Breeding Stock Sales Season Makes Final Stop at Fasig

[Wandering Eyes]

Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky Winter Mixed sale, the last major breeding stock sale before the 2019 breeding season, will take place Monday and Tuesday in Lexington, KY. A catalogue of 528 head will be on offer, with hips 1-274 going through the ring Monday starting at 10:00 a.m. and the remaining offerings selling Tuesday starting at the same time.

“There’s always a strong market at this sale for maiden mares with a little bit of pedigree or race record; there’s always a stallion’s book that needs a some extra mares; someone’s always got an extra season or share out there that they need a mare for, and that has always been a source of strength in this part of the market,” said Fasig-Tipton Executive Vice President Bayne Welker when asked about expectations heading into the auction. “I think we saw a lot of strength in the foal market [in 2018] and that will continue on into the short yearlings–there has been quite a buzz for those, so I think we’ll see quite a bit of scrambling for those at the top.”

The 2018 edition of the auction saw slight year-over-year increases compared to 2017, with 364 head changing hands for a combined $10,436,800. The average was $28,613 and median was $10,500. The RNA rate was 22.7%.

When asked to compare this year’s catalogue to last year’s, Welker said, “It’s very similar to any open February sale we’ve had in absence of having a marquee horse or a dispersal to tag on to it–it’s about what you’d expect. There’s been a lot of hustling around and some very good entries that have come in the supplemental part of the catalogue and I think a lot of that’s due to the strength of the market. People have taken the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, let’s put a pretty good short yearling in here.’ Or they’ve been able to find a decent kind of broodmare prospect to put on offer that the market gravitates towards this time of year.”

Last year’s sale topper was racing or broodmare prospect Girl Talk (Medaglia d’Oro)–a supplemental entry and the last horse through the ring as hip 574–who brought $310,000 from Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds. Consigned by Craig and Holly Bandoroff’s Denali Stud on behalf of Ramona Bass LLC and Cheyenne Stables LLC, the daughter of MGSW One Caroline (Unbridled’s Song) was fresh off a runner-up finish in Aqueduct’s Ladies H.

“Supplemental entries play a big part, especially in February, but in a lot of our sales,” Welker said. “It’s been very instrumental and a very key part of our market in February.”

A total of 52 supplemental entries were added to the original catalogue for 2019, including Tamarack Girl (Discreet Cat) (hip 523), a half-sister to top GI Kentucky Derby contender Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief), winner of the GII Remsen S. in December and third in this past Saturday’s GII Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull S.

The priciest short yearling at the 2018 sale was a Tiznow colt (hip 419) purchased by Jack Johnston for $260,000 out of the Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services consignment. The colt brought $575,000 from Alex and JoAnn Lieblong later last season at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale.

Another FTKFEB ’18 purchase who provided her buyer with a solid return on investment was GSP Moana (Uncle Mo) (hip 319). Purchased for $220,000 by Roderick Wachman Bloodstock from Bluewater Sales as a racing or broodmare prospect, she was put in foal to Into Mischief and resold for $500,000 at Fasig-Tipton November.

“I think it does,” said Welker when asked if he thought positive subsequent results for purchases out of this sale last year might make prospective buyers shop the 2019 renewal a little harder. “People look at the market pretty hard as a whole, and this is the last stop in the mixed market and the last stop at which people will be able to buy a broodmare prospect, broodmare or short yearling, so it’s one of those things where sometimes need and necessity help drive the market a little bit further than if it was at a different spot on the calendar.”

For more information, visit www.fasigtipton.com.

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