Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale ends with records across the board

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale brought the curtain down on the North American yearling sale season with style, posting record figures across the board as it concluded Thursday evening.

Led by a $925,000 Street Sense colt who tied an all-time record, Fasig-Tipton reported that 1,153 horses changed hands during the four-day sale for gross receipts of $52,607,500. That smashed the prior record gross of $38,258,900 for 1,008 horses sold at the 2019 edition of this sale, which took place during what was generally considered a solid marketplace prior to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During last year's sale, 961 horses sold for $32,743,700.

With four horses overall sold for $700,000 or more – a price point this sale had not seen since 2017 – Fasig-Tipton October's cumulative average price was $45,627, surpassing the prior record of $37,955, also established in 2019. Last year's average was $34,073.

While the average price can be pushed upward by outlying horses at the top of the marketplace, the median indicates the strength in the crucial middle marketplace. That figure also posted a record, $22,000, surpassing the $18,500 achieved in 2014. The clearance rate can be another indicator of a healthy middle and lower marketplace, and this year's buyback rate finished at a stellar 15 percent. Last year's sale finished at 22 percent in a selective marketplace made even more so by the uncertainty of the pandemic.

"It's nice to see people walk around smiling, even the buyers," Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said. "It feels really good to be involved in a marketplace that's active and healthy."

The sale-topping Street Sense colt took his turn in the ring during Wednesday's penultimate session, selling to the partnership of Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stables and Mike Repole's Repole Stables, with Jacob West acting as agent. His price was the highest ever for a colt at this auction and tied the Fasig-Tipton October sale's all-time record, matching a Storm Cat filly sold in 1999.

The Street Sense colt was consigned by his breeder, the legendary Canadian operation of Sam-Son Farm, which is in the process of dispersing its stock, in a decision announced in October 2020.

"Obviously, the sale-topper's a little bit bittersweet," Browning said. "You hate to see a 50-year operation like Sam-Son make a business decision – the family dynamics have changed. But they've just had a wonderful program. They've brought some wonderful horses to us here. . . . It was a great tribute to [their team] and to the Samuel family to [tie] the record here in October."

The colt is out of the winning A.P. Indy mare Dance With Doves, dam of Grade 2 winner Dance Again and Grade 3-placed Swoop and Strike.

Dance With Doves is out of Canadian champion Dancethruthedawn, winner of the Queen's Plate and Woodbine Oaks and later a Grade 1 winner in New York. Dancethruthedawn is out of Eclipse and Sovereign Award champion Dance Smartly, winner of the Canadian Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup Distaff and a Hall of Famer on both sides of the border. Dance Smartly, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and leading sire Smart Strike, among others, went on to a renowned broodmare career in which she produced another Queen's Plate winner in Scatter the Gold, as well as Grade 2 winner Dance With Ravens. This also is the family of Grade 1 winners Full of Wonder, Moreno, and Say the Word.

Following on this sale's leaderboard were a pair of $750,000 colts, who are tied for the fourth-highest price all-time at Fasig-Tipton October, following the Street Sense colt, the Storm Cat filly, and a $800,000 Smart Strike filly sold in 2013.

The colts, from the second crop of leading freshman sire Gun Runner and from the final crop of influential classic sire Empire Maker, respectively, were both also purchased by St. Elias.

The Gun Runner colt, consigned by Eaton Sales, as agent, is out of the stakes-placed Arch mare Archstone. She is the dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Proctor's Ledge and of stakes-placed Mission Driven.

Archstone is a half-sister to stakes winner Storm Allied. This is the family of Grade 1 winner Take Your Place.

The Empire Maker colt, consigned by Machmer Hall Sales, as agent, is out of the Street Cry mare Stop Time, whose lone starter is a winner. Stop Time is out of French Oaks winner Musical Chimes, who went on to become a Grade 1 winner in the United States.

Musical Chimes is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Music Note, the dam of Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide and Grade 3 winner Gershwin. This is the family of champions Balanchine and It's in the Air, as well as Grade/Group 1 winners Alverta, Art Connoisseur, Glencadam Gold, Saoirse Abu, State of Rest, Storming Home, Trust In a Gust, and West Wind.

"I sound like a broken record after every good session or every good sale," Browning said. "It's because people give us better horses that it goes so well. We're in a market that's strong, but it's strong because men and women are trusting us, bringing better quality horses to the sale both in terms of pedigree and in terms of conformation. It's a combination of factors that's leading to these results, and we're thankful."

For hip-by-hip results, click here.