Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale Review

BY TRACY GANTZ

When My Fiona defeated Lost Bus by only a neck in the 2014 California Toroughbred Breeders’ Association Stakes at Del Mar, it set into motion a series of events. It helped My Fiona win that year’s title as California-bred champion 2-year-old female, urged her owner, Terry Lovingier, to eventually claim Lost Bus, and afected the top prices at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton California fall yearling sale.

Wait a minute—how’s that? Well, Lovingier claimed Lost Bus for $32,000 in 2015 because he remembered how well she had run against My Fiona. Lost Bus went on to win the 2016 Santa Monica Stakes (G2) and was named that season’s Cal-bred champion older female. Following the retirement from racing of My Fiona and Lost Bus, Lovingier bred them both to Stay Tirsty. My Fiona’s yearling colt topped the 2020 sale at $200,000, while Lost Bus’ yearling colt brought the third-highest price of $110,000.

It was only one of the many Cal-bred angles to the Oct. 19 sale, which had to switch from Pomona to Los Alamitos because of COVID-19 restrictions. Paul Jones, the all-time champion trainer of Quarter Horse racehorses, is based at Los Alamitos, and he bought a Cal-bred. Te entire catalog was predominantly

A Stay Thirsty colt from the sire’s frst California crop topped the Fasig-Tipton yearling sale at $200,000

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Terry Lovingier’s Lovacres Ranch led all other consignors at Fasig-Tipton’s California sale Cal-breds, and every one of the top 10 prices went for Cal-breds.

Despite the year’s difculties with COVID-19, the sale grossed $3,735,700 for 166 sold, an average of $22,504. At the inaugural edition last year, 137 grossed $3,667,800 and averaged $26,772. Te buy-back rate was 35.2% compared with 46% last year.

Lovingier’s Lovacres consigned the two Stay Tirsty yearlings and led all consignors by gross with 29 sold for $1,119,400. Naseer Fasihuddin of San Diego, the sale’s leading buyer, purchased fve, all from Lovacres, for a total of $420,000. Tree of

those were by Stay Tirsty, Wesley Ward bred Lost including the yearlings out Bus, a daughter of Bring of My Fiona and Lost Bus. the Heat, and she earned

Attending the sale with $412,818. Her Stay Tirsty his wife, Zahra Madiha, colt, named Erebus, is also Fasihuddin said, “I really her second foal. like Stay Tirsty as a sire.” Eclipse Toroughbred He noted that he owns a Partners bought the secfew mares, including one by ond-highest-priced horse of Smiling Tiger in foal to Stay the sale and the top flly for Tirsty, and he keeps them $135,000. Tom Bachman’s at Lovacres. Fasihuddin Fairview consigned the Calsaid that Richard Mandella The sale’s leading buyer, Naseer Fasihuddin and his wife, Zahra Madiha, bred daughter of Nyquist— is a possibility to train the purchased the sale-topper from the Lovacres Ranch consignment Moon River Gal, by Malibu yearlings. Moon. Moon River Gal was

“Stay Tirsty is doing well, and he’ll be a winner and is a half sister to stakes wina productive horse for years to come,” said ners Lady T N T and Sweet Hope. Lovingier, who brought the stallion to Te average “She’s by a stallion who’s of to an California to stand at Lovacres. incredible start,” said Aron Wellman,

Stay Tirsty’s frst California foals are was down a little bit, Eclipse’s president and founder. yearlings. His current North American but all in all there In partnership with Gary Barber, runners have made him the second-lead- was a pretty Eclipse owns Gretzky the Great, a 2-yearing sire by money earned, behind only I’ll old son of Nyquist who won this year’s Have Another, whose runners compete in reasonable Summer Stakes (G1) at Woodbine. At Japan. marketplace.” Keeneland Oct. 17, Tinking, a 2-year-

Lovingier bred My Fiona, a daughter of old daughter of Nyquist, broke her maidGhostzapper and an earner of $478,743. — Boyd Browning Jr. en for Eclipse and Farfellow Farm. Her Stay Tirsty colt, named Finneus, “Tis flly to me was a standout at the is her second foal. John Haagsma and sale,” said Wellman. “She’s got some female pedigree to bolster the quality. Tack on the fact that she’s a Cal-bred, and you’ve got the complete package.” Fairview sold all six of its yearlings in the catalog, grossing $364,000 and averaging $60,667. Tat was the leading average of all consignors. Other leading consignors included Barton Toroughbreds, with 17 sold for a gross of $513,000 and Adrian Gonzalez’ Checkmate Toroughbreds with 13 sold for a gross of $334,200. Checkmate sold the fourth-highestpriced yearling, a Cal-bred daughter of Not Tis Time—Masterful Lass, by Mizzen Mast. Trainer Gary Mandella purchased the flly for $95,000 on behalf of Tom Nichols. Te flly is a half sister to stakes winner Avanti Bello. “He has fllies with me,” said Mandella. “We had a flly break her maiden at Del Mar named Last First Kiss, and he had a nice Cal-bred colt named If Id Told You Prospective buyers produced some bidding freworks in the sales ring that broke his maiden as a 2-year-old.”

Mandella purchased If Id Told You for $70,000 from Andy Havens’ Havens Bloodstock Agency at the 2018 Barretts select yearling sale.

After Barretts stopped its sales, Fasig-Tipton returned to California in 2019, conducting both 2-year-old and yearling sales. COVID-19 restrictions in Los Angeles county forced the cancellation of the 2-year-old sale at Santa Anita and the move of the yearling sale from Pomona to Los Alamitos in Orange county, which has less restrictive COVID rules.

Buyers came from a wide variety of places, and Los Alamitos as a venue certainly helped with the sale to Quarter Horse training superstar Jones. Treetime winner of Quarter Horse racing’s biggest event, the All-American Futurity (G1), Jones bought a Cal-bred son of Creative Cause for $22,000 with Robyn Gordon. Havens Bloodstock Agency consigned the colt, who is out of the Roman Ruler mare Feature Attraction.

Boyd Browning Jr., Fasig-Tipton’s president and chief executive ofcer, praised Dr. Ed Allred, owner of Los Alamitos, for stepping up and allowing Fasig-Tipton to conduct the sale there. It occurred just two weeks after Los Alamitos held its annual Quarter Horse sale. Fasig-Tipton put its auction stand in the winner’s circle/walking ring and sold there, allowing buyers to bid from the apron as well as upstairs in the Vessels Club.

Browning discussed the importance of California sales and that Fasig-Tipton is committed to conducting sales in the state to help the industry. While it is difcult to plan with the current COVID-19 situation, he said the company expects to conduct a 2-year-old sale and yearling sale in California in 2021.

“Te average was down a little bit today, but all in all there was a pretty reasonable marketplace,” he said. “My only editorial comment is that I was slightly disappointed by the participation of some California trainers. Due to a lot of

The highest price for a flly was the $135,000 paid for the Cal-bred daughter of Nyquist, above, from the Fairview consignment of Tom Bachman, left

the ups and downs, mainly the adversity that they have experienced in recent months and years, they’ve been beat down a little bit and they may have lost a little bit of their enthusiasm.”

Lovingier was very appreciative that the sale came together with the help of so many people.

Above, Adrian Gonzalez’ Checkmate Thoroughbreds sold a Calbred flly, left, by leading frst-crop sire Not This Time for $95,000