Medaglia d'Oro Colt Tops Midlantic Opener

Hip 21 with Brett Santangelo & Mike Recio | Tibor Szlavik

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The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale opened Monday with a son of Medaglia d'Oro bringing top price of $600,000 during a session with figures down from last year's record-setting auction. In all, 157 horses sold for $10,715,700. The average of $68,253 was 23.2% off last year's two-day average of $88,859, while the median of $34,000 was down 24.4% from the 2015 cumulative figure.

Figures closely mirror results from previous juvenile sales during a year that has featured a very discriminating buying bench, according to Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sales Director Paget Bennett.

“Everything held here just as we've seen at the other juvenile sales,”commented Bennett. “The quality offerings are the ones that do well and it's the others that tend to struggle.”

From a catalogue of 300 juveniles, 229 went through the ring with 72 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 31.4%. It was 23% during last year's opening session.

“It was a big catalogue,” Bennett continued. “Obviously you like to have more solds, but it's been the same at the other sales this year.”

Monday's top-priced lot was hip 21, a son of Medaglia d'Oro consigned by Cary Frommer and purchased by Mike Recio of Rockbridge Bloodstock and trainer Brett Santangelo on behalf of an undisclosed client. The juvenile was one of five over the $300,000 mark.

Last year's power-packed opening session, which featured the record $1.25-million daughter of Smart Strike, had four horses over $500,000 and 18 selling for $300,000 or over. During that session, 127 horses sold for $13,047,000. The average was $102,732 and the median was $45,000.

The Midlantic sale concludes with a session Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m.

 

Leading the Way

A colt by Medaglia d'Oro topped early returns during Monday's opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale when selling to Mike Recio of Rockbridge Bloodstock for $600,000. Recio, who did his bidding out back alongside Kentucky trainer Brett Santangelo, signed the ticket on behalf of an undisclosed California-based client.

“We don't know exactly where he'll be running,” Recio said of hip 21. “He could run on the East or West coast and we hope he does big things.”

The juvenile, consigned by Cary Frommer on behalf of breeder Allen Poindexter, is out of stakes-placed Kid Majic (Lemon Drop Kid) and is a half-brother to Canadian champion Miss Mischief (Into Mischief).

“Lemon Drop Kid is very underrated as a broodmare sire,” Recio said of the colt's appeal.

The juvenile working during the first, and noticably slowest, set of last week's under-tack show, breezed a furlong in :10 4/5.

“He's a big two-turn horse that makes you dream about the Classic races and a long campaign,” Recio continued. “He should get better as he gets older, he's still maturing. We're looking for the type of horse that can take us to some fun races and that's the kind you want.”

The 22-year-old Santangelo earned the first victory of his young training career in January at Turfway. He is currently working towards a degree in Equine Science from the University of Kentucky.

It was the second trip through the sales ring for Hip 21, who RNA'd for $190,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale.

“The owner did the right thing by him,” Frommer explained. “He's a mid-May foal and he had some issues that needed maturity and he waited for this sale with him instead of pressuring to go to an earlier sale with him and it was the right thing to do. He's a lovely horse and we'll be reading about him.”

 

The Factor Filly to Stonestreet

Stonestreet Farm, bidding on the phone through Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, saw off a determined Linda Rice in a protracted bidding duel to secure hip 162, a filly from the first crop of Grade I winner The Factor (War Front), for $510,000 Monday in Timonium. The gray filly, who worked a quarter in a bullet :21 3/5 during last Monday's under-tack preview, is out of Ramblin Rosie (Roar), a half-sister to Grade I winner Buddy Gil (Eastern Echo) and was consigned to the sale by Eddie Woods. The result was a pinhooking score for Lexington-based nursery Gainesway, which purchased the youngster for $250,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale.

“The plan was to break her and see how she was going,” said Gainesway's Michael Hernon. “She grew appreciably. She is a big, rangy filly and very balanced, correct and a good mover. She breezed here very well. She came right on the day.”

Browning several times had to implore the auctioneers for more time as the Stonestreet team debated its next bid, with Rice, bidding out back answering back promptly before ultimately yielding to the phone bidders.

“We appreciate Stonestreet and the aggressive and persistent underbidder Linda Rice, both of whom made it happen,” Hernon said.

Of the filly's final price, Hernon added, “That exceeded our expectations and it was well beyond the realistic reserve. We brought her here to sell her.”

Gainesway enjoyed further success in Timonium Monday when hip 247, bred by the farm and a son of its superstar sire Tapit, sold for $400,000 to the bid of EQB Inc.'s Patti Miller.

“He's a lovely horse,” said Miller, who declined to name her client. “I thought he was one of the fancier Tapits here.”

Of the price, Miller added, “I think that's a fair price for a Tapit.”

The juvenile, consigned by Eddie Woods, breezed a furlong in :10 3/5. He is out of the Gainesway-compaigned multiple stakes winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Starfish Bay (Elusive Quality), who was produced by graded stakes winner Touch Love (Not for Love).

 

Malibu Moon Filly for Sumaya US

A filly by Malibu Moon will be joining the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher after selling for $500,000 to the bid of Oussama Aboughazale's Sumaya US during Monday's opening session of the Midlantic sale. Bloodstock agent Steve Young handled bidding duties on the filly while sitting next to Aboughazale in a back row of the sales pavilion.

“She is a very, very nice filly,” Young said after signing the ticket. “She sold herself every time I went and saw her and she is a very good mechanic filly. She looks like she'll be early and we're very happy to get her.”

Aboughazale, originally from Jerusalem and now based in Chile where his family exports fruit, agreed.

“She is beautiful, with lots of class,” he said. “She had an excellent work. She had everything. She will go to Todd Pletcher and we hope she will be a champion.”

Hip 112 is out of stakes winner Our Fantene (Touch Gold) and is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Javerre (Outflanker). She worked a quarter in a bullet :21 3/5 during last week's under-tack preview.

Of the price, Aboughazale said, “We had estimated her around $450,000, but we had to go an extra $50,000.”

Sumaya U.S. first broke into stateside racing in 2003 with Grade I winner Wild Spirit (Chi). The stable has also campaigned graded stakes winners Protonico, Isola Piu Bella (Chi) and Newfoundland.

The bay filly, consigned to the Midlantic sale by De Meric Sales, was purchased by De Meric Stables for $250,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

Asked if the intention was always to re-sell the youngster, consignor Nick De Meric said, “We didn't have a clear intention when we bought her, she could have gone either way, but we liked the way she was training and we felt coming into the spring that there might be an opportunity to turn a dollar. She really stepped up here and proved what kind of a filly she can be.”

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