walker. He is not a really huge stallion but a very well-made stallion. The one we have we bought for a partnership. He has that same walk, bone for days, and is really easy-going." — Brogden

Cinco Charlie (Spendthrift Farm):

"This is a colt we raised. He is a very forward-type horse that I thought would fit The July Sale really well. He just looks precocious and early." — Baccari

"The one we have is a really cool filly. She will be early. She will be fast. I don't know how far she'll go. I don't know if she is typical or atypical of her sire." — Morris (Morris' filly, Hip 38, has been withdrawn from the sale)

Firing Line (Crestwood Farm):

"Firing Line is a really attractive horse. The colt we have is forward, mature, and good vetting. He is not a horse I expected to be a fan of because of his sire line (Line of David), but I really, really like this one." — Brogden

Runhappy (Claiborne Farm):

"I love Runhappy, and I've seen plenty of good ones. They are not a mixture, they are very much a group; good-bodied, correct horses as a group." — Regan

"This particular colt (Hip 72) has a lot of leg and stretch. He is tied into I Spent It, a graded stakes winner who is a son of Super Saver (Runhappy's sire), so that is how we landed on him. I saw several at the November sale that were solid and good-moving horses. They look like they'll be athletes." — Baccari