Numbers Soar at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale

Garden Dance, a multiple stakes-placed daughter of El Prado, was sold for $59,000 to top Monday's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic winter mixed sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

Consigned by Mr. and Mrs. Rick Abbott's Charlton, the 5-year-old mare was purchased by M-2 LLC. The earner of $97,274, Garden Dance was sold as a racing or broodmare prospect.

The sales company reported 132 horses sold for a gross of $1,303,000. The average price of $9,871 represented a 122% increase over the 2003 average of $4,434 when 107 horses brought a total of $474,400. This year's median was $5,000, compare with $3,000 last year. The 36 horses reported as not sold represented 21.4% of the total through the ring.

Fasig-Tipton executive vice president and CFO Boyd Browning said the sale was helped by the dispersals from the estate of Hazel T. Roe (Litz Bloodstock Services, as agent) and the estate of John Franks (Chanceland Farm, agent).

"It was very, very strong," Browning said. "The catalogue was strenghtened by several dispersals, with very solid trade across the board. It was a continuation of what we have seen (at equine auctions) in the past several months."

The Roe estate, with Litz as agent, accounted for the sale's second-highest priced offering of Sea Femma, a 6-year-old daughter of Sea Hero purchased by Frank Stronach for $58,000. Produced from the grade III-winning Full Pocket mare Femma, Sea Femma has finished second in the Wisftul Stakes at Meadowlands twice and had earned $159,530 through Jan. 2 of this year. She was also sold as a racing or broodmare prospect.

Results from Fasig-Tipton Midlantic