Ghostzapper filly leads the way at solid October Sale opener

The Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale kicked off with a solid session of trade on Monday, with a daughter of Ghostzapper heading affairs after going the way of Samantha Siegel's Jay Em Ess Stable for $275,000.

By the close of proceedings 230 yearlings had generated turnover of $6,479,500 - a 22 per cent dip on the figure hit during 2016's opening session. The average stood at $28,172 - a 17 per cent decline, while the median was down 22 per cent to $10,000.

Jay Em Ess Stable claimed the session's top lot, a $275,000 daughter of Ghostzapper out of a Birdstone half-sister to stakes winners Silent Bird and A Brilliant Idea. The filly, the second foal of her dam, was offered by Legacy Bloodstock.

The day's second-highest price came when Mathis Stable, represented by agent Liz Crow, paid $250,000 for a Tapit filly from Gainesway.

The session's third-top lot was also by Adena Springs resident Ghostzapper, with Superfine Farm going to $180,000 for the colt, who was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. The colt is out of a half-sister to Grade 3 winner La Traviata, who is perhaps better known as the dam of Aidan O'Brien-trained Group 1 winners Seventh Heaven and Crusade.

Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning commented that with three session's remaining it would be premature to form a judgement on the state of the market.

"It's too early to tell much," he told Blood-Horse. "I don't really know the mix of the composition of day one, two, or three this year, so I'm not going to make any dramatic statements about the marketplace.

"If you talk to consignors and buyers, it's the same song we've heard over and over and over. Buyers were saying it was really tough to buy the quality horses and consignors were saying it was really tough to sell the horses that weren't perceived to be the quality offerings."

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