Curlin yearlings help Saratoga Sale reach record heights again

Fueled by nearly unfettered buyer appetite for colts sired by Hill 'n' Dale Farms stallion Curlin, the Saratoga Sale soared to record heights for average and median when it concluded Aug 6.

From a smaller catalogue of 223 horses at the select yearling sale this year, Fasig-Tipton reported 135 horses sold for gross receipts of $55,547,000, with the $411,459 average representing a 11.4 per cent gain over the $369,376 figure a year ago when 170 horses were sold for $62,794,000. The median price rose 16.7% to $350,000. The RNA rate was 25.8 per cent as 47 of the 182 horses through the ring did not sell.

For the concluding session, there were 74 horses sold for $32,772,000, an average price of $442,865 and a $360,000 median.

View sale results

The co-sale toppers at $1.5 million were both sons of Curlin, with one (Hip 174) going to a group headed by West Point Thoroughbreds that also included Woodford, Siena, Valdes, Singleton, Sandbrook, and Freeman from Stone Farm. The other $1.5 million Curlin colt (Hip 153) was purchased by Aquis Farm, Let's Go Stable, and Crawford Farm Racing from Denali Stud.

Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said the results were pretty simple: "Quality sells."

With the sale coming off records for average and median last season, Fasig-Tipton officials knew they had their work cut out for them in 2019.

"We had a remarkable group of quality horses on offer tonight, and the buyers responded very favourably," Browning said. "We're thrilled overall with the results of 2019, and for 2020 we'll try to put together a better group of horses. We felt really confident about the catalogue coming into this sale. It continues to not be simple. I think we live in a very realistic market where buyers are willing to pay what they consider to be a fair price and then probably a little bit more.

"There is tremendous competition at the upper end of the marketplace," Browning said. "But they have limits. They stop bidding, and sometimes they partner up to spread the risk, which has kind of become a way of life among the buying group, which tends to minimise the craziness at the top end of the market."

Consignor Archie St. George said the market was typical of what has been seen in recent years, with buyers willing to pay a premium for the better lots, such as the American Pharoah colt (Hip 191) purchased by M.V. Magnier from St. George Sales for $950,000.

"It's a little thin," St. George said. "If you've got a nice horse, you'll get paid. It's tough in areas and it's really good in other areas. When you come up here, you'd better have a good horse, and if you do, you'll do fine. Sometimes it doesn't work out. It's a select market, and buyers' expectations are higher."

For more news on US racing, sales and bloodstock news visit bloodhorse.com