Fasig-Tipton August Digital Sale Topper Heads For Kentucky Downs

[Wandering Eyes]

Snow Face Princess (Midshipman), Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton August Digital sales topper for Winchell Thoroughbreds, will head to Kentucky Downs, trainer Steve Asmussen confirmed to the TDN Wednesday.

The recent winner of the 5 1/2 furlong Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 17 will stretch out just a bit and target the $1,000,000 Untapable Stakes Sept. 7 going 6 1/2 furlongs for her new connections.

Winchell Thoroughbreds, whose Ron Winchell co-owns the unique track in Franklin, KY, bought the 2-year-old daughter of Crusin Alone (Honor Code) for $775,000 Tuesday. Snow Face Princess, who is undefeated since switching to the grass, already has career earnings of over $140,000 in three starts for trainer Todd Pletcher. The family already has proven form over the Kentucky Downs track as Grand Sonata (Medaglia d'Oro), by Crusin Alone's half-sister A.P. Sonata (A.P. Indy), set a course record last year in the GII FanDuel TV Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes.

“She's a stakes winner on the turf so that made her attractive to us,” said Winchell's racing manager David Fiske. “We've had good luck with a previous Bolton Landing Stakes winner [Winchell homebred Simple Surprise, the dam of MGISW and young sire Gunite].”

And though Winchell Thoroughbreds has previously sold horses through the Fasig-Tipton Digital platform, Snow Face Princess is the group's first digital acquisition.

“I told Steve [Asmussen], I called him yesterday and said we bought that filly and I'm not sure what the next step is now,” Fiske said laughing. “So that's our entry into the digital world.”

And while Snow Face Princess is set for the Untapable, Fiske acknowledged that, should she stay on track through that start, they'd have to take a look at something like the Breeders' Cup in November.

“That's a long way off,” he said. “She's already made three starts and Kentucky Downs would be four with a ship [from Saratoga]. But I think if she ran well, we'd have to take a look at it.”

Ascot Walk To Join Erdenheim Farm Broodmare Band

The top-selling broodmare through the August Digital Sale, Ascot Walk (Daaher), will join the Erdenheim Farm broodmare band on a final bid of $550,000.

The 10-year-old mare has produced three stakes runners from as many foals, leading things off with GSP Regaled (Mohaymen) and following up with Drexel Hill (Bolt d'Oro) who is back on the work tab after suffering a minor injury when running second in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks. Most recently, her 2-year-old daughter Grazie (Modernist) ran third in the Seeking the Ante Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 22 for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Repole Stable.

“She's a proven broodmare,” said Erdenhiem owner Peter McCausland. “And we're looking for a few really good, different broodmares. Physically she's a great individual and we're glad to have her. [The price] was within the range that we were expecting.”

Ascot Walk sold in foal to Horse of the Year Cody's Wish whose first foals hit the ground earlier this year.

“Cody's Wish is unproven,” McCausland said, “but we had someone look at a few of his foals and they're very attractive so that was a minor factor [in the purchase].”

Future mating plans for Ascot Walk, whose youngest foal is a yearling Redesdale filly, are still to be determined.

Erdenheim Farm has been active across the Fasig-Tipton platforms recently, going to $1.475m to acquire a filly by Gun Runner (hip 200) out of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) at the Saratoga Sale earlier this month.

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