Mr. Big Filly Tops ‘Solid’ Fasig-Tipton California Sale

by Dan Ross & Jessica Martini

POMONA, CA – The Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings and Horses of Racing Age Sale, held Tuesday at Fairplex in Pomona, produced 14 six-figure lots, led by a filly by Mr. Big who sold for $250,000 to Todd Tomazic. Numbers declined from last year's lively renewal of the auction, with 205 head grossing $6,257,100 and the average falling 22% to $30,522 and the median dipping 15% to $17,000. The buy-back rate was 25.7%. It was 24.4% in 2021.

“It was a very solid session,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said at the close of business Tuesday. “There was lots of traffic and activity at the barns before the sale and there was spirited bidding on the majority of the horses. There still remained some selectivity in the marketplace–you have to have acceptable conformation, and, like at every sale in the world, you have to jump through the vetting hoops. But I thought, all in all, it was a good follow-up to an exceptional year last year.”

A year ago, 177 horses sold for $6,933,550 for an average of $39,173 and a median of $20,000. The top lot of $350,000 was one of 17 yearlings to bring six figures.

“We probably didn't have quite as much sire power from out-of-state sires this year in the catalogue, but we knew that going in,” Browning said. “But I think that's truthfully part of the rebuilding process where people are starting to have confidence and hopefully a couple of good yearling sales in a row will give breeders more confidence that there will be better quality horses that are Cal-breds. Not that there aren't some nice Cal-breds now, but I think it's a restoration of confidence in the marketplace. I think we are seeing some real indications of that amongst the breeders that sold horses today.”

Hockey Dad (Nyquist) (hip 335) brought the highest price during the horses of racing age section of the sale when bloodstock agent Kim Lloyd went to $175,000 to acquire the 4-year-old on behalf of Gary Hartunian's Rockingham Ranch. Bred and campaigned by Reddam Racing, the bay colt was third in last year's GII Del Mar Derby and GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks.

Tomazic Goes Big

Todd Tomazic, who has been a minority owner on some racehorses in the past, jumped into the fray at the Fasig-Tipton California Yearlings Sale Tuesday when purchasing three yearlings, led by a sale-topping daughter of Mr. Big (hip 228) who sold for $250,000.

“I am not new to being a fan, but I'm new to being an owner,” Tomazic said. “I've been a minority investor in some horses, but I hadn't even been to an auction before.”

Tomazic was being advised at the sale by Terry Knight, farm manager of Legacy Ranch, which raised hip 228 for breeder George Krikorian.

“I did not expect to spend this, but they liked him so we bought him,” Tomazic said. “[Picking horses] is not my forte, but if my trainer likes him, that's what I like. He's a guy who has owned a lot more horses than I have.”

The sale-topping yearling, who was consigned by Havens Bloodstock Agency, is out of Misszippityslewda (City Zip) and is a full-sister to multiple stakes winner Big Sweep. Krikorian purchased the mare for $22,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton February sale and resold her, in foal to Mr. Big, for $11,000 at this year's CTBA February sale.

“We raised her for George and sale prepped her,” Knight said. “She's just kept getting better and better and we've liked her more and more.”

Also Tuesday, Tomazic went to $105,000 to acquire a filly from the first crop of GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso (hip 189). The yearling is out of Keep the Magic (Malibu Moon) and was also bred by Krikorian and consigned by Havens Bloodstock Agency.

Tomazic's Pomona shopping spree was completed by a filly by another Breeders' Cup Classic winner, Accelerate (hip 36), who was purchased for $35,000 from the Harris Farms consignment.

The yearlings will be sent to Legacy Ranch in Lodi, California to be broke.

“We will see what they can do with them,” Tomazic said.

Siegel Stays Busy in Pomona

Samantha Siegel of Jay Em Ess Stable, following the advice of the late bid-spotter Pete McCormick, bid aggressively to secure a pair of yearlings for matching $200,000 price tags late in the Fasig-Tipton California Yearlings Sale Tuesday. She first went to that figure to acquire a filly by Good Magic (hip 241) and came back 10 hips later to purchase a daughter of Stanford (hip 252) for the same price. Both yearlings were consigned by Stormy and Guy Hull's Washington-based Critter Creek Farm.

“She was beautiful,” Siegal said of hip 241. “To get a Cal-bred by a good freshman sire like Good Magic, whose horses are selling well as yearlings and 2-year-olds, we actually thought we would have to give more. Hopefully we can have some fun with her without the Kentucky sales price.”

The yearling is out of Nine Point Nine (Tribal Rule), a half-sister to stakes winner Sweet Saga (Slew's Saga).

Hip 252 is out of Open Mic (Unbridled's Song) and is a half-sister to stakes-placed No Cover Charge (Kafwain). Her third dam is Words of War (Lord at War {Arg}).

“She is really beautiful, too,” Siegal said. “She is a big, strong filly with a great walk.”

Stormy Hull was co-breeder of both yearlings and, along with Lynn Baker, purchased Open Mic, carrying the Stanford filly, for $11,500 at the 2021 CTBA January sale.

“Those guys sold two really, really nice fillies,” Siegal said of the Critter Creek consignment. “They did a great job. They looked great.”

Siegal's Jay Em Ess also purchased a colt by Smokem (hip 52) for $90,000 and a colt by Mr. Big (hip 105) for $50,000 Tuesday in Pomona.

The yearlings will be trained by Brian Koriner.

Of her take-no-prisoner bidding style, Siegal said, “Pete McCormick told me how to bid. They will go up in little increments forever, but if you make a big move, it's a little different. I got aggressive with my bidding. That's the way I was taught.”

Mandella Strikes for Mitole Filly

Trainer Gary Mandella struck early in the Fasig-Tipton California Yearlings Sale Tuesday when going to $190,000 to acquire a filly by champion sprinter Mitole (hip 58) on behalf of owner Tom Nichols.

“She looks fast and she looks early,” Mandella said of the yearling's appeal. “Tom Nichols has a lot of faith in buying at this sale. We've always had something that can last when we've come here. And this one looks as good as anything we've gotten here. We are happy to take this one home.”

Bred and consigned by Richard Barton Thoroughbreds, the dark bay filly is out of Whim (More Than Ready) and from the family of stakes winner Saratoga Humor and multiple graded winner Heart Stealer. Barton purchased the 10-year-old mare, with the filly in utero, for $40,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale.

Mandella had a few other yearlings on his short list, but admitted his shopping might be over after the six-figure purchase.

“I think we spent the budget,” he said. “We were hoping to get that one for a bit less and try for a few a bit later, to be honest, but I liked that one and we went ahead and used up the budget.”

Repole in Action on the West Coast

Mike Repole, a major buyer at the Keeneland September sale, took his buying spree to the West Coast when purchasing a filly by Kantharos (hip 180) for $115,000 Tuesday in Pomona.

“I thought she was a nice filly,” said trainer Michael McCarthy, who signed the ticket on behalf of Repole. “She caught my eye earlier in the week. She looked fast.”

Consigned by Barton Thoroughbreds, the yearling is out of multiple stakes-placed Imperial Pippin (Empire Maker), who is a daughter of graded winner Apple of Kent (Kris S.). She was bred by Richard Barton Enterprises, which purchased Imperial Pippin with the filly in utero, for $16,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale.

Repole, in partnership with St. Elias Stables, was the leading buyer at the Keeneland September sale with 31 yearlings purchased for $12,840,000. On his own, Repole was the auction's fourth-leading buyer with 27 head purchased for $7,940,000.

“He is a guy with a vision,” McCarthy said. “And he thought it was a great idea to take advantage of the state-bred program.”

Sir Prancealot Filly to Mathis and Jawl

A filly by Sir Prancealot (Ire) (hip 143) will be heading to the Golden Gate Fields barn of trainer Andy Mathis after selling for $100,000 Tuesday at the Fasig-Tipton California Sale. The gray yearling is out of Do Dat Blues (Lydgate) and is a half-sister to stakes winner Mo See Cal (Uncle Mo). She was bred by Rozamund Barclay, Sydnee Brown and Dena Murdock and was consigned by McCarthy Bloodstock.

“She impressed me when I saw her,” Mathis, who was bidding on behalf of owner Michael Jawl, said. “She's the right size with a really nice walk. She seemed really smart. From the first time I saw her to when she was in the ring, she never flinched. And we like the Cal-bred angle.”

Of plans for the filly, Mathis laughed and said, “Win some stakes–we better for $100,000. She looks the part and hopefully she runs the part.”

A few hips later, Mathis signed the ticket at $75,000 to acquire a filly by Smiling Tiger (hip 150) on behalf of Robert D. Bone.

Mathis, who has been training  since 2001, is coming off a bang-up Del Mar meeting where he had 12 wins from 41 starts.

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OBS June Continues With Solid Results

OCALA, FL – Steady trade continued through the second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company June Sale of 2-Year-Olds Thursday in Central Florida, with a filly by Nyquist bringing the day's top bid when selling for $420,000 to Gary Hartunian's Rockingham Ranch. The session-topping juvenile was consigned by Eddie Woods.

“It was another good day,” OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said at the close of business Thursday. “We carried a lot of the momentum that we had yesterday into today and I think it will carry on through tomorrow.”

With two sessions in the books, OBS has sold 380 head for $15,776,500. The two-day average is $41,517 and the median is $18,000. With 106 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 21.8%.

Through two sessions of the pandemic-delayed 2020 sale, 336 head had sold for $9,395,600 for an average of $27,963 and a median of $13,000. At the close of the day, the buy-back rate was 28.3%.

In 2019, 429 juveniles had sold through two session for a gross of $13,839,200. The average was $32,259 and the median was $17,000. The buy-back rate at the end of the second session in 2019 was 25.4%.

Sellers had concerns that the middle and lower end of the market would be weaker without the presence of Korean buyers, but Wojciechowski said the domestic bench had stepped up, not just at the June sale, but throughout the spring.

“I think there has been strength throughout the market,” he said. “Particularly on an overall scale for the 2-year-old season, we were missing a big part of our buying bench in the Koreans. I went on the record in March that I thought we could pick up the slack and I got a few sideways looks, but I think domestically, we've done a great job of picking up the slack and filling the hole that the Koreans left in the market. Hopefully, they will be back next year. But I still think one thing that has impressed at this sale and throughout the season is the depth that we've had in the market.”

Consignors still felt the absence of the Korean buyers, who are not only traditionally prolific buyers in the middle and lower market, but also tend to force other buyers to bid higher.

“There is money for the right horses, but if you don't have the horse, it's over,” Woods said. “There is no one for the rest. We are missing our Koreans for the mopping up. And I suppose there are only so many horses that can get bought anyway.”

Still, competition for the perceived quality lots was still strong as the juvenile sales season marched towards its conclusion.

“This is our fifth [purchase],” Lloyd said after signing the ticket on the session topper. “But yesterday we got outrun four out of five times. It's very competitive. The ones that look good and perform well, they are going to get sold. The market is strong and it's going to continue to get stronger. We are through COVID and the purses in New York and Kentucky and Arkansas are so huge.”

The OBS June sale concludes with a final session Friday with bidding beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Nyquist Filly to Rockingham Ranch

Gary Hartunian's Rockingham Ranch added a filly by Nyquist to its roster when Kim Lloyd made a final bid of $420,000 to acquire hip 543 from Eddie Woods's consignment at OBS Thursday.

“We loved this filly,” Lloyd said. “She is a beautiful filly. Eddie is a good friend of mine. He was telling me about her and how he gave her the time off. And when you give a young horse time off like that and they come around like that, this is what you get. She goes from here to the races. We're very excited.”

The chesntut filly is out of stakes winner Midnight Ballet (Midnight Lute) and worked a furlong last week in :10 1/5.

“I loved the length of her stride,” Lloyd said of the juvenile. “She's a scopey filly. You can see that she hit a growing spell.”

Lloyd, who did his bidding from the back of the pavilion while on the phone with Hartunian, had to outlast Donato Lanni, who was doing his bidding out back. Lloyd admitted he had often come out on the losing side of bidding battles with the well-backed Lanni.

“In September, we were the direct underbidder five times,” Lloyd said of bidding against Lanni. “And then, seven other times when I quit at $250,000, they lapped me…$500,000, $510,000. Twelve horses that I landed on, Donato bought.”

Woods's pinhooking partnership Quarter Pole Enterprises purchased the chestnut filly for $200,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“She was in the Fasig [Gulfstream] catalogue, but she just wasn't hitting right,” Woods explained. “I turned her out for five weeks and brought her back. I didn't want to bring her to Timonium because she's too big, so we had no option but to come here. But it worked out. She was always going to be a nice filly regardless of where we went. We are really happy with how it turned out.”

Another Imprecation for Roden

Bloodstock agent Alistair Roden, who purchased subsequent multiple graded stakes winner Anothertwistafate (Scat Daddy) and multiple graded placed Ajourneytofreedom (Hard Spun) from the OBS sales ring, purchased a third juvenile out of the mare Imprecation (First Defence) when he went to $350,000 to acquire a filly by Dialed In (hip 418) on behalf of Peter Redekop Thursday in Ocala.

“I know the family very well,” Roden said with a smile after signing the ticket on the filly, who was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables on behalf of breeder Bryant Prentice. “When I first saw her, I thought she was like Ajourneytofreedom, but the more I looked at her, she was more like Anothertwistafate. She's large and well-balanced, a fancy-looking filly. The family seems to really improve. They all seem to be that type of a family, they are not wow horses in the springtime, but they seem to get better.”

Roden purchased Anothertwistafate for Redekop for $360,000 at the 2018 OBS June sale, just a week after Scat Daddy's Justify completed his Triple Crown sweep in the GI Belmont S. The handsome colt won the 2020 GIII Longacres Mile H. and this year's GII San Gabriel S. Ajourneytofreedom was purchased for $180,000 at the 2019 OBS April sale just as his half-brother was making a push towards that year's Classics.

Hip 418 RNA'd for $345,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale following a furlong work in :10 3/5. She worked a quarter-mile in :21 1/5 ahead of the June sale.

“I didn't see her at Gulfstream,” Roden said. “I saw the breeze and it wasn't the best of breezes, but Ciaran told me what his theory was. He's a good guy and we like buying off of him and his whole team over there. The breeze here was pheneomonal. We are happy to get her.”

Of the filly's experience at Gulfstream, Dunne said, “It was probably trainer/consignor error. We were very high on the filly earlier in the year, but she was immature mentally and physically. And in hindsight, I should have just waited and gone to April with her. She was a filly who always needed to go a quarter, she was very keen and anxious to please. In Miami, she was a little bit frenzied. Whereas here, going a quarter, she had the time to level out and smooth out. The farther she went here, the better she got.”

The dark bay filly's dam Imprecation is a daughter of group winner Media Nox (GB) (Lycius) and is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat), group winner Burning Sun (Danzig) and group-placed Mirabilis (Lear Fan).

Prentice purchased the mare for $223,246 at the 2013 Tattersalls December sale.

“It's a beautiful family,” Dunne said. “It's a family that has been good to us as sellers and to Mr. Prentice as a breeder. We sold Anothertwistafate in June, so maybe that's where that family has to go, June instead of Gulfstream.”

Of similarities between the siblings, Dunne said, “I think she is a mare who really throws to a stallion. Anothertwistafate was as pretty a horse as we ever had. Tall and elegant, he had that long Scat Daddy look to him. This filly here, you can really see the Dialed In and a little bit of Mineshaft. So I think she's a mare who really throws to the stallion. And the Hard Spun was different to the two of them again. But all of them are really good training horses. Hopefully she is as successful as her two brothers. If she is, it's a wonderful pedigree.”

Glassmans Strike for Hard Spun Colt

Karl and Cathi Glassman struck midway through Thursday's second session of the OBS June sale to acquire a colt by Hard Spun (hip 506) for $335,000 from the Eisaman Equine consignment. The bay colt will be trained by Maryland-based conditioner Brittany Russell.

“I trust everything that Barry Eisaman does,” Karl Glassman said when asked about the juvenile's appeal. “So Barry's background had a lot to do with it.”

The bay colt, who worked a furlong in :10 3/5 during last week's under-tack show, is out of the unraced Lovisa (Speightstown), a half-sister to stakes winner High Noon Rider (Distorted Humor) and stakes winner and group-placed Poupee Flash (Elusive Quality). His third dam is Chimes of Freedom (Private Account), who produced champion Aldebaran and Grade I winner Good Journey.

“The Hard Spuns are just good, durable horses, so I know that he's not going to be real precocious,” Glassman said. “Genetically, he looks like he should be a two-turn runner. We are patient. The horse's welfare is what is most important to us. and I know Barry and Shari have done a great job taking care of him.”

The Eisamans purchased the colt for $100,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Glassman is chairman and chief executive officer of the Missouri-based Leggett & Platt, a diversified manufacturer of various components and products.

The couple, who split their time between Florida and Missouri, have campaigned stakes winner April Gaze (High Cotton) and stakes placed Restofthestory (Jess's Dream).

Of their current racing stable, Glassman said, “Brad Cox has three, Eddie Plesa has nine and now Brittany will have four.”

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Surrender Now New Topper–Privately–of Keeneland’s Digital Sale

Keeneland’s December Digital Sale, held Tuesday, Dec. 15, reportedly has a new topper, but with a wrinkle attached–Surrender Now (Morning Line) was sold after the sale for an undisclosed price. Kim Lloyd, representative for the 5-year-old stakes-winning mare’s owner, Rockingham Ranch, said the buyer, Blue Heaven Farm, requested the final price remain private.

“We put her in for a reserve of $450,000,” said Lloyd. “They made an offer and we got a fair price for both sides, actually.”

Lloyd was asked to verify if the price topped the $250,000 brought by Felicita (More Than Ready) and he said, “Yes, quite a bit over that. It was an opportunity and a fair price for both parties. Gary [Hartunian of Rockingham] made it possible by being reasonable.”

Lloyd, the former general manager of Barretts Sales, is the principal of Sweetwater Trading Company, who manages the horses for Rockingham Ranch. Surrender Now, who won the 2017 Landaluce S. at Santa Anita and placed in two other black-type events, comes from a stakes-laden family as her fourth dam is Broodmare of the Year Glowing Tribute (Graustark).

“We had put her away, booked her to Speightstown,” said Lloyd. “Our original plan was to sell her [next] November, but we decided to take a chance. We stable our horses at Rose Hill Farm. Tony O’Campo [of Rose Hill] does such a wonderful job; he’s a good, caring horseman, so we had him be the consigner.

“We have quite a few horses,” he continued. “We’re into racing. We do breed, but we like to race and it was just an opportunity. The market was right. We’ve built a nice stable and this was a way to keep the cash flow going. We would have never sold our filly without the digital sale, but they came and make an offer and did a fair deal for both of us.

“It’s an interesting new process. Everybody gets a chance to market their horse and play in the game. It’s really something special. I think in the future we’ll see a lot more people utilizing the opportunity with digital sales. They have some wrinkles to work out and they will. We do as sellers too, like how to make our horse more marketable. I like that it is a learning process and new for everybody.”

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