Tuscan Sky To Stay With Pletcher After Repole Goes To $450,000 During Fasig-Tipton January Digital Sale

[Wandering Eyes]

Listed Pegasus Stakes winner Tuscan Sky (Vino Rosso) will be staying in his same stall after Mike Repole purchased the 4-year-old colt for $450,000 from Spendthrift Farm during the Fasig-Tipton January Digital Sale which concluded Tuesday. West Bloodstock's Jacob West, who signed the ticket on Repole's behalf, noted that the colt would stay just where he was.

“He'll stay with Todd [Pletcher],” said West. “He'll point towards all the older horse graded stakes that are out there. We thought he was a horse that offered a lot of upside for what the program of American racing is.”

West believed Tuscan Sky, who had earned over $234,500 in his career with a record of 7-4-1-0, offered a competitive yet fair price for his credentials.

“The price is the price. At the end of the day, to get a two-turn dirt horse with some credentials, that's what you're going to have to pay. You're not going to be able to 'steal' those types. We knew competition would be fierce for him and we thought it was an opportunity to grab him.”

West, buying as agent for Repole Stables, has been plenty active in the last seven days, picking up three hips at Keeneland January including Quality Credit (Quality Road), out of MGISW Stopchargingmaria, for $190,000.

“It seems like everything else, out market right now is very polarizing. If you have a horse that fits the mold of what people are looking for, you have to pay a premium for it. We've seen that, really, be the case for the last five years. But good horses, historically speaking in the thoroughbred industry in America, have always brought good money. There were a lot of scratches [at KEEJAN]. I felt like the people that kept their horses in got rewarded. We showed up there to buy horses and we were also selling in that market and it went very well for us. We had good results selling in there and we had good results in buying.”

But, as the sales-topping purchase of Tuscan Sky alludes to, buyers like Repole Stables are just as happy to embrace the digital platform, especially for broodmares and horses of racing age.

West continued: “In today's day and age, we can look at videos. Specifically with breeding stock, maiden or even pregnant mares, you feel a lot more comfortable buying them off of pictures and videos vs. buying yearlings off of there. [The digital sales] are good from a horsemanship standpoint. You don't put the stress on the horses, shipping them to the sale. You can sell them right there out of your backyard.”

The post Tuscan Sky To Stay With Pletcher After Repole Goes To $450,000 During Fasig-Tipton January Digital Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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