New York-breds play key role in Midlantic May sale’s success

By Tom Law

Two New York-breds sold for more than $300,000 and another brought $290,000 to highlight another strong showing for the Empire State during the second session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale of 2-year-olds in training Tuesday in Timonium, Maryland.

The success Tuesday followed similar returns from Monday’s opening session. Fasig-Tipton reported sales on 31 of the 35 New York-bred juveniles offered Tuesday for $2,157,500, an average of $69,597 and median of $30,000. Overall, 66 of the 78 New York-breds through the ring sold for $4,623,000, an average of $70,045 and median of $33,500.

The strong returns for New York-breds played a key role in the overall success of the sale, which saw a 43 percent increase in total sales ($33,692,00 compared to $23,572,500 last year), a 21.3 percent increase in average price ($94,375 compared to $77,797) and 25 percent rise in median ($50,000 compared to $40,000).

New York horsemen combed the sales grounds and were active during the two sessions that saw three New York-breds sell for $300,000 or more, one more than a year ago, and 13 bring $100,000 or more compared to 11 in 2020.

“All those guys come down, that’s what they want, whether they run at Finger Lakes or the NYRA tracks,” said Paget Bennett, Fasig-Tipton Midlantic’s sales director. “The New York-breds can be Belmont horses, Saratoga horses, Finger Lakes, whatever you want.

“The New York-bred horses appeal to all levels of buyers. … Those kinds of buyers are more likely to come here than go to Florida. They can drive here, that’s a big difference. Rudy Rodriguez was here, Barclay Tagg was here with Jack Knowlton and they bought horses both days.

Nick Hines, agent for Rockingham Ranch, signed the ticket for the second session’s most expensive horse, going to $325,000 for Hip 430[2], a colt from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Midnight Storm.

Consigned by Scanlon Training & Sales, agent, the colt out of the winning Dixie Union mare Dixie Dawn breezed an eighth in :10.1 during presale workouts. Bred by Stephen Crestani Jr. and foaled at Millstone Stable in Bridgehampton, the colt was sold to Scanlon Training & Sweetwater Trading Co. for $75,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase conducted in September after the company’s July, Saratoga Select and Saratoga New York-bred sales were scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The session-topping colt is a half-brother to five winners from six foals to race out of Dixie Dawn, who raced on the NYRA circuit and won her debut at 2 at Belmont Park before competing in stakes as a 3-year-old. One of her winners is a New York-bred, the Trappe Shot gelding Presence of Mind.

The second most expensive New York-bred sold during Tuesday’s session was Hip 524[3], a colt from the second crop of 2020 North American leading freshman sire Nyquist, purchased by Sobhy Sonbol, agent for ATR Club, for $310,000. The colt breezed an eighth in :10 during presale workouts.

Consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables Inc., the colt is the first foal out of the winning Speightstown mare In It for the Gold. Bred by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock and foaled at Song Hill Thoroughbreds in Mechanicville, the colt was purchased for $60,000 by BRD Racing out of the Warrendale Sales consignment at last year’s Keeneland September yearling sale. In It for the Gold, a $225,000 yearling out of the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale, won on one of seven starts and earned $74,640 on the NYRA circuit for Bob Edwards’ e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and trainer Rudy Rodriguez.

Sean Perl Bloodstock LLC went to $180,000 to purchase the session’s top-priced New York-bred filly, Hip 457[4], a daughter of New York-based stallion Union Jackson and half brother to stakes winner Excellent Timing, for $180,000.

Bred by Sequel Stallions New York LLC and Lakland Farm, foaled at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson and consigned by Becky Thomas’ Sequel Bloodstock, agent, the filly is out of the winning Pioneerof the Nile mare Explicable.

Excelling Timing, Explicable’s second foal by Not This Time, won in his second start last December at Aqueduct before a victory in the Damon Runyon Stakes in March at Aqueduct for owners Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb and Wonder Stable.

Mike Mellen purchased two other expensive New York-breds during the second session – Hip 370[5], a colt by Brody’s Cause for $290,000; and Hip 367[6], a filly by Union Jackson for $125,000.

Larry Zap, agent, signed for Mellen for the colt by Brody’s Cause out of the unraced Johannesburg mare Candy d’Oro. Consigned by Sterling Thoroughbreds, agent, and bred by Kingsport Farm LLC, the colt was foaled at Fort Christopher’s Thoroughbreds in Fort Edward.

Sequel Stallions NY and Lakland Farm also bred the Union Jackson filly purchased by Mellen. Consigned by Sequel, the filly is out of the unraced Malibu Moon mare Caldwell, a half sister to Julia Tuttle, the dam of Grade 1 winner Tom’s d’Etat from the family of leading sire Candy Ride.

The most expensive New York-bred of the sale, Hip 72[7], a half-sister to New York-bred champion Newly Minted from Chester and Mary Broman’s breeding program, sold early in the opening session for $550,000. Jacob West, bidding for Robert and Lawana Low through his West Bloodstock, signed for the session’s highest-priced filly.

The bay filly from the first crop of 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and 2018 Preakness runner-up Classic Empire was consigned by Becky Thomas’ Sequel Bloodstock, agent for the Bromans. Foaled at Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, the filly is the fifth foal out of the winning Bernardini mare Newbie. Newly Minted, Newbie’s second foal by Central Banker, won six of 12 starts, including four stakes, earned $516,738 and was named champion 3-year-old filly in New York in 2019. She was also a finalist for champion New York-bred honors in the female sprint and dirt female divisions in 2020.

– Additional reporting by Joe Clancy

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/18/new-york-breds-play-key-role-in-midlantic-may-sales-success/

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