Like many consignors, Paramount Sales has a large inventory of horses to move as the yearling sales season comes to the wire with next week's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale.
Consistently one of the largest consignors at the fall sale, Paramount has entered 93 head in this year's auction that takes place Oct. 26-29 in Lexington, with sessions beginning at 10 a.m. ET daily.
At last year's October sale, Paramount sold 54 yearlings for gross receipts of $1.601 million, an average price of $29,648, and a $10,000 median price. Topping the Paramount consignment was an American Pharoah colt purchased by Team Casse, agent, for $385,000.
With some sales canceled and others rescheduled due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 sales season has been trying, but it could have been worse, says Paramount's Pat Costello.
"It's been hard work but better than I thought it was going to be," Costello said. "We're down 20%-30%, but there has been a lot of trading going on. The Fasig-Tipton (Midlantic Fall) Maryland sale was very good. There are people out there who want horses."
Costello said the size of this year's Paramount October group is a combination of factors.
"Some of our clients wanted to keep their horses for this sale and to highlight them here, and we have a few from the (Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland) September sales that were bought back or withdrawn and bits and pieces from other sales," Costello said. "We provide a service for our clients who want to move less expensive horses, and we have a couple of very nice horses we believe should bring some money."
Included in the Paramount group are several individuals with the potential to stand out in the 1,553-horse catalog.
"There is a nice Distorted Humor filly in Day 1, and we have a nice Into Mischief colt that is lovely horse in Day 3, and in between there are nice horses," Costello said.
Cataloged as Hip 124, the Distorted Humor filly is out of the winning Indian Charlie mare How and was bred in Kentucky by Fredrick Wieting, John McCormick, and Bridget Sperl. Purchased as a weanling for $95,000 from the Castlepark Farm offerings to the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, the filly went unsold on a final bid of $120,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase in September.
"She is a nice, big-walking, good-looking filly, and the sire is a hell of a sire and good broodmare sire of fillies," the consignor said. "His horses work on both sides of the Atlantic."
The Into Mischief colt (Hip 1147) bred in Florida by Bulldog Racing and Gabriel Duignan is a half brother to grade 2 winner Yara and to the dam of Puerto Rican champion Derek Adrian. The colt's second dam, the Gone West mare Lady Laika, produced Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (G1) winner Healthy Addiction, who in turn produced Vanity Stakes (G1) winner My Sweet Addiction.
"He's by Into Mischief; need I say more," Costello said. "This is a beautiful horse, with the color and body type of good Into Mischiefs."
Hip 1031, a Curlin colt whose dam, the winning Rockport Harbor mare Whisper Wisdom, is a half sister to grade 1-winning millionaire Connect , was a Selected Yearlings Showcase buyback for $255,000. He was bred in New York by Pine Ridge Stables.
Paramount also has a baker's dozen offerings on behalf of Greg Justice's Justice Farm, including a group of Indiana-breds that qualify for that state's lucrative incentive program. Included are sons and daughters sired by Indiana-based stallions Lantana Mob and Harry's Holiday .
"Greg Justice breeds in the Indiana program and is really good at it," Costello said. "Some of them are by stallions that stand there, so they are eligible for all of the state-bred incentives. He does well with those horses here every year."
Although it's been a better-than-expected coronavirus-affected sale season for Paramount, Costello said he is recommending prudence on behalf of his clients when setting reserve prices for the October sale, lest they be prepared to keep and race them.
"My recommendation to my clients is if you're coming here, it's the last sale to get out on, so you have to be realistic if you want to get them sold, especially this year," he said. "Or be prepared to go the next level and race them."
