The Fasig-Tipton New York Bred Yearlings Sale, Aug 13-14, comes on the heels of another record-setting Saratoga Sale of Selected Yearlings, and this year breeder Barry Ostrager will be selling two of his yearlings and see three others he bred go through the ring again, after trading as weanlings.
Champion 2-year-old colt Game Winner will have his first yearlings go under the hammer this year, including Hip 391, on Sunday. The colt out of grass stakes winner Rocky Policy will be the first of Ostrager's charges to go through the ring. The Rock Slide mare won the Jameela Stakes and Turf Amazon Stakes and placed in three other stakes tests, resulting in career earnings of $449,709 before taking to broodmare life.
"Rocky Policy had a Gun Runner filly that sold at this sale last year for $175,000, and she had a Gun Runner colt for this year," Ostrager commented. "Game Winner was a champion, and his first foals are now yearlings, so I'm excited about this particular yearling. He scopes and X-rays clean and should do extremely well."
Taylor Made Sales Agency consigns the colt, which is the mare's second foal, her first being the filly by Gun Runner , now named Mulkey, which sold this year to Flurry Racing Stables as a juvenile for $450,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.
The next horse, Hip 398 by freshman sire Honor A.P., is offered by Straight Line Equine Sales; the colt was sold by Ostrager last year during the Saratoga Fall Sale for $20,000 to Cayson Lane. He's out of the winning Harlington mare Run a Dubb Dubb, which Ostrager purchased for $13,000 during the 2021 Saratoga Fall Mixed Sale. An earner of over $400,000 in 53 starts, she has produced five foals with two winners from four to race, including the son of Honor Code, Apollo Code, who recently ran second on first asking July 16 at Monmouth Park for trainer Jorge Delgado.
"Run a Dubb Dubb was a very hard-hitting runner; she earned $421,266," said Ostrager. "It's going to be interesting for me to watch the four yearlings I sold as weanlings last year; they are all out of high-quality mares."
Hunter Valley Farm offers a filly by Catholic Boy out of the winning Speightstown mare Bajan Beach as Hip 514. The bay was sold for $47,000 to Bronco Bloodstock as a weanling during the Saratoga Fall Sale last year. She comes from the family of Sweet Life, producer of two Breeders' Cup winners in Life Is Sweet and Sweet Catomine.
Ostrager added: "The filly out of Bajan Beach has two Breeders' Cup winners under the third dam. She was a nice foal and will sell for multiples of what I sold her for last year."
Another Ostrager-bred, the Practical Joke filly out of Clean Eleven, was sold this year during the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Tim Wickes purchased the February-born filly for $45,000; she is offered Monday as Hip 556 with Stuart Morris, agent for Wickes, Rabanal, and Highclere.
"She is a nice horse and should bring three times what she sold for at the January Sale," Ostrager said. "Practical Joke is on a roll, and I put three stakes mares to him this year. I will be licking my wounds from selling this filly for $45,000 and look forward to doing better with his foals next year."
Taylor Made Sales Agency will sell the Upstart colt, Hip 599, which initially RNA'd for $10,000 last year at the Saratoga Fall Sale for Ostrager. The January-born colt is out of the stakes-placed Evangeline's Hope; all of her four foals of racing age have made starts, including three winners.
Ostrager noted this colt has an outstanding physical.
The last of his crop to head through the ring will be the Fog of War colt, Hip 640, consigned by Preferred Equine. The bay is out of the Falls City Handicap (G2)-placed High Quail and received an update to the catalog page when his Good Magic sister, Bruno Barber Girl, became a winner at 3. Somers Stables purchased the then-weanling for $7,000 during last year's Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
Being a breeder in the Empire State has become more viable than ever, thanks to the uptick in lucrative purses seen across the three NYRA tracks at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course, as well as a dependable NY-bred program at Finger Lakes.
"This is a great sale for New York Racing for various reasons," commented Ostrager. "It has become increasingly attractive to breed and race New York-breds. Racing will need more state-breds with great purse opportunities for owners."
