Seven Share Bullet at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Under-Tack Opener

TIMONIUM, MD – The under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, delayed a day and an hour by rain storms, opened under gray skies and an intermittent drizzle Wednesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds as seven juveniles splashed down the lane in co-fastest :10 1/5 furlong breezes.

First to hit the :10 1/5 time was a colt by Tiz the Law (hip 189), who worked early in the second of the day's seven sets. Consigned by Wavertree Stables, the bay is out of stakes-placed Janis's Joy (Broken Vow). He was bred by Frankfort Park Farm and was purchased by Deuce Greathouse, on behalf of Pura Vida Investments, for $95,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“We've always really liked him,” Greathouse said of the juvenile. “He had plenty of Constitution to him, plenty of bone. That sort of line of horse has a little more scope and leg and wants to go further and he looked like he could grow into that type of horse.”

Greathouse's Pura Vida Investments partnership has enjoyed success on the racetrack with the likes of 2023 GII Saratoga Special winner Rhyme Schemes (Ghostzapper) and stakes winner Smokey Smokey (Mendelssohn). Hip 189 is among the group's first pinhooking prospects.

“Pura Vida has been racing for a while and we decided we could also buy some horses to pinhook,” Greathouse said. “We had some people who weren't into the racing as much. We have five [to pinhook in Timonium]. We decided to give them all more time and take them here. Hopefully, we will have a good first entry.”

The partnership was also represented on the track Wednesday by a filly by Practical Joke (hip 113) who worked in :10 2/5 and a filly by Knicks Go (hip 18) who worked in :10 4/5.

During Thursday's under-tack session, Pura Vida will be represented by a filly by Liam's Map (hip 201) and a filly by Street Sense (hip 280).

First-Crop Bullets

Of the seven horses to work the furlong in :10 1/5 Wednesday in Timonium, four were by first-crop sires. Leading off the group was a son of Yaupon (hip 194, video), who was consigned by Steve Venosa's SGV Thoroughbreds. The bay colt is out of multiple graded stakes winner Just Jenda (Menifee) and is a half-brother to stakes winner Jenda's Agenda (Proud Citizen), who is the dam of graded winner Just Cindy (Justify). Bred in New York by Milfer Farm, he was purchased by SGV Thoroughbreds for $130,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“We held him specifically back to come up here,” Venosa said of the colt. “Being a New York-bred, we really wanted to showcase his ability up here. He came up here and performed on the racetrack today, which a lot of horses are struggling to get through. But he showed up.”

Yaupon's lone starter to date, Sassy C W, was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following her 5 1/4-length debut win at Churchill Apr. 30.

“Just as a bunch, they are very solid,” Venosa said of Yaupon's first crop of runners. “Going into the yearling sales, he was one of the ones that we knew we would try to get.”

SGV Thoroughbreds is coming off a successful OBS April sale, where the consignment offered the auction's top two lots, a $1.5-million son of Tiz the Law and a $1.45-million colt by Gun Runner.

“You are only as good as the last horse you sold,” Venosa said. “You can't look back in this business. It is livestock and every day you walk into the barn–anybody who trains horses can understand that–anything can happen. I have a really outstanding team. And I can't do it without them. Coming up here, the pressure was kind of off, but we were really excited about the bunch we brought up here. So we were looking forward to this and today we started out pretty good.”

Hip 199 | Fasig-Tipton

Just minutes after hip 194 turned in his furlong bullet work, a first-crop son of Grade I winner Maxfield (hip 199, video) matched the mark for the Hartley/de Renzo Thoroughbreds consignment. Randy Hartley and Dean de Renzo purchased the youngster, out of multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed Kathballu (Bluegrass Cat), for $250,000 at the Keeneland September sale.

For de Renzo, it was a formula destined to work.

“You know how to make great apple pie?” he asked with a smile. “Start with great apples. That makes it real easy. They just know how to do it, so all we have to do is keep them good. Thank God we have.”

Maxfield, winner of the 2021 GI Clark Stakes, was represented by his first winner when Piedra Preciosa scored on debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis May 3. The Darley stallion currently leads first-crop sires by average with 20 sold for an average of $268,894.

“Their physicals have really caught our eyes,” de Renzo said of the Maxfields he has seen. “We liked enough of them that we actually bought a baby by Maxfield knowing they are going to be a bubble year, but I have confidence in him. What a great racehorse and a pedigree he had. When you have those female families like Maxfield has, they make it. The genes keep flowing. And this colt has a fantastic female family as well, so the cross works beautifully. When we pick them as yearlings, that's what we really look for. A lot of female family.”

Of the muddy conditions Wednesday, de Renzo said, “We have been coming here 35 years and we know this racetrack and how they take care of it, so I felt very confident when they said they have a safe track and we are going to go. I had no doubts it would be a safe track. After 35 years, I think they've kind of proven themselves to us for sure. I know Boyd [Browning] would never chance hurting any horse. These track guys have been here 11 years on the same track, they know the track and the surface and what they have to do with it. And they've worked hard trying to squeeze some of the water off. I watched them do it all night.”

Grassroots Training and Sales sent out a first-crop son of multiple graded winner Engage (hip 96, video) to share Wednesday's bullet. The dark bay colt is out of Ecliptical Mary (In Summation) and was purchased by the operation for $14,000 at last year's OBS October sale.

Wavertree Stables had its second bullet worker of the session when a colt from the first crop of Galilean (hip 187, video) worked late in the day. The bay is out of It's Timeless (Mineshaft) and was purchased by Bronco Bloodstock for $95,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale last summer. He RNA'd for $160,000 following a :10 1/5 work at the OBS March sale.

Rounding out Wednesday's bullet furlong workers were: a filly by Classic Empire (hip 20, video) consigned by Endurance Equine and a filly by Blame (hip 64, video) consigned by Crane Thoroughbred Services.

Complexity Gelding Sets Quarter-Mile Mark

Of the six juveniles to work a quarter-mile over the muddy track in Timonium Wednesday, a gelding by Complexity (hip 54) earned the bullet with a time of :21 4/5. Consigned by Hoppel LLC, the chestnut is out of Cheerleader (Flashy Bull). Jesse Hoppel purchased the youngster for $35,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October sale last fall and he was originally targeted at the OBS April sale.

Hip 54 | Fasig-Tipton

“That horse was in the April sale and cut his knee on the stall door and we had to scratch him,” Hoppel said. “He would have been a real respectable horse in April, but it was just bad luck we had to take him out. He had worked well on dirt at the farm, so we had no qualms about bringing him here.”

The unfortunate timing might have worked out for the best, Hoppel admitted with a laugh.

“At OBS, that horse would have been breezing with two other horses of mine that went :20 2/5 on the same day he would have been breezing,” Hoppel said. “Him cutting his knee solved some problems for me because I didn't know which of them I was going to put first in the breeze show that day. So the fact that he cut his knee and defaulted to come to Maryland helped me out a bunch.”

The Fasig Midlantic sale is the only major 2-year-old sale with an under-tack show conducted over a dirt surface.

“The buyers like to see it [works over the dirt], however, in unique circumstances, it is not always feasible,” Hoppel said. “We've all seen races canceled due to weather. A day like today, everyone is talking about the condition of the track. If we were at OBS right now–a lot of people are not keen on that Polytrack down there–but a day like today, it handles water very well. So I think both surfaces have their pluses and minuses. When everything is perfect, we love to see these horses on the dirt. But we can't control the weather. So our surface back at OBS can help us with some of the crazy Florida weather we get.”

Also pragmatic about the conditions Wednesday, Wavertree's Ciaran Dunne admitted, “It's not ideal. I don't think there is anyone here, given their druthers, who would want to work on it, but it is what it is. When they say they want a dirt track, this is what they get when it rains.”

With additional rain expected overnight in Timonium, the start of Thursday's second session of the under-tack preview has been pushed back an hour and will begin at 9 a.m.

The Midlantic May sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday. Monday's session will begin at 1 p.m. and Tuesday's session will begin at 11 a.m.