If you visit the Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky sale grounds during the July select yearling auction, you might spot a famous face from the past. Cash Asmussen, who earned an Eclipse Award as an apprentice rider and was a champion jockey in Europe, has a two-horse consignment in his own name and that of Cashmark Farm.
"We have a couple of nice horses that we bred that we brought here," said Asmussen between showing horses to buyers on July 15, the day before the sale started. "The girls are handling it. I just showed up to drink a cup of coffee, I guess. But they put me to work. They wanted me to earn my keep."
While some people might consider showing yearlings a menial job compared to being a star jockey, Asmussen said he enjoys pitching in a the sales, explaning, "Anything to do with the horse I love, anything. I love the breeding end of it, the riding, the training, the preparation, just everything that goes with the business."
According to Asmussen his main job in the Thoroughbred business today is working with young horses at his family's large Texas-based operation.
"I prepare young horses at the farm and sending them on to the sales and to the races," Asmussen said. "I like to watch their progress and see what role I can play in the future of a young horse. My dad will break 100 to 150 horses, and I will have 100 to 150. My wife has got 30 horses at the races, and we've had some fun doing that."
Asmussen wasn't planning to do any shopping at the Fasig-Tipton auction.
"This will be a measuring stick for what we think we might look for later on in the year at Saratoga and then at Keeneland in September," he said. "I won't be doing any buying at this sale, but later on in the year we probably will be."