Fasig-Tipton Midlantic mixed: Some hips to watch
Photo by The Racing Biz.
by Chelsea Lowman
On December 4, more than 200 thoroughbreds will pass through the Fasig-Tipton sales ring for the Midlantic December Mixed Sale in Timonium, Md. The sale has attracted a diverse variety of horses to choose from, ranging from horses of racing age and broodmares, to weanlings and yearlings. There is something for all types of buyers to be found at the upcoming sale.
The auction will commence at 11 a.m. Eastern time, with the broodmares and broodmare prospects being the first to take center stage. They will be followed by weanlings, then yearlings, and finally horses of racing age.
Some hips we’ll be watching:
One broodmare who is bound to draw attention is Hip 28, a dark bay or brown mare named, Doolittle. Consigned by Marshall W. Silverman, for Bayne and Christina Welker, Doolittle is by Polish Numbers and out of the Capote mare, Hepburn. A winner of four races during her time on the track, Doolittle comes from a classy family line. She is a half-sister to grade 1 winner Her Smile, who is a producer in her own right, and to Moon River, who scored in the Jamestown Stakes and Punch Line Stakes during his time on the track.
Having already produced four winners from four to race, Doolittle has proven to be a reliable broodmare. The best of her offspring, Tricks to Doo, was the winner of the Inaugural Stakes, and third-place finisher in the Hutcheson Stakes (Gr.3).
Doolittle is currently believed to be in foal to Coolmore America’s grade 1-winning stallion and millionaire, Verrazano, whose first foals are two-year-olds of 2018, and already include multiple black-type runners.
Consigned by Bill Reightler for the dispersal of Trappe Hill Farm, Evil’s Causeway, Hip 29, is a daughter of Giant’s Causeway. A half-sister to Grade 3 winner and sire Evil Minister and the stakes-placed Echeverria, Evil’s Causeway was unraced herself. Evil’s Causeway has produced five winners, including stakes winner and producer True Way of Grace (Yes It’s True) and the Peruvian multiple graded stakes winner, Rocketazo (Spring at Last), who won 10 times.
Evil’s Causeway is currently believed to be in foal to Friesan Fire, whose best runners include the undefeated winner of the grade 1 Carter Handicap, Army Mule and the Grade 2 winner Call Paul.
Sanibel Sar is Hip 86. Consigned by Northview Stallion Station (David Wade), for Buttonwood Farm, this gray or roan mare named, Sanibel Star, is sure to turn some heads. By Unbridled’s Song and out of the Vice Regent mare Hangin on a Star, Sanibel Star is a half-sister to stakes winners Comet Shine, who became a sire at the end of his racing career, and Misty Mission, who is also the dam of three stakes winners.
Sanibel Star has produced five winners, including the stakes winner Star Contender, who retired with earnings just under $500,000.
Sanibel Star is believed to be in foal to Jump Start, who stands at Northview-PA. The leading Mid-Atlantic this year and in each of the three prior years, Jump Start has currently produced 59 individual stakes winners, including the Grade 1-winning millionaire Rail Trip, as well as multiple graded stakes-winning millionaires Prayer for Relief and Pants on Fire.
Weanlings get their turn to take the stage immediately following the broodmares.
A chestnut colt marked as Hip 127 is one to keep an eye on. Consigned by Gracie Bloodstock, this registered New York-bred is by the late stallion Effinex and out of the Defrere mare, Dakota Doll. Both of her foals of racing age are winners, including her Shanghai Bobby colt, Mr. Pete, who won the Aspirant Stakes and placed second in the New York Breeders’ Futurity back in 2017. A winner of four races so far, Mr. Pete has current earnings of $190,584.
Dodge City Riches (Citidancer), a winner herself and the second dam of Hip 127, produced four winners from her five foals to race, which include the likes of Lovely Fiona, winner of the Girl Powder Stakes and the producer of two winners, as well as the aforementioned, Dakota Doll, who scored in a total of 6 races and placed second in the Open Mind Handicap before retiring with earnings of over $270,000.
Effinex passed away suddenly in 2017 from a ruptured pulmonary artery, so Hip 127 offers the rare opportunity to purchase one of the few colts that this stallion has to offer. His first foals are weanlings of 2018. During his time on the racetrack, Effinex won nine races, including the Grade 1 Clark Handicap, and earned over $3 million.
Another weanling to watch out for is Hip 143, a gray or roan colt by Carpe Diem. Consigned by Takaro Farm, this West Virginia-bred is out of the Numerous mare, Grey Traffic. A winner of three races and Grade 2-placed, Grey Traffic has produced a total of seven winners from seven to hit the track.
Two of her offspring, a Langfuhr filly named Ullapool and a Spring at Last colt named, John Barleycorn, are stakes winners. The former’s top win came in the Garland of Roses at Aqueduct, while the latter earned black type with a win in the Tri-State Futurity at Charles Town. Another of her offspring, the Pleasantly Perfect gelding Divine Child, won 10 times and earned over $300,000 in his career.
The second dam of Hip 143, Onedayin L.A. (Heavenly Plain), produced two stakes horses, and the third dam, So Smooth, by Third Martini, produced four stakes horses.
Carpe Diem’s first crop of foals are yearlings of 2018. This multiple Grade 1 winner by Giant’s Causeway retired with four wins from six starts, and collected a total of $1,519,800 in career earnings.
The very first yearling to go through the ring offers promise to prospective buyers. Property of Legacy Farm, Hip 209 is a gray or roan colt by Despite the Odds, a graded stakes winning son of Speightstown and the sire of 16 winners so far.
Hip 209, who is Maryland Million certified, Virginia certified, and a registered Maryland-bred, is out of the Partner’s Hero mare Wonderous Woman. The stakes-placed Wonderous Woman has produced six winners from seven foals to race, including Sir Rockport, a stakes-placed son of Rockport Harbor.
The second dam on Hip 209, Special Kell (Parfaitement), is a half-sister to the stakes winner and producer of stakes winners, Turn to T.J. A stakes winner herself, Special Kell earned over $100,000 during her racing career. The six winners Special Kell produced include Magical Meadow, the dam of Grade 3 winner and current Maryland sire Street Magician, and Star Kell, the dam of graded-placed Strike the Moon.
Hip 219, a dark bay or brown filly, is by the Country Life Farm stallion Friesan Fire, sire of Grade 1 winner Army Mule and Grade 2 winner Call Paul.
Property of Lucas Racing, Inc., this Maryland-bred and Maryland Million certified filly comes from a strong line of winners and producers. She is out of the In Excess mare, Girl in a Curl, who has produced six winners from six horses to race. Her best offspring to date are Eddies Curl (Square Eddie), and Devonairre (Devon Lane), who are both winners as well as stakes-placed.
Hip 219’s second dam, In the Curl (Shelter Half), was a winner of 26 races in her long career. In the Curl took down multiple stakes races during her time on the track, and retired with earnings just shy of $750,000. She then went on to produce two winners from only two foals to race, including Igofast (Smarten), a five-time winner who placed in three stakes races.
Farther down on the pedigree are names like the Grade 3 winner Praying for Cash and Thirty Eight Paces, a Grade 3 winner and sire whose offspring include Twofox, the dam of millionaire Ben’s Cat, and Endette, the dam of the graded winner Ah Day.
A dark bay or brown colt marked as Hip 222 is a registered Pennsylvania-bred with an interesting pedigree. Consigned by Marshall W. Silverman, Hip 222 is by Archarcharch, and is out of the Congrats mare Indian Sugar. Archarcharch, a multiple graded stakes winner who is now standing in South Korea, is the sire of 11 black-type winners and runners with collective earnings of nearly $14 million.
Hip 222 is the first foal out of Indian Sugar, who won three races during her time on the track Indian Sugar’s dam, Racene (Miner’s Mark) earned over $100,000 and a Grade 3 placing as a racer, but has found greater success as a broodmare. All eight of her foals to race have won. Her colt by D’Wildcat, Wildcat Red, was a two-time graded winner who earned over $1.1 million. Racene also produced a Skimming filly named Racing Machine, who went on to become an accomplished broodmare herself, having produced two current winners to date.
All in all, there are plenty of interesting horses to watch during Tuesday’s sale.
