By Jessica Martini
The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale kicks off its two-day stand at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Monday evening at 7 p.m. A total of 209 yearlings have been catalogued for the two-day boutique auction, with 27 outs as of Sunday evening.
Optimism was high during a busy day of showing at the sales ground on a picture-perfect Sunday morning.
“We feel very positive heading into the sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “The sales grounds have been busy since Friday. And with the feedback we've gotten so far, we really feel very positive about the group of horses that we have here. All indications are positive. We're optimistic and looking forward to getting started Monday night.”
Fasig-Tipton opened the yearling sale season last month with a strong renewal of its July sale and Browning is hoping to see similar results in Saratoga.
“We are looking for a continuation of an overall pretty solid marketplace,” he said. “There were multiple bidders on a lot of horses and plenty of competition [at the July sale], but it was still a fairly rational market. Buyers are enthusiastic, they want to buy horses, but they stop when they reach their limits on what they are willing to spend for a horse. It's a fairly balanced marketplace right now.”
Consignors seemed to share Boyd's optimism.
“The 2-year-old market was good and the numbers in July were good,” commented Denali Stud's Craig Bandoroff. “I think the [Triple Crown winner] American Pharoah makes people feel good about being in the business–we haven't had that for a long time. You've got to have the stock, but if you can make the cut, I would think it's going to be all right. And we hope we make the cut.”
Taylor Made Sales' Mark Taylor concurred.
“I think it's going to be good,” Taylor said of expectations ahead of the Saratoga sale. “It's a boutique sale, the numbers aren't too much. We've got a lot of momentum with racing going on right now. And these are hand-picked good horses. I think when you put those variables together, it's a recipe for success.”
Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales was heartened by the action at the sales barns this weekend, but offered a word of caution.
“I think there are plenty of people here–the activity level is great,” Cauthen said. “I think it is going to be a great sale. We just need to let it be a great sale and don't get carried away. It's always important to let the market decide to be a great sale, not high reserves. I've talked to all of my owners and said, 'Listen, let's not get carried away. Let's decide and then hope that we're the right ones. I think it will be a good sale, though.”
The 2015 Saratoga catalogue is slightly larger than the 2014 renewal, which had a catalogue of 165 head.
“We don't approach the sale season and say we are going to catalogue 'x' for Saratoga and 'y' for the July sale,” Boyd explained. “We are going to catalogue the horses that fit, both in terms of physical conformation and pedigree. We were very excited to have some additional horses in the catalogue this year because they were good horses. We didn't sacrifice or compromise quality to have the additional horses and I think that will be reflected in the final figures.”
A total of 114 yearlings sold at the 2014 Saratoga sale, grossing $33,284,000 for an average of $291,965 and a median of $237,500. Three yearlings topped the seven-figure mark, led by a filly by War Front who sold to Willis Horton for $1.25 million.
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