Arrogate Filly On Top As October Sale Remains On Record-Setting Course

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale continued its pace to another record-setting renewal with a solid day of trade during its third session Wednesday in Lexington.

Through three sessions, 804 yearlings have grossed $41,540,500. Following three sessions a year ago, the gross was $39,511,600 before the auction concluded it fourth session with an all-time high aggregate of $52,607,500.

The average of $51,667 is up 11.9% from the same point of the 2021 auction and the median is up 19% to $25,000. Still well ahead of the record figures of $45,627 and $22,000, respectively, that were set at last year's sale.

“It was a continuation of the strong market that we saw in the first two days of the sale,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Wednesday night. “There was wide-spread participation from buyers across the United States and around the world. Quality horses are in great demand. And we are fortunate to be in the midst of a strong and resilient marketplace.”

Legacy Ranch manager Terry Knight made the highest bid of Wednesday's session, going to $450,000 to acquire a filly by the late Arrogate. The session topper was one of 43 to sell for $200,000 or over during the three sessions, compared to 28 who reached that figure a year ago.

Looking ahead to the final session of the October sale, Browning said, “We anticipate some fireworks tomorrow and some strong highlights. We look forward to a successful conclusion of the October sale tomorrow.”

Thursday's final session of the auction begins at 10 a.m.

Wait Pays off For Legacy Ranch

Terry Knight of Legacy Ranch waited all day for a filly by Arrogate (hip 1152) to walk into the Fasig-Tipton October sales ring and as afternoon turned to evening, he would not be denied, ultimately going to $450,000 to acquire the yearling from the Mill Ridge Sales consignment.

“We just loved her,” Knight said. “We liked everything about her. She's the one we sat here and waited all day for. Fortunately, we got her.”

The filly was the second purchase of the week for Legacy Ranch, which acquired a daughter of Into Mischief (hip 226) for $190,000 during Monday's first session of the auction.

“We bought the Into Mischief on the first day and now we have this filly and I think we are done,” Knight said.

The yearling, bred by Robert Chasanoff's Gentry Stable, is out of stakes-winner Lemon Splendor (Lemon Drop Kid) and is a half-sister to stakes winner Mo Maverick (Uncle Mo).

“We've had a great privilege of raising horses for the Chasanoff family for a number of years,” said Mill Ridge's Price Bell. “Tom Bozarth works with the Chasanoff family and they picked this mare out a number of years ago when the market was down and they have bred her well and she's produced. It's a great reward for everyone involved.”

Bozarth's Arch Bloodstock signed for Lemon Splendor as a 4-year-old for $10,000 at the 2013 Keeneland January sale. Mo Maverick, the mare's first foal, sold for $200,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September sale. She also had yearlings sell for $375,000 in 2018 and $190,000 in 2019.

“I don't know that you can ever expect anything,” Bell said of the result. “I think what's most flattering is that there were a lot of really good judges who really liked her. That's a credit to her because she came in and she showed herself well, she took it all in and she showed a ton of class. It was a most rewarding moment for the whole team at Mill Ridge. We all wake up at all hours of the night to take care of the horses and when they come and perform like that, we are just so excited and appreciative.”

Into Mischief Filly to White Birch

A filly by Into Mischief (hip 991) attracted a host of bidders before ultimately selling for $400,000 to White Birch Farm. BSW/Crow Bloodstock's Jake Memolo signed the ticket on behalf of Peter Brant's operation.

The yearling is the first foal out of stakes-placed Hayworth (Arch) and from the family of Grade I winner Critical Eye and Takeover Target. She was bred by Richard Roberts's Brinker Hill Farm and was consigned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck's Summerfield.

“Obviously, she's a very nice filly, very athletic,” said Francis Vanlangendonck. “And she's by the right sire. The mare could really run. Her race record got cut short with an injury and this is a really nice filly.”

Hayworth, bred and campaigned by Brinker Hill Farm, was third in the 2018 Purple Violet S. in her six-race career. Summerfield purchased her graded stakes-placed dam Glamorista (Unbridled's Song) for $200,000 at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Liam's Map Colt Makes Up for Lost Time

A mishap forced a colt by Liam's Map out of Book 1 of the Keeneland September sale last month, but the yearling was rerouted to the Fasig-Tipton October sale and attracted a bevy of admirers before selling to the $350,000 bid of bloodstock agent David Ingordo Wednesday in Lexington.

The yearling was bred by Brereton Jones and was consigned by Airdrie Stud. He is out of Listen to Libby (Indian Charlie) and is a half-brother to graded winner Chanteline (Majesticperfection).

“He's a colt who has been beautiful from the start,” said Bret Jones. “It's a family that's been good to us by a stallion who was certainly brilliant and could get you a brilliant horse. We had some bad luck with him right before the Keeneland September sale. He was entered in Book 1 and, just by a freak occurrence, got loose and hurt himself a little bit. But he lived to tell the tale and came here a healthy and happy horse and really delivered for us. We couldn't be happier. He was bought by a group that has weekend in front of them and I think they just had a special night here because they bought a real good colt.”

Of having to reroute the yearling to the October sale, Jones said, “This is a great horse sale. And we have all seen how many great horses come out of here. It would be tough to convince me otherwise that we didn't just see one there.”

Zito on the Board with War Front Colt

Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito got in on the action at the Fasig-Tipton October sale, going to $150,000 to acquire a colt by War Front (hip 817) on behalf of Robert LaPenta. LaPenta and Zito have enjoyed plenty of success over the years, with the likes of champion War Pass and Grade I winners Dialed In and Ice Box, as well as longshot GI Belmont S. winner Da'Tara.

“I like Toby Keith,” Zito said. “I've had horses for him and I am friends with him. The song of his that I like the best the last few years, he sings, 'I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.' And all trainers, Charlie Whittingham, Allen Jerkens, they all went through slumps. Right now I don't have the horses I used to have, everyone knows that. Bob sent me a couple of horses this spring, which was nice. Unfortunately, one was claimed. And he told me to pick one out for him here.”

LaPenta at first was surprised Zito picked a yearling by traditional turf sire, War Front. But the trainer pointed out the yearling's first two dams are by Scat Daddy and Fusaichi Pegasus.

“Bob said, 'What do you want with a War Front? You're not a turf trainer,” Zito said. “But if you look at Scat Daddy, you know what he did with Justify, you look at Fusiachi Pegasus, he won the Kentucky Derby. So the War Front might be turf, but with the rest, you have a chance to run on the dirt.”

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Spotlight on The Night of the Stars: Wicked Whisper

Wicked Whisper (Liam's Map – Zayanna, by Bernardini) made quite an impression in Saratoga during the summer of 2019 when she cruised to a 6 1/4-length juvenile maiden win and earned 'TDN Rising Star' status. That victory was just the beginning for the striking chestnut, who went on to become a Grade I winner at two and a graded winner at three. Now, she prepares to go through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale carrying her first foal by Curlin.

“Wicked Whisper has every ingredient to be a foundation mare for somebody,” said Conrad Bandoroff, whose Denali Stud will consign the 5-year-old. “There are no limits to what her offspring could achieve. She has so many traits that we feel not only American buyers, but also an international audience, will appreciate.”

A $500,000 yearling purchase for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong, Wicked Whisper was the priciest yearling to sell from the first crop of Liam's Map. Bandoroff said her physical is just as stunning today.

“Wicked Whisper is drop dead gorgeous,” he said. “She's big, she's pretty and she has an unbelievable shoulder and a great hind leg. Alex buys tremendous physicals and this has been a special filly for them.”

The Steve Asmussen trainee followed her Rising Star-worthy debut with a win in the GI Frizette S., where she established control early and made easy work of the one-mile contest to win by almost three lengths over future MGSW Frank's Rockette (Into Mischief).

“It was a commanding performance,” Bandoroff said. “I think that 2-year-old form and that level of precocity is rare and it's a great quality when you're looking at a broodmare prospect. So many good mares showed ability and precocity at two. She looked like a winner throughout that race and she carried that confidence into a lot of her races.”

Wicked Whisper continued to excel at three, taking the GIII Miss Preakness S. and running second in the GIII Charles Town Oaks.

Meanwhile her half-sister Point of Honor (Curlin) was building up her own resume, winning the 2019 GII Black-Eyed Susan S. at three and placing in a trio of Grade I starts in 2020.

Their dam Zayanna, a daughter of successful broodmare sire Bernardini, is a half-sister to three graded stakes winners. Zayanna has produced four stakes performers in total including Velvet Mood (Lonhro {Aus}), who was a stakes winner at two, sold for $1 million in 2020 and now has two foals on her own produce record.

Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning said he believes that Wicked Whisper's young family has all the potential to become even more active.

“The depth of her pedigree is sensational,” Browning said. “She has some high-quality sisters that are producing and will be producing for many, many years. So you have this pedigree that is really strong and really deep, but it has the opportunity to explode and expand exponentially over the next decade as well.”

 

Bandoroff explained that after Wicked Whisper retired from racing last year, the Denali team put their heads together with the Lieblongs to decide on her first mating. It was an easy consensuses when they landed on Curlin.  The mating replicates the cross that produced Wicked Whisper's Curlin sister Point of Honor.

“We thought it was a perfect mating to get a Grade I-winning mare like Wicked Whisper started,” he said. “Curlin is having arguably his best year ever with the likes of Clairiere, Nest and Malathaat. The cross that we've replicated with Wicked Whisper and Curlin is a similar cross to GISW Clairiere (Curlin), who is out of the Bernardini mare Cavorting. Not only has this cross worked directly in the family with Point of Honor, but it's a cross that has proven to be gold time and time again.”

Wicked Whisper will sells as Hip 253 at the Fasig-Tipton Night of the Stars Sale. Bandoroff said he expects the young mare to be popular as buyers are scouting out broodmare prospects.

“I think Wicked Whisper has a very wide and varying appeal,” he noted. “If you're shopping for top-quality, high-end mares, she has to be on your list.”

“To me it's the complete package,” added Browning. “She's a young, Grade I winner in foal to the leading sire of Grade I stakes winners this year in Curlin, plus she's a beautiful physical and has an unbelievable pedigree. I think she gives you the opportunity, based on her 2-year-old ability, to dream early. But also based on her pedigree and the way she is bred, she gives you the opportunity to dream big in terms of being able to compete successfully at Classic-type distances. She has all the attributes to be a game changer from a broodmare perspective.”

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Army Mule’s Shadow Dragon Circles The Field For Debut Win

9th-Belmont The Big A, $77,000, (S), Msw, 9-29, 2yo, 6f, 1:13.75, ft, 3/4 length.
SHADOW DRAGON (c, 2, Army Mule–Fire Assay {GSP, $127,946}, by Medaglia d'Oro), dispatched at a tepid 7-1 in his first start since bringing $375,000 at OBSAPR off a :21 1/5 breeze, was forced towards the rail at the break and quickly found himself trailing the field with only one rival beat. Kept just off the rail into the far turn, he angled out at the top of the stretch and began picking off horses under a left-handed ride, closing resolutely with a furlong to run. Still sixth just past the sixteenth pole, Shadow Dragon dug in, passing tiring rivals to his inside, and cleared past pacesetter Looms Boldly (Goldencents) late for the three-quarter length win. The 17th winner for his freshman sire (by Friesan Fire), Shadow Dragon is out of a daughter of MGISW Jostle (Brocco). His dam produced a yearling colt by Liam's Map and a weanling colt by Practical Joke before being bred to Tacitus for the 2023 season. Sales History: $105,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $375,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $42,350. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
O-Peachtree Stable; B-AJ Suited (NY); T-William I. Mott.

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Taking Stock: It’s High Time for This Stallion

The Classic season is over. A surface reading shows that Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), Keen Ice (Curlin), and Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) got the GI Kentucky Oaks, GI Kentucky Derby, and GI Preakness S. winners, respectively, from their first crops, and proven star sire Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie), who had a Derby winner from his first crop in 2016, sired the GI Belmont S. winner. Sometimes, however, what's between the lines is as important as what's on the page, and Taylor Made's Not This Time (Giant's Causeway), whose second-crop sons Epicenter and Simplification were major players in the run-up to the Classics and in the Derby and Preakness themselves, occupied that white space this season.

Epicenter, who won two Grade II Derby preps at Fair Grounds–the Risen Star S. and the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby–was sent off as the Derby favorite and finished an admirable second. He returned in the Preakness as the race favorite and again finished second, this time with trouble and a ride that gave him way too much to do.

Simplification won the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream and was third in the GI Curlin Florida Derby. He was also in the Derby, finishing fourth, a neck ahead of subsequent Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal.

These two, both from Candy Ride mares, were joined by two other Not This Time 3-year-olds vying for spots in the Classics. In Due Time was second to Simplification in the Fountain of Youth, over Howling Time in ninth, who bounced back to finish second by a scant nose to Cyberknife (Gun Runner), the GI Arkansas Derby winner, in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill a day after the Belmont S.

All told, Not This Time, with his oldest foals just four, is represented by 18 black-type winners, including two Grade I winners–the filly Just One Time won the GI Madison S. at Keeneland a month before the Derby, and Princess Noor was a top-level winner at two in 2020. Seven of the 18 are graded stakes winners.

This is an impressive haul for the half-brother to Lane's End's Liam's Map, more so because they were all conceived on a $15,000 stud fee. It's only the last two seasons that his stud fee has risen, to $40,000 (2021), $45,000 (the early part of this year), and $75,000 (later part of this year). The mares bred to him at higher fees will no doubt include some significantly better producers and racetrack performers than those covered his first four years, and they will include some mares Taylor Made has specifically handpicked for him by pedigree analysis. All of this is certain to elevate the stallion's stakes production in the coming years.

The broodmare sires of his seven graded winners are respectable enough, with dams by Candy Ride (two), Tapit, Speightstown, Smart Strike, Cape Town, and Wilko. However, the modest last sales prices of these mares tell the real story: stakes-placed Simply Confection (Candy Ride) sold for $80,000, in foal to Not This Time; Silent Candy (Candy Ride), a Grade III-placed stakes winner, made $130,000, in foal to Scat Daddy; non-winner Delightful Melody (Tapit) was a $65,000 RNA, in foal to Flameaway; Ida Clark (Speightstown), a winner of $25,580, sold for $60,000, in foal to Outwork; unraced Smart Jilly (Smart Strike) was a $70,000 2-year-old; unraced Running Creek (Cape Town) sold for $35,000, in foal to Latent Heat; and Grade III winner Sheza Smoke Show (Wilko) sold for $185,000, in foal to Not This Time.
The first graded winner for each of these mares was by Not This Time. In some cases, they were bred to high-class stallions before producing their graded winners.

Silent Candy, the dam of Epicenter, had an unraced colt by More Than Ready and a winner of $34,404 by Scat Daddy; Running Creek, the dam of Grade III winner Easy Time, had a Twirling Candy winner of $57,410 and a Pioneerof the Nile winner of $48,896; and Sheza Smoke Show, the dam of Princess Noor, had a Malibu Moon winner of $28,056, and an unraced Liam's Map.

Not This Time only raced at two, and he made just four starts, winning twice. However, he won the GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill by 8 3/4 lengths and next out was a neck second to Classic Empire in the GI Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, 7 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Practical Joke. Classic Empire would go on to win the Arkansas Derby and Practical Joke the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. at Saratoga, so his form was obviously of the highest order and there's no telling what he might have accomplished had injury not ended his career. His half-brother Liam's Map was a multiple Grade I winner.

Not This Time entered stud at three and is an outstanding physical specimen, big and tall, and he made an impression with breeders right away by getting good-looking foals. Buyers responded in the sales ring, paying an average price of $76,833 for the 18 weanlings from his first crop that sold in 2018, with seven making $100,000 or more. From then on, he's been something of a sales sensation across the board vis a vis stud fee. Princess Noor, for example, made $1.35 million as a 2-year-old at OBS April in 2020.
In his case, looks translated to performance.

Black-type percentages

That Not This Time has already sired 18 black-type winners is impressive as it is on face value alone, but it's even more so as a percentage of named foals. These days, with popular stallions routinely covering more than 100 mares each year, a good stallion can be expected to get 5% black-type winners to foals, and for young horses with fewer crops racing, the percentages are even lower.

War Front leads all established Kentucky stallions with a ratio of 11.23%, followed by Tapit at 9.86%, Speightstown 9.77%, Into Mischief 8.56%, Medaglia d'Oro 8.36%, Curlin 8.29%, and Ghostzapper 7.89%.

Not This Time is next on the list behind Ghostzapper at 7.47%, ahead of Munnings at 7.15%, Quality Road 7.13%, Uncle Mo 6.95%, Constitution 6.80%, More Than Ready 6.73%, and Street Sense 6.67%.

You get the picture. Not This Time is right up there in the production of black-type winners with the best in the country, and he's the youngest of this group.

Among his own cohort, he's the leading third-crop sire, ahead of Laoban at 5.71%, Upstart at 4.07%, Hit It a Bomb 3.95%, Nyquist 3.18%, and Runhappy 3.04%.

Not This Time's first crop came to the races in the COVID year of 2020 when racing, as life, was disrupted, but there were clues then–at least by August, when I wrote here “Not This Time Leads Freshman Sires“–that he was going to be more than a flash in the pan. He was getting quality maiden special winners then and performing far above his stud-fee level, and that impression has turned into reality.

A stallion that can move up his mares to graded and listed levels–not to mention Classics contenders–at a $15,000 fee is one that can better withstand the drops in book quality from years two to four, and we're seeing this year that his second crop headed by Epicenter and the others noted is highly effective.

He is the real deal.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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