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Catalogue for Fasig-Tipton’s Pin Oak Stud Sale Now Available

The catalogue for The Pin Oak Stud Sale, to be conducted by Fasig-Tipton, is now available online. The sale will be held at Fasig-Tipton's Newtown Paddocks facility in Lexington, Ky. Sunday, Sept. 12. The auction will begin at 6 p.m.

This past Thursday, Josephine Abercrombie's Pin Oak Stud announced that it will be offering its remaining broodmares, weanlings and some racing fillies at auction. The catalogue consists of 24 horses, including graded stakes winners Overheard (Macho Uno), in foal to McKinzie; Gold Medal Dancer (Medaglia d'Oro), in foal to Munnings; and Don't Leave Me (Lemon Drop Kid), in foal to Authentic. Weanlings on offer include progeny of Justify, Candy Ride, Ghostzapper, Flatter, Medaglia d'Oro, Union Rags, and Street Sense.

The catalogue will also be available via the equineline sales catalogue app. Print catalogues will be available beginning the week of Aug. 16. Online bidding and phone bidding will be available.

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Half-Sister To Derby Winner Always Dreaming Sells At Saratoga In Dilger’s Memory

One of the enduring images of the 2017 Kentucky Derby didn't come between the rails.

It was a cell phone video from inside McCarthy's Irish Bar in Lexington, Ky., where praise and cheers rained down upon on Gerry Dilger as he watched the colt he co-bred win the biggest race of his life.

Always Dreaming's triumph at Churchill Downs was a career highlight for Dilger, who bred the colt in partnership with bloodstock agent Mike Ryan under the moniker Santa Rosa Partners.

It was a powerful pairing, combining one of the industry's top consignors, in Dilger's Dromoland Farm, and one of the keenest buying eyes in the business, in Ryan; and the mare that made Always Dreaming, the Grade 3-winning blue hen Above Perfection, was their ace in the hole.

On Tuesday, when Hip 160 goes through the ring, it'll be a reminder of the good times, but it'll also be a curtain call for those who couldn't attend.

The Quality Road filly wearing the “160” sticker on her hip was the last foal out of Above Perfection, whose mating was planned by Ryan and Dilger in tandem. Dilger died in March 2020, a month before the filly was born.

A year later, on April 20, Above Perfection had a Justify colt, but she developed laminitis in the weeks that followed and soon succumbed at age 23.

Whether the reasons are physical, economic, or personal, every horse that goes through the ring in Saratoga Springs does so because they are special. Needless to say, this one carries a bit more weight for Ryan than the garden-variety special horse.

“It's very emotional,” Ryan said. “Gerry was my best friend. It's tough.”

Above Perfection had been a revelation for Ryan and Dilger. They bought the mare for $450,000 at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, carrying a Dixie Union foal that would become Grade 1 winner and graded stakes producer Hot Dixie Chick.

Always Dreaming, by Bodemeister, was the seventh foal bred by Santa Rosa Partners. Two foals later, the mare produced the Pioneerof the Nile filly Positive Spirit, who won the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes.

The mare's final Justify colt was the 12th bred by the Santa Rosa operation, and her 14th overall. Ryan said he was aware that the mare's age was catching up with her, and he'd taken steps to ease her load by putting her foals on nurse mares in recent seasons. The plan had been to pension Above Perfection after her latest foal was weaned, but she went from healthy to laminitic without warning.

“She was one of these mares that put everything into her foals,” Ryan said. “She always had good muscle and strength herself. She was a powerful mare, and she was an easy doer. She took care of herself, and she never disappointed us. She dropped a very good foal.”

The mare's age was also on Ryan and Dilger's mind when they planned the mating that produced the Quality Road filly on offer Tuesday.

“He had a terrific year at the time,” Ryan said. “We wanted a proven horse, and he's a horse that we bred to early in his career. He's one of the top horses around. The mare had some age on her, and Lane's End were gracious enough to take her.”

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The ensuing foal fit the bill of another successful filly on the page.

“This filly actually reminds me a lot of Hot Dixie Chick,” Ryan said. “She's a similar shape, similar size and stature, good length, good depth to her. She's got the same mind. All of them have a good mind. Hot Dixie Chick had the most unbelievable temperament – she was like a sheepdog, but when you dropped her on the rail, she was extremely talented.

“I'd say there's more of the mare in this filly than Quality Road,” he continued. “She's bred to go two turns, but she gives me the impression she'll have plenty of pace.”

Fillies with pages this deep don't often enter the commercial market, especially when the matriarch of such a strong family tree has recently died. Under normal circumstances, a filly like the one on offer Tuesday would be kept to join the breeder's broodmare band.

Ryan said the filly's entry in the sale was part of the process of moving on.

“To finalize Gerry's estate, this was the appropriate way to do it, to put her through the sale,” he said. “Obviously, a filly like this, you'd love to keep her for the long term as a racemare and a broodmare, because it's a pedigree we're familiar with. These kinds of fillies are hard to come by.”

The post Half-Sister To Derby Winner Always Dreaming Sells At Saratoga In Dilger’s Memory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘If I’m A One-Woman Show, I Brought The Right Filly’: Foreman Makes Her Saratoga Debut As Consignor

One's first trip to Saratoga is often unforgettable. That's why people keep coming back to the same spot in upstate New York every summer.

This is far from the first Saratoga sojourn for consignor Susan Foreman, but it'll be a memorable one nonetheless.

Foreman, born and based in Ontario, will consign her first horse at this year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. The single-horse consignment doesn't take up much room in Barn 3, but the right horse can fill a lot of space.

The Medaglia d'Oro filly, offered Monday as Hip 22, is out of the winning Fusaichi Pegasus mare Vulcan Rose, whose three foals to race are all black type earners, led by the Grade 3 winner and popular young stallion Flameaway.

Though many of Vulcan Rose's foals have been foaled in Canada, the filly offered Monday was born in Kentucky, bred by British Columbia-based Deborah Holmes' Phoenix Rising Farm.

“I've got a great owner who gave this filly to me to prep,” Foreman said. “She foals mares with me, so with this breeding, she needed to be with the best of the best. They sent her to me in mid-April for prepping, and here I am. She fits the bill. She's gorgeous, classy, with pedigree. I couldn't have asked for a nicer horse. If I'm a one-woman show, I brought the right filly.”

Monday's sale will mark a new milestone for Foreman, but that's no indication that any of this is new for the consignor. She has sold in Kentucky and Ontario for decades, and she'll have 15 horses in the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) Canadian Premier Yearling Sale on Sept. 1 at Woodbine, where she is no stranger to the top of the standings.

Foreman has a full-service farm in Tottenham, Ontario, with over two decades of experience with Thoroughbreds. However, her equine roots trace back to the show horse world with different breeds. The rigorous process of making sure a horse is pristine for judges made for a natural transfer when Foreman moved into the Thoroughbred realm, and the show ring was traded for the sales ring.

“I have done this since I was a little girl,” she said. “I've shown horses, conformation horses on the line, so I have a lot of attention to detail ingrained in me. Coming into the Thoroughbreds and showing them was uncomplicated for me, because since I was a small girl, it was so important for me to have them fit, muscular, shiny, clean, clipped properly.”

Even with a single-horse operation, Foreman acknowledged that she couldn't do it alone. She brought a pair of longtime friends and associates with her for her first Saratoga consignment: Amanda Hutchinson from Ontario, and Israel Romo from Kentucky.

Romo has worked in the WinStar Farm stallion operation, but her relationship with Foreman goes even further back.

“We've been friends for close to 20 years and he still shows horses for me,” Foreman said. “He's my go-to guy when I need extra help down here, he finds me all my help, so he's a key asset for me to show.”

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This year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale has a considerable Canadian presence, with fellow Ontario-based outfits Cara Bloodstock and Sam-Son Farm also bringing consignments.

Though COVID-19-related restrictions aren't as tight as they were at the same time last year, Foreman said there were still plenty of administrative hoops to jump through to get from one side to the other.

“It's tough,” she said. “My easy access for me was I hauled her down here myself, so I go in the commercial lane, and have all my export papers done with my broker, no problem. But, to come without her would have been a problem. You'd have had to fly. For me, transporting her with all of my equipment and my groom was the easy way to get here.

“There's a lot of documents to cross – declaration of importation, who's traveling with me,” Foreman continued. “Every detail is not overlooked on who is coming back and forth: my vehicle, plates, VIN number, everything. But, once you get all that paperwork, it's just a barcode. They scan you, and away you go.”

It took the right horse to get Foreman to the Saratoga sale, and a potentially special one for her to endure the logistical headaches. Even though Foreman has high expectations for her Medaglia d'Oro filly, the consignor does not plan to rest on her laurels, regardless of how she performs on Monday. This may be her first Saratoga sale as a consignor, but she had no intention of making it her last.

“It was a goal of mine to get here,” Foreman said. “Hopefully I'm bringing this one's half-sister and some other nice, well-bred colts next year.”

The post ‘If I’m A One-Woman Show, I Brought The Right Filly’: Foreman Makes Her Saratoga Debut As Consignor appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Fasig-Tipton Marks 100 Years in Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale, swept away by the pandemic last summer, marks its 100th anniversary when bidding on the two-day boutique auction starts Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion.

“We are thrilled to be back,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said while overseeing action at the sales barns on a brilliantly sunny Sunday morning in upstate New York. “It's wonderful to be here and to feel the excitement and the energy on the sales grounds. And there is that same energy and excitement on the racetrack and on the backside and when you walk around town. People feel so upbeat and positive. There is a bounce in their steps. I think the year's absence has made us all appreciate Saratoga even more.”

While uncertainty kept much of the market in check in 2020, Browning said he is expecting plenty of competition this week in Saratoga.

“There are a lot of positive things happening in our business right now,” he said. “People feel good about the economy and the racing industry and there is vibrancy which I think is pervasive now.

He continued, “I think there was certainly some scale back at the top of the market last year–I think there was less competition for the really expensive horses overall. Lack of certainty in any aspect of life is tough and I think last year people didn't know how long the pandemic was going to go on and what was going to be the outcome. I think that psychologically changed some buying habits or limits. I think the top end was compressed last year and I would expect it to be more vibrant this year. To me, the top end is $500,000 and up. I don't think we are going to see the return of crazy, expensive yearlings, but I think there will be increased competition at the upper level of the market this year.”

Consignors were kept busy at the sales barns Sunday, with a strong contingent of pinhookers making the rounds alongside trainers and end-users.

“I think everybody is delighted to be back,” said Hunter Valley Farm's Adrian Regan. “There is a great buzz around the place. The action at the barn has been good. It was steady yesterday and very busy today. As usual, Fasig has done a great job creating the atmosphere and attracting the people. So we are very hopeful of a good sale.”

The Saratoga sale comes on the heels of an exciting weekend of racing at the track across the street and the energy permeates throughout the town.

“I think there are a lot of people around town and I think everybody is happy to be back here,” said Paramount Sales' Gabriel Duignan. “The racing is very good at the moment. The town seems to be hopping and it's been very busy here at the sales grounds. I am optimistic it will be a good sale–everything is pretty healthy in our business at the moment. The 2-year-old game was good, the racing is good. So I am optimistic.”

With travel between countries still difficult because of the ongoing pandemic, foreign participation will likely be lighter than in recent years, according to Browning.

“There is a reasonable representation of foreign buyers here,” Browning said. “There are still some restrictions, both getting into the United States and returning to some countries. The Japanese have a really hard time going back to Japan. And certainly there are some initial barriers for folks coming from Europe. We've been able to work with various representatives to accommodate some travel requests. But I would expect less international participation than we have had in recent years–obviously not 2020–but the North American buyer bench will be very, very strong and very enthusiastic.”

Fasig-Tipton will again be offering internet bidding for buyers unable to make it to the auction and, already positioning itself for the next 100 years, is unveiling an option to buy horses with cryptocurrency.

“It will be interesting to see what happens,” Browning said of the company's first foray into cryptocurrency. “I don't think it will dramatically change the impact of this sale or the immediate future. But we are always open to new ideas. We should be forward looking. I think if a lot of people before us hadn't been innovative and creative, this company wouldn't be here for 100 years. I think we have a responsibility to position the company moving forward to be successful. Not everything you try is going to be successful, but you certainly have to be looking for new ideas and new ways to attract new people to the business. And we think this is a possibility, so we are going to see where it goes. We are not going to measure success based solely on the activity of this one sale. That's certainly not our intent.”

Of overseeing the Saratoga sale's centenary celebration, Browning said, “It feels like an awesome responsibility. There is a lot of pride. I am proud of the way we do business. And I think we continue, as the organization has done for a long time, to provide a high level of customer service. We are going to strive to do that and do an even better job of it when possible. It's an honor, but it's also a responsibility to make sure you position the company, not only for the company's success, but there is a responsibility to the industry as well.

“I have believed for years that there is no better place in the world to introduce people to Thoroughbred racing and Thoroughbred sales than Saratoga,” Browning said. “If somebody is interested in the business and they can't come here and enjoy the experience and get an adrenaline rush, whether it be at the racetrack or the sales grounds, then this game is probably not for them. So we have a responsibility to the industry to continue to make this place–and this place is Saratoga in its totality, with the racetrack and with us and with the local community–to take this opportunity to let people see the passion and the enthusiasm that we have for what we do in our sport. And we take that seriously because we love it.”

At the 2019 sale, four horses sold for seven figures, with a pair of colts by Curlin sharing top price of $1.5 million A total of 135 yearlings sold in 2019 for $55,547,000. The average was $411,459 and the median was $350,000.

A total of 210 yearlings have been catalogued for this year's Saratoga sale, which will be held Monday and Tuesday evenings with bidding beginning each day at 6:30 p.m.

The post Fasig-Tipton Marks 100 Years in Saratoga appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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