Two-time Eclipse Award champion Tepin, who is carrying her first foal by leading sire Curlin , will be offered for sale by her owner Robert Masterson and consignor Elite Sales at the Nov. 6 Fasig-Tipton November sale.
The 6-year-old daughter of Bernstein was retired in April and was confirmed in foal to Hill 'n' Dale stallion Curlin mid-May. Masterson cited his focus on the racing side of the industry rather than breeding as the catalyst behind his decision to part with his champion mare.
"My interest and my love of the sport lies in racing, and my family and I have decided to sell her because we wanted her breeding career to be nurtured by someone who loves that aspect of the business as much as I love the racing aspect," Masterson said. "It's impossible to describe what Tepin has meant to me and my family. What happened is not believable. Everyone who races horses and who loves to do so has witnessed greatness. But never could you believe, even in your wildest dreams, that the best of the best could be yours."
Trained by Canadian Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Tepin earned the nickname "Queen of the Turf" during her career, when she earned 11 graded/group victories including six grade/group 1 triumphs. Following her first top-level score in the 2015 Longines Just a Game Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park, Tepin rebounded from a pair of narrow beats at Saratoga Race Course to close out her season with victories in the First Lady Stakes (G1T) and Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) at Keeneland en route to becoming Casse's first Eclipse Award champion.
Tepin took her form to another level as a 5-year-old. After rattling off four straight graded stakes wins from February to May—including a five-length triumph in the Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) —Tepin then took her show overseas and scored a half-length victory in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot, becoming the first winner trained outside Europe in 176 runnings of the prestigious one-mile event.
"What I will remember most is the experience of doing the impossible—traveling to Ascot and racing under totally unfamiliar conditions and doing something no American horse had done, beating the best milers in Europe on their home turf—was something that may never be replicated," Masterson added. "Then, to be congratulated in person by the Queen created a moment for me and my family which was unimaginable to us."
Tepin's final triumph came when she bested male rivals once more in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) in September of 2016. Though she suffered defeats in her last two starts—placing second in the grade 1 First Lady Stakes and Breeders' Cup Mile—her body of work of six wins from eight starts in 2016 was enough to earn her a second Eclipse Award for champion turf female.
"I have trained some Breeders' Cup winners and champions, but there is no doubt this is the best horse I ever trained," Casse said. "She came with her 'A' game at 10 different racetracks, under every possible surface and condition, including wins on turf, dirt, and synthetic. It is a special feeling leading one over knowing they are going to run big.
"We felt that every time with Tepin. She was first or second in her final 15 starts, 11 of those wins. Believe it or not, I think her extremely-wide second in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Mile was her best race ever. We never ducked anyone, and she took my son Norman, my staff and me around the world, and we are proud she went out on top."
Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Tepin retires with 13 wins from 23 starts and $4,437,918 in earnings. Though she stamped herself on turf, she earned her first graded win on dirt when she won the 2013 Delta Downs Princess Stakes (G3).
Tepin is out of the Stravinsky mare Life Happened and is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Vyjack.
"Tepin captured the hearts and imagination of Thoroughbred fans around the world," said Boyd Browning, president and CEO of Fasig-Tipton. "Her brilliance was only surpassed by her courage and determination to win. Tepin truly has unlimited potential as a broodmare. It's a once-a-decade type offering that is truly elite."
