TIMONIUM, MD – The first of two sessions of the under-tack preview of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale got underway under brilliantly sunny skies and a brand new format Tuesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. Some 250 horses previewed over the track, and, while they were cascaded by the beeps of stopwatches from onlookers in the grandstand, Fasig-Tipton provided no times for the works.
With forecasted wet weather later in the week, the under-tack show was condensed to two days, leading to close to nine hours of previews, but when the last horse had left the track Tuesday, Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said he was pleased with the results of the new format.
“I thought today went exceptionally well,” Browning said. “The horses seemed to preview very consistently. The racetrack was in very good condition from start to finish and seemed to play very fairly. I honestly couldn't be more pleased with the first half of the under-tack show and how it went today. I thought the consignors displayed their horses in a very professional manner and the feedback that we got from the buyers was generally very, very positive. Hopefully the conditions will be fine again tomorrow.”
Consignors were given the choice on how their horses would perform on the racetrack, resulting in everything from galloping down the lane to full-out breezes, but riders faced added restrictions on whip use and were required to keep their hands on the reins during the entire preview.
“I have been on record for several months now, saying that we are going to do what I call farm breezes,” consignor Becky Thomas said after sending out a colt by Flightline (hip 54, video) early in Tuesday's session. “For me, they're three-quarter tilt breezes so everyone can see them stretch their legs without being under a hustle.”
Of Tuesday's untimed preview Thomas said, “Every year before every horse breezes, I always feel sick to my stomach. I am not sick today.”
Thomas's Sequel consignment includes six horses bred by longtime client Chester Broman. In addition to the Flightline colt, who is out of Grade I winner Bar of Gold (Medaglia d'Oro), the group includes a filly by Curlin (hip 240, video), who previewed later in the session, and a daughter of Gun Runner (hip 357), scheduled to work Wednesday.
“We expected him to look just like he did,” Thomas said of the colt's performance on the racetrack. “He's a beautiful mover. He's been a special horse from the time we got to have him. And we've also got a Gun Runner and a Curlin for Mr. Broman in this sale, too, that are pretty exciting.”
Those marquee pedigrees may fare better next week when the action moves from performance on the racetrack to bidding in the sales ring.
“We will have to see how we sell, because that's what we are all here for,” Thomas said. “I am hoping that the buyer base will change to accommodate the new format. And that is stressful, thinking, 'Are all these horses going to get sold?' I think the big pedigreed horses are going to be fine, but we've all got a lot of horses that are maybe not the top pedigrees. But as far as how the breeze show is going, I'm super happy.”
Clovis Crane's Crane Thoroughbred Services had horses run the gamut on the track Tuesday. The consignment had a pair of gallopers early in the day before a gray colt by Volatile (hip 13) turned in a flashy work (video) during the session's fifth of nine sets.
“He's just been brilliant all winter,” Crane said of the colt. “He's beautiful. Every time we've done something, he's been perfect. He's never done anything wrong. He's just nice colt who has developed wonderfully.”
Hip 13 | Fasig-Tipton
Crane and Joe Besecker purchased the colt for $18,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall sale.
“He had the right physical to be a runner,” Crane said of the colt's appeal. “At the end of the day, we are looking for runners. A little of this and a little of that, we can tolerate because we are looking for horses to be racehorses, not just pinhook horses. He looked like a horse who would be a sound, solid runner.”
Crane continued, “Some of my earlier horses galloped. I had a horse who had a cut on his butt. Another horse had a shin and they are just back in training.”
Crane said his focus is always to have his horses move forward from the under-tack show.
“I take a page out of Cary Frommer's book,” he said. “Many years ago, she said this should just be another day in their training and their progression. I really admire her for saying that. I really believe it's the way it should be. It's just another day forward in their training. Instead of being worried that this has to be the best day of their lives.”
Asked if he thought buyers would be receptive to the new format, Crane said, “I hope so. I think anytime we are doing the right thing for the horses, it's good for all of us. I think that's important.”
Buyers who have been conditioned to expect speedy breezes may have to shuffle their priorities ahead of sale time, according to trainer-turned-bloodstock agent John Kimmel, who was among the many observers in the grandstand Tuesday.
“My assessment is that the criteria we use to make our judgements is going to change a little bit,” Kimmel said. “Back at the OBS sales, time and gallop-out times were a major criteria–probably number one–followed by physical and pedigree, then technological details like radiographs and scoping. But here, I think we're just going to give a movement mark instead of getting so hung up on time, which might fall a little farther down on the totem pole of criteria that we use to judge.”
Asked if that would be a good thing for buyers, Kimmel said, “I guess time will eventually tell whether that's a positive. I really can't say right now, but for me, I always have to have a good physical anyway on a horse. I won't buy a horse that doesn't pass for my physical assessment. So maybe the physical moves up to number one category, followed by an okay or better than average mover and then the time might come in a little bit and then followed by radiographic assessments.”
As for how he will consider times, Kimmel said, “I am clocking them, but I really don't have any idea exactly what it means. You have Caliente [Thoroughbreds] little better than two-minute licking from the three-eighths pole and then you have some horses that are going fairly full strong quarter-mile breezes. So it's quite a spectrum of presentations.”
Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan was seeing plenty to like on the track Tuesday.
“It's a beautiful day and the track is in great shape,” Ryan said. “Compliments to the maintenance people that work on the track. It's lively, it's got good bounce to it, and horses are getting over it well.”
Of the horses he is watching perform on that track, Ryan said, “I like the new format because I think it gives you a chance to see their action a lot better. They're not on their heads. They're not forcing themselves to go :9 3/5 or :9 4/5 and I think you get a better read on them. And you certainly get a better read on them on the dirt. At least that's my personal opinion. I find it much easier to separate horses on the dirt and mostly we are going to run on the dirt anyway.”
Mike Ryan | Fasig-Tipton
Ryan said he was timing the previews, but added, “It's not the be all and the end all by any stretch. But it's interesting just to see. A lot of them are going in :10 and change, and gallop-outs are a little slower because the cones are way out. But it's more impressed with how the horse is traveling. How well are they doing it. Are they on their heads or are they just doing it nicely in control and on the bridle.”
Of how the format might change his buying process, Ryan said, “It's pretty much the same thing. And then, of course, it all comes down to the barn. It's like a yearling sale. You've got to go back to the barn and figure it all out.”
Bloodstock agent Pedro Lanz said he was seeing what he needed to see from the grandstand Tuesday.
“So far, I have seen relaxed horses going very nicely and without all the urging that you normally see at a 2-year-old sale,” he said. “We can separate out the good ones from the ones that are not as good.”
He continued, “It's very good to see the action of the horse. You can calculate the length of a stride. You can even listen to them. And it's especially good for me to watch these horses train on the dirt, since I am mostly buying dirt horses for Saudi Arabia.”
Taking in the previews trackside, Legion Bloodstock's Kristian Villante said, “I think the conditions have been great today. You get to see them move. They are all going at a pretty good clip, even without the timer, but I think it's been a great day to get to see them move and see how they actually get over the ground.”
Of timing the previews, Villante said, “Everyone seems to be doing it a little bit differently, so you have to take that into account when you're looking at it. Not everyone's really going the same speed here on purpose.”
As to how the new format might change the team's approach to shopping over the next week, Villante said, “We're about to find out. I think, ultimately, it kind of goes back to the yearling sales, but you actually get to see them gallop. It's really not that different from what we do all year long. We are still looking for an athlete.”
With rain forecasted for later in the week, Fasig-Tipton has condensed its under-tack show to two sessions. The show will conclude with a final session Wednesday beginning at 8 a.m. The Midlantic May sale is scheduled to be held next Monday and Tuesday with bidding beginning at 11 a.m. both days.
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