103_1165
Lexington, KY - Confidence from buyers and sellers continued to show on the second day of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale, with the economic indicators once again topping last year’s figures.
Total receipts jumped 25.1 percent compared to last year’s second day, rising from $6,358,800 from 254 horses sold to $7,968,900 from 297 sold. The average sale price of $26,831 spiked 7.2 percent from $25,035, while the median price of $14,000 was 16.7 percent better than last year’s second session figure of $12,000.
The buyback rate of 18.6 percent was slightly higher than last year’s figure of 17 percent.
“It was another very good day of sales,” said Boyd Browning Jr., president of Fasig-Tipton. “We had another good group of horses today, and they were pretty consistent throughout. There were a lot of nice, nice horses that sold throughout the day, and it’s nice to end a sale where the last horse in the ring sells for $65,000. There’s multiple bidders on virtually every horse that attracts a bid. We’re very pleased so far.”
Crowds remained robust throughout the long sale day, with the walking rings consistently packed with consignors and prospective buyers. Browning said the “everything must go” attitude of the October sale is a key factor in the level of interest.
“The supply and demand is helping, and it’s the last yearling sale of the year, so people want to buy horses, and they’re buying horses,” he said. “Consignors are realistic [with their reserve prices], so it’s a good match right now.”
The second session produced a new overall sale-topper late in the evening, when Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm closed the deal on a Speightstown colt for $440,000.
The gray or roan colt is out of winning Dehere mare Betty’s Pet, who has produced two winners from as many to start, including stakes winner Vaulcluse. His most successful family members include Grade 1 winner Coup de Fusil, French Group 1 winner Elusive City, and Grade 3 winners Millions, Demaloot Demashoot, and Crosswood.
“We thought this was the nicest horse in the sale, naturally athletic,” said Dr. Michael Chovanes, Pope’s fiancé, who signed the ticket. “He’s intelligent. I was with him from the minute he left the barn, and he handled everything well back there.”
Chovanes said the colt will be sent to Pope’s farm in Citra, Florida and will be kept to race. Bidding on the colt was competitive, with several buyers firing off bids from around the sales pavilion.
“It was strong, but he was that much better than some of the other top horses, in our opinion,” Chovanes said. “This particular horse was a little more naturally athletic, that you didn’t have to hope that he went in the right direction. When he handled everything with such brainpower, that cinched it for me.
“I’ve been blessed to be associated with horses like Stormy Atlantic and Bellamy Road and Smarty Jones and Big Brown, and this horse has the same charisma,” he continued. “When you see one like that, you just have to buy them, if you can afford them.”
Taylor Made Sales Agency sold the Kentucky-bred colt as agent for breeder Eugene Melnyk.
“It was a great sale,” said Mark Taylor, vice president of marketing and public sales operations for Taylor Made. “I think she got a great horse, and Speightstown is the number one sire right now in the country by domestic earnings, so we’re fired up about him. Taylor Made raised, sold and we own [Speightstown] with WinStar and Mr. Melnyk, so it’s just awesome.”
Earlier in the day, the highest price for a filly through the first two sessions was set when Canadian businessman Nat Rea’s Regis Farms purchased a Malibu Moon filly for $265,000.
The chestnut filly is out of stakes-winning Subordination mare Velvet Snow, dam of one winner from two to start. Her most successful family members include champion Wajima, Grade 3 winner Bittel Road, Grade 3-placed stakes winner Top Notch Lady, and Japanese Group 3-placed winner Nakayama Paradise.
“She’s just a special filly, lots of upside and a great walk,” said bloodstock agent Richard Hogan, who signed the ticket for Rea. “It was a little more than we wanted to pay, but you’ve got to reach for the nice ones.”
Hogan said the filly would be sent to Classic Mile Training Complex in Ocala, Florida for further training until a decision is made about her future. Rea’s Regis Farm is a new entity in Thoroughbred racing, purchasing his first horse at this year’s Keeneland September yearling sale.
Bred in Kentucky by Spendthrift Farm and sold as an agent by Warrendale Sales, the filly was held out of the earlier yearling sales this year after injuring herself in the spring.
“She was a filly that in the spring got injured, and our original intention was to take her to a two-year-olds in training sale, because we knew it was just a large wound on the front of her cannon bone, which we felt like would not be an issue for her to race, but it was an unattractive blemish,” said Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift. “It actually healed up better than we thought. Kitty came over to the farm and looked at her with us and said, ‘That filly will top October. We ought to take her out there.’ We felt that if we could get the money now, it’s a better risk than going on to a two-year-old sale and hoping she can run as well as she looks.”
Rea also bought the session’s third-highest-priced horse, a $250,000 Bandini filly that is a half sister to Grade 2 winner and Kentucky Derby participant Trinniberg.
The third and final session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale begins Wednesday at 10 a.m.