A filly from the second crop of Bind was purchased by Gary Simms, as agent for M&M Racing, for $140,000 to top the Texas Thoroughbred Association's 2-year-olds in training sale April 10. The auction was held at Lone Star Park near Grand Prairie, Tex.
Consigned by Twin Oaks Training Center as Hip 94, the sale-topper is a Louisiana-bred who breezed an eighth-mile in the under tack show's co-fastest time of :10 2/5. The filly is the first foal out of the winning Summer Bird mare Promise Me G, a half sister to multiple stakes winner Class Above and to stakes-placed Rainbow's Song. A stakes-placed son of Pulpit, Bind stands at Red River Farm near Coushatta, La., for a 2018 fee of $1,500, unchanged from 2015 when the current 2-year-old crop was conceived.
TTA reported sales this year of $2,161,900, up 15.4% from last year's figure of $1,873,900. This year's average was $25,737, down 3.9% from last year's $26,770, and the median slipped 18.2% from $16,000 to $13,100. Buybacks this year came in at 20.8% compared to 24.7% last year.
"I was really pleased that we attracted a larger catalog this year after last year's successful sale, and it was great to see the average almost the same with a nice increase in the gross," sales director Tim Boyce said. "We had four horses sell for more than $100,000 with a Texas-bred, Louisiana-bred and two Kentucky-breds, so that shows the variety of quality offerings we had."
Two juveniles shared the auction's second-highest price of $120,000, with Simms, on behalf of M&M, going to that level to acquire a Texas-bred Grasshopper colt that is a full brother to multiple stakes winner Supermason. The colt out of the winning Midway Road mare Folksy was consigned as Hip 45 by Wolf Creek Farm and was purchased by Lincoln West Stables for $2,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale.
Also bringing a final bid of $120,000 was Hip 102, an Uncle Mo filly purchased by Swan Equine. Consigned by Inside Move, the filly bred in Kentucky is out of the winning Prized mare Romantic Fibs, who has been represented by eight winners from 14 foals to race. Romantic Fibs also produced grade 2 winner Romanceishope and Romance Is Diane, the $712,718 earner whose wins include the Hollywood Starlet Stakes (G1) and Bayakoa Handicap (G2). Romance Is Diane is the dam of grade 3-placed Romeo O Romeo.
