The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale, held Oct. 19-22, is one of the last stops of the North American yearling auction season. The premier four-day auction has evolved into a mandatory destination for buyers across the world. Year after year, the sale continues to produce graded stakes winners, and even Breeders' Cup hopefuls, fueling high energy and anticipation across the sale grounds.
One of those Breeders' Cup contenders is Dotsy, who is being aimed at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Oct. 30 at Keeneland. The impressive winner of the Frizette Stakes (G1) is a graduate of last year's October sale, where she was purchased for $37,000 by trainer John Grabowski, agent. The daughter of Tacitus was consigned by Four Star Sales, agent.
"This was a great pinhook for Charlie White and Dean Sexton, who picked the filly up for $10,000 (as a weanling) and brought her over here for a pretty good score of $37,000," said Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales. "And then to go on and turn into Dotsy is something else. It was an incredible run by her (in the Frizette)."
Cauthen described Dotsy as a not fully finished product as a yearling, and if she had been, she would've brought more money. He gave credit to White and Sexton for spotting the future star.
"You just felt like there was more to come with her," Cauthen said.
Cauthen also underscored the importance of the Fasig-Tipton October sale, noting the high caliber of racehorses it consistently yields.
"This sale is always something for everyone," he said. "You always have a horse that can get flown over. If they are at a big sale like the (Keeneland) September sale or other sales, and they just happen to get missed, that's just the nature of horse sales. You bring them over here, and they're the stars of the show, and they really shine.
"There's a lot of Dotsys in this sale, where if you're not necessarily going for the name sire, but you understand what a really nice physical looks like or what a future physical is going to look like, there's a horse for you. There are great diamonds if you will look hard enough."
Four Star brings a group of 50 yearlings to the sale.
Mark Taylor, president and CEO of Taylor Made, said he is also optimistic coming into this year's sale.
"Normally, I come into the sale, and it's always daunting, because you've got a pretty large number of horses selling in four consecutive days," he said. "I'm always a little apprehensive, but I feel pretty good this year. I think that we've got better quality on the top end than we've had in the last few years, and I think the market has shown a strong appetite for horses the whole way through. I think there's still a lot of people here who haven't gotten all their orders filled, and I expect a pretty good sale."
Taylor Made will offer a large draft of 132 horses, including three colts from its marquee sire Not This Time . The No. 1-ranked general sire in North America, with more than $28.6 million in progeny earnings through Oct. 18, will stand the 2027 season for an advertised fee of $300,000.
Among the offerings is Hip 805, a bay colt out of the unraced Curlin mare Dance Awhile who hails from the immediate family of top sire Gun Runner . Hip 1277, another bay colt by Not This Time, is the second foal of the stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed mare Li'l Tootsie, while Hip 1455 is the first foal of the Uncle Mo mare, Mozay, who is a half sister to the grade 1-placed Moon Over Miami (Malibu Moon). Hip 1455, a dark bay or brown colt by Not This Time, was bred by Summer Wind Equine and hails from the immediate family of grade 1 winner Sandman, who will stand the 2027 season at Rockridge Stud near Hudson, N.Y.
"If you look at two of the top three sires that dominated (Keeneland) September, they were Not This Time and Gun Runner," Taylor said.
"We've got very good colts by those two stallions in here, so everybody's been fighting over them the whole way through, and I expect that to continue."
Taylor Made will offer two colts by Three Chimneys' flagship sire Gun Runner—Hip 492 and Hip 575.
Hip 492 is out of the stakes-placed Gemologist mare Wrong Color, who is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner and millionaire Tom's Ready. Hip 575 is out of the graded stakes-producing Street Cry (IRE) mare, Elle Sueno. Hip 575 was a $1 million RNA at Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale.
"We have some really nice horses by all different kinds of sires," Taylor said. "There is a Mage that is maybe one of the best Mages I've seen all year. Whether it's new sires, proven sires, the very, very elite sires, you've got everything represented and overall, I think it's going to be good."
Paddy Campion of Paramount Sales echoed Taylor's statements, saying this catalog offers something for everyone.
"From a buyer perspective, I'd say it's kind of fun because you don't know what you're going to get," he said. "There are no books like there are at Keeneland. I think there are opportunities to find physicals and pedigrees, and you may or may not get a discount. It just depends on whether people are willing to hold on to them to go to the next stage, like a 2-year-old sale. Most likely, people are thinking this is the last stop, and they're looking to sell."
Campion said he expected the strength the Thoroughbred sales industry has seen all year to carry its momentum through the October sale.
"The traffic really picked up today; it's been quite busy. We're happy to see that," he said. "I'm hopeful the momentum of this year will continue."
Last year's sales topper was a colt by Curlin who sold for $900,000 to Legion Bloodstock, agent, from the Mill Ridge consignment. The two highest-priced fillies last year came when a daughter of Justify and a filly by Nyquist each brought $500,000.
Last year's record-breaking sales produced an all-time high gross of $72,071,000, including private sales, from 1,103 horses to change hands. The average price of $65,341 and median of $30,000 were also October sale records.
The leading buyer of the sale was trainer Kenny McPeek, who purchased 19 horses for gross receipts of $2,799,000. Taylor Made led the consignors, selling 127 from their draft for a total of $7,923,000.
Hips 1-404 will head to the ring Monday morning, starting at 10:00 a.m. As of Sunday evening, Fasig-Tipton had reported 206 total outs.
