In the moments before The July Sale kicked off at Fasig-Tipton's Newtown Paddocks near Lexington July 13, trainer Kenny McPeek raised his fists and did a little shadowboxing.
"I feel like I'm about to throw some punches," he said with a grin, a foreshadowing of things to come.
McPeek made his presence known at the selected yearling sale in Kentucky as he took home 13 youngsters for gross receipts of $1.4 million, ending the sale as the leading buyer by both total spent and volume purchased. His closest rival by volume was Stuart Grant's The Elkstone Group, which landed five. Closest by gross was Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and LNJ Foxwoods, which partnered on a single horse—the $800,000 sale topper.
Well-known throughout the industry for his budget-savvy purchases and willingness to overlook minor vet issues, McPeek bought youngsters for various clients for as little as $35,000—the same price he paid for champion Swiss Skydiver—and as much as $185,000. Nine of the 13 were by young sires whose first yearlings went through the ring Monday. He was fast off the mark, landing Hip 2, but displayed the longevity of a classic contender, staying until he took home Hip 315.
"I told a lot of my clients that we were gonna be real active early, because that's where the short-list horses fell," McPeek said. "A lot of them haven't bought since October. I think Fasig-Tipton does a great job on bringing nice, well-made horses to the sale. I do everything based on the physicals."
One of the best buys of McPeek's career was the $57,000 Smart Strike yearling that became eventual 2007-08 Horse of the Year Curlin , now a top sire at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa Farms and a member of horse racing's Hall of Fame. So it was no surprise when the trainer snapped up Hip 2, a $100,000 Tapwrit colt consigned by Four Star Sales and bred in Kentucky by Chad Frederick and Phoenix Farm and Racing out of the Curlin mare Black Coronas.
"A big, beautiful horse," he said of Hip 2, whose sire was represented by his first yearlings at auction Tuesday. "He had a great walk to him and looked like he was a real physical horse. He had a lot of the physical look of a Curlin."
McPeek swung next for Hip 4, a $35,000 Mo Town filly consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency out of the Tale of the Cat mare Cat's Garden. The filly was bred in Oklahoma by Rusty Roberts and was among Mo Town's first crop to hit the ring.
"I like the Tale of the Cat," he said of Hip 4. "I know a little bit about this horse; I had some Oklahoma clients."
Of Hip 6, a $75,000 son of first-crop yearling sire Free Drop Billy consigned by Vinery Sales and bred in Kentucky by Phoenix Farm and Racing out of the Bertrando mare Centerpiece, McPeek said: "This horse I bought on completely physical. I thought that he was a big, handsome horse. Maybe a bit of Betrando coming out in him. He didn't look anything like Free Drop Billy. He had a lot of substance to him and looked like he's going to be a runner."
McPeek said the racy look of his next buy, the lone Awesome Slew yearling in the sale, drew his attention. Bred in Florida by Tonya Jurgens out of the Omega Code mare Fashion Bee, the $70,000 filly was consigned as Hip 18 by Eaton Sales.
"This filly is physical, and looks like she'll be fast," he said. "I'm a big fan of Deputy Minister and Awesome Again, especially on the filly side."
McPeek swung back again for Hip 19, a $100,000 filly by first-crop yearling sire Collected consigned by Valkyre Stud, agent. She was bred in Kentucky by Marc Keller out of the Bernardini mare Film Idol. The filly's second dam is the Mr. Prospector mare Miss Du Bois, who produced grade 1 winner Film Maker.
"That filly was a really pretty filly; I think that's probably one of my favorites," McPeek said. "She's a really sexy filly, beautiful mover. You gotta love the Bernadini and Mr. Prospector."
The trainer took a breather until Hip 31, a Kentucky-bred colt from the first crop of Good Samaritan consigned by Vinery Sales, agent, for BTE Stables. The $50,000 colt bred by David Hager II and Jay Goodwin is out of the Skip away mare Hooky, whose dam is the grade 2-placed Carson City mare City College.
"This horse has big substance, a big walk to him," McPeek said. "Looks like he'll be a distance horse."
McPeek viewed Hip 51, a Gainesway-consigned son of first-crop yearling sire Cloud Computing bred in Kentucky by Jake Delhomme out of the Hard Spun mare My Lady Lauren, as a top prospect, and went to $160,000.
"This is one of the best colts in the sale," he said. "For one, the physical. For another, he had a really great hip on him."
Next McPeek took home Hip 76, a $100,000 filly from the first crop of Always Dreaming bred in Kentucky by Frankfort Park Farm and Dr. R. Mason out of the Pure Prize mare Severn Shore, and offered by Frankfort Park Farm as agent.
"The Always Dreaming will be partnered out. It'll be a Magdalena Racing partnership," McPeek said.
McPeek either took a lunch break or a nap, and returned for Hip 146, a $185,000 Dialed In colt consigned by Burleson Farms. Bred in Kentucky by Nice Guys Stables out of the Giant's Causeway mare Dreamy Lady, the colt was McPeek's most expensive buy of the day.
"Big, handsome horse from a Giant's Causeway mare," he said. "He had a beautiful walk to him, a lot of substance."
Two horses from Machmer Hall Sales, agent, found their way home with McPeek. The first was Hip 177, a $100,000 Midshipman filly bred in Kentucky by J. Stephen McDonald out of the First Samurai mare Grouse Grind.
"This filly reminded me of Behave Virginia, the Unified filly we won at Churchill with in the (June 26) Debutante (Stakes). I'm a fan of Midshipman, I trained (the grade 2-winning Midshipman mare) Princess Warrior, and this is another filly that moved through herself really well. Good physical and good value."
The trainer displayed his forgiving nature for Hip 232, an Into Mischief filly out of the grade 1-placed Uncle Mo mare Motown Lady. Bred in Kentucky by Town & Country Horse Farms, the filly consigned by Taylor Made was a $150,000 bargain buy.
"I was shocked this filly didn't bring any more than that," McPeek said. "She's not a big filly, but a good type. She had some nicks on the vet exam, nothing that bothered us. She had a great page."
Stretching next for Hip 272, a Goldencents filly offered as property of Clarkland Farm, McPeek went to $175,000. Bred in Kentucky by Clarkland out of the Milwaukee Brew mare Sarah Her Highness, the filly's third dam is the blue hen legend Leslie's Lady.
"This was more than we probably wanted to pay for her, but in the long run I think it's brilliant that Fred Mitchell and Clarkland Farm bred her 3x3 to Leslie's Lady," McPeek said. "She's got a great profile on her. In long run Scott Leeds—the primary owner here—wants quality broodmares, and I think she's got a chance at that."
At the end of his busy day, the trainer became part of heartwarming story as he went to $100,000 for Hip 315, a Sharp Azteca filly consigned by Machmer Hall, agent for New Generation Bloodstock. The filly out of the Tapit mare Triple Cream was a $27,000 purchase by 14-year-old Layne Brogden, 16-year-old Isabelle Brogden, and 13-year-old Ella Schoenborn from the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale under the Machmer Hall banner.
"I bought her for a new client, Steve Rocco out of Saratoga Springs, New York," McPeek said. "She's a filly out of a Tapit mare, another good female line. … I thought she was a big, two-turn looking filly."
Speaking of their pinhooking success, Isabelle Brogden said: "We all have a deep interest and love for horses and obviously we've been raised with them. I don't necessarily know if it will be a big part of any of our futures, but as of now I'd think we would all say we enjoy it a lot and it's amazing that we get this opportunity."
The sisters plan to pinhook two horses in the fall, one with Schoenborn and one with family friend Leah Amaismeier.
McPeek said his purchases will all eventually head to Silverleaf Hills, his new training center in Florida, after a brief stop down the road at his Magdalena Farm. And he'll be back at it again as yearling season hits full stride, looking for his next diamond in the rough.
"It's non-stop. I love doing this, I think it's a real honor to have quality young horses," he said.
