Yaupon

by Christina Bossinakis & Stefanie Grimm Lexington, KY--The onset of the yearling season every summer can be a bit of a worrisome time for many. With the yearlings that have been so painstakingly selected by Fasig-Tipton's team for its first yearling sale of the season, it can often be a bit unnerving whether things will go off without a hitch or not. And at the conclusion of Tuesday's yearling session, it appeared that it had. "It was a fantastic start to the 2024 yearling sales season," affirmed Fasig-Tipton President and...

As is the custom, the summer ushers in the yearling sales season, headed by Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings at Newtown Paddocks. Beginning at 10 a.m., the sale features a trimmed-down catalogue of 286 yearlings, once again highlighted by a selection of first-crop sires, making up roughly a third of the catalog. Featuring 370 head one year ago, this season's offering of yearlings points not only to availability, but to the ongoing drive toward quality. "It's always a function of the type of horses that you're exposed to...

Every year, the Fasig-Tipton July sale offers the first chance for buyers to get a look at a new crop of yearling sires. Many buyers were seeing these sires' yearlings for the first time this week, and while it's admittedly early, we took a little survey to get their first impressions. The group includes: Basin, Beau Liam, By My Standards, Charlatan, Core Beliefs, Essential Quality, Independence Hall, Knicks Go, Known Agenda, Leinster, Lexitonian, Maxfield, Modernist, Raging Bull, Rock Your World, Silver State, Tacitus, Uncle Chuck, and Yaupon. LIZ CROW: Tacitus...

2nd-Presque Isle Downs, $30,500, Msw, 6-17, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f (AWT), :52.72, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. WILLOW OAK (f, 2, War of Will--Joyful Cat, by Kitten's Joy) was bet nearly in half from her 8-1 morning line off a promising worktab over the Turfway Tapeta and came away late to become the first winner for her Classic-winning freshman sire (by War Front). Under a hustling ride from Adam Beschizza from gate five, the Dede McGehee homebred was a midpack fifth into the turn, was roused right-handed while progressing leaving the...

With bidding now open, Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 103 entries for its June Digital Sale, which will close on Tuesday, June 4 at 2 p.m. ET, the auction company said in a release Thursday. The catalogue offers breeding stock, horses of racing, 19 yearlings, a two-year-old and a stallion prospect. Breeding stock include mares in foal on 2024 covers to sires from Arcangelo to Yaupon. Racing/broodmare prospect offerings are headlined by 2022 Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Cairo Consort (hip 26) (Cairo Prince), while horses of racing age include a last out...

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Erin Fisher of Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds. "We have been working on upgrading our bloodstock over the last several years with a focus on good-running mares that might not have a Kentucky commercial pedigree up front, but still have the ability to create excellent racehorses and future stallion prospects. If you look at the current stallions in Kentucky, you will see that around half are out of mares with non -commercial Kentucky sires. My personal...

Zetta Z (Bernardini), dam of Saturday's dominating GIII Robert B. Lewis winner 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist), has been added to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale to go through the ring Tuesday, Feb. 6, announced the auction house via press release Sunday. Catalogued as HIP 536 and offered by Grovendale Sales as agent, she is in-foal to multiple Grade I-winning Cyberknife. In addition to Nysos, Zetta Z is also the dam of SP Attabe (Distorted Humor) as well as a 2-year-old filly by Street Sense and a yearling colt...

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale continued into its second half Wednesday in Lexington with a session which, while significantly smaller, produced results largely in line with its 2023 counterpart. For the session, 196 horses sold for a gross of $4,352,900. The average of $22,209 was down 2.54% from last year's corresponding session, while the median of $10,000 was up 25%. From 316 catalogued horses, 242 horses were offered and 46 failed to meet their reserves for a buy-back...

Today we reach quite a crossroads in the market, between $20,000 and $29,999. It takes a degree of affluence to roll the dice at this level, but you'd do so hoping to reach blood of genuine elite potential. As usual, we've sieved out the new sires, having given them a separate treatment at the outset. Instructively, however, it's a tier dominated by stallions still in the early stages of their careers. And there is an auspicious flux here. One or two, if building on a promising start on the track,...

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock concluded its nine-day run in Lexington Thursday with numbers off from its 2022 renewal in what Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy called a "pragmatic, solid sale." At the close of business Thursday, 2,128 horses had sold through the ring for $176,571,000. The average of $82,975 was down 16.94% from a year ago, while the median of $32,000 was down 20.00%. "Overall, it's been a very pragmatic, solid sale," said Lacy. "Demand for quality is extremely strong, probably as strong as ever, and that's...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale entered its Book 3 section Saturday in Lexington. Leading the day's trade was the 4-year-old broodmare Chameleon (Candy Ride {Arg}), who sold for $425,000 to the bid of Terri Burch of Stoneway Farm. The mare, in foal to Practical Joke, was bred and consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm. During the session, 243 horses grossed $15,012,500 for an average of $61,780 and a median of $50,000. The average was down 27% from last year's opening Book 3 session and the median was...

The TDN sat down with longtime owner/breeder Bill Heiligbrodt for the next installment in this ongoing series presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA). Through conversations with buyers and sellers, the series looks to contribute to the discussion on radiograph findings and their impact on racetrack success. Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt have been in the racing game some 30 years and have enjoyed top-level success with Yaupon (Uncle Mo), winner of the 2021 GI Forego S., as well as Eclipse champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya). Both Grade I...