by Shelby O'Neill
For the first Fasig-Tipton Texas summer yearling sale held in the new evening format Aug. 27, the average held steady and the median increased from a significantly smaller book.
Because of the smaller catalog, Fasig-Tipton Texas made the decision to move the standard daytime auction to an evening format that kicked off at 4 p.m. CDT with a cocktail reception and included a free margarita machine. The first horse went through the ring at the pavilion, which is on the grounds of Lone Star Park near Dallas, at about 5 p.m.
"We had a good sale," said Tim Boyce, director of sales for Fasig-Tipton Texas. "We were happy with everything. The new format was well-received. We started a little slow out of the gate, but we got back close to last year's average."
The average for the sale in its new format held fairly steady at $10,177, down 4.2% from $10,628 in 2011. The median spiked, increasing 20% to $6,000 from $5,000 the previous year.
The gross was $1,150,000, which could be expected from the much smaller catalog. The 225 horses that sold during the 2011 sale brought a total of $2,391,200. From this year's catalog of 170 yearlings, 113 horses found new owners, with 42 not sold for a buy-back rate of 37.2%, up from 30.5% in 2011.
The sale-topper was a Louisiana-bred colt named Successful Review. Buyer Brad Grady paid $57,000 for the bay colt, who was consigned by Mark Toothaker as agent.
The colt is out of Excellent Review, an unraced Mr. Greeley mare who has produced four winners from five starters and is a full sister to Mrs. Greeley, the dam of Closing Argument. Like Closing Argument, Successful Review is by Successful Appeal , whose progeny have earned more than $26 million in nine crops and includes grade I winners J P's Gusto , Appealing Zophie, and Successful Affair.
Grady also picked up the highest-priced filly in the sale, a daughter of Songandaprayer , for $50,000. The filly, who is named Shelby's Song, was consigned by Inside Move Inc. as agent.
Also a bay Louisiana-bred, Shelby's Song is out of the Saint Ballado mare Ballagren, a half sister to regional multiple stakes winner Plaid. Ballagren is the dam of six foals of racing age, all of which are winners, including the stakes-placed Ide Ball.
The filly's sire, grade I winner Songandaprayer , has sired the earners of more than $29 million in eight crops.
"Across the board, I felt like Texas-breds were selling well comparatively to last year," Boyce said.
The third highest-priced horse hailed from the Lone Star State. A gray Even The Score filly out of a stakes-producing dam Silver Deputy dam sold for $47,000 to Texas-based Carl R. Moore Management LLC from the consignment of Texas-based Stoneview Farm as agent.