Fasig-Tipton’s July auction has long been a showcase for stallions whose first foals are yearlings, and the 2024 edition will once again offer the market a look at new stallions.
No new stallion had better stats at the July 9 auction in Lexington than Yaupon Spendthrift Farm’s First Prize Son Uncle Mo Yaupon entered 12 yearlings at auction, and 11 of them sold for a total of $1,792,000 and an average price of $162,909, both tops among first yearling stallions with at least two foals sold.
Yaupon has eight six-figure horses, with three exceeding the $200,000 mark. Hip 82, paid $285,000 by de Meric Sales, was the most expensive. The sorrel colt is Twitterpated’s first foal, and is out of Stormy Atlantic, a full sister to Grade 1 winner Stormy Lucy. The horse was bred in Kentucky by Richard Bremer and Cheryl Sprick.
Yaupon at Spendthrift Farm
Yaupon’s stud fee for 2024 is $25,000. Spendthrift’s Ned Toffey was pleased with July’s results.
“It’s a great group, and I think there will be many more great groups,” Toffey said. “He’s been incredibly consistent. Like any stallion I can think of in recent years, he’s absolutely stamped his mark. They’re very fast, very strong, very commercial, and that’s really attractive here, and I think it will continue to be that way.”
Independence Hall
Another new breed that is highly regarded for its quality and consistency of product is the WinStar Farm breed. Independence Hall . The son of Structure was a spectacular 12-length winner of the Nashua Stakes (G3) as a 2-year-old and a Grade 2 winner as an older horse.
Independence Hall had three yearlings at its July auction and all three sold for six figures, led by Hip 62, a colt born to the winning mare Harlan’s Holiday. Orecchiette half to class 2 winner Alley (Into mischief ) and Ragtime Rose Award winner (Rags Alliance ). Eddie Woods’ Quarter Pole Enterprises paid $165,000 for the colt, bred in Kentucky by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.
“He’s a beautiful horse, big, with great vision, a very good moving horse,” Woods said. “He’s a very classy looking horse, looks like a beautiful horse.”
The colt was previously sold to Bourbon Barrel Stable for $32,000 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Shawhan Place consigned the colt at The July Sale.
“He’s a very passionate person with our customers, and from day one he showed that he was very straightforward and a great mover. That’s what attracted us all to him,” said Shawhan sales director Courtney Schneider. “He was a great mover when they bought him in November, and that’s stuck with him over the years. I think that’s his biggest selling point, but on top of that, he’s very personable and personable.”
Third in average price among early season stallions sold two or more was Darley. Maxfield a son of Street feel won Grade 1s as a 2-year-old and as an older man. Maxfield had two horses offered at the July Auction and both sold for an average of $147,500. Maxfield and consignor Legacy Bloodstock had the unenviable position of being the first to put Hip 1 in the ring on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop Hip 1 from selling for $220,000 to Resolute Bloodstock. Bred in Kentucky by the late Robert Lothenbach, Hip 1 was the fourth foal born from the winning race. Reefer mare Abundant Flurry, winner of half to third grade Cigar Street (Street Sense). He is a tilapia that won $13,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mix auction. “He looks like a 2-year-old. He’s a big guy,” said Resolute’s John Stewart. “He’s got great form, looks great and is highly regarded in our system. Maxfield is a physically impressive horse and it’s exciting to see the horses he’s showing.” Darley’s stud manager, Darren Fox, noted that the sample size was small but said he was pleased with the results. “Hip 1 had a tough draw but was an absolute specimen and sold accordingly,” said Fox. “Maxfield is stamping his stock significantly and passing on his excellent movement. Both of these attributes will serve his progeny well in the trade market this year.” Taylor Made Stallions’ Tacitus Six of the 10 offerings, with an average price of $112,833, also performed well on the average price-to-fee ratio (11.3x). Tacitus, a multiple winner of the 2nd class classical prize Water tap was priced at $10,000 at Taylor Made’s Nicholasville, Ky. stud farm. Hip 63, a New York-bred Tacitus mare, was consigned by Perrone Sales, the dealer, and sold for $200,000 to S. Moulton. Bred by Apache Farm, the mare was a half-to-Grade 1 mare who won multiple Wonder Girl dam of 2 year old champion mare Magic Wheel . Tacitus at Taylor Made StallionsMaxfield
Tacitus
Taylor Made Stallions sales director Travis White said he was excited by the market response to Tacitus’ first yearling broodmare.
“A stallion with a $10,000 stud fee that produces four six-figure foals and averages more than 11 times its fee is what you hope to see, but you never know how well the buyer will value them,” White said. “Tacitus tends to produce a healthy horse with size and scope, and during our testing we were impressed with how they developed as foals.
“He has had great support from our partners Don Alberto and Juddmonte, along with a lot of our customers, so it’s great to see the breeders having some early success.”
Handsome Liam
Airdrie Stud’s Handsome Liam has an impressive track record of sell-through (10 out of 11, clearance rate of 91%) and average price-to-earnings ratio (11.7x).
Son of grade 3 Liam’s Map His racing career was cut short by injury, but he is very fast, and buyers at the July auction expressed appreciation for the type of yearling he is producing.
Beau Liam’s top-selling horse was Hip 182, which sold to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners for $155,000. Offered by Aidrie, the colt was bred in Kentucky by former Kentucky Governor and Airdrie founder Brereton C. Jones, who died last year.
Hip 182 is the half bet winner Creative Cairo (Prince of Cairo ) and is the sixth foal of Let’s Be Creative (Creative Cause ), half to the winner of the bet Sound wave (Friends Lake) and 2nd place winner Echoes from afar (Menifee), dam of champion 2-year-old mare Echo Zulu, a Grade 1 winner Echo Town and the 3rd grade winner Echoes of J Boys along with other ranked runners.
Airdrie Rivets Bloodline Resolute Brereton C. Jones Darley Darren-fox Elliott Walden fasig-tipton july sale John Stewart Map of Laim Ned Toffey new sires Purebred horses for sale State of Kentucky Taylor Made stallion Thoroughbred horse breeding Travis White Wasted Farm Water tap WinStar Farm
