Inaugural Fasig-Tipton California Fall Sale Thursday

Kim McCarthy | Fasig-Tipton photo

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The inaugural Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings Sale will be held Thursday at the Fairplex Sales Pavilion in Pomona, with bidding scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. PT. The one-day auction features a catalogue of 285 yearlings, with 25 withdrawn as of Tuesday afternoon.

Fasig-Tipton will be hosting its second California auction, following its inaugural Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale in June. The sales company took over from the now-defunct Barretts this year and, as showing at the sales barns began Tuesday in Pomona, consignors are hoping to see plenty of out-of-town shoppers.

“Fasig-Tipton brings a bigger group of people, so I think that's exciting,” said Kim McCarthy, whose McCarthy Bloodstock will send 31 yearlings through the sales ring Thursday. “We have a few more pinhookers coming out from Florida and Kentucky, so hopefully we'll have some fun.”

Fairplex, the longtime home of Barretts sales, hosted its final Thoroughbred auction with the company's Fall Sale last October. It has been used sparingly as a sales pavilion since Barretts moved its 2-year-olds in training sales to Del Mar and Fasig-Tipton opened its California training sale at Santa Anita.

“This was what it was built for–this is a sales pavilion,” McCarthy said of the venue. “They built it to do exactly what we're doing. It's a shame it doesn't get used more often.”

With the closure of Barretts and uncertainties in the California racing circuit, McCarthy agreed the success of the sale was vital to the state's breeding industry.

“It's huge,” she said of the auction's importance. “We are down to one yearling and one 2-year-olds in training sale, so we need these to go well and that will keep all the breeders going. I think we are all kind of holding our breath and hoping it all goes well.”

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