A bay colt by Unbridled's Song consigned by De Meric Sales, agent, attracted a final bid of $330,000 to top the first of two sessions at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic 2-year-olds In training sale in Timonium, Md., on May 20. Trainer Nick Zito signed the ticket for the session topper on behalf of owner Joseph H. Moss.
"This is the kind of horse you look for," said Zito. "We hope he turns out to be a nice 2-year-old. He has had good handlers. I know Nick de Meric sells nice horses."
Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock and produced from the unraced Dixie Union mare Winning Bet, the colt consigned as Hip No. 128 is from the family of graded stakes winners Finder's Fee, Optimizer, and T.D. Vance. De Meric acquired the colt for $250,000 from the Taylor Made Sales agency consignment at last year's Fasig-Tipton August yearling sale. The colt breezed an eighth in :10 3/5 at the under-tack preview.
"He's a lovely colt," said de Meric."He did everything right leading up to the sale. When I bought him he had a Dixie Union look about him, but he stretched out, and now he is a leggy individual with scope. He changed types on me, but in a good way."
The session topper paced a day of active bidding. All told, 121 head changed hands, generating gross sales of $7,235,000 compared to 156 sold for $7,342,500 in the opening session a year ago. The first day average of $59,793 represented a 27% increase over the $47,067 average posted on the first day last year. The median price was $32,000; up from $27,000 in 2012. Buy-backs dropped dramatically. Only 26 juveniles were listed as not sold compared to 54 in the first session last year.
"It was a very good day," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. "We had active buyers from all over the country, as well as significant international support from Korean buyers. We showed some key increases and the buy-back rate was very low. I'm expecting to have another good day tomorrow."
The second-highest price of the day at $320,000 was Hip No. 145, an Offlee Wild colt named Tahrir Square consigned by Eddie Woods, agent. Donato Lanni signed the ticket on the colt in the name of Ed Savant.
"He's just a really cool horse," said Lanni, who indicated the colt is headed to trainer Bob Baffert. "He has a phenomenal page, and he performed right on. At the 2-year-old sales you're buying athletes. He's an athlete."
Bred in Kentucky by Helen Alexander, the colt is produced from the unraced Thunder Gulch mare Alittlebitearly and hails from the family of graded stakes winners Aquilegia, Bertolini, Kindergarden Kid, Festival of Light, Acoma, and Arch , among others. The colt worked a quarter in :21 3.5 at the under-tack show.
"He's a fabulous horse," said Woods. "He has trained well all year, never had an issue. He's a racehorse."
Trainer Lynn Whiting, acting on behalf of Charles Cella, went to $240,000 to secure Hip No. 167, the highest price filly of the session. The chestnut daughter of Pure Prize worked an eighth in :10 3/5 at the breeze show for her consignor, Niall Brennan Stables, agent.
Bred in Maryland by Dark Hollow Farm, the filly is out of the stakes-placed Not For Love mare Bamba and is a half sister to stakes winner Plum, winner of the 2011 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship at Laurel.
"She's a class act," said Whiting. "She's a good-looking filly and she's seems to be the right kind."
Also selling for $240,000 was Hip No. 137, a bay colt by Distorted Humor consigned by Woods, agent. Trainer Gary Contessa signed for the colt on behalf of Chip McEwen's Wounded Warrior Stable. McEwen, from Fort Meyers, Fla., started Wounded Warrior Stable to support the Wounded Warrior Project and other organizations that assist veterans and their families. The stable donates 10% of its horses' purse earnings to the project.
"I liked his action," said Contessa of the colt who worked an eighth in :10 2/5 at the under-tack show. "He's kind of a plain brown wrapper, but I liked his work and the way he went out. I also love the pedigree. We spent about half of what we would have for him."
The Kentucky-bred colt is out of the Joannesburg mare African Skies, a stakes winner in her native England. The colt was bought for $180,000 by Bradley Thoroughbreds out of the Hunter Valley Farm consignment at last year's Fasig-Tipton August sale.
The sale continues May 21 at 10 a.m. The sale will be streamed live at bloodhorse.com.
