Skip Dickstein
The inaugural Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed and horses of racing age sale, which took place on Tuesday, October 9 at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, featured filled-to-capacity barns, good attendance, and a racing prospect that sold for six figures – all of which drew a positive response from the sales company and a commitment to repeat the event. The top New York-bred seller, and top weanling, was a filly from the first crop of Munnings.
Over the course of Tuesday’s sale 119 horses grossed $1,933,600, selling for an average price of $16,249 with a median of $12,000. The buy-back rate was 40.8%. The sale topper came near the end of the day: a Darley-bred 3-year-old daughter of Bernardini named Closing Move who sold as a racing/broodmare prospect from the consignment of Tom Albertrani and brought $100,000 from Thomas Voss (Hip 222).
Skip Dickstein
The New York-bred population of weanlings, broodmares, broodmare prospects, horses of racing age and racing/broodmare prospects accounted for more than half of the transactions of the day, with weanlings comprising the majority.
The Empire-bred weanlings, who grossed $926,600, slightly outperformed the overall sale in all relevant categories. The New York weaning average was $16,256 and median was $12,500. A total of 57 changed hands, with 31 not sold or 35.2%.
The sale’s top weanling, and second highest seller, was a chestnut New York-bred filly from the first crop of MGSW Munnings (Hip 95), who was purchased by Bernard Stables for $67,000 from the consignment of Vinery Sales, agent. Bred by Eaton & Thorne, Inc, and foaled at Thorndale Farm in Millbrook, the filly is the second foal produced by That’s Ok, an unplaced New Jersey-bred daughter of Not For Love. That’s Ok is a full sister to stakes winner and Grade 1 placed Forever Partners and a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Forever Pals.
Skip Dickstein
The top New York-sired weanling was Hip 158, a chestnut filly from the first crop of Justenuffhumor, who stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds ($5,000 live foal in 2012). Bred by EKQ Stables Corp and foaled at Vinery New York at Sugar Maple farm in Poughquag, the filly sold to Kirk Wycoff for $37,000 from the consignment of Vinery Sales, agent. The filly’s dam Delaste (Chimes Band) has produced six foals, all winners.
Dan Pride, Fasig-Tipton vice-president and COO told the TDN before the sale, “We thought we’d have this sale in 2013, but then we had a good number of clients that told us, ‘If you put it on this year, we’ll bring horses.’ We ended up having to close the sale and turn horses away.”
At the end of the day, Bayne Welker, Fasig-Tipton’s vice president of sales told the Blood-Horse, “Sale day was extremely well attended. The sale pavilion was full; the restaurant was full. Boyd Browning and I stepped out on the balcony (overlooking the sale grounds) for the last two horses, and both of us were amazed at the amount of people still standing in the back when the hammer fell on the last horse.”
Welker continued, “We consider [the sale] a success because at the end of the day, it exceeded our initial expectations, which certainly were tempered going into new territory.” He added, “We’re very committed to this sale. We’re excited about being here and working with the New York program and growing as it does.”
