Fasig-Tipton July | Horse Racing Free Tips

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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EquiTrace Technology on Display at Fasig-Tipton July

Buyers and sellers on site this week at Fasig-Tipton's Newtown Paddocks may have noticed signage for a fast-growing company called EquiTrace. Launched in 2019, the EquiTrace App not only identifies horses with the use of a microchip scanner, but also provides management and traceability solutions for horse farms and equine organizations.

Dr. Kevin Corley, a veterinary specialist in equine medicine and critical care, was one of the key founders of EquiTrace and said that the idea for the product stemmed from the industry's inefficiencies with identifying horses that have led to several high-profile mix-ups in recent years. As EquiTrace developed further, it expanded from not only an identification method, but also a management tool for farm managers, trainers and other equine-related organizations.

“As we launched EquiTrace, we started with the foundation of identification and then worked to address other issues including traceability, medication and what happens to a horse after racing,” Corley explained. “We've worked to build a system that provides real value to the people using it, but also has side benefits of helping the whole industry.”

EquiTrace was first launched in Europe and has been incorporated into many leading stud farms there, but it is now gaining traction in the U.S. and has been put to use at top farms in Kentucky, including Lane's End Farm. The product has already been used at Goffs Bloodstock Sales, but Fasig-Tipton is the first Thoroughbred auction house in the U.S. to partner with EquiTrace. At the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of All Ages and the Selected Yearlings Sales, all incoming horses were identified and checked in via the EquiTrace App.

Fasig-Tipton's Anna Seitz was the first member of Fasig-Tipton's team to learn about the product. She admitted that she had initial reservations, but was eager to learn more as soon as she saw the app in action.

“I brought everyone in from Fasig-Tipton and showed it to them,” she said. “We all said that we had to get behind this right away because this is something that should have happened 10 years ago. It's cutting edge and it's a really positive thing for the industry. I truly believe that it's something we're all going to be using in the next couple of years. They've been an awesome company to work with and we're very happy to be partnering with them.”

“I think for Fasig-Tipton, it produces a system where they can 100% stand by it and make everything more efficient for checking horses in,” Corley added. “You've got a verifiable chain of how this horse was identified by this person at this time. It speeds up the process of making sure the right horse goes into the sales ring.”

The EquiTrace App works through the use of microchips, which are required by The Jockey Club for all registered Thoroughbred foals of 2017 and later. With the use of a scanner, the app quickly identifies the horse and pulls up its profile. From there, various pieces of information can be traced and recorded for that horse.

“We're trying to produce really useful tools to capture information that everyone needs to manage an efficient farm or training facility right at the sight of the horse,” Corley said. “Every time you scan the microchip, the app captures its GPS location. If you scan a horse when it comes off the van, you have a complete movement record for the horse. One of our clients was called about a foal and he just looked the horse up in the app and could tell the vet which barn to go to.”

Medical records can be maintained on each horse's page. EquiTrace recognizes over 1,000 products through the scan of the medication's barcode. Veterinarians and managers can enter the necessary treatment for a horse. As approved staff scans the horse, they will see the exact medication required along with its dosage and suggested withdrawal time. Users can choose the state jurisdictions they race under to adjust medication guidelines.

Reproductive records can also be traced through the app. Farm managers can maintain notes on each mare's profile as the mare is examined. That information is then easily accessible to other farm staff looking for up-to-date information on the horse.

While all of this data is accessible for horses with any type of microchip, further information can be tracked from horses with the Merck Animal Health Bio-Thermo Microchip, which contains a biosensor that measures a horse's body temperature.

“This is a really powerful tool because at just the stroke of a microchip scanner, people can get the temperature of their horse and the data is captured immediately onto the app,” Corley explained. “As an internal medicine specialist, that excites me because we're all facing a staffing shortage and it's really hard to take temperatures twice a day. With this system, it's very practical and there are no errors. One of our clients said they recorded 18 temperatures in a minute and 19 seconds.”

Looking ahead to the long-term benefits of EquiTrace, Corley said he believe expanded use within the industry will improve traceability of horses once they are retired from racing.

The approximate cost of the app is $2 per horse each month, with discounts available for farms with larger numbers.

“The idea is to give tools to the industry that help them at what is hopefully a price that everyone can afford,” Corley noted. “We've been delighted with the initial uptake in the States and we're working to continue to further that.”

To learn more about EquiTrace, click here.

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First-Crop Yearling Previews: Maximus Mischief

The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions, including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. Check out the first few editions of our series here.

Buyers will have plenty of opportunity to get a good look at the first crop from Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief – Reina Maria, by Songandaprayer) at next week's Fasig-Tipton July Sale. With a dozen yearlings currently slated to go through the ring for Maximus Mischief, Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker said the young sire is generating quite the commercial buzz.

“I think he's going to have as much hype as any stallion out there,” he explained. “We knew there was a lot of excitement with this horse and we felt like, as the Fasig-Tipton team was doing their inspections, they were going to find a lot of these that they liked. He's a horse that gets the right type of physical. ”

While Maximus Mischief's major selling point for breeders has been the fact that he is by Into Mischief, this son of the remarkable leading stallion offers a different physical than most other sons of Into Mischief at stud. Toothaker said the speedy 'TDN Rising Star'-turned-Grade II winner has continued to fill out since settling in at Spendthrift and now, as a 6-year-old, stands at 17 hands.

“He is my biggest horse,” he said. “For him to win his first three starts, including the GII Remsen S., he was amazing with his speed for a horse that big. But to be an Into Mischief and be that big is even more amazing because normally that's something we don't see a lot. For him to be this massive, stretchy horse, breeders are loving it.”

Toothaker explained that as a unique representation of the Into Mischief line, Maximus Mischief is producing offspring with both the body and the leg that the commercial market demands.

“Breeders are putting something out there that the market wants. You get that great hip and really good Into Mischief body, but also with plenty of leg.”

With a $7,500 stud fee in his first three years at stud, Maximus Mischief has been held to an average of 180 mares each year. It's a book size that Toothaker said fits the stallion and what they hope to accomplish with him.

“I feel like we hit the bull's-eye with him because he's at a price that anybody can afford,” he noted. “It has caused a dilemma because we sell him out, which is a great problem to have, but it's exciting for breeders to be able to get a horse of his quality for that price. Who wouldn't want to breed to a son of Into Mischief?”

Out of a half-sister to Grade I winner Secret Compass (Discreet Compass) and campaigned by Cash is King LLC and LC Racing, Maximus Mischief romped in his first two starts as a juvenile at Parx, winning the first by almost nine lengths under wraps and the second in a similar style with a 98 Beyer Speed Figure. He remained undefeated in the GII Remsen S., but incurred an injury shortly after placing in the GII Holy Bull S. and was forced off the Kentucky Derby trail and eventually into retirement.

“We were pretty determined to land him here at Spendthrift,” Toothaker noted.”We were very fortunate that Chuck Zacney and Glenn Bennett were willing to do a deal with us to insure bringing him here. They've been very, very supportive of Max each year. They've sent mares to him and have been active at the sales buying some.”

At the fall and winter breeding stock sales, Maximus Mischief's progeny averaged $42,777 with 45 of 52 sold. At the Keeneland January Sale, his filly out of Sheza Sweet Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid) sold for $145,000 to Cash Is King and Commonwealth New Era Racing.

Bloodstock agent and pinhooker Renee Dailey said she went into the weanling sales with the goal of coming out with several Maximus Mischief pinhooking prospects.

“We had seen and heard about how their appearance was so much like the Into Mischiefs,” she recalled. “They were very athletic-looking foals that had great walks and strong shoulders and hips. When they were pulled out of the barn, you would not have known it wasn't an Into Mischief.”

Hip 123, Maximus Mischief colt out of Lucy Buckner | Amy Lanigan

Dailey couldn't get her hands on a Maximus Mischief until late in the Keeneland November Sale, but found another prospect in January. Partnering with John Greathouse of Glencrest Farm, she signed the ticket on a colt out of Lucy Buckner (Stormy Atlantic), a full-sister to GISW Stormy Lucy, for $55,000.

“When John and I got him at that price, we looked at each other and high-fived,” she recounted. “We were thrilled. He is a very strong colt. He has a huge hip and shoulder. With Storm Cat on the bottom and Into Mischief on the top, he is bred to be fast and it's a similar cross to GISW Going to Vegas (Goldencents).”

The colt is now preparing to go through the ring as Hip 123 at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale with Four Star Sales.

“I'm just thrilled with how he has come along through sales prep,” Dailey said. “He's a forward, tenacious colt and an extremely athletic physical. I've had him since he was purchased and he just hasn't had a bad day.”

Toothaker said he believes that Maximus Mischief's sales prospects at Fasig-Tipton July will serve as a harbinger for more to come for their sire as the yearling auctions continue.

“Everyone you talk to is saying that they've got a good one,” he said. “They're going to be horses that people can buy right and give them a real chance at the track or back at the 2-year-old sales.”

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Fasig-Tipton Adds 27 Supplemental Entries to July Horses of All Ages Catalogue

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 27 supplemental entries of horses of racing and breeding stock to its upcoming July Selected Horses of All Ages sale.

These latest entries are catalogued as hips 584-610 and may now be viewed online. These newest entries include:

First Constitution (Chi) (Hip 587): A Group 1 stakes winner in his native Chile, this son of Constitution is a multiple stakes winner in New York this year. Consigned by WinStar Racing, agent.
Miss Costa Rica (Hit It a Bomb) (Hip 590): Four-year-old filly was Grade II placed at two and is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Gas Station Sushi (Into Mischief). Consigned by Highgate Sales, agent.
One Step Ahead (Hip 591): Three-year-old daughter of Upstart was a stakes winner last year at year at two. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.
Moretti (Hip 595): Son of Medaglia d'Oro was a multiple stakes winner in New York that notched graded stakes placings in the GII Suburban S. and GII Brooklyn S. on his way to career earnings of $367,520. He is a half-brother to GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway (Smart Strike). Consigned as a stallion prospect by Highgate Sales, Agent.
Song Parody (Hip 609): Two-year-old New York-bred daughter of Practical Joke won her debut by 5 1/2 lengths June 25 at Belmont. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.

Also included are mares in foal to Bolt d'Oro, current leading first-crop sire by winners; Higher Power, Grade I winner whose first foals arrived this year; and Upstart a leading third-crop sire.

The July Selected Horses of All Ages sale will take place this coming Monday, July 11, beginning at 3 p.m. ET. On the following day–Tuesday, July 12–Fasig-Tipton will conduct The July Sale of Selected Yearlings beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

Online bidding and phone bidding will be available for all sales.

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