Fasig-Tipton yearling sale: Gross, average up on day one led by Midlantic-breds

Hip 22 brought a winning bid of $55,000. Photo by The Racing Biz.

The first of two sessions at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling sale didn’t bring fireworks, but a number of the horses to sell made their consignors happy.

Five horses sold for at least $100,000 on day one, and three others fetched top bids of at least $90,000.

Those horses helped propel the first day to increases in gross and average sales versus the first day a year ago. The median was unchanged. 

All told, 102 horses changed hands during the approximately four-hour session. They generated a total of $2,680,000 in sales, good for an average $26,275. That average was up about 13.5% versus the day-one average of $23,152 recorded in 2018, and the gross was up by over 12%. The median was unchanged versus 2018, at $15,000.

Of the 134 horses to go through the ring, 32 (23.9%) did not sell. That number, too, was up from a year ago, when 20.1% of the 129 horses through the ring on the first day did not find new homes.

It was a solid day for Midlantic-breds, as well. The day one sale-topper, a Tapizar filly out of the Not for Love mare Flit, was bred in Maryland and fetched a top bid of $150,000. Also bred in Maryland was Hip 21, a full brother to local star Crabcakes; he brought a top bid of $120,000.

The evening ended with a Pennsyvlania-bred colt by Jump Start drawing a top bid of $130,000.

The second and much larger session of the sale kicks off Tuesday at the Timonium Fairgrounds at 10:00 a.m. Hips 151 through 435 are slated to go through the ring on Tuesday.

DAY ONE’S TOP SELLERS

• Hip 122 (Tapizar-Flit, by Not for Love): Consigned by Dark Hollow Farm as agent, the dam of this daughter of Tapizar is a half-sister to stakes winners O Dionysus and Joy. This filly brought a day-topping bid of $150,000 from Willie White-Skeedattle Associates.
• Hip 150 (Jump Start-Gritty Gal, by War Pass): Consigned by Marshall Silverman as agent, this Pennsylvania-bred colt brought a winning bid of $130,000 from Cary Frommer as agent.
• Hip 48 (Speightster- Buff Jet, by Rockport Harbor): Part of the first crop of horses by Grade 3 winner Speightster, this colt, consigned by Scott Mallory as agent for Bayne and Christina Welker, he brought a top bid of $125,000 from Sallusto and Albina as agents.
• Hip 21 (Great Notion-Aunt Elaine, by Charismatic): One of the stars of the first day, this colt, a full-brother to nine-time winner Crabcakes, an earner of over $400,000, fetched a winning bid of $120,000 from Ellen Charles’ Hillwood Stable LLC. He was consigned by Morgans Ford Farm.
• Hip 8 (Dialied In-Ambush Woman, by Divine Park): Also purchased by Sallusto and Albina as agents, this Dialed In colt was consigned by Marshall Silverman and brought a winning bid of $110,000.

HOW’D OUR HIPS TO WATCH DO?

• Hip 11 (Bernardini-Andean, by City Zip): Despite being by high-end sire Bernardini, this colt, consigned by Candyland as agent, brought a top bid of $6,500 from Thoroughbred Breeders.
• Hip 21 (Great Notion-Aunt Elaine, by Charismatic): See above in top sellers.
• Hip 97 (Congrats-Early Mass, by Pleasant Tap): Another from the Morgans Ford consignment, this colt, a half-brother to multiple graded stakes winner Redeemed, brought a top bid of $47,000 from D B H, Agent.
• Hip 127 (California Chrome-Formalities Aside, by Awesome Again): This Maryland-bred colt, a half-brother to 11-time winner Awesome Flower ($556,000), is part of the first crop of two-time horse of the year California Chrome. Consigned by Becky Davis as agent, he brought a top bid of $15,000 from Cary Frommer.