Strong Opener To October Sale

LEXINGTON, KY – The start of the opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale was delayed an hour by heavy rain, but the weather seemed to be the only thing that could hold back the auction once the bidding got started Monday at Newtown Paddocks.

“We were very pleased with the opening session of the October sale,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said Monday night. “I don't think there was any surprise that there was a lot of demand. We've seen strength in the yearling sales from the start to, hopefully, when we finish on Thursday. There was a lot of activity at all levels. There was spirited bidding at all levels with lots of competition and a very diverse crowd that was here buying horses with lots of representation from all over the world.”

During the session, 274 yearlings sold for $11,016,900 for an average of $40,208 and a median of $17,000. At the opening session of the 2020 auction, 248 head sold for $8,393,800 for an average of $33,846 and a median of $15,000.

Of the 396 head catalogued for Monday's session, 341 went through the ring with 67 reported not sold for a buy-back rate of just 19.6%. It was 22.2% a year ago.

“I think people feel more confident, in terms of the overall clearance rate and the percentage of horses sold who were catalogued,” Browning said. “I think there are fewer scratches, in part, because people now realize based on where the market is right now, you might still be able to sell a horse reasonably successfully without a lot of pre-sale vet activity because there is so much activity that is taking place in the back walking ring.”

Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni made the day's highest bid when going to $700,000 to acquire a colt by Tapit (hip 22) from the Bedouin Bloodstock consignment early in the session. The price was the co-second highest for a colt in the sale's history.

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

Early Fireworks for Tapit Colt

Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of the stallion-making partnership of SF Bloodstock/Starlight/Madaket, helped the Fasig-Tipton October sale get off to a rousing start when making a final bid of $700,000 to secure a colt by Tapit (hip 22) from the Bedouin Bloodstock consignment.

“He just checked every box,” Lanni said of the yearling. “He has a fast look about him and he's by Tapit. He looks fast, he looks early and he looks sound. He is the kind of horse who just looks like he fits our program. When they possess everything, they end up bringing quite a bit.”

Lanni signed for 24 yearlings for a total of $10,590,000 on behalf of the partnership at last month's Keeneland September sale.

Of his continued buying spree as the yearling sales season winds down, Lanni said, “Some horses need a little more time to develop and maybe the earlier sales weren't the right place for them. I think this is a good place to sell. The sale has gotten better and better and it has a lot of momentum.”

Hip 22 is the first foal out of stakes winner March X Press (Shanghai Bobby). He was co-bred by SF Bloodstock and Henry Field Bloodstock. The co-breeders purchased March X Press, with the colt in utero, for $330,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November sale.

The bay colt had originally been targeted at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale in August.

“We were supposed to take him up to Saratoga and about two weeks before the sale he tangled with a fence,” Bedouin Bloodstock's Neal Clarke said. “So that put him out of Saratoga and then this was the next likely option for him. He went down very well here, people loved him and he sold well.”

Of the session-topping price, Clarke said, “You can't hide a good horse. If you have a nice one, they will find it. These people are professionals and they work hard and they will find them.”

Justify Colt to Fort

A colt from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify (hip 21) sold for $350,000 to John Fort early in Monday's first session of the October sale. The colt was bred and consigned by Blue Heaven Farm, which bred and campaigned his multiple stakes winning dam Maple Forest (Forestry).

“We haven't been in this business too long, so it's nice to see those third generation-type horses of ours succeed,” said Blue Heaven President and General Manager Adam Corndorf. “Maple Forest is a very special mare for us. She's a homebred stakes winner and won several stakes for us with Todd Pletcher. She has been a wonderful mare for us. She has had some very nice sales yearlings for us and some of them have earned blacktype.”

Hip 21 had originally been targeted at the Keeneland September sale.

“He was in the September sale at Keeneland, but he had a little paddock accident about a week before the sale,” Corndorf said. “We were lucky that we still had a sale to target after that. He just needed a couple of extra weeks and he stood out here.”

Blue Heaven founder Bonnie Baskin purchased Maple Forest's dam Maple Syrple (American Chance) for $320,000 at the 2006 Keeneland November sale. Maple Forest, who RNA'd for $200,000 at the 2009 Keeneland September sale, won three stakes and was second in the 2011 GIII Victory Ride S. She is also the dam of multiple stakes winner and graded placed Heartwood (Tapit) and stakes-placed Luzmimi Princess (Malibu Moon).

“We have a small operation, we have about 15 mares and produce about 12 horses a year,” Corndorf said. “We are hoping to just keep building. We would love to get to a point down the road where we could keep a couple of nice fillies as broodmare prospects, but for right now we are sales-focused and trying to sell everything.”

The Blue Heaven breeding operation enjoyed Grade I success earlier this year when Grace Adler (Curlin) won the GI Del Mar Debutante. The farm is also home to Starship Jubilee (Indy Wind).

“She's in foal to Medaglia d'Oro,” Corndorf said of the 2019 Canadian Horse of the Year who the operation acquired in 2018. “She is living the good life. She has a place with us forever. And we look forward to keeping some fillies out of her in the future.”

Union Rags Colt Destined for Resale

A colt by Union Rags (hip 266) is likely to return to the sales ring next spring after selling for $235,000 to the bid of pinhooker Ciaran Dunne, who signed under the name of the Redwings partnership. The yearling is out of stakes winner Purely Hot (Pure Prize) and is a half-brother to Grade I winner Eight Rings (Empire Maker). He was consigned by Taylor Made.

“He's by a proper stallion and he's a half-brother to a talented horse,” Dunne said of the yearling's appeal. “You've got to take a shot somewhere, so we took a shot there.”

Dunne was among the bidders on the Taylor Made-consigned and Three Chimneys-bred son of Gun Runner (hip 264) who RNA'd for $425,000 two hips earlier.

“The market is very strong,” Dunne said. “That's not surprising based on what happened earlier in the year. There were a lot of orders unfilled, ours included, so we knew people were going to come in here and be aggressive. It seems the ones people want bring way more than you'd anticipate.”

Dunne admitted the partnership groups which were so active at the Keeneland September sale had made his job more difficult.

“I think the different groups that are trying to make stallions seem to be playing more in our territory, in terms of physicals over pedigree, so they are a bigger pain in the ass than they normally are.”

Hip 266 was bred by Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt. Bloodstock agent Hugo Merry purchased Purely Hot, with the colt in utero, for $1.2 million at the 2019 Keeneland November sale.

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Siblings to New Juvenile GI Winners Highlight KEESEP

Three yearlings in the Keeneland September Sale catalogue received big updates over the weekend when their year-older siblings captured Grade Is at two of America's premiere race meets over the holiday weekend. GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity S. winner Pinehurst's (Twirling Candy) yearling half-brother by Cairo Prince sold prior to the juvenile's breakout score, bringing $120,000 from pinhooker Randy Bradshaw at Fasig-Tipton's New York-Bred Yearling Sale in mid-August. However, the winners of the GI TVG Del Mar Debutante S., GI Spinaway S. and GI Hopeful S. will be represented by half or full siblings next week at Keeneland.

Pinehurst's stablemate Grace Adler (Curlin) threw her hat in the ring for top juvenile filly honors with an ultra-impressive score in the GI Del Mar Debutante Sunday (video). Campaigned by Michael Lund Petersen and Willow Grace Farm, the $700,000 FTKSEL buy won her debut for Bob Baffert at the seaside oval July 31. Given a 4-1 chance in the Debutante, the chestnut unleashed a powerful late rally, sling-shotting to the lead and storming clear for an 11 1/4-length score.

“It was amazing,” said Adam Corndorf, President and General Manager of Blue Heaven Farm, breeder of Grace Adler. “When she started breezing several months ago, we started dreaming about what could be. Looking at the schedule for Del Mar, we thought how amazing it would be if she could run in that race and hit the board. You think about how many 2-year-olds there are every year and how many win that race and the odds are astronomical. It was incredible and a dream come true for us.”

Blue Heaven Farm consigns an Into Mischief half-brother to Grace Adler as Hip 99 in Book 1 of KEESEP. He RNA'd for $350,000 as a weanling at last year's Keeneland November Sale. Bonnie Baskin's operation went to $600,000 to acquire their dam, GSW Our Khrysty (Newfoundland), a half-sister too GISW Bullsbay (Tiznow), in foal to Tiznow at the 2011 FTKNOV sale. Her GSP daughter Virginia Key (Distorted Humor) remains in their care.

“He has a different body type [than his sister],” Corndorf said. “He is a little bigger, a little leggier, but similar in terms of his competitive spirit. The thing that is most impressive to us is that you just can't get to the bottom of him. As we have been prepping him for the sale, he has shown limitless energy. He can go all day long and never loses focus. He likes the work and is a pleasure to be around. Even when we walk the yearlings together, he wants to be out in front. Everything is a race to him.”

Meanwhile, across the country, it was the Gun Runner show at Saratoga over Labor Day weekend with members of his first crop taking both of the venue's banner juvenile events. First up was Echo Zulu, who was a decisive winner of the GI Spinaway S. Sunday at the Spa (video). The $300,000 KEESEP buy is trained by her sire's conditioner Steve Asmussen and co-owned by one of his owners Winchell Thoroughbreds in partnership with L and N Racing LLC.

Echo Zulu was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' after graduating by 5 1/2 lengths in her career bow on opening day of the Saratoga meet July 15. Heavily favored to repeat in the Spinaway, the bay was pressed through quick early fractions and drew away in the lane for a good-looking score.

Bill Betz, who was part of the group who bred Echo Zulu, offers her American Pharoah half-sister as Hip 43 in his Betz Thoroughbreds consignment. Their Grade II-winning dam Letgomyecho (Menifee) also produced L and N Racing's Asmussen-trained GI Runhappy Allen Jerkens S. winner Echo Town (Speightstown); GSW J Boys Echo (Mineshaft); GSP Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's Song); and MSP Dragic (Broken Vow).

“She is a lovely filly,” Betz said. “She has strength, balance, good movement and temperament. She also has pedigree. Obviously the mother was a graded stakes winner and produced graded stakes horses, including Echo Town, who won the Jerkens last year at Saratoga. So, now with Echo Zulu, it's a pretty nice package.”

The horseman continued, “Anytime you get something current happening in the pedigree it is a pretty big plus. In her case, it is icing on the cake because you already had all that to begin with. To have a half-sister as exciting as Echo Zulu just solidifies her place as an elite filly.”

Betz's KEESEP consignment got another big update at Saratoga the week prior when Yaupon (Uncle Mo) fended off an aggressive attack from Firenze Fire (Friesan Fire) to win the GI Forego S. Aug. 28 (video). Betz–who bred Yaupon in another partnership– offers a Good Magic half-brother to that future Spendthrift stallion as Hip 73. Out of GISP Modification (Vindication), the dark bay colt is also a half-brother to MGSP Sawyer's Hill (Spring At Last).

“Good timing is everything,” Betz said. “In Yaupon's case, it was his first Grade I win. He was an established sprinter in the past, but the fact he has progressed from three to four and beat five Grade I winners in the Forego is a great accomplishment for him. Hopefully it will propel him right into the Breeders' Cup. You can never really plan on something like that happening, but when it does, you just enjoy it.”

As for how the Good Magic colt compares to Yaupon, Betz said, “They are the same color, have the same balance and great movement. He is very correct with an excellent scope and X-rays. He is a May foal, but you'd never know it looking at him. He has grown up well and has good muscle. He is a very nice individual, so we have our fingers crossed there as well.”

The day after Echo Zulu gave her leading freshman sire his first Grade I winner, her barnmate Gunite (Gun Runner) became his second with an 11-1 upset in Saratoga's GI Hopeful S. on closing day of the meet (video). Bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds, the dark bay earned his diploma at third asking at Churchill Downs June 26 and was second to 'TDN Rising Star' High Oak (Gormley) next out in the GII Saratoga Special S. Aug. 14. Battling for the lead early in the Hopeful, Gunite shook free of his foes in the lane and rolled clear for a dominant score over 3-5 favorite Wit (Practical Joke).

“That's just the way we planned it,” David Fiske, longtime Winchell advisor, quipped. “It's just dumb luck, but we will take it! Echo Zulu was a purchase and Gunite was a homebred. It was just a big weekend over all.”

Winchell offers a full-sister to Gunite as Hip 539 in the Gainesway consignment. The dark bay is out of fellow Winchell homebred stakes winner Simple Surprise (Cowboy Cal), who in turn is a daughter of SW & GSP Simplify (Pulpit).

“He was always pretty and she has always been pretty,” Fiske said. “They kind of look like their mother to some extent. She is also a dark bay. That's not a bad thing because she is a pretty attractive mare.”

Fiske added, “I think if anyone has a Gun Runner in the sale they are in pretty good shape.”

The Keeneland September Sale kicks off Monday, Sept. 13.

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Attard Hoping To ‘Savor The Moment’ With Rags-To-Riches Breeders’ Cup Contender Starship Jubilee

It didn't take long for trainer Kevin Attard to understand that some folks at Keeneland appreciate Starship Jubilee, his 7-year-old mare with the rags-to-riches story, who will run in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Twice claimed early in her career, the Florida-bred has developed into a star with Attard. Twelve of her 19 career wins in 38 starts have come in stakes. Two of those victories were in Grade 1 races, including the most recent, the Woodbine Mile against males Sept. 19.

“As soon as she hit the track there were a couple of people out there and they said, 'Hey Starship Jubilee. I'm rooting for you,' “Attard said. “It's nice to hear and you really kind of savor that moment and realize that the following and the backing that she has generated over the years.”

Attard and his partner Soli Mehta claimed Starship Jubilee for $16,000 in February 2017 at Gulfstream. Attard's father, Tino, was the trainer of record when she reeled off three straight wins at Gulfstream in March and April. Moved to Woodbine in suburban Toronto and officially in the care of Kevin Attard, Starship Jubilee promptly won two Grade 2 races, the Nassau and the Dance Smartly. The one-time mediocre turf sprinter thrived in routes on grass.

In 29 races – never at less than a mile – she has compiled a 16-4-3 record in 29 starts and earned $2,052,519. She has won three Sovereign Awards as the top Canadian turf female and is Canada's reigning Horse of the Year.

In November 2018, Attard and Mehta offered the then-5-year-old mare for sale at auction at Keeneland. When bidding stopped at $425,000, below her reserve price, the owners decided to continue racing her. Within a day, though, they completed a sale with Bonnie Baskin's Blue Heaven Farm, a Versailles, Kentucky, commercial breeding farm managed by her son Adam Corndorf.

Attard suggested that Blue Heaven run the mare a few more times before being bred to Medaglia d'Oro in 2019. That mating ended up being put on hold for two seasons as she has won eight of 13 starts and earned more than $1.5 million. This year, Starship Jubilee has won five of six starts, including the Ballston Spa at Saratoga, a race that included champion Sistercharlie. After running fourth in the Diana — her first time off the board since December 2018 — at Saratoga on Aug. 23, she rebounded with the 1-length victory in the Woodbine Mile.

“Huge win, beating the boys in the Woodbine Mile,” Attard said. “It was a pretty gutsy performance on her part. She ran really well. She came out of the race in good shape. She's training great.

“It was a decision to either run against the males here in the Breeders' Cup Mile or in the Filly and Mare Turf at a mile and three-sixteenths against fillies. We elected to take the filly route. The mile and three-sixteenths should be up in her wheel house. She's been going a mile and a quarter. No race is easy, that's for sure.”

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