October, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

$500k Justify Colt Paces ‘Solid’ Fasig-Tipton October Opener

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale, which produced record-setting renewals in 2021 and 2022, opened Monday with solid, if less spectacular figures, than a year ago.

A total of 257 yearlings grossed $11,224,800 Monday. The session average of $43,676 was down 10.5% from last year's opening day and the median of $20,000 was down 25.9%.

“It was a solid opening session,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “I think the results were basically in line with expectations and what we are seeing throughout the marketplace in 2023. There was strong demand on the upper-end horses and less demand than you would hope on some of the lower-end horses.”

The buy-back rate was 26.4%. It was 27.5% last year.

“There is selectivity amongst the buying group,” Browning said. “And it appears from talking to people that there is very close scrutiny on vetting. If you get a little ding here or a ding there, the buyers are basically just passing on your horse rather than offering you a discount.”

The session was topped by a son of Justify who sold for $500,000 to the bid of John Stewart. The Triple Crown-winning sire was also responsible for the day's second highest offering with De Meric Sales purchasing a colt for $300,000. In all, 10 yearlings sold for $200,000 or over. Eleven hit that mark during last year's opening session.

“It's always slow the first day,” said Peter O'Callaghan, whose Woods Edge Farm consigned the session topper. “You have to be a little bit lucky that you are catalogued a little bit into the day almost each day. But there is always a market here. I love this sale. I've had a lot of luck here. It's saved our bacon many times. Fasig-Tipton do such an amazing job here, accommodating everyone in this market. And they do a great job recruiting people to come in for it.”

The Fasig-Tipton October sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Stewart Back in Action at Fasig October

John Stewart, who made a splash at last month's Keeneland September Yearling Sale when buying 13 yearlings for $8,425,000, got on the board during the first session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale when going to $500,000 to acquire a colt by Justify (hip 227) for $500,000 from Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge Farm consignment.

John Stewart, who purchased the opening night session topper, HIP 227 | Fasig-Tipton

“The horse looked like a beautiful specimen,” Stewart said after bidding for the yearling alongside bloodstock agent Gavin O'Connor and manager Chelsey Stone. “We actually have wanted to pick up a couple more horses at this sale before really coming out strong in November at the breeding stock sales where we have some things planned. We are just trying to balance out the portfolio of horses that we have right now. This Justify colt is a great addition. We just liked everything about the horse.”

The gray yearling is out of Champagne Royale (French Deputy) and is a half-brother to Grade I winners Majestic Harbor (Rockport Harbor) and Danza (Street Boss).

“As I've said, I am a buyer, not a bidder,” Stewart said. “So we were buying the horse regardless. I am happy with $500,000. I think we got a good deal. There is a lot of money left on the table for us.”

O'Callaghan purchased the colt for $250,000 as a weanling at the 2022 Keeneland November sale. He RNA'd for $325,000 at last month's Keeneland September sale.

“I think the six weeks made a difference,” O'Callaghan said. “He was a beautiful animal in September, but he was a 25th of May foal and maybe he just had a slightly young look about him. Even though he was a well-grown horse, he just hadn't got that rugged, robust look about him yet in September. We were just hoping to get our investment back today, but we are delighted with the $500,000.”

Stewart's September haul included a pair of seven-figure yearlings, led by a $2.5-million daughter of Uncle Mo (hip 337).

“Most of them are already broke,” Stewart said of his September yearlings. “Now we are talking with trainers to get the right fit for them. And our first horse, Shiloh's Mistress (Vino Rosso)–who was our first purchase at Keeneland last September [2022]–just ran last Sunday at Keeneland. She ran well.”

Stewart, who is founder and managing partner of the Lexington-based private equity firm MiddleGround, may soon have a new home for his horses.

“We put an offer in to buy Shadwell Farm['s Shadayid Stud],” Stewart said. “So we need to stock that up–800 acres that we've got to fill up with some horses. That's what we are trying to do.”

Stewart came back a little later in the session to acquire a filly by Good Magic (hip 266) for $150,000 from the Indian Creek consignment.

Barber Continues War of Will Buying Spree

Gary Barber watched War of Will carry his colors to victory in the 2019 GI Preakness S. and now the owner is supporting the stallion in his next career at Claiborne Farm. Barber purchased 14 yearlings by War of Will at the Keeneland September sale last month and he added a 15th yearling to his roster when going to $230,000 for a colt (hip 194) from the Denali Stud consignment.

“War of Will has been very good to both Gary and me,” said Mark Casse, who trained the Classic winner. “We are going to give him the best chance we possibly can. The good thing about the War of Wills is that they should be able to do anything–dirt or turf, short, long. We are excited about them.”

Barber and Pantofel Stables purchased a pair of colts by War of Will (hip 844 and hip 2508) for $200,000 to be his top-priced purchases by the stallion in September. Monday's purchase was the owner's most expensive yearling purchase by the stallion.

“I've been fortunate to be around some pretty good sires through my years and I think this horse has great potential,” Casse said. “Gary feels the same way and he is putting his money up to show it.”

Hip 194, bred by Michael Hernon, is out of Callista (Tapit) and is a half-brother to Diamond City (Shackleford). Callista is a daughter of Grade I winner Sweet Talker (Stormin Fever) and a full-sister to stakes winner and graded placed Sweet Tapper.

“The horse that we bought today looks as much like dad as anybody,” Casse said. “But I can tell you they are all really good sized, for the most part they have vetted really well. We've already started breaking. We've got 15 or 20 that are in the early stages of breaking. And they have been extremely smart. They are doing everything right. He was a brilliantly smart horse and could do anything. And so far, that's what we are seeing in the babies.”

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One-Mare Operation Sarinana Racing Returns To Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Sale

Every year for nearly a decade, Jose Sarinana's commercial bloodstock program has looked roughly the same: One broodmare, one foal arriving in the first half of the year, and one yearling going to market in the second half.

In an industry where commercial breeding operations stack their broodmare bands as deep as a football team's roster, and cull their ranks just as readily, Sarinana and his mare Planeta have been an inseparable duo since 2014. Planeta's latest yearling, a filly from the first crop of Kentucky Derby winner Country House, goes through the ring Wednesday as Hip 1062 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale.

The chestnut filly, named Perfect Poser, is the seventh foal out of Planeta, an unraced daughter of Giant's Causeway who was born into the Wertheimer et Frere breeding program at Hagyard Farm near Lexington, Ky. Sarinana has worked at Hagyard Farm for 17 years, serving as assistant farm manager.

Expectations were high for Planeta – a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Meteore, out of a mare the Wertheimer operation purchased for $740,000 – but a fractured sesamoid suffered as a foal put an early and abrupt end to her racetrack aspirations. Still, Sarinana took a liking to the filly as she recovered.

“We nursed her to be a broodmare, and when the yearlings left to start under saddle, she got left behind because of that injury,” he said. “I asked if I could buy her or have her, and my bosses gave her to me. That's how she got stuck with me.”

Planeta was damaged goods from a racing perspective, but a horse isn't born into the Wertheimer program without a deep page, and the filly was no different, with at least eight Grade/Group 1 winners on her page. Even if she never ran a step in competition, the potential Planeta offered as a broodmare made her quite the gift.

Sarinana sent Planeta to Tizway for her first mating in 2014. He then added a second mare to his roster at the following year's Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale – the Brazilian-born Zaragoza Girl, also from the Wertheimer program – but after losing both the new mare and foal due to foaling complications just a few months later, he decided to let Planeta be his only broodmare.

“She's well put together,” Sarinana said. “Kind of small-sized for a Giant's Causeway, but she's well put together with a really good pedigree. I couldn't buy her at the sales.”

He admitted that the journey with Planeta has been one of ups and downs. Planeta's first foal went winless in five starts and the second never made the track at all. After that, things have picked up.

All three of her foals that followed have been winners on the racetrack, including Mr. Sarinana, a Mr Speaker gelding who became a stakes-level steeplechase runner after starting his career on the flat.

“He broke his maiden the same year on the flat at Turfway, and at the end of the year he broke his maiden at the steeplechase, so it's a very versatile family,” the human Mr. Sarinana said.

However, Sarinana was most excited about the Broken Vow gelding Kbcya Later, who gave him his first 2-year-old Saratoga winner as a breeder in 2022, when he took a maiden special weight over the turf.

As Planeta has produced more foals, Sarinana noted that the mare tends to let the sire stamp the foals. That is definitely the case with the Country House filly he brought to this year's sale.

Country House, a son of champion Lookin at Lucky standing at Darby Dan Farm, is a rangy horse with leg to spare and powerful features, especially in the shoulder. Perfect Poser carried on those traits into her own physical makeup, and pointing her for the final yearling sale of the season played a part in showing that off.

“She's a late April baby, so I wanted to give her a little more time to mature,” Sarinana said. “Hopefully on Wednesday, people will agree with me and we'll make a sale.”

Sarinana grew up on a ranch in Durango, Mexico, with working horses and cattle, but the allure of the Thoroughbred breed led him to Kentucky. Someday, he hopes to bring some of those bloodlines back to his hometown.

In the meantime, the foundation of horsemanship he developed in Durango and at Hagyard Farm has guided his ultra-focused yearling prep, led by the principle that the steps a horse takes on the track are much more important than the ones they take on the sales grounds.

“I'm easy going, I don't push them hard,” Sarinana said. “I just get them to walk and get them a little fit. The feeding regimen is the same as they grow up. They can get the mileage when they get to the track. Sometimes people put too much mileage in the sale prep and can't into training. I just try to make sure they don't get hurt.”

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The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale is a melting pot of consignments, from the giant operations that stretch across multiple barns to the single-stall sellers like Sarinana, all occupying the Newtown Paddocks property at the same time.

Sarinana said he has to work hard to stand out from the crowd and let buyers know his horse is there, but the reputation he has developed working for the Wertheimer operation has helped bring foot traffic to his spot in Barn 23.

On a related note, just because he's standing under his own Sarinana Racing sign at the Fasig-Tipton sale, he's not off the clock at Hagyard Farm this week.

“I have to be there in the morning, checking to make sure everything goes smoothly, and then swing by over here for a couple hours and go back and forth,” he said with a chuckle.

Planeta is 12 years old, and she likely has plenty of years left in her career as Sarinana's first-and-0nly-call broodmare. Whenever it's time for her to retire, he said he'll look for the next one to help further build his resume as a horseman, but he doesn't want that number to get much bigger than one mare.

In the meantime, Planeta was not bred for the 2023 foaling season, so there isn't a yearling for next season. Earlier this year, she was part of the debut book of mares for Happy Saver, a Grade 1-winning Wertheimer-homebred standing at Airdrie Stud, and the foal will arrive in 2024.

“Hopefully we'll get a healthy foal, and I haven't decided if it'll go to the sale as a weanling or a yearling,” Sarinana said. “I have never liked to sell weanlings, because I like to give them time to mature, but being by Happy Saver, it might be outstanding and go as a weanling.”

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Catching Up with 2005 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Winner Folklore

The late owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, universally beloved in the industry and honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit in 1997, got their third and final Breeders' Cup win with Folklore, made all the more special as she was a homebred. Although they used a variety of trainers, all three of their of their Breeders' Cup wins were with D. Wayne Lukas.

“We partnered with WinStar on Tiznow and Folklore was in his first crop,” said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Farm, where Folklore was raised. “She was bred by Bob and Beverly Lewis. At the time, they used several different trainers and Wayne Lukas was one of them. Folklore was kind of slated to go to the sale. We had others for them that were by more high-profile sires at the time, higher-bred yearlings. Lukas was told he could pick one. He locked on her right away. He didn't even look at the pedigree, didn't care who she was by or what her family was. He wanted her and he just knew. And of course she turned into a Breeders' Cup winner and a champion. She really kicked off Tiznow's stallion career, him being such a special horse in Breeders' Cup lore, then to get her in his first crop. I give Lukas a lot of credit. He was right.”

Folklore, now 20 and still owned by a branch of the Lewis family, has a yearling filly by Practical Joke, a weanling filly by Yaupon, and was bred to Mo Donegal for 2024. Her first daughter is the dam of multiple Japanese champion and Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

Folklore (2003 bay mare, Tiznow–Contrive, by Storm Cat)

Lifetime record: Ch. 2yo filly, MGISW, 8-4-3-1, $945,500

Breeders' Cup connections: B/O-Robert Lewis & Beverly Lewis (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas; J-Edgar Prado.

Current location: Taylor Made Farm, Nicholasville, Ky.

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Classic Contenders Arabian Knight, White Abarrio Headline Breeders’ Cup Works

It was a tale of two Breeders' Cup preps Monday morning at Santa Anita for Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) and White Abarrio (Race Day), the former putting in an eye-catching six furlong work in 1:11.54 and then galloping out a mile in 1:37.57 without any pressing encouragement, as reported by the DRF in the Breeders' Cup Clocker Report, and the latter having it tentatively postponed until Wednesday. When asked for a reason, conditioner Rick Dutrow only said: “We weren't able to work [White Abarrio] this morning. Hopefully we'll get to gallop him tomorrow [horses are not permitted to work at Santa Anita on Tuesdays] and work him Wednesday.”

Bob Baffert was thrilled with the work from the GI Pacific Classic winner–who many believe will ultimately be the post-time favorite in the Classic–and likes the changes he's seeing: “I was really happy with the work and the way he has been progressing since the Haskell, which was kind of a disaster all around. He just seems to be progressing and continuing to get better with maturity. We've still got another couple of weeks to go, but I couldn't be any happier with the way he's coming into the race at the moment.”

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