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2011 Horse of the Year, Havre de Grace consigned by Taylor Made Farms
Lexington, Ky - Fall is a busy time for horse racing. With the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships coming to a close on Saturday, Fasig-Tipton will draw the best in the business for its one-day November Sale on Monday.
Last year’s November sale posted huge gains over 2010, with gross revenue up 17 percent despite an 11.2 percent decrease in entries. The average price rose 31.8 percent thanks to thirteen seven-digit sellers, while the median jumped 53.8 percent.
Terrence Collier, director of marketing for Fasig-Tipton, believes that this year’s sale will be another great success.
“The general consensus is that the market has stabilized. We’ve seen improvement in certain sectors of the market, mainly the quality,” said Collier. “With this being a sale that has the most concentrated group of high-end breeding stock that you will find anywhere in the world today, we’re pretty confident that what we’re offering is going to be well-received.”
Collier cautioned against comparing numbers from the 2011 November Sale too closely with this year’s results however, since the catalogue is a relatively small one and doesn’t typically feature any of the same horses from year to year.
“We are predicting that there will be quite a number of seven-figure horses being sold … but you cannot compare them one year to another because they’re all unique offerings.”
This year’s catalogue of 180 entries includes broodmares, broodmare and racing prospects, and weanlings, but is slanted heavily toward broodmares and recently-raced fillies, which Collier says is typical for this sale.
The sale catalogue has some major Thoroughbred star power in its pages, as several entries spent the weekend flying to Lexington from Santa Anita Racecourse in California, where they competed in the Breeders’ Cup. One such entry is Hip 153, Zagora (FR), who won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) on Friday and was on the sale grounds Sunday afternoon, walking for buyers, and apparently free of jet lag.
“She’s like an old pro. She came out of the van, she looked around, she went to her stall. She has a great temperament,” said Michel Zerolo of Oceanic Bloodstock and breeder of Zagora (FR).
Despite the long trip, most consignors agreed that having the sale so close on the calendar to the Breeders’ Cup generates an excitement about their entries that would be tough to recoup if it were held later in the month.
Several veteran broodmares are also poised for commercial success this evening. Hip 15, Arch’s Gal Edith, is the dam of this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I’ll Have Another. Arch’s Gal Edith, consigned by Brookdale Farm, is in foal to new sire Gio Ponti, multiple graded stakes winner and earner of over $6.1 million. Her two-year-old, a filly by veteran stallion Tapit, is Hip 65 in this sale.
It’s fairly common to see mares sell alongside one or more of their offspring, which can be a boost to their value.
“It might instill a little confidence in her,” said Joe Seitz, director of sales for Brookdale Farm. “[Arch’s Gal Edith] doesn’t have a lot of sales history—I’ll Have Another brought $11,000 as a yearling. She was a pretty non-descript mare before him, so if I’m able to show someone that she produces a good-sized, correct, athletic horse, it just gives the buyer some confidence.”
Also in Brookdale’s barn is Untouched Talent (Hip 176), dam to 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness runner-up Bodemeister. Bodemeister generated much buzz with his gutsy finish in the Preakness, where he carved out a convincing lead and just missed the victory when confronted by a hard-charging I’ll Have Another. He retired to stud this year with earnings of over $1.3 million. Untouched Talent is in foal to Unbridled’s Song, whose yearlings currently command an average of $192,750 in the sales ring.
The most popular barn on the sale grounds however, is likely that of Taylor Made Sales, which consigns Havre de Grace (Hip 76). Havre de Grace attracted attention in 2011 as an indomitable athlete against other fillies before successfully competing against males in graded stakes company. Her success earned her the title of Horse of the Year, and helped her accumulate a devoted fan base of racing insiders and Thoroughbred newcomers. Taylor Made even gave the champion her own biographical video and her own website—gottahavre.com.
“It’s an honor to have her. She’s probably the best race mare we’ve ever sold,” said Mark Taylor, vice president sales and marketing for Taylor Made Sales. “The culture of Taylor Made is that we want to be very open with fans, and with potential buyers … we’ve taken the approach that [this mare] is a treasure, and the owners want to share her with people. We’re just the middle men.”
In addition to her well-known race record, Havre de Grace has unusually correct physical conformation, which Taylor hopes will help her produce a racehorse as powerful as herself.
The sale begins at 5 p.m. at Fasig-Tipton.