New Stallions Well Received at Fasig-Tipton's July Sale

Fasig-Tipton's The July Sale has long been a showcase for stallions whose first foals are yearlings, and the 2024 edition again provided the market with a look at the new sires. No new stallion produced better indicators at the July 9 sale in Lexington than Yaupon, Spendthrift Farm's grade 1-winning son of Uncle Mo. Yaupon had 12 yearlings go through the ring, and 11 of them sold for an aggregate of $1,792,000 and an average of $162,909, both tops among first-crop yearling sires who had at least two horses sold. Yaupon had eight six-figure horses, with three going over the $200,000 mark. Hip 82, which brought a $285,000 bid from de Meric Sales, was the most expensive. The bay colt is the first foal out of Twitterpated, by Stormy Atlantic, a full sister to grade 1 winner Stormy Lucy. He was bred in Kentucky by Richard Bremer and Cheryl Sprick. Yaupon's stud fee in 2024 was $25,000. Spendthrift's Ned Toffey was very pleased with the July results. "It was a very nice group, and I think there's plenty more nice ones to come," Toffey said. "He's been incredibly consistent. As much as any stallion I can think of in recent years, he absolutely stamps his horses. They have a very fast, athletic, commercial shape to them, and that really appeals here, and I think will right on through." Independence Hall Another new stallion that received high marks for the quality and consistency of his offerings was WinStar Farm's Independence Hall. The son of Constitution was a flashy 12-length winner of the Nashua Stakes (G3) at age 2 and a grade 2 winner as an older horse. Independence Hall had three yearlings in the July sale and all three sold for six figures, led by Hip 62, a colt out of the stakes-placed Harlan's Holiday mare Orecchiette, a half to grade 2 winner Lane Way (Into Mischief) and stakes-placed winner Ragtime Rose (Union Rags). Eddie Woods' Quarter Pole Enterprises went to $165,000 for the colt bred in Kentucky by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. "He is a lovely, big, scopey horse, a very good mover," Woods said. "He's a classy-looking bugger who just looked like a nice horse." The colt previously sold to Bourbon Barrel Stable for $32,000 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Shawhan Place consigned him at The July Sale. "He was a pinhook for our clients, and from day one he showed that he was pretty forward and was such a great mover. That's what attracted all of us to him," said Shawhan's director of sales, Courtney Schneider. "He was a great mover when they bought him in November, and that stuck with him throughout. I think that was his biggest selling point, but on top of that he was beautiful and correct." Independence Hall's three July yearlings averaged $148,333, second best among the first-crop sires with two or more sold and a strong multiple (14.8x) of the $10,000 stud fee these horses were bred on. "When we came out here and saw them, to see the quality and the balance and the athleticism out of all three, we were very pleased," said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. "Sometimes you get one good one or two good ones, but to get three solid ones like that, he is off to a great start." Maxfield Ranking third in average price among first-crop stallions with two or more sold was Darley's Maxfield, a son of Street Sense who won grade 1's as a 2-year-old and as an older horse. Maxfield had two offered at The July Sale and both sold for an average price of $147,500. Maxfield and consignor Legacy Bloodstock had the unenviable position of having the first hip through the ring 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 is the fourth foal out of the winning Midshipman mare Abundant Flurry, a half to grade 3 winner Cigar Street (Street Sense). He was a $13,000 pinhook out of the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale. "He looks like a 2-year-old. He's huge," said Resolute's John Stewart. "He's a great physical, looks fantastic and was highly rated in our system. Maxfield was an impressive horse physically, and to see the kind of horses he is putting out is kind of exciting." Darley's stallion manager Darren Fox noted the small sample size but said he was very pleased with the showing. "Hip 1 had a tough draw but was an absolute specimen and sold accordingly," Fox said. "Maxfield is stamping his stock considerably and passing on his great movement. Both attributes should serve his progeny well in the commercial market this year." Tacitus Taylor Made Stallions' Tacitus, who had six of 10 offerings sell for an average of $112,833, also fared well on average price-to-stud fee ratio (11.3x). Tacitus, a classic-placed multiple grade 2 winner by Tapit, stands for $10,000 at Taylor Made's Nicholasville, Ky., stud farm. Hip 63, a New York-bred Tacitus filly, was consigned by Perrone Sales, agent, and sold for $200,000 to S. Moulton. Bred by Apache Farm, the filly is a half to grade 1-placed multiple stakes winner Wonder Gal, dam of champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel. Taylor Made Stallions director of sales Travis White said he was excited by the market's reaction to Tacitus' first-crop of yearlings. "For a $10,000 stud fee stallion to come out with four six-figure yearlings and an average of more than 11 times his fee is something you hope to see, but you just never know how well they will be perceived by buyers," White said. "Tacitus tends to produce an athletic horse with size and scope, and throughout our inspections we have been very impressed with how they have come on as yearlings. "He's been supported well by our partners Don Alberto and Juddmonte, along with a lot of our customers, so it's great to see breeders having some early success." Beau Liam Airdrie Stud's Beau Liam had an impressive showing on percentage sold (10 of 11, 91% clearance rate) and average-price-to-stud fee ratio (11.7x). The grade 3-placed son of Liam's Map had his racing career cut short by injury, but he was brilliantly fast, and buyers at the July sale showed appreciation for the type of yearling he is producing. Beau Liam's top seller was Hip 182, which went to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners for $155,000. Offered by Airdrie, the colt was bred in Kentucky by former Kentucky Gov. and Airdrie founder Brereton C. Jones, who died last year. Hip 182 is a half to stakes winner Creative Cairo (Cairo Prince) and is the sixth foal out of Let's Be Creative (Creative Cause), a half to stakes winner Sound Wave (Friends Lake) and grade 2 winner Letgomyecho (Menifee), dam of champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu, grade 1 winner Echo Town, and grade 3 winner J Boys Echo, plus additional stakes-placed runners. Airdrie's Bret Jones was thrilled with how the market received the yearlings by Beau Liam, whose stud fee has stood at $6,000 since his introduction. "He had a lot of numbers, and I think that is because he is throwing that athletic, physical type that can come to an early sale like July," Jones said. "To have them sell as well, with that kind of clearance rate, and being bought by really, really good people, those are as good of signs as you can hope for. "Hip 182 is a beautiful colt. We wanted to bring him here and show off a Beau Liam that we really thought had a future. You can't have a better scenario than Eclipse Thoroughbreds buying him, one of the top operations, and we know they'll give him every opportunity a horse could ever get."