After making regional stops in Southern California, Central Florida and Maryland, the domestic sales scene returns to Kentucky for the two-day Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale, which kicks off Monday morning at 11 a.m. at the company's Newtown Paddocks. With the announcement of 48 supplemental entries last week, a total of 528 yearlings, racing/broodmare prospects and horses of racing age are catalogued to go under the hammer. Some 76 horses have been withdrawn as of Sunday afternoon.
As is usually the case with mixed sales, there is little predictability from year to year in terms of what sellers may bring to the marketplace, but Fasig-Tipton's Chief Operating Officer Boyd Browning Jr. expects stability to be the flavor of the day.
“I think we'll see a similar marketplace to what we've seen throughout 2015 and have seen continue into 2016 thus far,” Browning explained. “I think there will great competition for what are perceived to be the quality offerings and it'll be a little more difficult than you'd like for what is perceived to be the less-than-desirable offerings or not as high-quality offerings. I think we'll see a fairly solid and consistent marketplace. I wouldn't expect to see any significant change from last year or what we experienced in November in the other mixed sales.”
He continued, “I think there's enthusiasm, but as we've seen, buyers are more focused on the higher levels for both broodmares and for race horses. There is definitely demand for quality. The reality is you can't tell the market what is right and wrong. The market is what it is, we don't get to make the market, we just have to adapt to the market.”
The Winter Mixed Sale will offer buyers the opportunity to purchase young horses by established sires like the late Arch, Congrats and his close relation Flatter, Into Mischief, Midnight Lute, Munnings, Speightstown and Yes It's True, while younger guns like Animal Kingdom, Bodemeister, Caleb's Posse, Gio Ponti, Morning Line, Shackleford, Sidney's Candy, Uncle Mo and Violence also add some intrigue. The draft of broodmares include three mares carrying foals from what will become the final crop of Ashford's successful stallion Scat Daddy.
The 48-strong supplemental entries towards the end of Tuesday's second session could result in some of the top prices of the sale. Taylor Made sales, always a force to be reckoned with among consignors, will send hip 508, the 4-year-old filly Naval Command (Midshipman). A member of her sire's first crop, the Florida-bred was a stakes winner at two and is catalogued as a racing or broodmare prospect. Nicky's Brown Miss (Big Brown) is consigned to the Winter Mixed Sale by Meg Levy's Bluewater Sales as hip 510. She, too, was a black-type winning juvenile and hails from a female family full of stakes performers. West Virginia-bred Stoweshoe (Flatter) is offered as hip 522 by Hunter Valley Farm, agent, and brings a big pedigree to the table. Catalogued as a racing or broodmare prospect, the 3-year-old is a full-sister to 'TDN Rising Star' Taris, five times a graded stakes winner and twice placed at Grade I level, who sold for $2.35 million in this sales pavilion in late 2014. Comedy (Theatrical {Ire}), the dam of both Taris and Stoweshoe and in foal to Tapit, was purchased by Stonestreet for $1.5 million at Keeneland November late last year. Stoweshoe is also kin to SW & MGSP Theatre Star (War Front).
Last year's sale was topped by Rose to Gold (Friends Lake), who was purchased by WinStar Farm for $450,000. A total of 406 horses were reported as sold last year for gross receipts of $10,560,700, an average of $26,012 and a median of $12,000.
A no-guarantee season to leading sire Medaglia d'Oro has been added to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale. The season will be offered after hip 480, just before the supplemental offerings, during Tuesday's second session of the two-day auction. A portion of the proceeds of the season sale will go to charities that include the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
“We're thrilled that part of the proceeds of this Medaglia d'Oro season will be shared with charitable organizations such as the Throughbred Aftercare Alliance,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “This season is an exciting addition to this year's sale, especially after the tremendous day Medaglia d'Oro had on Saturday with two brilliant Grade I winners in Songbird and Mshawish.”
For the complete catalogue, visit www.fasigtipton.com.
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