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Dream horse anchors Fasig-Tipton Calder sale

Posted: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 8:19 PM

SALE TOPPER: DISTORTED HUMOR COLT

PhotosByZ.com/Throughbred Times

by John P. Sparkman

Jill Julian woke up at 2:22 a.m. EST Tuesday morning from a dream in which the horse she owned in partnership with Stacy Yagoda brought $2-million. Some 13 hours later at the Fasig-Tipton Calder sale of selected two-year-olds in training, that dream came true as Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables outlasted Kaleem Shah and at least three other bidders who were still in the mix past the $1-million plateau for their colt by Distorted Humor.

A half brother to Grade 1 winner Mr. Sidney out of multiple Grade 1 winner Tomisue's Delight—a full sister to 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, by A.P. Indy—the big, powerful chestnut worked one furlong in :10.60 at the under-tack show on February 26. Julian and Yagoda paid $200,000 for the colt at the 2009 Keeneland September yearling sale and sold him in the name of their Two Beaches partnership for a sale-topping $2.3-million.

"It's rare you see a horse bred like he is bred that can do what he did on the racetrack," said John Moynihan, Jackson's bloodstock adviser. "We're swinging for the fences [at that price]. We've got good horses at the farm and we didn't want to have to run against him."

"I might be even against Jess on wine!" Stacy Yagoda joked immediately after the sale. "I've been supporting him for years!

“Sweet redemption. We've had a tough year and this is our first horse back."

Yagoda and prominent pinhooker Ricky Leppala divorced about four years ago and took a long hiatus from the horse business, while Julian parted company with longtime partner Carl Bowling last year.

The sale topper was the only seven-figure horse on a day when 91 horses were reported as sold for $23,430,000, a 10.4% decline compared with the 2009 sale, when 111 two-year-olds sold for $26,151,000 from a larger catalog. Average price, however, rose 9.3% to $257,473, and median climbed 33.3% from $150,000 last year to $200,000 in 2010.

“We knew people wanted good horses, and the world was pretty much here—and I do mean the world,” said Walt Robertson, Fasig-Tipton's chairman and chief auctioneer. “We had a lot of international play and the domestic buyers stepped up, too. I wish we had a buyer for every horse.”

The buy-back rate rose slightly from 35.5% in 2009 to 37.2% this year.

“There's definite limits out there, but you lead a nice horse in there and you're going to get what it's worth,” Robertson said. “What it's worth is not the same as it was four years ago. The same people who were bidding four years ago are bidding now, they're just bidding less.”

Indeed, Demi O'Byrne, who bid a world record $16-million for The Green Monkey at the same sale four years ago purchased the second-highest priced horse of the day when he went to $825,000 for a colt by Smart Strike.

John Ferguson, who was underbidder on The Green Monkey and leading buyer at Calder last year, paid $750,000 for the fourth-highest priced horse, a colt by Medaglia d'Oro. Reiley McDonald paid $800,000 on behalf of Betty Moran, for the third-highest priced horse, a colt by Empire Maker.

“I think there are a bunch of guys out there with $500,000 to $800,000 to spend, but nobody really wants to spend a million,” consignor Ciaran Dunne said.

At least four different buyers bid at least $1-million, however, on the sale topper. Trainer Steve Young set the early pace against trainer Paul Cole and client Jim Hay, who earlier paid $400,000 for a filly by Dixie Union. Jackson and trainer Bob Baffert, seated with owner Kaleem Shah, jumped in above a million, with Baffert the eventual underbidder.

In the end, however, the day belonged to Jill Julian and Stacy Yagoda. Dreams do still come true in the Thoroughbred business.

John P. Sparkman is bloodstock editor for Thoroughbred Times