INSIDE Mr. Greeley Colt Tops Sale
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SUBSCR ER IPT IN IO A N R S T COMPLIMENTS OF T !2!4/'! O L T IA H C E E 4HE S SP ARATOGA Year 7 • No. 13 SARATOGA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER ON THOROUGHBRED RACING Wednesday, August 8, 2007 Mr. Greeley colt tops sale 2.2 MILLION $ ❱ Wednesday Entries and Handicapping. ❱ Bluegrass hits a home run with $875,000 colt. ❱ Cab Calloway Stakes preview. ❱ Catching up with Joe Spadaro. Complete Sales Results from Night 2. INSIDE Act 2 Drama Mr. Greeley colt soars to $2.2 million; joins Irwin’s squad at Team Valor BY SEAN CLANCY two-night sale. The gaudy number contrib- uted to an increase in gross, average and me- At the conclusion of the first night of dian from the night before. Remarkably, the sales, Fasig-Tipton’s Boyd Browning was numbers soared while John Ferguson (who asked if the second night would be better. was top buyer on the first night) was silent. “It’s hard to know,” Browning said. “It “My biggest fear was Godolphin would is alphabetical.” want to buy him and we’d have no shot,” On Tuesday night, the alphabetized cata- Irwin said. “I figured if it was normal peo- logue started with S. It went straight to A. ple, then we could get him. I kept trying “Awesome,” was how Barry Irwin de- to devise strategies and I couldn’t come up scribed Hip 142, moments after going to with one if they were interested – if they $2.2 million for the chestnut son of Mr. want him, they have the bucks.” Greeley. Instead, the battle came down to two By far the sales topper of the two nights, American-bred partnerships. In 2004, Ir- the March foal drew out a long bidding war win stepped up and spent $1.8 million for a between two of the sport’s most prominent son of Giant’s Causeway – Fairbanks. That partnerships. Irwin’s Team Valor outlasted was the most money Team Valor had ever Buzz Chace and Terry Finley of West Point spent at an auction or a private sale in its Thoroughbreds to land the strapping colt 21 years of business. The Mr. Greeley colt, from the Gainesway consignment. bred by Rob Whiteley’s Liberation Farm, “It’s nerve-wracking,” Irwin said, wip- quickly elbowed Fairbanks from that spe- ing sweat from his forehead while standing cial rung. outside the pavilion. “In a horse race, at “Oh yeah, it’s the most we’ve spent re- least you know where the finish line is, you gardless,” Irwin said. “Fairbanks was the have a pretty good idea of when it’s going most, we’ve bought maybe four horses for to end. This, it just keeps building, build- over a million dollars in 21 years.” ing, building.” After the sale, Irwin was devising a plan The bidding rolled its way past $2 mil- Tod Marks lion, the only time it was reached over the See SALES page 3 Hip 142 draws a crowd of onlookers as the numbers hit $2 million Tuesday night. Gold And Roses winning the John Morrissey in 2007 – the third year running he’s captured a Saratoga stakes. His full sister sells Saturday night. Hip #438 Consigned by Thorndale Farm Barn 4 South 2 Wednesday, August 8, 2007 $2-million barrier but Irwin wasn’t saying that since he saw the colt at backing down. Whiteley’s farm back in March. He Sales – “Just an awesome-looking horse, bought half the horse then, got him Continued from page 2 you don’t see a horse that big that is to the farm and about 60 days later, that well-balanced,” Irwin said. “If bought all of him. A partnership of four for how he was going to divvy up the you want to be critical you could say people owned him. horse. his cannon bone might be a little long “I looked at about 20 Greeleys that “I have an in-house newsletter that but otherwise, he walks, he’s correct, day and he was the one that talked to I generate twice a week. In a day or he’s got charisma, he’s just an awesome- me, I loved him right off,” Graves said. two when I relax I’ll tell them what the looking horse. I wish he wasn’t out of a “I just bought the horse and he devel- deal is and on our website we have a mare by King Of Kings, that would be oped, I started thinking Saratoga and news page,” Irwin said. “I would say nice, but anyway, we got him.” he ended up being the only Greeley in our clients will probably buy half the Irwin goes to the sales without tak- the sale. He developed into an awesome horse, we’ll get another quarter through ing a look at the catalogue. He looks at horse. That’s what I do, it’s surprising the website and I’ll look for a farm to the horses first, then worries about the what he brought, but that’s exactly why take the other quarter. This is what I’ve pedigree later. I do what I do, for horses like him. It’s a found out – when I find a horse and I’m “I look at the horses with my wife, dream come true.” Tod Marks enthusiastic about it, clients aren’t hard Kathleen,” Irwin said. “After I’m fin- Barry Irwin gets set to sign the ticket for the to find, especially when I put my neck ished looking, I guess who it’s by, and • • • 2007 sales-topper. on the chopping block like this. I’ll get she either says yes or no, then I guess the Eaton Sales and Wayne Lukas traded cross. She doesn’t look like her mother a response.” sire line and she tells me who it is. I get two horses for $1.625 million during the at all; she’s more of a longer, leaner, rac- The Mr. Greeley colt had invoked about one out of four or five correct. I second session. Lukas, buying under the ier Storm Cat filly. I’ve got a pretty good responses all week. The big, balanced didn’t guess Mr. Greeley, I don’t remem- name Lukas Enterprises, paid $875,000 budget and I am going to try and be real colt showed off, rousing interest from ber who I said. When you see a good one for Hip 160, a daughter of Storm Cat active in the fall.” a plethora of interested parties. Gaine- like that, you just say ‘wow.’ ” and Blissful. Earlier in the session, Lu- sway never imagined breaking the Gainesway’s Brian Graves has been kas went to $750,000 for Hip 132, a • • • colt by Awesome Again out of grade Fasig-Tipton’s Boyd Browning: “It two stakes winner Victory U. S. A. was good tonight, when you have a re- Comparison Shopping “I’m putting a group to buy some ally strong session, you can feel the elec- of these better high-end horses togeth- tricity go through the sale. Even if it’s A look at the last two years of the Fasig-Tipton Selected yearling sales at Saratoga: er and get back,” Lukas said. “I think your first auction, you can see that this that’s the way things are going a little place is popping, you can feel the energy. Not bit, the future with these higher-end Numerous bidders on the quality horses Year Sold Amount Average Sold Average horses is to try and put people that are and they sold really well tonight. 8/6/07 76 $19,867,000 $261,408 21 $207,500 compatible and love the game. I don’t “The reality is there are better horses 8/7/07 66 21,215,000 321,439 25 235,000 know that we have the Bob Lewises out in the session when there’s electricity. there hammering away at those high There were better horses tonight. Totals 142 41,082,000 289,310 46 227,500 numbers like they used to.” “There may have been a time when Lukas trained Blissful for Lewis. you didn’t have as professional a buy- 8/8/06 60 18,790,000 313,167 20 255,000 “She was drop-dead gorgeous. We er as you have now, but they evaluate 8/9/06 70 23,295,000 332,786 10 225,000 didn’t get as much done with her as we them, they know what they’ve got, Totals 130 42,085,000 323,731 30 245,000 would have liked, but I think the pedi- they’ve got their list done, they’re pretty gree is there,” Lukas said. “It’s a good sophisticated.” 123 Broad St. • Schuylerville Susan Svoboda123 BroadSusan Street Svoboda • Schuylerville 518-695-9478Susan123 BroadSvoboda ext 103 Street • 518-695-9478 • Schuylerville ext 103 4HERIDESAFETRANSPORTOFYOURHORSESISOFTHE Kelly Evans-Chandler • 518-695-9478 ext 119 UTMOSTIMPORTANCE"ACKEDBYYEARSOFEXPERIENCE 518-461-9525 BUILDINGCUSTOMCOMMERCIALTRAILERS %BYHAS EVOLVEDINTOTHEPRODUCTIONOFSTANDARDEQUINE 218 Chamberlain Mills Road (Hebron) TRAILERSDESIGNEDWITHTHESAMEATTENTIONTODETAIL Enjoy the peaceful setting of the Battenkill from your Come retreat to this unique historic Gentleman’s farm. 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