Fasig-Tipton July racing age sale: undefeated Eastwood brings $800,000, will be trained by Pletcher

The second-highest-priced horse of Monday evening’s inaugural Fasig-Tipton summer selected horses of racing age sale was Eastwood, a 3-year-old Speightstown colt who has won twice at Belmont Park.

Eastwood was purchased by Town & Country Farm for $800,000. He broke his maiden by 2 1/4 lengths on May 27 and backed that up with a neck win in a June 29 allowance (see video above). Both races were at six furlongs.

“He’s a gorgeous-looking horse,” said Shannon Potter, sales account manager at Taylor Made, who signed the ticket. “He’s got plenty of upside left in him, to win two out of two like that. He’s a son of Speightstown, and we own shares in him, so we’re really looking forward for a chance to race him and hopefully make a stallion [out of] him.”

Campaigned by Chris Baccari prior to the sale and consigned as agent by his Baccari Bloodstock, Eastwood is the first foal out of the Deputy Minister mare Fifth Avenue Ball. Baccari acquired Eastwood as a weanling for $240,000 at the 2010 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. He was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III.

“He’s just one of those horses who’s coming to hand naturally,” Baccari said. “He’s progressing the right way, with his works and his races. He’s got a lot of class and I think, being by Speightstown, time is only going to help him.”

Potter said that Eastwood would be shipped Tuesday to the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher.

“He’ll go to whatever string [Pletcher] wants to put him on… so we’ll sit back and let Todd do his thing, and see where it takes us,” Potter said.