By Jessica Martini
TIMONIUM, Md – The three-day under-tack show ahead of next week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale began Tuesday in Timonium with a pair of horses sharing the fastest furlong time of :10 flat and two equaling the fastest quarter-mile time of :21 2/5.
Hip 87, a filly by G1 Irish Derby winner Cape Blanco (Ire), was first to hit the :10 flat mark during the first of five sets Tuesday. She is consigned by Grassroots Training & Sales, which purchased her for $5,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The chestnut is out of Secret Island (Cat Thief), a half-sister to stakes winner Hidden City (Carson City).
Working in the day's second set, hip 24 also completed her furlong work in :10 flat. The filly is from the first crop of GI Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy and is out of Phi Beta Mom (Johannesburg), a full-sister to graded stakes winner Teuflesberg. The bay is consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables on behalf of Altamira Stable, which purchased her for $67,000 at the Keeneland September sale last fall.
The filly, who galloped out in :21 2/5 and :34 2/5, was originally slated to sell at the OBS March sale, but was rerouted to Maryland after a subpar work in Ocala.
“She had trained really well before the March sale, but she didn't seem to like the synthetic surface at all,” Dunne explained. “She didn't work anywhere near what we thought she would work there, so we just brought her home. We brought her up here instead and obviously, she does like the dirt better.”
Dunne added, “Altimara Farm bought her, broke her, trained her and we've only had her for the last month or so.”
Hip 34, gray filly by Into Mischief, set the quarter-mile mark of :21 2/5 during Tuesday's second set. Out of Pooh Corner (Tapit), the filly is consigned by Wes Carter on behalf of her breeder, Carolyn Vogel.
Hip 109, a colt by Old Fashioned, equaled the :21 2/5 time during the day's third set. Out of Silver Lined (Stormy Atlantic), the gray is a half to stakes-placed Peej (Candy Ride {Arg}).
He is consigned by Clovis Crane's Crane Thoroughbreds on behalf of Crane's father Joe and longtime client Harry Weisleder, who signed the ticket on the youngster at $10,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Yearling Sale.
“My dad was over the moon with how well he worked,” Crane beamed back at the barn.
But the bullet work wasn't a complete surprise to the team.
“He's just been coming into his own,” Crane said of the colt, named Hi Old Silver. “He's a really tall, long, leggy colt and he has been a good colt all year, but he came into his own in the last month. He had been hinting to us that he was going to do that and today we let him loose and he did it.”
Of the decision to work the juvenile a quarter-mile, Crane said, “He is a little crooked legged, so I wanted to prove that I had been training him and he's sound and all right. I know the quarter, in a lot of people's mind, solidifies it. A big, long, leggy colt like that might not go in :10 flat, so if he doesn't have a fast breeze then I'm going to get knocked. Now everybody can see that he's a good colt.”
Crane Thoroughbreds sent 14 horses out to work in Timonium Tuesday.
“I think the track was extremely consistent,” Crane said. “We were pretty right on what we thought we'd be. I think everything was good. I was really pleased with how everything went and my crew did a fantastic job of getting the horses ready. They showed up on the right day and the right time. And I think my better horses might be tomorrow and the next day.”
The lone hiccup during Tuesday's under-tack show occurred when hip 142 got loose on the track prior to breezing. He was corralled by the outriders on the backstretch and is expected to return to work Wednesday.
The Midlantic under-tack show continues through Thursday with sessions beginning at 8 a.m. The two-day auction will be held Monday and Tuesday beginning daily at 11 a.m.
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