Weanlings focus of Fasig-Tipton fall mixed sale

Last October, with COVID-19 cases surging and vaccines not yet available, the Fasig-Tipton sale grounds in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., remained quiet, as they and the adjacent racetrack had been that summer.

With travel restrictions in place for the state of New York and concerns about gathering, Fasig-Tipton was forced to cancel its fall mixed sale in Saratoga. As it had done with its canceled summer yearling sales, consolidating some of their intended offerings into a select sale in Kentucky in September, the sale company attempted to accommodate the displaced horses intended for the mixed sale in another marketplace, combining the Saratoga fall mixed sale with the Midlantic December mixed and horses of racing age sale in Maryland. But statebreds traditionally sell best within their home state, and they found especially rocky going in a depressed 2020 marketplace. The Midlantic December auction finished with declines across the board.

With that bleak fall and winter in the rearview mirror, the North American Thoroughbred marketplace has been strong at a number of venues and levels in 2021. Sales action, and racetrack crowds, returned to Saratoga in the summer with two strong yearling sales. Fasig-Tipton now hosts the Saratoga fall mixed sale on Monday in the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion.

There are 292 horses cataloged for the sale, including a selection of broodmares, but dominated by weanlings. The youngsters make up 204 horses in the catalog, all but one New York-bred. There is cause for optimism for those selling New York-bred weanlings, or those looking to purchase one to pinhook in 2022. With continued success for the New York-bred program on the racetrack, the summer’s statebred yearling sale for Fasig-Tipton finished with a 6 percent gain in average price and a 17 percent gain in median, along with a significantly improved buyback rate.

Prominent New York sires are well represented by weanlings in Monday’s catalog, including perennial leading sire Freud; the late Laoban, who has his final New York-bred crop; and established sires Big Brown, Bustin Stones, Central Banker, Courageous Cat, Union Jackson, and War Dancer. Also represented are prominent Kentucky sires including Distorted Humor, English Channel, Goldencents, Malibu Moon, and Practical Joke.

New York first-crop stallions represented include track record-setting Disco Partner, Grade 1 winner Leofric, and well-bred Grade 1-placed Solomini. Kentucky first-crop stallions represented include Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and champion Vino Rosso; Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and champion Mitole; Grade 1 winner Audible and Grade 2 winner Maximus Mischief, both by sire of sires Into Mischief; Catholic Boy, a dual-surface Grade 1 winner in New York; and Catalina Cruiser, Coal Front, and Flameaway.