by John P. Sparkman

Average price remained virtually level at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Calder sale of selected two-year-olds in training on Tuesday as a colt by Street Cry (Ire) brought the top price of $2.1-million.

John Ferguson, bloodstock agent for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, purchased the half brother to recent stakes winner Elliecat. The sale topper is out of Sage Cat, by Tabasco Cat, and was consigned by Scanlon Training Center, agent.

"He's a horse that was a very good looking yearling, and Paul Pompa [Jr.] paid $425,000 for him," Ferguson said. "He trained very well at David Scanlon's this winter and came here and moved beautifully on the racetrack. His half sister is now a stakes winner and Street Cry has worked well with Northern Dancer-line mares.

"The thing about buying at two-year-old sales is that you're that much further down the line."

"I knew he'd be seven figures, but anytime you have a horse like that, you just hope people hook up," consignor David Scanlon said. "I've had him since September, and he's been a really good horse all the time. He worked well, showed fantastic, and jumped through all the hoops. He's been a good horse to be around."

Pompa purchased the horse at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale.

Fasig-Tipton reported 102 horses as sold, a 17.7% decline, for total receipts of $35,100,000, a 19.5% decline compared with $43,622,000 in gross receipts at last year’s sale.

Average price declined 2.2% to $344,188, slightly less than last year's average of $351,790.

“It wasn't easy,” said Walt Robertson, Fasig-Tipton's president and chief auctioneer. “It was a whole lot like last year and a whole lot like three years ago. But I think we had more buyers for more horses.”

The buy-back rate remained level at 40.4%, compared with 40.7% last year.

Demi O'Byrne outbid Saleh al Homaizi and agent Tony Nerses at $1.7-million for the second highest-priced horse, a lovely chestnut colt by first-year sire Speightstown. Out of La Comete, by Holy Bull, the colt was consigned by Mike and Britt Mulligan's Leprechaun Racing, agent.

O'Byrne, acting for the partnership of John Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael Tabor, was not exactly loquacious.

“He's a very nice horse, just a good-looking horse with a nice pedigree,” O’Byrne said.

The fourth foal of an unraced half sister to Grade 2 winner Lasting Approval likely will be trained in North America.

Crupi's New Castle Farm, agent, sold the top-priced filly when trainer Barclay Tagg went to $900,000 to secure a half sister to Grade 1 winners Spun Sugar and Daaher. Tagg purchased the Medaglia d'Oro filly on behalf of Roy and Gretchen Jackson's Lael Stables.

“We thought $750,000 would be the top, but it wasn't,” Tagg said. “We just thought she was a very good-looking filly. She looked good on T.V., looked good in person, and she had a good page.”

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John P. Sparkman is bloodstock editor for Thoroughbred Times