PR Back Ring Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale: Remembering Sheikh Hamdan’s Seven-Figure Star, Dayjur

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FASIG-TIPTON GULFSTREAM EDITION OF THE PR BACK RING

The inaugural edition of the PR Back Ring is now online, ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale of Selected 2-Year-Olds In Training.

The PR Back Ring is the Paulick Report's new bloodstock newsletter, released ahead of every major North American Thoroughbred auction. Seeking to expand beyond the usual pdf presentation, the Back Ring offers a dynamic experience for bloodstock content, heavy on visual elements and statistics to appeal to readers on all platforms, especially mobile devices.

Here is what's inside the debut issue…

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FASIG-TIPTON GULFSTREAM EDITION OF THE PR BACK RING

  • Remembering Dayjur, a watershed horse for Shadwell Farm and Taylor Made Sales Agency
  • Stallion Spotlight presented by Kentucky Research: Spendthrift Farm's Mark Toothaker on Gormley
  • Honor Roll presented by Breeze Up Consignors Association: War of Will's path from Europe to the Preakness
  • The Stat presented by Kirkwood Stables: Leading third-crop sires of 2020 by average progeny earnings (without their top earner)
  • Lesson Horses presented by Texas Thoroughbred Association: Bob Feld on Lucky Baldwin
  • Ask Your Veterinarian presented by Kentucky Performance Products: How do crushed heels happen?
  • On their own time: Kirkwood Stables' Gulfstream Gallop program continues to grow
  • Ask Your Insurer presented by Muirfield Insurance: Considerations for your new 2-year-old
  • Pennsylvania Leaderboard presented by Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: Wait For It tops 2020 incentive earners
  • First-Crop Sire Watch: First juveniles of Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FASIG-TIPTON GULFSTREAM EDITION OF THE PR BACK RING

The post PR Back Ring Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale: Remembering Sheikh Hamdan’s Seven-Figure Star, Dayjur appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Juvenile Sales Put Fourth-Book Sires Back on the Map

By the time a stallion's fourth book opens, the team behind him is usually pulling out all their stops to fill those pages. But perhaps no marketing technique in their repertoire can have quite the same effect as just one big price tag when the stallion's first crop of juveniles go to market.

At last week's OBS March Sale, three first-crop juvenile sires were represented by youngsters that surpassed the $500,000 mark in the sales ring, and representatives from each of their respective farms said the phone has been ringing off the hook for breeding contracts since.

The first young sire to score a half-million-dollar sale was Lane's End's 'TDN Rising Star' Unified, when Hip 163, a Wavertree-consigned colt out of Promise Me a Cat (D'wildcat), hammered home for $530,000. The $190,000 KEESEP graduate had clocked the fastest quarter mile of Thursday's breeze show, going in :20 2/5.

Lane's End's Bill Farish said that since the colt's headline-worthy sale, Unified's book has received a major bump in numbers.

“We've gotten over 30 new contracts and they're still coming in,” Farish said. “So he's going to end up with a really nice book of mares. He's getting very close to full.”

While Unified was busy in his first two years at stud with a combined 254 mares bred, he only managed a 68-mare book in 2020, a number sure to be surpassed this year after his first crop's splash at OBS.

Six of his juveniles went through the sales ring in Ocala, including two additional six-figure colts. A $19,000 FTOCT graduate, Hip 110 returned to the auction ring to sell to Spendthrift Farm for $400,000. Later that day, Hip 159 went for $120,000.

While Unified's $43,390 average at the yearling sales last year kept him just short of the top 10 first-crop yearling sires, a $231,000 average coming out of the OBS sale has him in the early running for the leading 2-year-old sales average within his class.

“They certainly looked, as yearlings, like they would be good 2-year-olds,” Farish said. “But once you get a saddle under them and they get into training, you can tell a lot more about if that's a genuine thing or not. It certainly looks like Unified is answering the questions the right way.”

A second first-crop juvenile sire garnered attention before the sale began when Hip 531, a son of Spendthrift's Gormley, fired a :9 4/5 bullet at the breeze show. On the second day of the sale, the $160,000 Fasig-Tipton Select yearling pinhook for Eddie Woods's Quarter Pole Enterprises went for $550,000 to Breeze Easy LLC.

“I got calls from several people about that horse,” Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker said of the youngster. “I had heard Eddie reviewing his group before the sale and he talked highly of him before he ever breezed, so that lets you know you're seeing some nice things moving towards the sale.”

Toothaker said that he, too, has been busy taking calls from breeders interested in sending mares to Gormley.

“I think we've done about a dozen seasons off of the sale,” Toothaker said. “We're hoping that he can follow it up with another strong sale in Miami [at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, Mar. 31] to really get us some momentum, but we definitely picked up some business. It isn't to the point yet where we're full and trying to turn people away, but it certainly has helped.”

Toothaker added that Gormley's success at OBS is also reflected in the attention he's received from Share the Upside investors.

“One of the things we've seen is that some of the people who had not named a mare on their free spot now have called and have named a mare,” he said. “So we have picked up some business with the sale, but it has also stimulated our breeding right holders to go ahead and breed a mare to him this year. We've been reaching out to folks to make the pitch that, 'Hey, this horse is right there for leading freshman sire. Wouldn't you want one in foal to him?'”

Eddie Woods-consigned colt out of Green Eyed Cat (Tale of the Cat) one of three juveniles to reach six figures for Spendthrift's Gormley. | Photos by Z

Gormley was represented by eight juveniles at the OBS Sale. Of the seven sold, three reached the six-figure mark. Another Eddie Woods trainee, Hip 371, brought $250,000 while Hip 234 went to Patrick Biancone for $130,000. Gormley's $153,857 average from the sale increased off his $37,544 yearling average last year.

“When you sell them as yearlings, there's a missing piece in the equation,” Toothaker replied when asked on what changed as Gormley's first crop matured from yearlings to juveniles. “They can look fast as yearlings, but when you go through the ring as 2-year-olds they have to be fast. I think Gormley just separated himself out. [Last year], everyone looked at him as a horse with a modest stud fee and he probably sold his yearlings where they should have sold. Then when they had a chance to perform on the track, that changed the metrics and he increased his average dramatically.”

Breeding a combined 307 mares in his first two years, Gormley bred 72 mares last year off a $7,500 stud fee.

Both Toothaker and Farish spoke about the major impact a strong showing at the early juvenile sales can have on a stallion's book in his fourth year at stud.

“The 2-year-old sales are big help,” Toothaker said. “They get your name out there and it makes people take a second look. That's all you're asking, is to still be in the game.”

“When you have a fourth-year sire, nowadays with the large books it gets tougher and tougher to find mares until breeders have something to believe in because it's a big risk to breed to a fourth-year sire if you're not very encouraged by what you're seeing,” Farish echoed. “When they have good results at the sales it can really make a difference.”

Both Gormley and Unified will have to contend with a third major player for leading freshman sire status.

Practical Joke made a major splash at last week's sale with a $750,000 sales topper and four more juveniles reaching six figures, and while Coolmore's Adrian Wallace said the farm has received inquiries about the Ashford resident over the last few days, his book was full before the sale began.

“Yes, we've gotten calls on Practical Joke this week, but unfortunately we've been unable to fulfill their requests because Practical Joke is the worst-kept secret out there,” he said. “His 2-year-olds have been doing very, very well and they have been from the beginning, so most people were aware that the horse has been full before we got to see the results from the March sale.”

Practical Joke's leading sale at OBS was Hip 311, a filly out of Peruvian champion Valiant Emilia (Per) (Pegasus Wind). A $120,000 KEESEP purchase for Top Line Sales LLC, the daughter of the buzzed-about sire brought $750,000 after breezing in :9 4/5.

Wallace reported that Gabriela Alvarez-Calderon of Teneri Farms already has Valiant Emilia slated to return to Practical Joke again this year.

The son of Into Mischief has maintained a large book in his first few years at stud, seeing 220 mares in 2018 before filling a 200 and 188-mare book the following two years. His $120,243 yearling average last year placed him amongst the top five first-crop yearling sires.

Last week, he saw seven youngsters go through the ring with five selling to average $296,000. Hip 113, a colt out of SW Mystic City (City Zip) brought $210,000 while four hips earlier, a filly from the Old South Farm consignment sold for $200,000.

“Not a single race has been run yet and we're very mindful of that, but nevertheless it's good to see them in demand and gallop out so well at the breeze sale, and then see a continuation of what they achieved as yearlings,” Wallace said.

Practical Joke filly goes for $750,000 to top the OBS March Sale. | Photos by Z

While Practical Joke didn't necessarily need the added boost of a near-million-dollar sale in order to fill this year's book, Wallace said the added publicity does nothing but help in kicking off this young sire's fourth year at stud.

“It makes them relevant,” Wallace replied when asked what a successful sale helps achieve for a young stallion. “The first-season sires, as most people are aware, are the ones that are easy to sell. They're the ones people put their faith in and they're fresh in people's minds, possibly because they could be the next biggest thing but also because they've never done anything wrong. There's less risk involved.”

He continued, “By the time you get to the fourth and fifth year, the talking stops and the advertising stops, so it very much depends on how they sold as yearlings and how the 2-year-old buyers perceive them. If you're lucky enough to have a horse that's well-received in the marketplace, then it's all well and good.”

One first-crop juvenile Ashford resident that did reap the benefits of a solid OBS Sale was Cupid. Off a $46,786 yearling average last year, the son of Tapit was represented by two six-figure juvenile sales in Ocala, and Wallace reported that his fourth book has increased by 20 mares in the past week.

Both Farish and Toothaker echoed that several of their first-year juvenile sires cashed in on the results of last week.

Spendthrift's Lord Nelson averaged $103,937 at OBS with Hip 67, a colt out of SP Luna Dorada (Seeking the Gold) selling for $385,000.

Toothaker said the son of Pulpit had 15 slots remaining going into last week, and those spots have since been filled.

“We've been saying here for a month that we felt like with a good showing from Lord Nelson and Gormley there at OBS, it would probably finish Lord Nelson off and spark a fire underneath the breeding right holders on Gormley,” he explained.

Meanwhile Lane's End's Connect had three six-figure sales, including Hip 503, a colt that sold for $290,000 to Narvick International.

Connect has a really good group going to Gulfstream, and from what I'm told an even better group going to the April sale,” Farish said. “He's picked up some mares, not as many as Unified, but I think his better ones are in the sales to come.”

Farish can remember another stallion at Lane's End from not too long ago that saw an explosion in demand after his first juveniles went through the sales ring.

“Stephen Got Even had a 2-year-old bring $2 million and change that Sheikh Mohammed bought,” he recalled. “His book jumped by over 100 when that happened. It was absolutely amazing. It has to be genuine when that happens because everybody down there in Ocala is too savvy, so it has to be real and that certainly set his book on fire, and Unified has had a similar reaction.”

Wallace said that Munnings is one Ashford sire that comes to mind as one who saw a jump in demand after his first juvenile sales, while Toothaker reported the same of Goldencents at Spendthrift.

Looking at the bigger picture, Farish said that for now, his sale's team must hold their breath as the whims of the market help decide the size of their stallions' fourth book, but in the future, The Jockey Club's 140-mare cap could change this trend.

“What we've seen in the last 10 years is that it's tougher and tougher to fill any stallion that is not a first year or proven,” he said. “When you're in that crucial second-through-fourth year, it's very competitive because the first-year and proven stallions are getting so many mares that it doesn't leave room for the unproven stallions. With the mare cap, all those mares are going to have to go somewhere. They're going to have to go either to additional new stallions or the second-through-fourth-year horses and hopefully smooth out that transition.”

Taylor Made's Midnight Storm (average $190,000, top price $240,000) and Airdrie's American Freedom (average $123,666 average, top price $260,000) were also in the top five first-crop sires by average.

The post Juvenile Sales Put Fourth-Book Sires Back on the Map appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

OBS Breeze Show Wraps with Six Bullet Workers

Four more juveniles breezed in a bullet :9 4/5 and two stopped the clock in :20 4/5 at the final day of the OBS March Breeze Show Saturday.

The first :9 4/5 breezer of the day was a Blame filly (Hip 439) out of the unraced Cry Value (Street Cry {Ire}). A $17,000 FTKFEB purchase, she was acquired by King's Equine for $28,000 at Keeneland September.

A colt from the first crop of Gormley (Hip 531) stopped the clock in :9 4/5 for consignor Eddie Woods, who purchased him for $160,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Select Yearlings Sale.. His dam Green Eyed Cat (Tale of the Cat)– a daughter of MGISW Critical Eye (Dynaformer)–is also responsible for SW Little Kansas (El Kingdom).

A Carpe Diem filly (Hip 539) registered a :9 4/5 breeze Saturday for Becky Thomas' Sequel Bloodstock. Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, the New York-bred is out of MGSW Hard to Stay Notgo (More Than Ready), who is a half to stakes winners Mark My Way (Noonmark) and Haul Anchor (Bernardini).

Midnight Storm was another first crop sire to be represented by a :9 4/5 bullet breezer Saturday with a filly (Hip 344) from Robert Brewer's consignment. Out of MSP All On The Table (Holy Bull), she was picked up by Paul Neatherlin for $27,000 at the FTKSEL sale.

A son of first-crop sire American Freedom (Hip 461) was one of two :20 4/5 workers Saturday. Out of Divine Happiness (Divine Park), the $110,000 FTKSEL purchase by Marquee Bloodstock is consigned by Pick View LLC.

The other :20 4/5 breezer was a daughter of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (Hip 547). The bay is out of MSW & GSP Henny Jenney (Henny Hughes), who is a half-sister to MSW & GISP Zeewat (Harlan's Holiday). Consigned by Wavertree Stables, she was a $200,000 KEESEP acquisition.

The post OBS Breeze Show Wraps with Six Bullet Workers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Consignors Talk First-Crop Sires Ahead of 2-Year-Old Sales

As the calendar inches inexorably towards March and a spring-long series of 2-year-olds in training sales, consignors are putting the finishing touches on juveniles heading to auction, paying particular attention to youngsters representing their stallions first crop to hit the track. The TDN is reaching out to consignors with 2-year-olds heading to the sales rings at OBS and Gulfstream Park next month to find out which freshman sires have impressed them.

EDDIE WOODS

Prolific consignor Eddie Woods has 24 juveniles catalogued for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which will be held Mar. 16 and 17, and a further 17 head catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, which will be held Mar. 31.

“The Gormleys are very nice,” Woods said when asked which freshman sires had impressed him. “They are quick, agile horses. They look like they will be pretty precocious and early.”

Winner of the 2017 GI Santa Anita Derby, Gormley (Malibu Moon–Race to Urga, by Bernstein) stands at Spendthrift Farm for a 2021 stud fee of $5,000.

Woods will offer a pair of 2-year-olds by Gormley at the OBS March sale (hip 371 and hip 531).

Practical Joke (Into Mischief–Mystic City, by City Zip) has been much-hyped in Ocala this winter. Woods will offer a colt by the multiple Grade I winner–who stands at Ashford Stud for a fee of $22,500 this year–at OBS March (hip 113).

“The Practical Jokes are the talk of the town,” Woods said. “I have some of them and they are quite nice. Most of them–apart from one–all look the same. They lean towards that Into Mischief-ey thing–bay horses with white stripes down their faces and a white sock here and there and that kind of build to them. And they've trained well.”

Of the other 2-year-olds by freshman sires at his Ocala farm, Woods continued, “The Connects (hip 164 and hip 530) are nice. I don't think they are the first few months of the racing year, but they will be nice horses at the end of the day. They are good movers. And the Masterys are (hip 513) nice horses, too.”

Connect (Curlin–Bullville Belle, by Holy Bull), winner of the GI Cigar Mile, stands at Lane's End for a 2021 fee of $15,000. Grade I winner Mastery (Candy Ride {Arg}–Steady Course, by Old Trieste) stands at Claiborne Farm for $25,000.

Woods will offer a son of 2-year-old champion Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile–Just Parker, by Forest Camp) (hip 142).

“The Classic Empire is very smooth, he's a beautiful horse,” Woods said. “He's a very likable horse and a good mover.”

While he doesn't have many to sell, Woods said he has been impressed by the first crop by champion Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}–Quiet Giant, by Giant's Causeway), who stands at Three Chimneys Farm for $50,000.

“I think I might have only one going to a sale, but the Gun Runners have come around really well and they act like nice horses,” Woods said. “They have a lot of class and a lot of scope. The thing I like the best about them is how much they've changed since the Fall. We're heading into the spring and it's like night and day on some of them. They've strengthened up, gotten stronger across their backs and they train really well. And they are just good, solid horses. They are all mentally stars and they act like nice horses. I was a little negative on him at the yearling sales because of their back ends, but I'm liking them quite a bit right now.”

The 2020 juvenile sales season, which had only just begun when the pandemic caused mass lockdowns across the globe, suffered through a series of cancellations and postponements, but Woods said he sees positive signs ahead of the 2021 auctions.

“I think the vibe is pretty good right now,” Woods said. “The farm visitations are pretty lively and plentiful. We are in a different mindset than last year. We went to the sale in March last where the bomb had just got dropped and not knowing where we were at. We were fortunate the sale went well and after that, it was just a very much hang-on-to-your-britches kind of year. This year, we kind of believe we know where we are at. Our sales are going to go on and things are more positive. And hence, everything is more positive. If you look at the breeding stock sales in the early part of the year, they were very, very good for what they are. So everything is in a really positive mode and we've got that feeling here on the farm with the phone calls and the people wanting to come look at the horses. So hopefully, it continues on to the sales. It will probably be the same as ever, all top end, but at least there will be people there for that.”

GENE RECIO

You can count Gene Recio among the consignors excited about the first 2-year-olds by Practical Joke, who won the GI Champagne S. and GI Hopeful S. at two and added the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. at three. Recio will offer a colt by the Ashford stallion at the Gulfstream sale (hip 106).

“I have two Practical Jokes,” Recio said. “One of them is going to OBS April, a filly, and I have a colt out of Do the Dance (Discreet Cat) going to Fasig-Tipton Miami. They were both really good movers and very, very forward horses from the get-go. Even before we breezed, they galloped like they had a purpose, like they were going somewhere. So he's my pick right now for the earlier type horses and the Saratoga-type maiden special weight type horses. Both the ones I have are medium-sized, strong, very good moving and, touch wood, they have been very sound thus far.”

Recio has a pair of colts by American Freedom (Pulpit–Gottcha Last, by Pleasant Tap) (hip 58 and hip 446) among the 17 head he has catalogued for the OBS March sale.

“The American Freedoms are beautifully made horses,” Recio said. “I have two of those and both are really well-made. They both have great attitudes. He is by Pulpit and they seem to both have a lot of energy–a lot of good energy, the kind that wants to go out and go to work every day. Physically, they are just well balanced, bigger-than-average sized horses, with very pretty necks and good hips and good shoulders. They are kind of the shape that everybody seems to like.”

Winner of the 2016 GIII Iowa Derby, American Freedom stands at Airdrie Stud for a 2021 fee of $6,000.

At the Gulfstream sale, Recio will offer a colt from the first crop of Mohaymen (Tapit–Justwhistledixie, by Dixie Union) (hip 75).

“I have only one by Mohaymen, but if he is any indication of what the Mohaymens are like, I wish I had a whole barn full of them,” Recio said. “He's a big, scopey horse with a very pretty neck on him and as good a mover as I have. And he's very good-minded for a Tapit bloodline.”

Winner of the 2016 GII Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth S. and GII Lambholm South Holy Bull S., as well as a pair of graded wins at two, Mohaymen stands at Shadwell Farm at a fee of $7,500.

Asked about his expectations ahead of the 2-year-old sales, Recio said, “Same old story. I think if you jump through all the hoops–you breeze fast, vet clean and look good at the end of the shank–you'll do extremely well. If you don't, it's sometimes  hit or miss in those areas.”

SUSAN MONTANYE (SBM Training and Sales)

Susan Montanye's SBM Training and Sales has a small but select group of juveniles by freshman sires heading to the auctions this spring.

“They are all going to the select sales, so I love them all,” Montanye said of the group. “I've told everyone who has called about them.”

Among SBM's offerings next month is a colt by Gormley (hip 44) and the operation has a second colt waiting in the wings for a later sale.

“I have one mare, and I'm going to breed her to Gormley, because of what I've seen and you can get to him fairly inexpensively,” Montanye said. “I have two of them–one I am taking to Miami and the other one I'm taking to April or Maryland, they just wanted a little more time with him. But they are both very, very nice. I think there is a lot of Malibu Moon in them. Both are pretty good-minded colts. Neither one of them are going to be my bullet, my fastest that I have in my barn, but I think both of them are more than just sprinters. They are both fast, don't get me wrong, but I think they are horses that can stretch out.”

Montanye continued, “My Classic Empire and Arrogate are both double-nominated, however the Arrogate (hip 78) is 100% sure going to go to the Miami sale. He is a super, super nice horse. It's a shame that the sire is no longer around because I think he would have made one hell of sire, just based off of what I see.

“The Classic Empire (hip 77), I have one in my barn and I know of a couple others that are very nice,” she continued. “I do have him double-nominated and I don't know where I'm going to take him yet. He is cool as a cucumber. I breezed him myself the other day. I try to get on them all at least a couple of times throughout the year. I had not been on my Classic Empire yet until last Thursday when I breezed him. He was flat-footed, walked out there like an older horse. I asked him to work, he worked. I asked him to pull up, he pulled up. Walked him home, never got fired up. Just as quiet as a mouse.”

Montanye admitted there were still uncertainties in the marketplace, but also signs for optimism.

“I don't know what to expect, truthfully,” she said. “I've heard the Koreans won't buy or can't buy. That's going to be a big blow to the industry as a whole, I think. Because it's not just about what they buy, but it's a matter of what they drive up. As far as who is coming to buy and what the market looks like, I thought it was hard to buy yearlings. And if you look at the November and January sale on babies, I thought it was extremely solid. All you kept hearing was tough, tough, tough. I thought it would be an opportunity to buy, but it was tough.

“Last year, we had the shitty end of the stick,” she said. “This year, I think as a whole you do need to be on the upper end with a nicer horse. The middle market might take a hit. I hope not because I had horses I bought that I didn't pay a lot for for the middle market. So I sure hope there is a market for them. Now that the election is behind us, at least we can move forward from that, and the stock market seems to be doing well. Gas prices are coming up, so oil is going to be better. All of that in itself is a reflection of what the industry does. I hope everybody is ready to come buy, because we have some nice horses.”

DAVID SCANLON

David Scanlon will offer a colt by Practical Joke (hip 148) at the Gulfstream sale and has another youngster targeted at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in May.

“We've been really high on Practical Joke,” the consignor said. “There has been a good buzz on him around town. And we've got a couple going. We have one big, precocious colt going to the Miami sale that I'm very high on. And we've got another horse with Bruno DeBerdt, with our syndicate, that we've got going to Maryland that we are very high on. They have good hind legs and very strong bodies. They are built very tough, kind of rugged-looking and very precocious. Both horses look like they are going to be very quick and early. They have a strong build to them.”

Scanlon Training and Sales will offer a filly by Classic Empire (hip 72) at the Gulfstream sale.

“We have a couple of Classic Empires that I am very impressed with,” Scanlon said. “We have three of those that we will be selling. They are very elegant looking, very pretty horses. And they are also training very well and they seem very precocious, like they are going to be quick and early.”

The post Consignors Talk First-Crop Sires Ahead of 2-Year-Old Sales appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights