The Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve is a unique challenge for 3-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses. Not only are talent, speed, and stamina tested as these racehorses navigate 1 ¼ miles for the first time, but the competitors must process far more information than ever before in a 20-horse field in front of 150,000 screaming fans. Winning the first jewel of the Triple Crown takes both elite athletic ability and a strong mind.
Month: May 2022
Street Sense Filly Tops Todd Dispersal
An unraced 2-year-old filly by Street Sense (hip 1) topped the first phase of the dispersal of the Estate of the late Glen Todd–conducted on Fasig-Tipton's Digital Platform–when selling for $200,000 to NJP Racing. Named Adiva, the dark bay filly is out of Black Diamond Girl (Hard Spun), a half-sister to graded winner Big Truck (Hook and Ladder) and graded placed Logic Way (Freud). She was purchased by Todd's North American Thoroughbred Horse Company for $230,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.
Adiva has been working up to two furlongs at the Washington-based Pegasus Training Center, which consigned the dispersal horses.
“She was a rock star. She acted like it and trained like it and she sold like one,” said Pegasus Training Center trainer and director of horse operations Mike Puhich. “I am glad she sold for what I thought she was worth. I was kind of afraid, with as little exposure as she might get, that people might not see it, but everybody who saw her in person and saw her online saw that she looks kind of special. She is a very classy filly. One of the nicest that we have broken at the farm.”
NJP Racing also purchased the dispersal's second-highest priced offering, the multiple stakes-winning 5-year-old mare Princess of Cairo (Cairo Prince), for $115,000, as well as the unraced 3-year-old gelding Call Me Fast (Dialed In) for $60,000. All three will be joining Puhich's Kentucky string.
“It's a syndicate group,” Puhich said of NJP Racing. “They are from all over the place–a few of them are from New Zealand–and they are big clients of ours. They are going to our division in Kentucky and will be in my barn at Churchill Downs. It's kind of cool to be able to keep part of Glen's legacy going, too.”
Rounding out the trio of six-figure offerings at the dispersal was Five Star General (Distorted Humor). The 6-year-old, a multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed, was purchased for $110,000 by Kenny Alhadeff's Elttaes Stable.
During week-long bidding conducted online by Fasig-Tipton, 10 horses of racing age, 14 2-year-olds in training and seven yearlings sold without reserve. The group grossed $1,197,500, for an average of $38,629 and a median of $24,000.
“We were absolutely thrilled with the results,” said Puhich. “Fasig-Tipton did an amazing job getting it out there. This digital sale is the wave of the future. It's unbelievable. We had people from all over the country calling with interest and bidding. It was a shocking surprise.”
A longtime owner and breeder and pillar of the British Columbia Thoroughbred industry, Todd passed away Mar. 27.
“It was bittersweet,” Puhich said of the dispersal. “Mr. Todd was a very good friend and one of our best clients. We are very happy for the family that the horses did so well, but on the other side, the circumstances just takes it away.”
A total of 250 registered bidders cast 1,305 bids, with each horse receiving an average of 42 bids.
“We had four open houses for people to make an appointment and come in and we were booked full for four days in a row,” Puhich said of pre-sale interest in the dispersal. “There were a lot of people from Canada and local people, but we had interest and calls from all over the country. The way that Fasig-Tipton outlined it for us and recommended how we do the videos, the platform we were on took it to another level.”
Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales Leif Aaron was also pleased with the results of the dispersal.
“We are very appreciative of Glen Todd's family for entrusting Fasig-Tipton Digital with this piece of their father's legacy,” Aaron said. “We were able to move quickly to get a lot of horses sold in a short amount of time with a very strong result. Mike Puhich of Pegasus Training Center did a great job helping to facilitate the sale. It was a win for all parties.”
Fasig-Tipton is now accepting nominations for its May Digital Selected Sale, which will be open for bidding from May 12 through May 17. Entries close May 8.
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Thoroughbred Makeover Diary: Huge Milestone in Training Process With Odin
It’s no secret that Thoroughbreds retiring from the track often have a variety of things that need to be addressed before they are really ready, both mentally and physically, to take on a new career. The degree to which an owner and trainer has to address these things differs wildly from horse to horse, but I’ve yet to meet a newly retired Thoroughbred who didn’t need at least something addressed.
Half to Tepin Debuts at Gowran
Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday's Insights features Cologne, a half-brother to Tepin.
5.20 Gowran Park, Mdn, €13,000, 3yo/up, 8fT
COLOGNE (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the 10th foal out of Life Happened (Stravinsky), whose claim to fame is being the dam of the accomplished Tepin (Bernstein), heroine of the G1 Queen Anne S. and GI Breeders' Cup Mile among others. Also a half-brother to the dual Grade II scorer Vyjack (Into Mischief), the March-foaled bay represents Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor and Smith and Ballydoyle along with the fellow unnraced colt Middlemarch (Ire) (Caravaggio), whose dam is a full-sister to the stable's G2 Royal Lodge S. winner Mohawk (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
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