The Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase concluded its two-day run in Lexington, Ky. on Thursday with another solid session of sales, led by a seven-figure colt from the third crop of last year's champion first-crop sire American Pharoah.
Speedway Stables purchased the session-topper for $1.25 million from the consignment of Denali Stud, agent.
Offered as Hip 400, the American Pharoah colt is out of the stakes winning Victory Gallop mare Swingit, whose first five starters are all winners, including multiple Grade 1-placed millionaire Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday). This colt is also a half-sibling to Travel Column (Frosted), who broke her maiden impressively on debut at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks day. The session-topper hails from the immediate family of champions Housemaster and Carnuaba.
Hip 400 was bred in Kentucky by Mr. & Mrs. Bayne Welker Jr.
The second-highest price on the day was $800,000 paid for Hip 501, a colt by Into Mischief, last year's champion sire, current leading sire, and sire of Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.
That colt was purchased by Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket from the consignment of Indian Creek, agent. Hip 501 is the first foal out of Blind Copy, a full-sister to juvenile stakes winner Lucky Folie, from the immediate family of Grade 1 winners Golden Pheasant and Henley's Joy. Hip 501 was bred in Kentucky by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock.
The sale's overall most expensive offering came during the first session, when Hip 232, a filly by Quality Road out of Irish One Thousand Guineas winner Marvellous sold to Robbie Medina, agent for Joseph Allen, for $1,500,000.
Marvellous, a daughter of Galileo who has already produced a stakes winner in Fort Myers, is out of Group 2 winner You'resothrilling, a full-sister to European Horse of the Year and successful sire Giant's Causeway. Marvellous is a full-sister to Group 1 winners Gleneagles and Happily, as well as to group stakes winners Taj Mahal and Coolmore. The session-topper was bred in Kentucky by Orpendale, Chelston and Wynatt.
The top filly was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency, agent.
“One of the greatest compliments you can have is when someone entrusts you with something of value,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning on the success of the sale despite the uncertainty brought to the industry by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our commitment to those men and women was that we were going to do everything we possibly could to create the most viable marketplace under the circumstances… I think we did that.
Overall, 348 yearlings changed hands for $61,765,000. The average was $177,486 and the median was $120,000.
“The 'death' of the marketplace has been greatly exaggerated,” Browning said. “There is activity, there is a viable market. It's selective, and it continues to be selective, but there is viability and there is hope.”
In what has been a volatile auction season due to the cancellations and rescheduled sales tied to COVID-19, not to mention the death of senior account executive Dennis Lynch in May, Browning saluted his team for keeping steady in uncharted waters.
“If anybody could have imagined six months ago; no Gulfstream sale, no July yearling sale, no Saratoga sale, no New York-bred sale, that we'd be sitting here having sold over $60 million in horses over the last two days, I think most people would have called B.S. on us,” he said. “They stayed in the buggy with us. There were a lot of days where people would say, 'What are we gonna do?' Hell, I don't know. We're going to continue to try to find the answers and we're going to continue to do the right thing every day. We'll make a decision, we'll try to put our heart and soul in it, and we'll continue to try to do the best that we can. I think, across the board, our team did that.”
Results are available online.
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