Cover image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
Midway through Monday's first session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in Timonium, one bloodstock agent quipped, “turns out untimed works, work.”
The final figures of the auction's opening session–conducted a week after the company's first untimed under-tack preview show–seemed to bear the sentiment out, with the session's average and median concluding well ahead of last year's sale record-setting figures.
'Untimed works, work'
“It was a tremendous start to the Fasig Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training sale,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said Monday evening. “There were pretty significant statistical increases over last year. It will be the end of the day tomorrow before we can make any absolute comparisons, but you could feel the energy and the activity in the pavilion today.”
"It will be the end of the day tomorrow before we can make any absolute comparisons, but you could feel the energy and the activity in the pavilion today." - Boyd Browning
For the session, 175 horses grossed US$26,365,500 ($36.9 million) for an average of US$150,000 ($210,000) and a median of US$75,000 ($105,000). During last year's auction, which was held in one continuous session following weather delays, 327 juveniles sold for a gross of US$44,317,500 ($62.1 million). The average was US$135,528 ($189,800) and the median was US$60,000 ($84,000). All three were highwater marks for the May sale.
For the first time last week, Fasig-Tipton conducted its under-tack preview without published workout times and Browning admitted he came into Monday's first session of the auction with some extra nerves.
Boyd Browning | Image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
“There was some apprehension,” Browning said. “We changed the format. And any time you change the format, there is uncertainty, there is anxiety, there is worry. And through the first half, with the great help of both our consignors and our buyers, we navigated that change in a rewarding fashion and a very positive manner. We still have half the catalogue coming tomorrow, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was very, very relieved and pleased with the opening session.”
From 300 catalogued horses, 229 went through the ring with 54 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 23.6%.
“It was a very vibrant market,” Browning said. “The RNA rate was very reasonable for a 2-year-old-in-training sale. The scratch rate was lower than in the past. So all signs are very, very positive after the first session.”
"All signs are very, very positive after the first session." - Boyd Browning
The final session of the Midlantic May sale gets underway Tuesday morning at 11 am ET.
'The hype is real': US$2.1 million Flightline colt to KAS Stable
Bloodstock agent Pedro Lanz, bidding on behalf of the Saudi-based KAS Stable, went to US$2.1 million ($2.94 million) to acquire a colt from the first crop of champion Flightline (USA) (hip 54) from the Sequel consignment. Bred by Chester Broman, the chestnut colt is out of GI Breeders' Cup Fillies & Mares Sprint winner Bar Of Gold (USA) (Medaglia d'Oro {USA}) and is a half-brother to Graded winner Coinage (Tapit).
“This horse is going to race here in the United States,” Lanz said after signing the ticket on the colt. “I don't know who is going to train him yet. We were waiting to secure the horse first before we decided.”
Of his impressions of the colt, Lanz added, “the first time I saw him was in a video of him breezing on dirt that Sequel posted on X. He is a very nice mover. He is a beautiful, balanced horse with a good hip and shoulder and a nice walk. He is out of a Breeders' Cup champion mare. And then there is all the hype with Flightline. I think the hype is real.”
"There is all the hype with Flightline. I think the hype is real." - Pedro Lanz
Lanz later revealed that his pricey purchase would be joining the California barn of John Sadler, who, of course, conditioned Flightline throughout his undefeated career and Horse of the Year honours.
The hype around Flightline reached a fevered pitch last month at the OBS Spring sale when a colt from the champion's first crop sold for US$10.5 million ($14.7 million) to Amr Zedan and has now been named Zedan (USA) in honour of the owner's father.
Hip 54 - Flightline x Bar Of Gold colt | Image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
“Everyone is excited about them,” Lanz said of the Flightlines. “The comments we are hearing from Japan are great and then you see the amazing Zedan in April. So I knew this horse was going to bring a lot of money.”
The works at last week's under-tack preview were untimed by the sales company, but Lanz said he saw enough from the colt on the track in Timonium to be confident in his bidding.
“He galloped into the turn on his left lead and then immediately changed leads perfectly,” he said. “I don't care about the time, but I was clocking. The horse went in 35.8s, which is a very nice three-furlong breeze for a 2-year-old.”
While he accepted congratulations on the purchase, Lanz admitted, “I celebrate this, but the real celebration is when they can win races at the track.”
Flightline colt stars for Broman, Sequel
The session-topping bid made by Lanz to secure Hip 54 was no great surprise for the Sequel team, which consigned him to the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale on behalf of his breeder, Chester Broman.
“He was an absolutely terrific colt,” said Sequel's Carlos Manresa. “We had posted a video of him stretching his legs out on the farm and it was very well received by everyone and started spreading around. People started coming to the farm to see the horse. We really knew we were going to be up here with something special.
"We really knew we were going to be up here with something special." - Carlos Manresa
"And with his pedigree, the stars aligned on that horse. That doesn't happen very often, so it was really great for everyone on the team.”
The colt's dam Bar Of Gold was a last-gasp, 66-1 winner of the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in the colours of Broman and his late wife, Mary.
Later in the session, a filly by Curlin (USA) out of Broman's multiple Graded stakes-winning mare Highway Star (USA) (Girolamo {USA}) (hip 240) sold for US$560,000 ($784,000) to Milk River Racing.
“I have trained for Mr Broman for decades,” said Sequel's Becky Thomas. “I had Highway Star, I trained the entire family. So it's particularly special. It gives me goosebumps. Mr. Broman has created a phenomenal team. His farm manager Greg Falk, Alan Porter does the matings with me, and I get the babies after they are weaned. He always says he hired professionals and he lets the professionals make the decisions. He just has a great team behind him.”
Becky Thomas | Image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
While hip 54 had been entered in previous sales, Thomas said the Midlantic May sale was always his preferred target.
“He's a big two-turn colt, so we wanted to give him enough foundation,” Thomas said. “And then knowing that this sale was going to be an untimed dirt sale, we felt like we wanted to support Fasig-Tipton.”
"Knowing that this sale was going to be an untimed dirt sale, we felt like we wanted to support Fasig-Tipton." - Becky Thomas
Thomas said she had no concerns about this year's untimed preview show after rain forced the later horses in the 2025 auction to gallop ahead of the auction.
“We loved (the untimed works),” she continued. “Our horses are breezing. They are going plenty fast.”
'He made it real easy': Volatile colt rewards Crane
When Clovis Crane and Joe Besecker partnered up to purchase a colt by Volatile (USA) for US$18,000 ($25,200) at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall sale last year, Crane admitted the yearling was “a little immature.” Fast forward some eight months and the colt, named Mi Explosivo (USA) (hip 13), was all grown up and rewarded the partners when selling for US$650,000 ($910,000) to the bid of bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, on behalf of Zedan Racing, Monday at Fasig-Tipton.
“He matured the right way and did everything right,” Crane said. “Every day that horse got up and he was excited to go train. He made it real easy.”
While last week's under-tack previews were officially untimed, the grey juvenile was largely credited with the show's fastest work (video), but Crane said the time was immaterial to Monday's result.
“You didn't have to time it to see what he did,” Crane said of the work. “He was visibly impressive. You didn't have to have a timer on him. You could tell in the turn when he switched leads, he accelerated. And it was obvious. But he's done that all along. Everything he has done has been exciting.”
"You didn't have to time it to see what he (Mi Explosivo) did." - Clovis Crane
Crane said he didn't know what to expect when he returned the colt to the Midlantic ring Monday.
“I was in Miami to sell a horse a long time ago and I was in a somewhat similar situation and a friend of mine said, 'Clovis, you are not in these positions very often, just sit back and enjoy the ride because these ones do it for you.' And that was the case today. I was just trying to enjoy it. And be excited that it was going to happen and let it happen.”
Crane concluded, “man, it was incredibly exciting.”
