Curlin Colt Paces Midlantic Finale

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded Tuesday in Timonium with a frenetic session of selling led by a sales record-setting $1.5-million son of Curlin. The sale topper was one of four to bring over $700,000 on a day which saw solid bidding throughout all segments of the market.

“Obviously, today was a very, very strong session punctuated by some special horses,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “We had an idea that there could be some fireworks today based on the way the horses previewed and based on the feedback that some of the consignors were getting over the last few days of pre-sale inspections. It's always great to set another record, but given the quality of the horses that were on offer today, we were happy, but I don't think anyone was surprised. Those were a legitimate group of top-quality horses.”

During the session, 168 horses sold for $13,699,500, an average of $76,476 and a median of $33,500. For the two days, 330 horses sold for $25,237,000. The average rose 11.4% to $76,476 and the median rose 9.4% to $35,000.

“I think folks left here optimistic about their purchases, whether they were spending $20,000 or $200,000 or $500,000 and up,” Browning said.

Browning continued, “”That's one of the strengths of this marketplace and of this sale. There is a diverse group of horses that fit a variety of racing operations from regional markets to the absolute finest in the United States that have the ability to compete anywhere in the upper end in the U.S. or around the world.”

Buyers acknowledged bidding was competitive over the two days in Timonium.

“It's been really tough,” bloodstock agent Dennis O'Neill admitted. “I told Mr. [Paul] Reddam the other day, it seems like whatever you think the price should be, you need to double it. And if you don't want to spend that, then we're not going to buy. That's just the way it is.”

The buy-back rate Tuesday was a sparkling 14.3%, adding up to a two-day figure of 19.9%.

“More important than the record price, was the RNA rate, which at some point this afternoon was 13%,” Browning commented. “That is so important, overall, for consignors to get some money. Some of those were sold at a loss, but consignors were able to turn their product into cash to give them the opportunity to go to the yearling sales or to replenish their farm. That is one of the keys to our business, to change your product to cash when you go to a horse sale. So it's very encouraging to see an RNA rate at that level.”

The Midlantic sale produced its first seven-figure transaction two years ago when a filly by Smart Strike sold for $1.25 million. That result was followed up a year ago when a filly by Uncle Mo sold for $1 million. The sales record was eclipsed Tuesday when a son of Curlin (hip 388) attracted a final bid of $1.5 million from trainer Mark Casse, bidding on behalf of John Oxley and Breeze Easy. The juvenile was consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds.

“There is no magic to the sales business,” Browning said. “When the consignors provide high-quality product, you're going to have successful sales. And the most encouraging thing is that the consignors continue to have confidence in this marketplace, they continue to have confidence to bring quality horses here and the buyers now know that there are going to be quality horses on offer the Monday and Tuesday following the Preakness.”

Curlin Colt a Record Setter

A colt by Curlin made his second trip through a sales ring Tuesday in Timonium and he came out a sale topper once again when selling for a Midlantic record $1.5 million to trainer Mark Casse. Casse was bidding on behalf of longtime client John Oxley and Breeze Easy, which co-purchased the colt with Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds for a sale-topping $475,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Yearling Sale.

“I was the underbiddder on him as a yearling,” Casse revealed after signing the ticket on the youngster in the sales office. “I thought he was just a beautiful Curlin and there are not many sires better than Curlin.”

Reflecting on his runner-up effort with Oxley's Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile) in Saturday's GI Preakness S., Casse laughed, “We are trying to find a Preakness winner for next year. We were so close this year.”

Hip 388 is out of Franscat (Stormin Fever) and is a half-brother to stakes winners Swinger's Party (Medaglia d'Oro) and Hubba Shake (Street Sense).

“We loved the horse from the first time we ever saw him,” said Breeze Easy's Mike Hall. “So we were very happy to stay in on him. Mark Casse was the underbidder on the horse in Kentucky and he has wanted the horse from that day forward. He kept tabs on him, he knows all about him. It's all up to Mark now. We are new at the game, but we are trying to play in it.”

The West Virginia-based Breeze Easy first made headlines when purchasing a Broken Vow colt for a sale-topping $1.2 million at the 2016 OBS April Sale

When Randy Hartley signed the ticket on the chestnut at last year's July sale, the plan was to reoffer the youngster at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, but the juvenile bucked shins prior to that auction and Hartley and partner Dean DeRenzo took him home to Ocala to regroup. They were rewarded for that decision when the colt worked a furlong in a co-bullet :10 flat during last week's under-tack show.

“I guess everything happens for a reason,” Hartley said of the delay. “At the time, it was, 'Oh my gosh we spent so much money and now he has shins.' But we did the right thing by the horse. We took him home and cooled him out and pin fired him so no one would have any worries about it down the road. That was his first breeze since Gulfstream and Dean and I were really concerned because he had sat around for 60-70 days. I two-minute licked him–of course, it wasn't fast enough for Dean. But I knew he could run. If they can run, they can run.”

Hartley continued, “He's just an amazing horse. He's got the brains and he is so classy. He just walks in the ring and just stands there. He is probably the smartest horse I've ever been around. He is pretty much the same as when we bought him, just a little bigger. He was beautiful then.”

Of the decision to stretch on the colt at last year's Fasig July sale, Hartley said, “We honed in on him because we felt like not as many end-users go to July as [Keeneland] September. So we felt like if we had a shot to get one, that was the one. There was one similar to him in September who sold for $1 million. I know [$475,000] was a lot, but it was still a good buy. We probably won't be able to buy another one that looks like him again.”

Distorted Humor Colt Heads West

Trainer Simon Callaghan signed the ticket at $850,000 to secure a colt by Distorted Humor on behalf of an existing client Tuesday in Timonium. Hip 490 is out of stakes winner Lemon Kiss (Lemon Drop Kid) and is a half to Grade I winner Lochte (Medaglia d'Oro). He worked a furlong last week in :10 2/5.

“He has a stallion's pedigree, a great physical and is a really well-balanced colt,” Callaghan said. “I thought he ticked all the boxes.”

The youngster, who was broke and received some of his early training at All in Line Stables, was consigned by Eddie Woods on behalf of Alejandro Ceballos's Venezuelan-based Grupo 7C, which purchased him for $350,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. He was bred by Town and Country Horse Farms, which purchased Lemon Kiss with this foal in utero for $1.325 million at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Sale.

“It's strong for these top-end horses, as it always is,” Callaghan admitted. “There are a lot of good horses who have come out of this sale, so let's hope this is one of them.”

A Ghostzapper Colt for the Chus

A colt by Ghostzapper will be joining the West Coast stable of trainer Bob Baffert after selling for $800,000 Tuesday in Timonium. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, acting on behalf of Susan and Charlie Chu's Baoma Corp., made the winning bid on hip 516.

“We were waiting for this horse and we're very happy to get him,” Lanni admitted. “Obviously, we liked the Curlin colt and we didn't get him. But this was one of our favorite horses in the sale. At the 2-year-old sales, they are asked to do so much and this horse did everything he was asked to do. Good horses have come out of this sale. Hopefully this will be another one.”

The chestnut colt is out of Malibu Cougar (Malibu Moon), a full-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Kauai Katie and to graded stakes winner Winding Way. He worked a furlong last week in :10 1/5.

The Chus campaign Eclipse champion sprinter Drefong (Gio Ponti), as well as recent GIII Los Angeles S. winner Lord Simba (Discreet Cat) and stakes winner Faypien (Ghostzapper)–both OBS April purchases.

The juvenile was consigned to the Midlantic sale by Cary Frommer, who purchased him for $200,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale.

“When I first saw him, I just went nuts and I could hardly contain myself,” Frommer admitted. “I called Barry [Berkelhammer], who was looking at horses on the other side of the grounds, and I told him, 'You have to come over and see this colt.' It was instantaneous. I just loved him when I saw him. It never changed. I always thought he was classy and the right horse.”

“They got a great horse and we got a great price,” Frommer concluded.

Frommer entered the juvenile sales season admitting she and partner Barry Berkelhammer were more selective in purchasing yearlings last year in consideration of a polarized marketplace in which only the top offerings seem to be in demand.

The approach paid immediate dividends at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale where Frommer consigned a pair of seven-figure juveniles.

“It's been a very good season,” Frommer confirmed Tuesday. “We bought a more select yearling last year and I'm feeling pretty good about that right now.”

Asked her plans for the upcoming yearling sales, Frommer laughed, “I think we'll use the same strategy this year.”

O'Neill Stretches for Orb Colt

Dennis O'Neill has been busy all spring stocking the fledgling racing stable of Saudi client Amr Zedan and the bloodstock agent was back in action Tuesday in Timonium, going to $710,000 to secure hip 373, a colt from the first crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Orb. Mike Ryan, who purchased the colt for $170,000 on behalf of one client at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale, was underbidder on the juvenile while acting on behalf of another client Tuesday.

“We thought he would be $500,000 or $600,000, but we stretched a little bit,” O'Neill admitted after signing the ticket in the sales pavilion. “As we've seen at all these sales, if there is one you've got to have, you have to stretch a little bit, which we did.”

Out of Extra Sharp (Cherokee Run), the juvenile is a half to graded stakes placed Colonel Sharp (Colonel John). His second dam is multiple Grade I winner Sharp Cat. The bay worked a furlong in a co-bullet :10 flat.

“I thought his breeze was fantastic, his gallop-out was great,” O'Neill said of the juvenile's appeal. “He was a gorgeous individual. We are really excited to have him. He'll go out to California to [trainer] Doug [O'Neill] tomorrow.”

O'Neill admitted he is a big fan of Claiborne's young stallion Orb, who was represented by a $1.25-million colt at OBS March.

“I've just really loved the Orbs,” O'Neill said. “They've just looked great. They are strong, athletic and have great minds. I went to check on this horse a whole bunch the last couple of days and he just stands in his stall–they have great minds and they are gorgeous, gorgeous horses. He's kind of my Uncle Mo from a couple of years ago. I haven't seen too many bad Orbs and that was pretty much the case with Uncle Mo. I think he's the one this year. I really like him.”

O'Neill's purchases on behalf of Zedan this spring include a $950,000 Union Rags colt and a $410,000 Flatter filly at OBS March, a $400,000 colt by Custom For Carlos at Fasig-Tipton's Gulfstream Sale, and a $360,000 daughter of Lucky Pulpit at the Barretts March Sale.

“He's put together one heck of a stable,” O'Neill said of Zedan. “If we don't do some good with it, I'm really, really bad.”

Hip 373, bred by Susan Casner, was consigned by Crupi's New Castle Farm.

“I thought he was a special horse,” Ryan said of the colt. “I didn't know he would bring that much. The second dam, Sharp Cat, was a great mare. But he's pretty special. I thought he was a very good yearling when I bought him in October. He is bred to go long and his breeze was spectacular. If he had been on his right lead, it would have been more spectacular. The pace he showed was pretty extraordinary. He's a two-turn horse. I saw a lot of Unbridled in him. I am seeing a lot of Unbridled coming through the Orbs because Orb's dam [Lady Liberty] is by Unbridled.”

Ryan is another quick to sing the praises of the 2013 Derby winner.

“I am impressed by the Orbs,” Ryan said. “They are two-turn horses, but they have class and they are sound and they are good-training horses. They are very straighforward. They are good horses to have.”

Beler Strikes for Orb Colt

Demand for offspring of Orb continued to be strong Tuesday in Timonium when hip 468, a colt by the 2013 GI Kentucky Derby winner, sold for $525,000 to Constantine Peter “Buzz” Beler, bidding alongside trainer Leon Blusiewicz. The two men, both in their late 80s won the GII Tom Fool S. in April with the Beler homebred Spartiatis.

“I've been training for him for at least 40 years,” Blusiewicz said of Beler.

Blusiewicz had originally thought to add a filly to Beler's stable.

“He was looking at hip 509 [a Point of Entry filly], but he asked me if I could find a colt because he would rather have a colt than a filly,” Blusiewicz explained. “I bred 509–I bred that whole pedigree. I do the management there. But he asked me if I could find him a colt. So the other day, I was looking over the catalogue with Bill Parcells, the coach, and I said this is the one I like on the page. I said this is a super cross.”

Blusiewicz was quickly sold on the Orb colt, who is out of Julie From Dixie (Dixie Union).

“Usually, I don't buy them at a 2-year-old sale,” the veteran trainer admitted. “I like to buy them at a yearling sale. But this colt was so attractive, Mr. Beler wanted to buy him. And I liked everything about him. I liked the way he X-rayed, the way he moves. And I love that cross. I love Dixie Union mares. I pick them off the mares side. I don't look at the sires, I look at the mare's side. And this is a perfect cross with this horse.”

Beler is owner of The Prime Rib restaurants.

“Everybody goes there–anybody with any recognition,” Blusiewicz said of the restaurants with locations in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

The bay colt was consigned to the Midlantic sale by Pike Racing on behalf Stallionaire Enterprises, which purchased him for $140,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

“Marette Farrell picked him out for Stallionaire,” Al Pike explained. “Fortunately, they sent me the horse and I had him this winter. They allowed me to bring him up here to sell him and they've been great to work with. He's a nice horse and it's a good result for all involved.”

Ryan Strikes for into Mischief Filly

It's been a banner year for Mike Ryan, who pinhooked 2016 GI Kentucky Derby hero Nyquist (Uncle Mo), co-bred and sold reigning Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) and purchased GI Preakness S. winner Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) on behalf of Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. Just days after his Preakness success, the bloodstock agent continued to make headlines in Maryland Tuesday, going to $375,000 for an Into Mischief filly (hip 465) from the Pike Racing consignment.

“Into Mischief is an incredible sire,” Ryan commented. “I picked out [MGISW] Practical Joke (Into Mischief) for Chad Brown and Mr. [Seth] Klaraman [of Klaravich Stables]. It is just amazing what he has done from a nominal stud fee. The one thing that impresses me about them is the fire in their bellies. They all run and they all run hard.”

Bred in New York by Dr. Jerry Bilinski and Roddy Valente, Hip 465 is out of Jilted (Runaway Groom), who also produced MGSW sire Run Away and Hide (City Zip). The gray, who RNA'd for $165,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale, breezed in :22 flat.

“I knew this filly was going to cost because the two [Into Mischiefs Monday] were very nice and they both made $425,000,” Ryan remarked. “This filly is a New York-bred and that's a nice little perk to have. She has a lot of quality and she's a sister to a good horse. Run Away and Hide was a really good horse. We were at the end of the rope, but I wasn't shocked she would bring that kind of money. I bought her for a new client and we haven't decided where she is going to go yet.”

Ryan signed for a total of eight juveniles during the two-session Midlantic sale with the Into Mischief filly being the most expensive. His other purchases include a $350,000 First Samurai colt (hip 471), a $270,000 Paynter colt (hip 362), a $225,000 Uncle Mo Colt (hip 200), a $180,000 Bernardini filly (hip 51), a $150,000 Paynter colt (hip 199), a $150,000 Congrats filly (hip 23), who was a private sale, and a $50,000 Paynter filly (hip 117).

Ryan also pinhooked and was the underbidder on hip 373, an Orb colt he purchased for $170,000 at FTKOCT who realized $710,000 from Dennis O'Neill Tuesday.

“I think [the market] is very strong,” Ryan offered. “The good ones, you're not stealing them. You need to step up there. We got beat out on a couple, but we did buy some nice horses [Monday], but [Tuesday] is even stronger.”