By Sarah Mace
In the opening session of the three-day Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale at Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, trainer Gary Contessa, agent, went to $140,000 to purchase the top-selling New York-bred yearling, a chestnut daughter of Kitten’s Joy bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey and foaled at Questroyal North in Stillwater.
Hip 34 issues from a family of top achievers, champions and producers. Her third dam is multiple Grade 1 winner, millionaire and 1989 Breeders’ Cup Distaff runner-up Gorgeous, by Slew o’ Gold. Gorgeous is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner and sire Key to the Moon, who won the 1984 Sovereign Award for 3-year-old colt. Her half-sister Seaside Attraction was a Grade 1 winner and produced Grade 1 winner Golden Attraction, Eclipse Award winning 2-year-old filly in 1995. Grade 1 winner Cape Town also appears among the many black type winners in this portion of the family tree. The filly’s unraced dam Wise Impression, by Smarty Jones, is already the producer of one winner from one foal to start. Wise Impression currently has a weanling colt by Courageous Cat and was bred to Point Given this year.
The top New York-bred colt in the session, a dark bay or brown Smart Strike colt bred by Stone Bridge Farm, LLC where he was foaled, went to Chestnut Street Stables from the Lane’s End consignment for $130,000. Hip 56 is out of New York-bred champion Acey Deucey, a daughter of Abaginone bred by Glen Grey Farm and campaigned by Jeffrey Tucker. Acey Deucey won the 2005 editions of the Grade 1 Prioress and Grade 2 Comely Stakes, for which she was voted New York-bred champion 3-year-old filly and top female sprinter. She has so far produced two winners from two foals to start, including multiple stakes winner Preachintothedevil by Pulpit. Acey Deucey currently has an unraced 2-year-old filly by Malibu Moon named Royalton, who brought $200,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred yearling sale in Saratoga, and a weanling filly by Tiznow. She was bred this year Curlin.
During the auction’s first session, 31 New York-breds sold (including one private sale) from 42 offered (26 percent buyback rate) for an average price of $30,854 and median of $15,000. In a session-to-session comparison with last year, the sale as a whole saw a double digit increase in average (19 percent) from $28,519 to $34,056 and more modest increase in median (3 percent) from $16,500 to $17,000. Buybacks in the general population of the sale increased to 29 percent from 20 percent in the opening session last year.
The second session of the sale begins on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.
Thank for keeping us informed..