Though there is no live racing in Kentucky July 11, a dark day at Ellis Park, racehorses remain in the spotlight in the state—on the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds near Lexington.
As of midday July 9, more than 120 horses remained cataloged following outs to Fasig-Tipton’s July Selected Horses of All Ages Sale, which begins Monday at 3:00 p.m. ET. Included among this group are a range of different types of horses, including broodmares, though racehorses should command the most attention. In-form runners, particularly young horses with racing conditions, are likely to garner support from bloodstock agents and owners keen to acquire contenders for upcoming summer and fall racing.
“What I like about this sale is you have two of the greatest venues in Saratoga and Del Mar getting ready to open,” said Steve Castagnola, sales recruiter for Taylor Made Sales Agency. “Saratoga—who doesn’t want to win up there? Then the ‘Ship and Win’ at Del Mar, and Kentucky Downs in September.”
Taylor Made consigns one of the hot juveniles in the sale, Song Parody (Hip 609), a New York-bred Practical Joke filly who romped by 5 1/2 lengths in her debut June 25 at Belmont Park, earning an 83 Equibase Speed Figure and rating highly on other speed and performance-figure measurement systems.
“The future is bright for her,” Castagnola said. “That was a freaky fast performance. She’s got a ton of upside.”
Taylor Made also sells the stakes-winning Easy Time (Hip 497), who won the Marine Stakes (G3) last year as a 3-year-old on Woodbine’s Tapeta main track and also was second in the Franklin-Simpson Stakes (G2) on turf at Kentucky Downs, beaten less than two lengths. Most recently, the 4-year-old colt was second in a second-level allowance optional claimer at Woodbine on grass June 10.
“He’s been at our farm for two weeks getting ready for the sale,” Castagnola said. “He’s sound and has a great mind, just like his sire, Not This Time . It looks like he’s rounding back into his graded-stakes form and looks ready to win for a new owner.”
Already in winning form is the Paramount Sales-consigned American Patrol (Hip 457), a 4-year-old American Pharoah colt riding a three-race win streak in the Mid-Atlantic region. He is 4-for-5 this year, scoring over distances ranging from six furlongs to a mile and 70 yards.
Lesley Campion, account manager for Paramount Sales, was pleased with the colt that arrived into their consignment July 8, saying he “moves like a panther.”
“I think he makes sense for anyone wanting to enjoy a nice racehorse,” she added.
As usual at this sale, WinStar Farm and ELiTE Sales have power-packed consignments, led by some stakes runners.
“Our ultimate goal is to take horses to go to the stallion barn,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager for WinStar Farm. “So there are a lot of horses that fit other people’s programs—like the horses we have in the sale here—that don’t quite fit that standard of what we’re trying to look for. That’s why they’re available.”
First Constitution (Hip 587), Kuchar (Hip 547), and Swing Shift (Hip 434) are three leaders in the WinStar consignment. 5-year-old First Constitution is a dual stakes winner this year, and 3-year-olds Kuchar and Swing Shift enter the sale with sharp form from Churchill Downs meet.
Kuchar ran second to graded 1 winner Rattle N Roll in the American Derby there July 2, while Swing Shift won a first-level allowance optional claimer June 26.
Noting the steady progression of Kuchar, an Uncle Mo colt, Walden said: “He is really developing into a nice horse. He’s a very big horse, too. You can see why it took time to get into his rhythm. He should be a really good 3-year-old and 4-year-old.”
Over at Gainesway's consignment, promising recent maiden winner Pharoah's Song (Hip 578) offers buyers ready prospect. The 3-year-old American Pharoah filly broke her maiden June 3 for trainer Chad Brown and Rodeo Creek Racing with a bold run in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight on the turf at Churchill Downs.
"This filly has a lot of upside for whoever buys her," said Gainesway's Brian Graves. "She's sound, she's attractive. The partnership that currently owns her sees an opportunity to do well on their investment and they're going to take it, but she's the type of filly that could go to California immediately or Kentucky Downs and run for big purses, could be a stakes filly. She's sound and ready to go, so it's nice to have this kind of a sale where you can achieve one person's goals financially and help somebody buy a horse that's ready to go right into a race next month."
ELiTE’s Fasig-Tipton consignment includes runners from multiple clients, including some for Klaravich Stables and for the “Avengers” partnership, an ensemble of owners headed by SF Racing.
Electability (Hip 499), Hybrid Eclipse (Hip 533), Newgrange (Hip 568), Montebello (Hip 565), Perfect Flight (Hip 573), and Warrior's Battle (Hip 448) are some of their leading horses.
Electability, a Quality Road 3-year-old, has hit the board in four straight races since moved to dirt, finishing third this year in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park and second in the TVG.com Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Newgrange, by Violence , has been working in Southern California toward a return to racing after finishing sixth in the Rebel Stakes (G2) in February. He won the Sham Stakes (G3) and Southwest Stakes (G3) in January.
“We have four or five nice 3-year-old dirt colts that people are going to want to come and see,” said bloodstock agent Liz Crow, co-founder and partner in ELiTE with Brad Weisbord.
She recalled how ELiTE “got started” in 2017 at this sale, which she called the biggest racehorse sale of the year.
“It kind of has everything for everybody,” she said. “We can sell for $30,000 that can go to Sunland and run well there and win allowance races, or we can sell a horse for $500,000, $600,000 that can go straight into graded-level stakes company and compete for their new owners. It gives buyers an array of options.”
