Fasig-Tipton summer sale of horses of racing age positioned for quick returns

Since its inception in 2013, the Fasig-Tipton summer sale of horses of racing age has continued to grow – both in prominence and in catalog size. The sale is scheduled just a few weeks prior to the boutique summer meetings at Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar, representing an opportunity for return on investment for the right individual, and it also offers connections the ability to strike while the iron is hot on early-season juvenile performers.

This year’s sale, set for Monday at Fasig-Tipton’s Newtown Paddocks base in Lexington, Ky., began with a catalog of 152 offerings released in late June, but the auction company continues to review and accept late nominations up until sale time. By July 5, the catalog had grown to 173 horses, with a number of stakes performers among the late entries. Both the quantity and quality of those additions display the sale’s growing popularity.

“Since this sale was first held in 2013, sale graduates have made nearly 5,000 starts and earned $29 million,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said. “The sale has also produced an impressive 28 percent stakes horses and more than 50 stakes wins.”

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WinStar Farm, which annually offers a strong-performing draft of horses of racing age in the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, is well-represented in the Fasig-Tipton horses of racing age offerings, as is Elite Sales, which debuted at this auction a year ago and has since offered horses including champion Tepin at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale.

WinStar’s offerings are led by One Liner, winner of the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes last year before exiting the Triple Crown trail. The Into Mischief colt, trained by Todd Pletcher for WinStar, China Horse Club, SF Racing, and Head of Plains Partners, finished in a dead heat for second in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special in May and most recently was ninth in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.

After the Pimlico Special, Pletcher said of One Liner: “He’s been versatile enough. … He’s a horse that has some stallion potential.”

The Elite Sales consignment includes a number of graded stakes performers, led by the Grade 1 winner Wake Forest. The 8-year-old German-bred son of Sir Percy bankrolled nearly $1 million in a career highlighted by a victory in the Man o’ War and placings in three other Grade 1 stakes in North America. He was also a Group 3 winner in his native Germany, Group 1 placed in Italy, and a winner in France. The Elite consignment also includes Grade 3 winner Saham.

Claiborne Farm is consigning a group at the horses of racing age sale for the first time. The farm’s offerings are led by a group it is handling as agent for another historic operation, longtime client Phipps Stable, which has made strategic additions and reductions to its stock via public auction in recent years, offering an opportunity to buy into some of the stud book’s most productive families. The group is led by graded stakes winner Fire Away, who won an off-the-turf edition of the Dixie Stakes in May at Pimlico.

“He’s a different horse now that he’s 6,” assistant trainer Robbie Medina said of the later-developing horse after the Dixie. “He’s a lot stronger.”

The War Front horse is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Mr Speaker, from the family of unbeaten champion and blue hen Personal Ensign.

The catalog also includes Grade 3/Group 3 winners Classy Class, Kentuckian, and Treasuring.

The horses of racing age sale debuted in 2013 as a same-day addition to Fasig-Tipton’s July yearling sale, and got off to a flying start with $1 million Starship Truffles leading the inaugural event, followed by $1.075 million Bedford Land the following year. The sale’s popularity caused it to move to its own day for the fourth edition in 2016, nd it wasa led by $575,000 private sale Stormy Lucy. Last year’s auction was led by Grade 2 winner Distinta, who sold for $600,000 to Medallion Racing.