Seeking to add a little bit spice to their Kentucky winter mixed sale, Fasig-Tipton officials decided to devote a portion of the Feb. 7 auction in Lexington to no guarantee seasons to prominent stallions. There are seven in the catalog, Hip Nos. 170-176, giving buyers an opportunity to acquire the right to breed a mare to such horses as Malibu Moon , Medaglia d'Oro , and 2010’s leading first-crop sire by progeny earnings, Congrats .
In addition, there are seasons to Sky Mesa , Speightstown , Bluegrass Cat , and 2010’s leading sire of 2-year-olds, More Than Ready .
Malibu Moon, More Than Ready, Speightstown, and Medaglia d’Oro were third, sixth, 10th, and 17th on 2010’s general sires list.
Information about the seasons is printed on special blue pages in the catalog.
“We are very pleased with what we’ve gotten,” said Bayne Welker, Fasig-Tipton’s vice president of sales.
The company’s officials weren’t able to recruit a season from every horse they wanted, but did get others that they didn’t expect “so it all balanced out,” according to Welker. He said Fasig-Tipton management attempted to whet the appetites of buyers by targeting successful stallions with full books whose seasons wouldn’t be readily available to breeders.
The effort to recruit and offer seasons to successful stallions is a throwback to the season and share sales that became popular in the 1980s, “but we’re not devoting an entire catalog to them,” Welker said.
The Kentucky winter mixed auction, which will be held at Fasig-Tipton’s Newtown Paddocks complex, will begin at 10 a.m. (EST).