Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December sale looks to ride market's momentum

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December mixed sale is the final major-market auction of 2021 – and optimism for 2022 is the key factor that will drive the marketplace.

As the North American Thoroughbred marketplace has emerged from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, enthusiasm for the racing product nationwide has led to a vibrant commercial marketplace for breeders and improved sale figures across the board in 2021. Fasig-Tipton looks to ride that momentum with the Midlantic mixed sale, presented as a single session on Tuesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

Fasig-Tipton cataloged 232 entries for the main catalog, consisting of broodmares and prospects, weanlings, and yearlings. A horses of racing age supplement has attracted 167 entries.

“This is our fifth year offering a horses of racing age supplement at Midlantic December, and we could not be more pleased with the large group we have cataloged,” Midlantic director of sales Paget Bennett said. “Prospective buyers will find quality in-form entries that will suit a variety of racing levels from coast to coast.”

High demand for young racing stock has been seen throughout the year at auctions. The 2-year-olds in training sale season gave the first indicators that the marketplace was roaring back from 2020, and at last month’s Keeneland November breeding stock sale, a robust horses of racing age section helped the auction achieve record figures.

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale’s racing age supplement includes a number of juveniles who would appear to offer opportunity and upside to fuel the market. The most accomplished of those is Buff Hello, a maiden special weight winner at Pimlico who went on to take the Maryland Million Nursery by two lengths in his most recent start, on Oct. 23. The Pennsylvania-bred colt is by late Maryland sire Buffum.

Other 2-year-olds on offer include maiden special weight winners Happy Tappy Tip, Lanfrankphile, Schleicher, and Peace Attari, and Safalow’s Mission, second and third in a pair of maiden special weights on the NYRA circuit. There also are a number of unraced juveniles in the catalog, including Boxed in and Bored, who had been working bullets at Laurel Park prior to the catalog’s release; Learned, with a number of bullet works at Fair Hill; Candy Coin and Our Freedom, with bullet works at Ellis; At The Track, a bullet worker at the Colts Neck Stables training track; and Graspin’ At Straws, Imagism, June Bug Jones, Nowak, Participle, and Running Free, all working bullets at Penn National.

Established older runners in the catalog include Borracho, who was third by a length in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes in June 2019 at Belmont; stakes winners Money Fromheaven, Mr. Pete, Party at Page’s, and Ravens Delight; and stakes-placed Artemus Citylimits, Gimmedamoney, Happy Constitution, Irish Charlie, My Friends Beer, Shalako, Slaats, Taxable Goods, and Wolverette.

Last year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic mixed sale was topped by Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks winner Fly On Angel, who sold for $195,000 to Cypress Creek LLC. The Midlantic sale, which also offered a marketplace for intended entries to the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale that was canceled due to the pandemic, finished with 182 horses sold for $2,345,600. The average price, $12,888, and the median price, $5,000, finished down 27 percent and 38 percent, respectively, from their 2019 figures.