Strong yearling sales season ends with Fasig-Tipton Kentucky

The steady development of late-blooming yearlings and the buying bench’s sense of urgency converge as a robust market ends at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall sale on Monday through Thursday in Lexington, Ky. The auction, the last on the yearling calendar, has 1,499 yearlings cataloged.

Last year’s Fasig-Tipton October sale, which was led by a $700,000 Medaglia d’Oro colt, finished with 981 horses sold for a record gross of $35,812,900 with an average price of $36,507 – also a record. The median dropped 17 percent to $12,000, but the buyback rate was slightly improved at 23 percent, compared to 25 percent the prior year.

Off that solid finish to the 2017 season, the yearling market has been strong this year for the major eastern auction companies. The boutique Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale finished with record gross receipts, its second-highest average all time, and a record-tying median. The Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale later the same week also finished with record returns. The Keeneland September yearling sale, the bellwether for the market as it tests all levels, completed its 75th anniversary with a record average price and gross and median figures among the best in its history.

While the majority of the fireworks took place during Keeneland’s elite Book 1 portion, the auction showed solid middle and lower markets, thanks in part to the competitive action at the top. A number of prominent outfits made major purchases in Books 2 and 3 after being shut out or limited in Book 1. That sense of urgency continued as the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s fall yearling sale finished with across-the-board gains, and the momentum could carry into the Fasig-Tipton auction.

The October sale, which has risen dynamically in stature over the last decade, provides a destination for later-developing horses. It also provides one more opportunity for sellers who may have entered yearlings in several different sales to keep their options open, giving them the chance to wheel horses back who may have failed to meet their reserves in what is still a discerning market, or to take another shot with youngsters who were unlucky with catalog placement, or to finally bring to the ring a horse who was withdrawn from an earlier sale due to any number of reasons. In turn, buyers are left with a solid group of horses as they attempt to round out their rosters after slugging it out earlier in the season.

The offerings for major sires in this catalog – including Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, his sire Pioneerof the Nile, and grandsire Empire Maker – show various shades of this dynamic, as their yearlings on offer all include youngsters who were buybacks at earlier sales or were scratched or withheld in favor of waiting for this spot.

American Pharoah’s nine yearlings from his blockbuster first crop set for Fasig-Tipton October after early outs include a filly out of Group 3-placed Halljoy who had the unenviable position of being the first horse in the ring at Keeneland September. She drew a high bid of $335,000, failing to meet her reserve as the auction established its momentum early. A colt who is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Mani Bhavan, Grade 2 winner Hear the Ghost, and stakes winner Closing Bell, was withdrawn from Keeneland September before appearing in this catalog.

American Pharoah’s offerings also include a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Moreno and a half-brother to graded stakes winner Instilled Regard.

Pioneerof the Nile’s yearlings cataloged include half-brothers to Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Caleb’s Posse and to Grade 1 winner Dixie Chatter; both were withdrawals from Keeneland September. Empire Maker’s offerings are led by a colt out of Grade 3 winner La Cloche – daughter of Grade 1 winner and producer Memories of Silver – who is a half-brother to stakes winner Bellavais. That colt was a buyback at Keeneland with a high bid of $190,000.

Medaglia d’Oro, sire of last year’s Fasig-Tipton October topper, is in the midst of a career run in the sales ring as the sire of eight seven-figure yearlings this year. The only other American stallions to sire more in a single year are Northern Dancer and Storm Cat. Medaglia d’Oro also sired the sale-topping juveniles at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream, Fasig-Tipton Midlantic, and OBS spring 2-year-olds in training sales. He has three on offer at this sale, including a half-sister to Grade 1-placed stakes winner Bajan and Grade 3-placed Virtual Machine, and a half-sister to Grade 1-placed Normandy Invasion and the dam of graded winner Quip.

Perennial leading sire and commercial powerhouse Tapit is the sire of a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Verrazano and Grade 2 winner El Padrino who was a $190,000 RNA at Keeneland. His cataloged offerings include a full sister to Grade 1 winner Ring Weekend and a half to Grade 1 winner Palace, both of whom were scratched from Keeneland.