Chaotic week for Fasig-Tipton Midlantic ends with record average, median
?q=100)
At the end of a turbulent week, a $1.1 million Girvin filly led a quartet of seven-figure purchases as the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale finished with record average and median figures.
Fasig-Tipton reported 326 juveniles sold in what became a marathon single-session sale Tuesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, resulting in gross receipts of $44,192,500, prior to any private sales. At last year's sale, 345 horses, including 15 private sales, brought $32,921,500.
Tuesday's average price was $135,560, spiking 42 percent from the prior record of $95,425 established last year. The median was $60,000, up 20 percent from the prior mark of $50,000. That mark had been set in 2021, and matched in 2023 and 2024.
The buyback rate was 24 percent in a highly selective marketplace, compared to 17 percent last year.
The Midlantic sale attracted a diverse group of buyers. The top 12 lots were purchased by nine different entities, representing both domestic and international stables. Because the Midlantic sale is well positioned near a number of lucrative statebred programs, domestic buyers included a number of regional outfits that often venture onto the national stage, such as New York-based Sackatoga Stable and Adelphi Racing Club; Pennsylvania-based Cash Is King; Maryland's Country Life Farm; and New Jersey's Colts Neck Stables, among others.
Internationally, Middle Eastern buyers were exceptionally active at what Dubai-based trainer Bhupat Seemar last week called “a really good hunting ground."
"It was a good initiative for Fasig-Tipton to invite us over, and now I think we've got a bigger client base," Seemar said.
Indeed, more than two dozen horses, purchased for a variety of owners, will be en route to the Middle East.
"We've made a lot of efforts in recent years to attract folks from the Middle East, and really, international buyers [in general],” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said.
K.O.I.D., the bidding moniker for Korean interests, was also quite active, buying 10 horses.
The strong sale results came at the end of a week in which wet weather lingered in Baltimore and resulted in wet track conditions at Timonium. The Fasig Midlantic sale was originally scheduled for May 19-20, and was to be preceded by an under-tack preview show May 13-15, when most juveniles were expected to breeze. The rain originally forced the breeze show to be postponed by a day, and when it began, it was on a sloppy, sealed track.
A bit less than halfway through the second session of the breeze show, a Practical Joke filly suffered catastrophic forelimb injuries shortly past the wire of her furlong breeze. Another torrential rainfall almost immediately moved in, causing works to be abandoned for the rest of the day.
Fasig-Tipton then announced that the rest of the breeze show would include untimed gallops only, on Sunday. Following a day for inspections on Monday, the sale would then be condensed into a single session on Tuesday. That meant buyers had the challenge of evaluating about a third of the catalog who had breezed on the sloppy, sealed track against the majority who turned in untimed gallops under better conditions several days later - although, at the discretion of individual consignors, some of the horses galloped closer to a breezing pace, and private clocking was not outlawed.
The seven-figure sales on Tuesday were the $1.1 million Girvin filly, a $1.05 million Violence colt, a $1 million Into Mischief colt, and a $1 million Nyquist colt. The Girvin filly and Into Mischief colt both breezed a furlong in a bullet 10 1/5 seconds on Thursday, among 11 juveniles who worked in that time before breezes were suspended.
Raul Reyes of Kings Equine, which consigned the Into Mischief colt, said Thursday's track condition prior to the suspension of breezes was more favorable than the prior day.
"A little better, because it doesn't have so much water," he said of the track.
The Nyquist colt had breezed the day prior, going in 10 2/5 seconds. The Violence colt was among the majority of the catalog to gallop on Sunday.
The sale-topping Girvin filly was purchased by the partnership of AMO Racing and Memo Racing. Kerri Radcliffe, who has been the bloodstock agent for newly formed Memo Racing, signed the ticket, and indicated the filly would be trained by Chad Brown.
The filly, who was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables, as agent, is out of the winning Broken Vow mare Scarlet Dixie, dam of two winners from as many starters. The filly, who was bred by Twin Oaks Bloodstock in Kentucky, was a successful pinhook after being purchased for $240,000 by Havertz Stables at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
The Violence colt was purchased by bloodstock agent Donato Lanni on behalf of Zedan Racing, which uses Bob Baffert as a trainer. The colt is out of the unraced Street Boss mare A Taste of Red, dam of two winners from three starters, including stakes-placed Microcap. Grade 1 winners Gretzky the Great and Love Theway Youare appear on the catalog page.
The colt, bred in Kentucky by Nasser Omihira, was a $280,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Exclusive Equine. He was handled at Timonium by Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales, as agent.
Reyes's Kings Equine handled the Into Mischief colt for breeder Spendthrift Farm, which stands his six-time reigning leading sire. Reyes was high on the colt, and happy that he took to the wet conditions for his bullet breeze.
"You don't know how they're going to take to the wet track," he said. "The horse showed a lot of talent, but I didn't know how he would take to the sloppy track."
The seven-figure colt led five purchases at the Midlantic sale for Mahmud Mouni, a Libyan-based bloodstock agent who has been purchasing this season for a new syndicate that he says intends to race stateside.
The colt is out of the stakes-winning Speightstown mare Quick Flip, dam of Grade 2 winner and multiple Grade 1-placed Following Sea, Grade 3-placed Gimmick, and stakes-placed Inspeightof and Refuel. Gimmick is by Into Mischief.
Rounding out the seven-figure lots was the Nyquist colt, with April Mayberry signing the $1 million ticket on behalf of an undisclosed client. The colt was also consigned by Wavertree, as agent, giving the consignor two of the top four prices. Earlier in the week, Dunne had expressed concerns about the selectivity of the marketplace, but said he wouldn't be surprised to see fireworks at the top.
“Look, obviously it’s very good at the top, and it’s no great surprise,” Dunne said. “It’s the same as it’s been. The top 10 percent sell really well."
The Nyquist colt, bred by Peter Blum, was also a successful pinhook, picked up for $200,000 by Red Wings at Keeneland September. The colt is out of the unraced Giant's Causeway mare Deja Vu, dam of five winners from seven starters, including Grade 1-placed stakes winner Crystal Ball and stakes-placed Escapade. Deja Vu is a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Madcap Escapade and Dubai Escapade, both successful producers.
For hip-by-hip results from Fasig Midlantic, click here.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.