by Pete Denk and John P. Sparkman
Yearlings by A.P. Indy and Storm Cat, the top two North American commercial stallions of the last decade, each brought seven-figure final bids on opening night of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of selected yearlings on Monday.
Of the 85 horses that went through the ring at the Humphrey S. Finney pavilion in Saratoga Springs, New York, 60 were reported as sold for total receipts of $18,160,000, an 8.6% decline from last year’s first session when 76 horses sold for $19,867,000.
Average price increased 15.8% to $302,667 while median improved 13.3% to $235,000. The buy-back rate increased from 21.6% a year ago to 29.4% in 2008.
“I thought going in this [boutique sale] segment would perform pretty well, as the upper range of Kentucky performed pretty well,” said Fasig-Tipton President Walt Robertson. “There weren’t a lot of surprises, and it wasn’t necessarily easy, but I think this segment of the market has been pretty healthy so far this year, and that hasn’t changed. People want a nice horse.”
Team Valor International bought the session-topping $1.5-million Storm Cat filly, out of Totemic, by Vanlandingham, from the consignment of Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, agent. Bred in Kentucky by Strategy Bloodstock—one of several pseudonyms associated with Coolmore Stud—the filly is a full sister to Irish Group 3 winner Cherokee and stakes winner Art Museum, and she is a half sister to Grade 2 winner Lil’s Lad.
Storm Cat, 25, was pensioned earlier this year and will only have two more crops, with his last crop perhaps consisting of a limited number of horses.
“I've only ever seen one better filly at public auction, the half sister to Roman Ruler and El Corredor [named Spun Silver] that John Sikura sold [at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale],” said Team Valor owner Barry Irwin. “She's got the most awesome body, so athletic looking and her front legs are good.
“To be honest, I thought I had no shot to get her. The way I look at it, where are you going to find another one like her? I bought a couple of cheaper ones earlier, but I wish the order had been different. I probably wouldn't have bought them if she'd been first. It is stretching my bankroll a little bit.”
Thoroughbred Legends Racing Partnership, the new entity in which trainers Bob Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, and Nick Zito are combining forces, was underbidder on the Storm Cat filly. Thoroughbred Legends, buying for the first time at public auction, purchased three horses for $1,205,000.
Will Farish of Lane's End went to $1.2-million to secure a colt by his farm's leading sire, A.P. Indy.
"He’s a lovely individual, one of the best A.P.s I've seen at auction for a long time, and he's from an outstanding female family that I've wanted to get into for years," Farish said. "I wasn't surprised at the price, but I've been surprised with a lot of these so far. I expected him to bring more."
Named Pyramid Indy, the colt out of Pyramid Lake, by Broad Brush, was bred in Kentucky by Dream with Me Stables and was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm, agent. The unraced dam has produced two stakes-placed winners and is a half sister to 1997 European Horse of the Year Peintre Celebre, by Nureyev.
The A.P. Indy colt was the highest-priced horse ever sold by Hunter Valley, which was founded in Versailles, Kentucky, in 2004 by partners Adrian Regan, Fergus Galvin, John Wade, and Tony Hegarty. The colt was entered in the 2007 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, and was listed as reserve not attained on final bid of $500,000.
“When we had him in last November, he was a big, raw, backward colt. That’s why we reserved him so high. We were of two minds to bring him to the sale in the first place, and we figured if we did, we were going to protect him,” Galvin said. “He’s been a special colt from day one, a very classy horse. It was a great result for our farm. To get a million-dollar horse, especially here in Saratoga, it’s a terrific result.”
John Ferguson, primary bloodstock agent for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, was the leading buyer with five purchases for $3.1-million. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent was leading consignor by total sales with seven horses sold for $2,150,000.
The second and final session begins Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.
For hip-by-hip results, click here.
Pete Denk is sales editor for Thoroughbred Times
John P. Sparkman is bloodstock editor for Thoroughbred Times