Last year, consignor Kip Elser of Kirkwood Stables and an unnamed client took the unorthodox route of galloping their offerings, rather than sending them through a timed breeze, at the under-tack preview show for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale of 2-year-olds in training. The experiment proved a moderate success – and not only are Elser and his client back for more this season, the scope of the project has expanded.
Into Mischief hasn’t fooled around while building his stud career, climbing the North American stallion ranks to become a perennial leading juvenile sire by a number of measures, a commercial success, and now, the most popular stallion by book size on the continent. His latest juveniles are eagerly anticipated as sale season begins.
No Nay Never, a son of the late Scat Daddy, carried on the legacy of his sire’s international success by emerging as Europe’s leading freshman sire of 2018. As the world waits to see how well his progeny train on, one filly from his second crop will represent him at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Weeks after he disbanded his Santa Anita-based training stable, Mike Machowsky has been fully engulfed in his new role as the California representative of the Fasig-Tipton sale company.
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah's first crop is the major storyline this 2-year-old sales season, but his sire, Pioneerof the Nile, and grandsire, Empire Maker, also figure to play a role at the top end of the market.
It's ordinarily considered risky to breed to a stallion in the year his first foals are set to hit the racetrack – but Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is no ordinary horse, and, so far, a selective market has not responded in the ordinary fashion.
There is plenty of change on the 2-year-old sales calendar this season, as Keeneland revives its boutique April sale of 2-year-olds in training into a resurgent market, while Fasig-Tipton takes over for Barretts in a major shift in the California market. But the Florida calendar remains steady in a market that has been steady. The Sunshine State, the epicenter for major-market juvenile sales in North America, kicks off the season this month with high hopes coming off a solid 2018 for its auction houses.
Even setting aside Triple Crown winner American Pharoah for a moment, the freshman sires of 2019 have to be considered among the most anticipated in recent memory.
Fasig-Tipton has released the catalog for its Gulfstream sale of 2-year-olds in training, featuring 185 initial entries.
The opportunity to stand Finale, a Grade 3-winning son of the late Scat Daddy, is the highlight of a court-ordered online auction of 70 Thoroughbreds taking place later this month.
