Yearling sales play a key role in establishing the commercial value of young stallions, and the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale Aug. 7-8 is the next test for the progeny of seven first-crop stallions
Can the Man and Noble Mission each have one yearling cataloged. Cairo Prince , Fed Biz , Strong Mandate , and Verrazano all have two on offer, while Will Take Charge leads the way with 10.
All seven stallions had yearlings sell at the Fasig-Tipton July yearling sale in Kentucky. Cairo Prince topped the group with eight sold for an average of $141,875.
Will Take Charge led the first-crop weanling sales sire list last sales season, and so far his offspring continue to be well received as they've matured into yearlings.
"We've always been big fans of his (Will Take Charge), partly because of the Unbridled's Song connection—but he's a big, good-looking horse who was versatile, durable, and proved he could carry his speed over a mile and a quarter," said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency, which will offer two Will Take Charge yearlings as part of its consignment. "All of that, plus his female family, made him an excellent stallion prospect, and he's continuing to prove that with his offspring."
The late Unbridled's Song stood at Taylor Made.
"They have that Unbridled's Song quality about them, and they look to be precocious, fast-bodied individuals who should be able to get two turns down the line," Taylor said.
Another fan of Will Take Charge is Bluewater Sales' Meg Levy, who like Taylor, holds a personal connection to the stallion. Bluewater sold the dam of Will Take Charge, multiple grade 1 winner and 2014 broodmare of the year Take Charge Lady, as a yearling in 2000.
Bluewater consigns Hip 183, a Will Take Charge filly out of Fast Resource, a stakes-winning Bob and John mare who comes from the female family of 2016 broodmare of the year Leslie's Lady.
"She's got a lovely page and physical," Levy said. "Will Take Charge is throwing very consistent foals. He's really stamping them, and they all are elegant, with a presence about them. This filly has all of that, and she has a good, straight hip. She's built a bit like a dragster almost, and looks to be speedy. I have no doubt he'll get precocious 2-year olds and be a top 2-year old sire."
Bluewater also consigns Hip 200, a Can the Man half sister to grade 3 winner and leading Canadian sire Old Forester, and 2015 Canadian Horse of the Year and multiple grade 1 winner Catch a Glimpse.
"She's a well-balanced filly with a page behind her," Levy said. "That's been kind of our niche at this sale, selling fillies with page that offer residual value to buyers as broodmares or broodmare prospects, and she fits that bill."
Another freshman sire making waves is Ashford Stud's Verrazano, the sire of the lone horse in Andrew Motion's Old Chapel Farm consignment. The filly, Hip 3, is out of the unraced Notebook mare Magic Show, and is a half sister to grade 1-placed You Know I Know. Motion pinhooked her out of the Keeneland November breeding stock sale for $70,000.
"When I went around the November sale, I was simply blown away by the Verrazanos," Motion said. "They all had a ton of leg and walk to them. I was desperate to buy one, but most ended up being out of my price range. This filly was the first horse through the ring that day, and I think that's how I ended up getting her. She's all class and has a kind eye, and she hasn't put a foot wrong since we've had her."
