NEWS
Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale begins Monday
Posted: Sunday, May 17, 2009 7:39 PM
by Pete Denk
Look no further than the three-year-old crop of 2009 for the quality of horses offered at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of two-year-olds in training, which begins its two-day run at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium at 10 a.m. EDT Monday.
BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1) third-place finisher Musket Man, Withers Stakes (G3) winner Mr. Fantasy, and undefeated Derby Trial Stakes (G3) winner Hull all were offered at the Midlantic sale last year.
Musket Man, who won the Illinois Derby (G2) and Tampa Bay Derby (G3), was bought back for $35,000. Donald Brooks and partners went to $230,000 for Mr. Fantasy, and South Bay Partners scooped up Hull for $82,000.
Additionally, catalog updates do not get any more significant than the Yonaguska colt out of Mining My Own that consignor Cary Frommer is offering on behalf of owner Paul Saylor. The colt is a half brother to Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and runner-up in the Preakness.
“In spite of the tough economy, good horses have been selling well,” said Fasig-Tipton Chairman Walt Robertson. “And we sure have had our share of those in past years, and we’ve got a nice group again this year.”
A late addition to the catalog, the half brother to Mine That Bird will be offered as hip #107. Saylor bought the colt for $100,000 at the 2009 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale of selected two-year-olds in training. He says he may want to retain partial ownership of the colt, so instead of putting him through a timed workout, he only galloped him at the under-tack show.
As part of its ongoing process to improve the sale experience, Fasig-Tipton filmed the under-tack shows on May 13-14 in high definition and has installed high definition televisions and workout replay terminals. Timonium also features a server-based repository system with a new viewer.
“The technology we’ve brought to the table is pretty significant,” Robertson said. “It started with our Calder sale and the improvements will keep coming.”
Fasig-Tipton reported 328 horses as sold from 496 offered for total sales of $15,763,400 at last year’s Midlantic sale. Average price was $48,059, and the median was $27,500.
Pete Denk is sales editor for Thoroughbred Times
