Average Up at Scaled-Back Texas Sale; Buy-Backs Stabilize

The Fasig-Tipton Texas 2-year-olds in training sale at Lone Star Park concluded Tuesday, with the sales company reporting a total of 193 horses sold for $4,494,900. The sale's average price of $23,290 represented a 3.8% gain over the $22,431 average the previous year when 262 horses grossed $5,876,800. After an opening-session buy-back rate of 50.6%, the percentage of horses not sold stabilized Tuesday. For the sale overall, FT reported a buy-back rate of 44.2%.

Tuesday's top price of $180,000 was paid by Robert L. Beck for a Prospect Bay--United Appeal filly consigned by Solitary Oak Farm. The filly was timed in a record 9.4 seconds for an eighth of a mile in the pre-sale workouts.

This year's catalogue is considerably smaller than a year ago, when a record 562 were catalogued. Over the two days this year, 406 juveniles are catalogued. On Monday, the 84 that did sell brought $1,985,100, an average of $23,632. During the first day a year ago, 133 were sold for $2,759,100, an average of $20,745. It was evident throughout the session consignors were having trouble getting their horses sold, and the final numbers bore that out. Of the 170 that went through the ring (there were 29 outs), 84 were sold and 86 were not, an RNA rate of 50.6%. Last year's sale set a record for buy-backs, at 46.4%.

The sale-topper at $250,000 went through the ring Monday, with J.B. McKathan outbidding Bill Heiligbrodt for an Evansville Slew colt consigned by Miller Bloodstock, agent. McKathan was representing Jim McIngvale in the purchase of the colt, who will be trained by Bob Baffert.

McKathan and Heiligbrodt were standing behind the auction stand only a few feet from each other during the only real spirited bidding contest on the day.

McIngvale was not at the auction during the bidding, but had been there with McKathan earlier in the day.

The Evansville Slew colt is out of the State Dinner mare Katherine's Gal, she the dam of stakes-placed Seventyfivesouth (by Ferrara).

"I didn't come to buy the sale topper, I came to buy the best horse in the sale," McKathan said. "What you really like are the ones who look like they can go two turns, and this colt has that look."

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