Barretts sale average down 25 percent

POMONA, Calif. - A Tiznow filly sold for $120,000 at Monday's California Cup yearling sale at Barretts, the lone six-figure horse of the one-day event.

Similar to other recent yearling sales, business figures fell from 2008, with the average falling 25 percent, from $16,689 to $12,413 this year. Overall, 178 horses sold for a gross of $2,209,600, a decline of 11 percent. The median was $5,000, down 44 percent from the 2008 figure of $9,000.

The sale consisted primarily of California-breds, and was a joint venture between Barretts and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

The Tiznow filly, a California-bred, was consigned by Andy Havens, for Lee and Susan Searing's CRK Stables, and was purchased by Budget Stable. Janet Armstrong, who trains for Budget Stable in California, handled the bidding. The filly is the first foal out of Storm Hearted, a Lion Heart mare the Searings campaigned who was winless in nine starts in Southern California.

Armstrong said she attended the sale in search of a California-bred and that the Tiznow filly "is a very classy filly. I said if anything caught my eye, we'd buy it."

Eight other horses sold for $50,000 or more, including a Tapit filly purchased for $75,000 by Dick London, who led all buyers, acquiring two horses for $125,000.

The leading colt in the sale was a Sky Mesa colt, who sold for $65,000 to Phil Lebherz, who races in Northern California. The colt was consigned by Special T Thoroughbreds, agent for Win More Farm.

The leading consignor was Havens, who sold 33 horses for an average of $12,785 on behalf of a variety of clients.