By Sarah Mace
The top New York-bred to sell at Monday’s opening session of Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic two-year-olds in training sale was a colt by Super Saver who brought $240,000. The session’s top New York-bred filly gave bragging rights to Sequel’s freshman sire Alpha, fetching $150,000. In addition to the Alpha filly, offspring of New York sires Big Brown (Hip 183, $125,000) and Freud (Hip 165, $110,000) were among the eight New Yorkers who sold for six figures.
The Super Saver colt changed hands late in Monday’s trading as Hip 275. Bred by Larry Goichman and foaled on March 23, 2016, the colt was purchased last year by his Midlantic consignor De Meric Stables for $100,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred yearling sale in Saratoga. The bay breezed a furlong in :10 2/5 in the under-tack show, and Linda Rice signed the $240,000 ticket.
The colt’s dam is Intentional Fever, a homebred for Edward P. Evans. Purchased by Mike Ryan for $220,000 from the Evans Dispersal at the 2011 Keeneland November sale, Intentional Fever is a multiple stakes winner and earner of over $200,000. She has already produced a winner and two half-sisters are stakes producers. The colt’s second dam is Dance Teacher, winner of the 1989 Grade 1 Ladies Handicap.
The filly topper by Alpha sold as Hip 25. Bred by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau and foaled on May 6, 2016, the filly was pinhooking success story for Kenneth Lejeune. Lejeune bought her as a yearling for the relatively modest price of $35,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October sale. At Timonium, the filly was purchased by agent Marette Farrell on behalf of Ryan Exline and Justin Border’s Exline-Border Racing for $150,000. Exline has already enjoyed New York-bred success as a partner in multiple graded stakes winning Giant Expectations by New York sire Frost Giant.
“It’s a huge plus for us that she’s a New York-bred,” Farrell told the TDN. “Ryan Exline and Justin Border and their team already own Giant Expectations … and Ryan loves the angle of the New York-breds.”
The filly breezed a furlong in :10 4/5 furlong, even though her rider lost the irons. Said Farrell, “We thought she was phenomenal and unfortunately she was a little compromised in her work. But we really liked how she didn’t turn a hair with that. She stayed focused. She knew what her job was, and she galloped out really, really well.” The filly will be trained by Giant Expectations’ conditioner Peter Eurton.
In the first session of the two-day auction 58 Empire State-breds were offered and 46 changed hands for a 20.7% buyback rate (this includes three private sales to date). The New York-bred average price for the session checked in at $49,576 and the median was $30,000. The overall average for the first session was $70,151, the median was $36,000 and the RNA percentage was 22.8%
