Lucky Pulpit Filly Swiftest at Barretts

Barretts conducted the under-tack preview for its Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Del Mar Monday in front of a large number of trainers, owners and bloodstock agents. The show began under overcast skies and temperatures in the high 50s, but the sun displaced the clouds as the day wore on and temperatures reached the mid-60s. The day's fastest furlong and quarter-mile breezes were both recorded during the last of three sets.

Among the strong contingent of trainers in attendance at Del Mar Monday was James Cassidy, Art and Alan Sherman, Brian Koriner, Dan Hendricks and Phil D'Amato. Bloodstock agents present were Emmanuel de Seroux, whose Narvick International signed for last year's sale topper, as well as Mersad Metanovic, Marette Farrell, Pete Bradley, Rollin Baugh and Shawn Dugan. Stonestreet Stable's John Moynihan took in the action alongside owner George Bolton, while other owners in the Del Mar grandstand included Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Aron Wellman, West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley, as well as prominent California owner Madeline Auerbach.

Barretts General Manager Kim Lloyd expressed himself pleased with both the breeze show's turnout and the performances put forward on the track.

“The horses have been training well here and they are breezing well today,” Lloyd said. “They look good over this track–they get a hold of it really well and it really shows off talent. The attendance is great and the weather is perfect.”

A total of 10 horses breezed a furlong in :10 flat, but hip 6 became the first to shade the :10 mark when she streaked the eighth-of-a-mile in :9 4/5. Consigned by Havens Bloodstock Agency, the chestnut is a daughter of the late Lucky Pulpit and, out of Nine to Five Lady (Mr. Greeley), she is from the family of GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Concern.

“She was the quickest horse we had, but I never plan on a :9 4/5–it just sounds kind of silly to say that kind of stuff,” admitted Andy Havens. “As a result, you end up just delighted when they do it. She is a wonderful horse, a very fast-made horse and she's just been 100% the whole time, so we're really happy.”

Havens sent out nine juveniles to work Monday and the consignor said the Del Mar track seemed to play fairly throughout the day.

“It's a really safe track,” Havens commented. “The horses come back off this track really well. I'm not sure they all handle it equally well, but it's a good track. I think it was good all the way through today and it's a very good track to train on and there has been a good response from these horses soundness-wise.”

Just a few hips after the :9 4/5 drill, a colt from the first crop of Grade I winner Justin Phillip recorded the day's fastest quarter-mile breeze when he covered the distance in :20 3/5. The bay colt (hip 48) is out of Town Belle (Speightstown), who is a daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Clearly a Queen (Lucky North). He is consigned to the Barretts sale by Eddie Woods.

“I knew he was going to work really, really well,” Woods said. “I'm not going to tell you I thought he'd go in :20 3/5, but I knew he had a legitimate chance to go the fastest quarter of the day.”

Of the decision to work the colt in the final set of the day, Woods added, “Last year, I worked a horse late and he had the fastest quarter of the sale and I waited with my two quarters to late this year just to make a decision to see how the track was going to decide how far I was going to work them. It was holding up the whole day. The small numbers and the two breaks helped. Everyone basically fell into where they were supposed to be. So the track was very fair.”

Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables was responsible for four of the 10 second-fastest furlong workers: hip 17, a colt by Soldat; hip 46, a colt by Quality Road; hip 76, a colt by Run Away and Hide; and hip 123, a colt by Tale of the Cat.

“From first to last, pretty much there were no surprises,” Dunne said. “They worked pretty much in line with what they were doing at home. I don't think there was any variance throughout the day at all.”

Bruno De Berdt's Excel Bloodstock was responsible for three of Monday's :10 flat workers: hip 67, a filly by Blame; hip 44, a filly by Morning Line; and hip 121, a colt by Congrats.

Also represented by multiple :10 flat workers was Raul Reyes's Kings Equine, which sent out hip 102, a son of Candy Ride (Arg); and hip 61, a daughter of Exchange Rate.

A filly by Smiling Tiger (hip 8), consigned by Checkmate Thoroughbreds, was first to set the :10 flat mark Monday.

The Barretts March catalogue, which began with 134 entries, has been significantly shortened by scratches and only 71 horses breezed Monday.

“It's just the way it is,” Lloyd said of the large number of outs. “We can only sell what we have, we'll deal with it and move on.”

Lloyd said a possible solution to the small catalogue would be to combine the company's March and May juvenile sales.

“It's probably time for a change,” Lloyd said of the possible calendar change. “We haven't gotten there yet, but it's a possibility to address the numbers and that way the scratches aren't as significant in a bigger catalogue. The buyers come here because they know there is quality, but it's always nicer to have more horses.”

Woods agreed condensing the two sales might make sense.

“I think it's probably the only way to go,” he said. “I think it's time to do something to consolidate the whole thing so they can at least have a respectable number.”

The Barretts Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale will be held Wednesday at Del Mar with bidding scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. PT.