July, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

New In Town: Introducing A Debut Consignment In A Tradition-Rich Marketplace

In a bloodstock landscape built on generations-old businesses and relationships, who you know on the sale grounds can almost be as important as the horse you're selling.

So how does a new consignment stand out without that deeply-rooted brand recognition?

Erin O'Keefe pondered this question on social media ahead of Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearling Sale, where she and her partners will offer their first horse under the BTE Stables shingle.

She had just attended the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association's panel discussion on auction radiographs, and one of the major themes O'Keefe took away from the discussion was the importance of the established relationship between the buyer and seller when it comes to risk assessment.

“One of the big themes that kept coming up was when you can trust the people that are selling the horse to tell you if something on the radiograph is improving, or if the horse has always been sound…If you have a relationship where you can trust the answers, that goes a long way,” O'Keefe said.

If you've been around the barns at a major North American Thoroughbred auction, you've likely seen O'Keefe working for consignments including Darby Dan Farm and Taylor Made Sales. As a partner in Paris, Ky.-based BTE Stables, she has previously offered horses through consignor Buckland Sales, but scheduling conflicts led the operation to make its maiden voyage as a consignment at the July sale.

“We have never had our own consignment, and we haven't been selling our own horses for very long,” she continued. “I've worked for other people and have been around the sales, but nobody's come to a BTE Stables consignment before.”

Knowing the road to buyer trust is not an express lane, O'Keefe said the process starts with Hip 139, a Classic Empire colt they bought last fall as a weanling. Whether it's just one horse or a barn full of them, the formula remains the same: Be transparent, stand up for your horses, and don't play games.

“The slow way is over time: People buy the horses, and we've represented them well,” she said. “We fully stand behind any horse we bring out here. We're not trying to trick anyone, and in this circumstance, with this sale and this horse, I've posted on Facebook that if there's questions, if there's any way I can quantify that answer, I will.”

Part of that openness to the seller is being straight with them about how the horses were brought up. The BTE yearlings are raised in group turnout, and Hip 139 has a few bite marks from his rambunctious pasturemates to show for it.

A poster under the consignment's placard outside Fasig-Tipton's Barn 7 explained the physical and mental benefits of bringing up young horses in a more social setting, even if it creates a few scratches along the way. If trust is a long-term game, the superficial aspects of a yearling are very much in the short-term. It's what inside that counts.

“Please excuse any minor blemishes,” the sign read. “Colts will be colts.”

On the other side of Barn 7, Martin Keogh is the face of another consignment making its debut at the Fasig-Tipton July sale: Robert Slack's Stoneriggs Farm.

Keogh is a veteran of the consignment game, operating for years under his own banner as MJK Bloodstock. Though the Stoneriggs branding might be new to shoppers, Keogh said the association the farm has with his own personal brand of horsemanship gives the new operation a leg-up over someone that buyers might not know as well.

Ultimately, though, he said the brand is all about the horse at the end of the shank.

“I've been around here a little while and done this,” Keogh said. “I think people know me and know how I like to present horses at the sales, but I really do think it's about the horses, and then when they see the people associated with the farm, that it's not such a new thing. They know what they're dealing with, so to speak, and what to expect from their horses.”

Stoneriggs Farm brought a pair of first-crop offerings to the July sale for its debut consignment: Hip 4, a colt by Audible, and Hip 53, a filly by Vino Rosso.

The primary colors for the Stoneriggs consignment are red and white, which was a stark contrast to the blue and white he flew as MJK Bloodstock.

Colors are so important to a consignment's presence on the sale grounds. The hues of the industry's most established sellers serve as guideposts around the barns, and tell people what to expect when they walk up to fill out a card.

With that in mind, was it weird for Keogh to suddenly be donning a new team jersey for this sale?

“Not really,” he said. “That's only such a small part of it. Everyone tells me the red looks good on me.”

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Racing Prospects in Demand at Fasig-Tipton July

by Christie DeBernardis & Jessica Martini

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of All Ages Sale, marking its 10th edition, confirmed its importance on the calendar with a strong renewal at Newtown Paddocks Monday.

“It was a tremendous sale tonight,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “It was even stronger than we anticipated. We saw an unbelievable depth of bidding activity tonight. We had activity from the East Coast, West Coast, international participation. It was very encouraging. It was a very strong marketplace overall.”

A total of 129 offerings sold Monday for a gross of $10,814,000. The average was $83,829 and the median was $58,000. With 30 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 18.9%.

Last year's sale, which offered bloodstock under a separate catalogue, saw 79 horses sell for $5,905,500. The average was $74,753 and the median was $50,000.

As expected with boutique summer meets at Del Mar and Saratoga upcoming, horses with current form proved popular in the sales ring Monday. Bloodstock agent Steve Young purchased the day's top-priced offering Kuchar (Uncle Mo) for $500,000. The 3-year-old, consigned by WinStar Racing, was coming off a runner-up effort in the July 2 American Derby.

“I think it is like any other horses of racing age sale,” said Young, who purchased two of the day's three top lots. “You look at them after the fact and some of them appear to be a lot more than what you would foresee. But, with the purses the way they are in places like Kentucky and New York, horses that are running are worth a lot of money.”

Browning agreed horses who could go on and race at summer meets at Saratoga and Del Mar were in demand.

“There is a lot of demand for a horse that can ship to Saratoga and run next week,” Browning said. “Several horses will ship to Del Mar. A lot of horses will be re-strategized to regional racetracks.”

WinStar Racing also sold the day's second-highest priced offering when First Constitution (Chi) (Constitution) brought a final bid of $430,000 from RRR Racing.

Young Strikes Again for Kuchar

Bloodstock agent Steve Young, active throughout Monday's auction, made the day's highest bid when going to $500,000 to acquire recent American Derby runner-up Kuchar (Uncle Mo) (hip 547) on behalf of an undisclosed client. Agent Jacob West was underbidder on the colt.

“He is a proven and improving 3-year-old,” said Young, who purchased the colt for the same client for whom he had purchased the 3-year-old filly Diamond Hands (Frosted) earlier in the sale. “If he improves in the next three months as much as he improved in the last three months, he will be a nice horse.”

Of the colt's final price tag, Young said, “That's what horses of his nature cost. If you try to buy them on the private market, that's what they are going to want for them.”

Young signed the ticket on four offerings Monday, going to $375,000 for Diamond Hands and $325,000 for multiple stakes-placed Montebello (Curlin). He also purchased Relate (Connect) (hip 403) for $65,000.

Racing for WinStar Farm and Siena Farm and trained by Rodolphe Brisset, Kuchar was a maiden winner at Oaklawn in March. He was second in the Apr. 23 Oaklawn S. before winning a Churchill allowance May 22. He was most recently second behind Rattle N Roll (Connect) in the July 2 American Derby.

Bred by WinStar Farm and consigned by WinStar Racing, the bay colt is out of multiple Grade I-placed Street Girl (Street Hero).

“We are selling horses like him and he was our best one coming in here after running second in the American Derby,” said WinStar's Elliott Walden. “He is a beautiful horse and he had the right people on him.”

Walden continued, “He had 19 vettings, he was very popular. I was hoping he was going to bring anywhere from $400,000 to $500,000, so he was at the top of what I thought he was going to bring. But he is a beautiful horse and people want racehorses. There are a lot of stakes that he can run in–he's a 3-year-old, he runs from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/4 miles. Those are valuable horses.”

WinStar had a profitable day in the sale ring Monday. The operation also sold the day's second-highest priced offering, Chilean Group 1 winner First Constitution (Chi) (Constitution) (hip 587) for $430,000. The 5-year-old, campaigned by Don Alberto Stable, WinStar and Twin Creeks Racing Stables, was a two-time stakes winner in New York this spring and he is coming off a fifth-place effort in the June 11 GII Brooklyn S. He was purchased via a phone bid from RRR Racing, which also campaigns this year's G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Switzerland (Speightstown). @JessMartiniTDN

Diamond Hands Popular at Fasig-Tipton

Diamond Hands (Frosted) (hip 495), runner-up behind Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the May 20 Hilltop S. for Rob Masiello and Steve Rocco and trainer Christophe Clement, will continue her racing career on the New York circuit after bloodstock agent Steve Young purchased the 3-year-old filly for $375,000 on behalf of an undisclosed client Monday at Fasig-Tipton.

“She is a wonderful filly,” Young said. “I tried to buy her as a 2-year-old in training. I got outbid there. She has picked some tough horses to run against. She is lightly raced and I think she has a lot of blue sky ahead of her if she is brave and lucky. She ran good against Haughty. She ran good against Pizza Bianca. We are very happy to get her.”

Diamond Hands broke her maiden over the Belmont lawn in November and opened her 3-year-old campaign with a runner-up effort behind GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Pizza Bianca in the May 20 Hilltop S. She has hit the board in four of five lifetime starts and earned $103,180 to date.

Joe Migliore purchased Diamond Hands for $425,000 on behalf of Masiello and Rocco at last year's OBS April sale. The filly was one of the first Migliore signed for when he went out on his own last year and the bloodstock agent was on hand to watch her sell Monday in Lexington.

“She is a very nice filly,” Migliore said. “I absolutely loved her at the 2-year-old sale and she has done great for us. Sometimes in this game you have to trade. We just felt like it was a good time to put her through this sale. Obviously, Fasig does such a great job with this sale and getting good money for strong racing prospects and that's what she is. I certainly think she is a stakes winner down the line. It was great to get her black type in the Hilltop behind Pizza Bianca. I am sure we will see more from her for her new connections.”

Migliore continued, “She was one of the first tickets I signed last year when I went out on my own. I'm always going to be rooting for her. And I'm always going to be hoping she does well. I think the buyers have done very well. I think she'll be an outstanding broodmare prospect, as well, just based on her physical.”

Out of multiple stakes winner Love Cove (Not For Love), Diamond Hands is a half to stakes winner Bibby (Stormy Atlantic). Her dam is a half-sister to graded winner Sweet Vendetta (Stephen Got Even). She was consigned to Monday's sale by Denali Stud. @JessMartiniTDN

Song Parody Proves Popular at Fasig

Song Parody (Practical Joke) (Hip 609) was a late supplement to Monday's sale and it proved to be a wise move when she brought $360,000 from Runnymede's Romain Malhouitre.

“It is going to be a partnership between Runnymede, a New York owner and a group of Boston people,” Malhouitre said. “She will go to New York. I am looking for a New York trainer.”

As for the price, he said, “Today was a strong market. We wanted her for a little bit less, but I was full speed.”

A $25,000 OBS October acquisition, Song Parody went wire to wire in her debut against fellow New York-breds June 25 at Belmont, graduating by 5 1/2 lengths and earning a 73 Beyer Speed Figure. Her SP dam Songofthecity (Songandaprayer) is a half-sister to MGISW Midnight Lucky (Midnight Lute). This is also the family of Grade I winner Hookedonthefeelin, dam of MGISW Pussycat Doll and GISW sire Jimmy Creed.

“She is well put together,” Malhouitre said. “It is a good mix between the sire and Songandaprayer as well. I thought she had a lot of class. Obviously, she was very fast first time out. We are hoping she can carry her speed.”

When asked if the long-term plan for the filly was to join the Runnymeded broodmare band, Malhouitre said, “Runnymede is a breeding operation. She fits the box for us. We take a lot of pride in doing a little bit of everything. We have a good program for turf and we were looking for a fast, precocious filly on the dirt and she showed that.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

SF/Starlight/Madaket Partnership Reloads

The stallion-making partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket was among the leading buyers of yearlings last year and just as the calendar is about to turn to the yearling sales once again, the group was in action as sellers Monday at Fasig-Tipton. They sold multiple stakes-placed Montebello (Curlin) (hip 565) to bloodstock agent Steve Young and a few hips later multiple graded winner Newgrange (Violence) (hip 568) to Rockingham Ranch for matching $325,000 price tags.

“The timing was right to sell them,” SF Bloodstock's Tom Ryan said of the decision to send the two 3-year-olds through the sales ring. “Montebello and Newgrange are two lightly-raced colts that have lots of racing in front of them. We felt it's the time of the year where we are working on replenishing our budget to go to work again in Saratoga and on into the fall.”

Ryan continued, “Fasig-Tipton is a fantastic facility to show these horses. The show rings here are just fabulous. And it's a welcoming, wonderful team over here. Boyd [Browning] put this sale on the calendar 10 years ago and it's become a good place to bring these horses.”

The SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership was the second leading buyer at last year's Keeneland September sale, purchasing 24 yearlings for $10,590,000.

Asked if he expected the partnership to be as active this year, Ryan said, “We have a wonderful group assembled and we expect to be active for sure. We will be out there working in force and doing what we can.”

Both colts were consigned Monday by Elite Sales.

“I want to give the team at Elite Sales a lot of credit,” Ryan said. “Liz [Crow], Katelyn [Jackson] and Brad [Weisbord] do a great job and they have a great network of clients. People enjoy buying from them. With their passports, Elite make it so easy for the buyers. They do all the work for the buyers.”

Montebello, purchased for $400,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale, was a first-out winner at Del Mar last August and was second in the 2021 Funny Cide S. and Capote S. He most recently captured a June 30 Belmont allowance.

“He's a nice horse,” said Young. “I liked him as a 2-year-old. He was good enough to win at Del Mar against open horses. He was dead game the other day to win in New York. With the purses for New York-breds [being high], he still has all of his conditions.”

Newgrange, a $125,000 yearling purchase, won the GIII Sham S. Jan. 1 and added the Jan. 29 GIII Southwest S. He has been off since finishing sixth in the Feb. 26 GII Rebel S.

“We are going to send him to Del Mar and we are going to try him on the turf,” said bloodstock agent Kim Lloyd, who signed the ticket on the colt on behalf of Gary Hartunian's Rockingham Ranch. “The Violences like turf. He is just a great-looking horse. He's game and a very impressive colt. He's had time off. He's fresh. He's sound as new money.” @JessMartiniTDN

Buttons Headed to Sharp Barn

The 2-year-old filly Buttons (Twirling Candy) (Hip 474) is headed to the barn of trainer Joe Sharp after being purchased by Clark Shepherd, acting on behalf of owner Larry Hirsch, for $275,000 Monday.

The bay is a half-sister to GIII Forward Gal S. winner Girl With A Dream (Practical Joke) and her dam is a half to GSW & MGISP Mr. Commons (Artie Schiller). She won her debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis June 28 for trainer Rusty Arnold.

“She is just a great filly,” said Shepherd. “She is just two years old and she's only had one race, so she hasn't been chewed up too badly yet. She's a brand name and is a half to a graded stakes winner. She has a ready-made page, so anything she adds to that from this point forward is going to be icing on the cake. I like Twirling Candy, but physically they are not my favorite. But, she is one of the best Twirling Candys I've ever laid eyes on.”

“She's a really nice athletic filly,” Sharp added. “She has a lot of upside. We might go to Kentucky Downs with her. They have nice 2-year-old opportunities for the fillies. She has her whole future ahead of her.”

Buttons was a $110,000 KEESEP yearling buy for the Dew Sweepers, a new pinhooking partnership that focused on buying yearlings to go to Royal Ascot as 2-year-olds. The plan for the group was always to disperse of all their stock at Fasig July and their seven-horse draft was handled by Grovendale Sales.

“I think that was pretty fair,” said Grovendale's Chance Timm. “It was a bit more than we expected. But she is an active runner that showed good form, so she probably deserved to bring more than expected.”

The other members of the Dew Sweepers dispersal were:

Tituba (Good Magic) (Hip 437), $47,000, Three Diamonds Farm
Alcazaba (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) (Hip 455), $90,000, Jack Goldthorpe for Jim Thares
Castle Rising (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) (Hip 480), $10,000, Ciaran Dunne, Agent
Grand Oak (Ire) (Speightstown) (Hip 521), $210,000, Herringswell Racing Club II
Just a Care (Ire) (Australia {GB}) (Hip 542), $150,000, Bo Bromagen, Agent
Late September (Munnings) (Hip 550), $60,000, Kevin Stedman

—@CDeBernardisTDN

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Fishman Shows No Emotion As He Is Sentenced To 11 Years In Federal Prison

Dr. Seth Fishman, the Florida veterinarian snared in the federal government's sweeping horse doping investigation, was sentenced July 11 to an 11-year prison sentence in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The sentence is the longest meted out in the case that led to charges against 31 individuals, including prominent trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. Fishman is the 11th to be sentenced, which includes Navarro. Most of the others have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Servis faces trial next year.

Fishman, who has been behind bars since his conviction five months ago on two counts of conspiracy to commit drug adulteration and misbranding, appeared in court in prison garb and addressed the court before being sentenced. Prosecutors say that over 20 years Fishman supplied illegal performance drugs to hundreds of trainers, including Navarro, who pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to five years in prison.

“I really have to apologize for what I did,” the 51-year veterinarian said. “There's no excuse for my behavior.”

In a rare admission, Fishman conceded violating the law and conspiring with others.

“I should have never pushed the envelope and helped trainers,” he said.

He told Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil he now lacked any desire to “practice medicine” on animals.

“I have no desire to make another substance for a racehorse again,” Fishman said as his family looked on from the gallery.

Fishman concluded his brief remarks by telling the judge that whatever sentence she imposed, “10, 15, or 20 years, I just want to be a better person.”

He showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down.

In addition to his prison time, the veterinarian will be held jointly responsible for $25 million in restitution along with Navarro and other co-conspirators.

The restitution represents Navarro's total purse winning during from 2016 to 2020.

In addition, Fishman must forfeit $13.5 million, which is what he earned from his business of manufacturing and distributing his performance-enhancing substances which prosecutors say were designed to evade detection in post-race testing.

His sentence also includes a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors introduced evidence showing that Fishman's business earned millions of dollars a year.

Vyskocil told Fishman's by his actions misled racing regulators and drug regulators, as well as others.

“You misled competitors of your clients and the betting public,” she said.

She told him that as a veterinarian, “you enjoyed a special position of trust and you abused that trust.”

The judge said the PEDs Fishman manufactured were harmful to racehorses because they were designed to push them beyond their natural abilities.

She said that in addition to putting at risk horses that were doped with his PEDs, Fishman put at risk the other horses who ran in the race and jockeys who rode those horses and could have been hurt if a horse broke down.

She noted that Navarro paid Fishman credit in a text after winning the 2019 $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Gulf News (G1) at Meydan Racecourse with X Y Jet and that the horse died less than a year later.

“To say there was no risk to horses is just not accurate,” she said.

Vyskocil told Fishman that his motive was greed and that up until the sentencing there had been a complete lack of remorse on his part.

Vyskocil said an 11-year sentence was warranted given the sentences of defendants.

She also said she hoped it would act as a general deterrence.

“I know this case has been followed extensively in the racing industry. It is my hope that the sentence acts as a general deterrent to those who might be engaging in the same scourge of criminality.”

Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 10 to 17.5 years. Fishman faced a maximum of 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi told Vyskocil that a significant sentence was warranted given that Fishman had shipped his illegal PEDs all over the country to hundreds of trainers.

“It was all designed to help a competitor get an illegal edge,” she said.

During her remarks she said Fishman's claims at trial that as a veterinarian he cared about animals was a “self-serving myth.”

Fishman attorney Maurice Sercarz appealed to the judge for a sentence of less than 10 years.

He said Fishman should be given leniency because of his client's psychiatric disabilities, which he said were “substantial.”

He said Fishman suffers from acute anxiety, depression and had been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder.

Fishman missed the last two days of his trial after being admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

The proceeding ended with Vyskocil telling Fishman that she heard what he said and that he wanted to be a better person.

“Hopefully you'll be getting well,” she said. “You do have some demons.”

The Thoroughbred industry's leading publications are working together to cover this key trial.

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Graded Winner Newgrange Sold To Rockingham Ranch At Fasig-Tipton

Multiple Grade 3 winner Newgrange will be campaigned by Gary Hartunian's Rockingham Ranch after selling for $325,000 on Monday at the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of All Ages Sale.

Kim Lloyd, who signed the ticket as agent for Hartunian, said a decision as to who would train the 3-year-old son of Violence would be made later.

Newgrange was previously trained by Bob Baffert for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm.

“We plan on taking him out to California and try the turf with him,” Lloyd said. “He's a big, good looking colt, Bob liked him, and he's been a good, sound horse, so we're looking forward to having some fun at Del Mar.”

Newgrange won each of his first three starts, first taking his juvenile debut at Del Mar by 1 1/2 lengths. He kicked off his 3-year-old campaign with a front-running score in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park, then he shipped to Oaklawn Park to win the G3 Southwest Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths. His most recent start came in the G2 Rebel Stakes on Feb. 26, where he finished sixth.

The colt was moved to trainer Tim Yakteen following Baffert's 90-day suspension tied to Medina Spirit's drug overage in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, and he has consistently been on the worktab at Santa Anita Park. He was pointed toward a start in the G2 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard, but he ultimately did not make the gate.

Lloyd cited Newgrange's pedigree as a reason for the move to turf, noting previous successes that Rockingham Ranch has had campaigning runners by Violence on the grass.

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