F-T July HORA Sale Monday

[Wandering Eyes]

The sixth renewal of the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale will take place in Lexington Monday with bidding set to begin at 4p.m. The catalogue has grown from the initial 152 entries to 173 with 21 supplemental entries, with the most recent coming Thursday when Taylor Made added recent 3-year-old stakes winner Alter Moon (Alternation) (hip 574).

“I think the catalogue is stronger this year,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said. “This sale continues to attract attention. The success of graduates on the racetrack has been very strong. Consignors have had good luck selling horses at the Horses of Racing Age Sale. I think the sale continues to grow in popularity among both buyers and sellers, and certainly the quality has taken a notch up this year across the board.”

Graduates of this sale include late Grade I winner Bullard’s Alley (Flower Alley) and GSW & MGISP Ivy Bell (Archarcharch). There are a plethora of graded/listed stakes winners on offer this year, such as GI Man o’ War S. victor Wake Forest (Ger) (Sir Percy {GB}) (hip 566); GIII Dixie S. victor Fire Away (War Front) (hip 443), who is one of six blue-blooded Phipps homebreds on offer; GSW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Kentuckian (Tiznow) (hip 553), a half-brother to Maclean’s Music (Distorted Humor); 2017 GIII Southwest S. winner One Liner (Into Mischief) (hip 492); MSW Lirica (Kantharos) (hip 469), etc.

“Sellers continue to have confidence in the sale and they are willing to put a nice horse in the sale because there is tremendous interest in our game right now for quality racing prospects, whether they are 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds or older horses,” Browning said. “There are a lot of people who want action and are willing to pay for that action. And we have a lot of horses that will meet their appetite.”

A total of 84 horses changed hands at the 2017 HORA Sale for a gross of $8,083,000, an average of $96,226 and a median of $56,000. Last year’s auction was topped by GSW Distinta (Summer Bird), who sold to Taylor Made’s Medallion Racing for $600,000. Taylor Made also consigned the mare.

“We targeted this sale when it was first launched and we have been lucky enough to top it in three of the last five years,” Taylor Made’s Mark Taylor said. “We try to bring quality to this sale and target those high-end buyers who are looking for a really exciting horse to campaign through the end of the year. [GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint winner] Wavell Avenue (Harlington) was one of the ones who got that done and took her owners to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Taylor said the timing of the sale is a major part of its appeal for both buyers and sellers as it falls just before the start of yearling sale season, as well as the Saratoga and Del Mar summer meets.

“I think it is a great concept because it is at a midway point in the year when some stables are looking to the future and want to reload on yearlings,” Taylor said. “If they can sell a horse and take some money off the table, they can go reinvest it, so I think the position on the calendar works out really well. I think there is a strong demand for racehorses right now and I expect the sale to be really good.”

Browning expressed similar sentiments, saying, “It’s a natural fit and it really works from the market’s perspective. It has found a niche and we look forward to the continued growth and development and I think it will be a very fun sale Monday.”

The Horses of Racing Age Sale Monday afternoon will be followed by the Fasig-Tipton July Yearlings Sale Tuesday starting at 10a.m.

 

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