July Sale Kicks Off Yearling Sales Season
Written by Alan Porter | Jul 09, 2013 |
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The 2013 yearling sales season kicks off next week with the Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale. The sale, which will be immediately followed by the inaugural Kentucky July Horses of Racing Age Sale, is a one-day format with 258 cataloged.
Given its strong emphasis on conformation, the July Sale has always been strongly supported by pinhookers, and with yearling-to-weanling pinhooks averaging $89,495 in 2013, compared with $70,996 in 2012, they should, as the expression goes, "come heavy." A number of "big guns" among current proven sires stallions are represented, among them Awesome Again (TrueNicks,SRO) and his resurgent son Ghostzapper (TrueNicks,SRO); Candy Ride (ARG) (TrueNicks,SRO); Hard Spun (TrueNicks,SRO); Malibu Moon (TrueNicks,SRO); Pulpit; Speightstown (TrueNicks,SRO); Tapit (TrueNicks,SRO); Tiznow (TrueNicks,SRO); and Unbridled's Song (TrueNicks,SRO).
The official "new sire showcase" segment of the sale has been discontinued, but the sale is still something of a coming out party for the 18 stallions represented here by their first crop yearlings. Looking at them alphabetically, the first we come to is Street Cry (IRE) (TrueNicks,SRO)'s good-looking sprint son Desert Party (TrueNicks,SRO), who has nine entered.
Another sprint star is Discreetly Mine (TrueNicks,SRO), who confounded a conventional reading of his pedigree—he's by Mineshaft (TrueNicks,SRO) out of Alabama Stakes (gr. I) victress Pretty Discreet—to win a grade I over seven furlongs. He's also a half brother to the meteoric Discreet Cat (TrueNicks,SRO), whose currently having a good year as a sire. Discreetly Mine has nine cataloged.
Eskendereya (TrueNicks,SRO) would have started favorite for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) had his career not been ended by injury shortly before that race, as he'd gone three-for-three that year with an 8 1/2 length tally in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II), and a 9 3/4 length score in the Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I). By Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks,SRO), he's from the Almahmoud family and his third dam is inbred to that mare. He has one, a filly, entered here.
By the same sire is Hold Me Back (TrueNicks,SRO), a grade II and III winner who is also multiple grade I-placed. He has two colts and three fillies.
Still with the Storm Cat line, Kantharos (by Lion Heart (TrueNicks), by Tale of the Cat (TrueNicks,SRO)) had a brief-but-brilliant career, winning his three starts, including the Bashford Manor Stakes (gr. III) and Saratoga Special Stakes (gr. II), by a total of better than 28 lengths. The Florida resident's only representative here is a colt.
Another Lion Heart is the Arkansas Derby (gr. I) scorer Line of David (TrueNicks), who accounted for the ultimate Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner in that race. His second dam is a three-quarter relative to Mr. Prospector, and breeders seem to have been paying attention as each of his five yearlings here has a Mr. Prospector strain, with one also carrying a three-quarter sister to Line of David's broodmare sire, Capote.
Lion Heart's sire Tale of the Cat has his own first crop horse here in Tale of Ekati (TrueNicks,SRO), who has four in. Out of a Sunday Silence daughter of Maplejinsky (family of Sky Beauty, Pleasant Home, Country Hideaway, and Point of Entry), Tale of Ekati won the Futurity Stakes (gr. II) at 2, and three stakes, including the Wood Memorial (gr. I) and Cigar Mile (gr. I) at 3.
Smart Strike (TrueNicks,SRO)'s champion son Curlin (TrueNicks,SRO) has kicked off with classic winner Palace Malice in his first crop, and that's a good omen for Lookin At Lucky (TrueNicks,SRO), Smart Strike's champion 2-year-old and 3-year-old colt who has just one, a filly, from his first crop in this auction.
Given that he was rocket-ship fast, is extremely good-looking, and by the same sire as the upwardly-mobile second season sire Into Mischief (TrueNicks,SRO), it looks certain that the offspring of Majesticperfection (TrueNicks,SRO) are going to be in demand. He has seven in here.
Like the previously mentioned Dunkirk (and First Defence), Midshipman (TrueNicks,SRO) is by Unbridled's Song out of a Seattle Slew line mare. He earned a juvenile championship with wins in the Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I). He has a trio in here, and kicks off the sale with hip 1, who is inbred 4x4 to Seattle Slew.
Like Majesticperfection, Munnings (TrueNicks,SRO) was both fast and good-looking, and won a trio of grade II sprints. He's the first stallion son of the prolific Speightstown (TrueNicks,SRO), and has five entered.
Like Munnings, Quality Road (TrueNicks,SRO) (by Elusive Quality (TrueNicks,SRO)) is from the Gone West sire line. On his day, he was probably the best we've seen since Ghostzapper, winning four grade I races and setting track records at 6 1/2 and nine furlongs.
We've mentioned one classic winner in Preakness Stakes (gr. I) victor Lookin At Lucky, and two more classic winners with first yearlings are Summer Bird and Super Saver. Summer Bird was a true stayer, winning the Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, and Jockey Club Gold Cup (all gr. I). By Birdstone (TrueNicks,SRO), he's from the female line of Tapit and Relaunch, and the combination of stamina and family is probably why he is now in Japan.
Super Saver (TrueNicks,SRO) not only won the Kentucky Derby but also took the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) at 2, and he is by champion 2-year-old Maria's Mon from a big family. Five of his first yearlings are on offer here.
Temple City (TrueNicks,SRO) emulated his sire, Dynaformer, by breaking a course record for 1 1/2 miles on turf, in his case while winning a graded stakes. He's out of a Danzig half sister to Malibu Moon.
Tizdejavu (TrueNicks,SRO) has one here, and is a four-time graded winner and grade I-placed performer by Tiznow.
Finally, we have Warrior's Reward (TrueNicks), the first good U.S. son of Medaglia d'Oro (TrueNicks,SRO). He ran a 113 Beyer at 3 and took the Carter Handicap (gr. I) at 4. He has eight cataloged here.
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