Fasig-Tipton numbers up after busy first day
Liaison colt in the walking ring at the Fasig-Tipton 2-year-olds sale this afternoon.
by Frank Vespe
Fewer horses went through Timonium’s sales ring on this afternoon’s day one of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale than did so on day one a year ago.
But more of them found buyers, and at a higher average price, than did last May, and the result is that gross sales are up about 7.7 percent as the sale reaches its halfway point.
The second and final day of the sale is Tuesday, with the first hips to go through the ring scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
Overall, 162 horses sold for a total of $11,537,500, an average of $71,219. The total was up 7.7 percent from last year, while the average grew 4.4 percent, from last year’s day one average of $68,253. The median also rose, from $34,000 to $40,000.
Fifty-four horses failed to find a buyer, yielding a day one buyback rate of 25 percent. The buyback rate represented a drop from over 31 percent last year.
The day’s top mover was a chestnut Smart Strike filly out of the stakes-winning Cozzene mare Salty Response. The filly, Hip 79, worked an eighth of a mile in 10 seconds flat, tied for the fastest time on the grounds. Consigned by Hartley/de Renzo Thoroughbreds, she fetched a winning bid of $525,000 from Xavier International Bloodstock Agent.
The sale’s top-selling colt went to agent Charles Boden Thoroughbreds, who grabbed hip 195 for $375,000. The son of Blame is a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Arklow, who took the American Turf on Derby day at Churchill Downs. He breezed an eighth in 10 1/5 seconds.
Among horses bred in the mid-Atlantic region, the top seller was a Super Saver colt out of the unplaced Orientate mare Parallelogram, who is a half-sister to stakes winner Tip Tap Tapizar. He breezed a quarter-mile in 22 4/5 seconds. Consigned by Kirkwood Stables as agent, he fetched a winning bid of $70,000 from agent Tom Foley.
The top Virginia-bred to sell, a First Samurai colt, brought $65,000, while the top Maryland-breds — a colt and a filly, both by Friesan Fire — were purchased for $40,000 apiece. And the leading West Virginia-bred, a Drosselmeyer filly, brought $37,000.
