TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2017 F-T JULY YEARLING SALE TUESDAY JULY FIREWORKS AT by Jessica Martini FASIG-TIPTON The Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearlings Sale, the first yearling sale of the season, will be held Tuesday in Lexington, with bidding slated to begin at Newtown Paddocks at 10 a.m. AI think there is great interest and enthusiasm as we head into the yearling sales,@ said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. AWe saw an overall strong marketplace throughout the 2-year-old sales. The general economy continues to be pretty strong. There seems to be good interest and good momentum on the racing front. So I am optimistic. I don=t think we=re going to have any dramatic explosions in the marketplace or any sensational uptick. But I think it will be very healthy and I think it will be very strong. Buyers will be enthusiastic, but they won=t bid with reckless abandon and they will be selective on what they decide to bid on.@ A total of 300 yearlings have been catalogued for the one- session auction. Cont. p3 Grade II winner Distinta topped Monday=s Fasig-Tipton HORA sale IN TDN EUROPE TODAY Fasig-Tipton photo LISTEN LOUD AND CLEAR AT SELECT SALE Kelsey Riley reports from the opening session of the JRHA Select by Jessica Martini and Ben Massam Sale in Hokkaido, Japan . Click or tap here to go straight to TDN The Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale returned for its Europe. fifth edition Monday evening in Lexington with a vibrant marketplace and across-the-board demand. AIt was a fun night,@ said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. AObviously we are very pleased with the results of the sale today. It was a vibrant market. There was lots of interest in the sales grounds prior to the sale. You could feel the energy the last day, day and a half, on the grounds. We had quality horses--it=s no secret at the end of the day. When you have a nice group of horses, it gives you the opportunity to attract the proper buyers and create an atmosphere for a strong sale. And it was certainly a strong marketplace tonight.@ Graded stakes winner Distinta (Summer Bird) (hip 423) brought the auction=s top price, selling for $600,000 to the Taylor Made-managed partnership Medallion Racing. Brad Weisbord and Liz Crow=s Elite Sales, debuting its first consignment at the July sale, blasted out of the gates when Adorable Miss (Kitten=s Joy) (hip 403), its first horse through a sales ring, sold for $585,000 to Bluewater Sales. The consignment sold seven of the top 11 lots on the night. Cont. p6 (click here) Giant’s Causeway - Spunoutacontrol, by Wild Again War Pass - Runup the Colors, by A.P. Indy Three-Time G2 Winner & Fastest Fastest 2YO Colt of 2012: 102 Beyer, 3 ¾ Ragozin Son of Giant’s Causeway at Stud Millionaire Classic 3YO: Won La. Derby (G2), Two-Time Del Mar Track 3rd in Ky. Derby (G1) Record-Setter at 7F & 8.5F From the Direct Family of Pulpit, Top Class at 4: Won Pimlico Special (G3), Tale of the Cat & Johannesburg earning a 106 Beyer WinStarFarm.com (859) 873-1717 PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] Tuesday, July 11, 2017 EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Assistant Editor Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Michelle Benson Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew Summer sizzle. The sun sets on the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age [email protected] Sale, but the TDN’s sale coverage is in full swing. See page 3 for more. | Jon Psimer Social Media Strategist Justina Severni BANNER DAY FOR THE HEIDER FAMILY 9 Director of Customer Service Scott Heider watched his fashionably bred filly Private Client Vicki Forbes (Kitten’s Joy) post a popular victory Monday afternoon at Delaware, [email protected] then turned his attention to the Fasig-Tipton Summer HORA Sale, Director of Information Technology where he signed for the stakes-placedLady Alexandra (More Than Ray Villa Ready) while seated next to his son Grant. [email protected] WORLDWIDE INFORMATION LO DUCA JOINS SARATOGA LIVE RR International Editor Former Major League Baseball all-star catcher Paul Lo Duca will team Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN with Andy Serling, Maggie Wolfendale, Gabby Gaudet and Tom Amoss [email protected] European Editor on the “Saratoga Live” program beginning July 21, it was announced Emma Berry Monday. [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 13 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • JULY 11, 2017 Fasig-Tipton July Yearlings Preview cont. from p1 The July sale at one time offered a section dedicated specifically to yearlings by first-season sires and, while no longer AThis year=s July catalogue is very consistent with recent years,@ its own section, the auction still has a reputation for drawing a Browning said. AThe July sale is known for mature, precocious strong bench of new sires. athletic yearlings and I think that=s what buyers are going to find Twenty one stallions are represented by their first crop of when they get to the sales ground this year.@ yearlings at this year=s sale. Included in the group are champions The 2017 July catalogue is slightly Will Take Charge (Unbridled=s Song) and smaller than its 2016 edition, which Uncaptured (Lion Heart), Breeders= Cup featured 347 catalogued yearlings. winners Mucho Macho Man (Macho AWe don=t go into any of our sales Uno) and Goldencents (Into Mischief) with a pre-determined target and Grade I winners Cross Traffic number,@ Browning said. A[The (Unbridled=s Song), Drill (Lawyer Ron), smaller catalogue] is probably a Itsmyluckyday (Lawyer Ron), Magician combination of factors. We could (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Noble Mission (GB) have been a little tougher in our (Galileo {Ire}), Shakin It Up (Midnight selection criteria because we=re Lute), Strong Mandate (Tiznow), and always trying to work some horses Verrazano (More Than Ready). out of the bottom segment of the AI think it=s a good group of first-season marketplace. Consignors could have sires,@ Browning said. AI think there are been more discriminating in what some very strong racehorses and, Fasig-Tipton President & CEO Boyd Browning Jr. they decided to sell in July. The particularly with this group, I think we=ve Fasig-Tipton photo increase in popularity of our October seen some first-season sires who were sale could also be a factor. It=s not a dramatic change and I don=t not only good racehorses, but who also have really quality think there is a meaningful trend you can draw from it.@ pedigrees with real depth.@ Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 13 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • JULY 11, 2017 Fasig-Tipton July Yearlings Preview cont. Browning Jr. continued, ASo I think they will be very well- received in the marketplace. And it certainly doesn=t hurt with the young sires that the last two Kentucky Derby winners were by first-crop sires.@ In 2016, 183 yearlings grossed $15,756,500. The average of $86,101 fell 11.8% from 2015, while the $60,000 median was down 22.1%. A colt by Curlin brought the sale=s highest price last year, selling for $475,000 to Harley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds. Returned to the sales ring at Timonium this May, the colt resold for $1.5 million. In addition, to that recent headline-making pinhooking success, the July sale has also produced graduates like last year=s GI Del Mar Futurity winner Klimt (Quality Road) and GI Cigar Mile winner Connect (Curlin). AI think success always helps, whether it=s success on the racetrack or success in the resell arena,@ Browning said. ASo the Curlin colt is certainly something that folks noticed, just like they know that horses like Klimt and Connect came out of this sale. Success always helps.@ WHAT THEY=RE SAYING... AI=m optimistic about the yearling sales. I think that we=ve been through a few years of increasing polarization. It seems like every stop on the sales calendar just gets more and more polarized, where there is a very, very narrow bulls eye and if you hit it, then you do great, but if you don=t, there is a long way to fall. And if you have one of the lower horses, there is just nobody. It=s very hard to even find a home for the horse. What I=ve seen at the 2-year-old sales and talking to pinhookers that were down there, I think that there was more of a middle market at the 2-year-old sales, it was still polarized, but it was a little better. And I=m thinking it=s because the stockmarket is doing so well and the economy seems to be jump started a little bit, and I just think a lot of people around the country that are businesspeople kind of got out of the business after the Great Recession.