The 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale takes place on February 10th and 11th and features a catalog of 650 horses. Here are a few hips throughout the sale that I wanted to highlight.
Starting with yearlings, Hip #420 is a colt by Mastery and out of the unraced Awesome Again mare Blitz and Glamour. This colt’s dam is a 3/4 sister to champion Judy the Beauty (who was by Awesome Again’s son Ghostzapper, and while TrueNicks gives this colt’s breeding a D based on the cross of Candy Ride with Deputy Minister, which has produced only three stakes winners from 88 starters (3%). However, 81% of those foals were winners, so I’m not convinced this cross is a complete failure, only that there is probably nothing particularly noteworthy about these two sire lines coming together. Besides, the thing that I like most about the cross of Blitz and Glamour with Mastery is the presence of Blitz and Glamour’s damsire, Holy Bull.
Both Mastery and Holy Bull trace distantly to the same female line, with their most recent common ancestor being the 1889 Bend Or mare Ortegal, the tail-female ancestor of other such current stallions as Frosted, Midshipman, Neolithic, Solomini, Secret Circle, and Clearly Now. Ortegal is the 9th dam of Holy Bull and the 13th dam of Mastery.
Hip #358 is a yearling filly by Bal a Bali and out of the Wild Rush mare Wild Roan. I’m really hoping to see Bal a Bali do well as a stallion – he doesn’t have the “sexiest” resume for a commercial stallion, but I love the longevity of his career and I love that he’s inbred to the mare Gonfalon – the dam of Ogygian and the second dam of Honour and Glory.
Wild Roan, meanwhile, has already produced 7 winners from as many starters, including a multiple stakes placed runner by Louis Quatorze. She is also inbred to the great broodmare Shenanigans, perhaps most famous as the dam of Ruffian but also the dam of Wild Roan’s damsire On To Glory and of Icecapade (grandsire of Wild Rush).
What makes this even more interesting with regards to this filly is that Gonfalon is from family 16-a and Shenanigans is from family 8-c, and these two families share the same mitochondrial DNA haplotype. TrueNicks also rates this breeding an A+ based on the cross of Put It Back’s sire line with that of Wild Again. This cross has produced 94 starters, with 67 winners (71%) and 11 stakes winners (12%) in the mix.
Hip #98 is a yearling filly by Exaggerator and out of the Australian mare Lights Out, by Way of Light. This filly is a half sister to a stakes-placed winner and a multiple black type producer.
I had never heard of Way of Light, but he was a French G1 winner and champion 2yo colt by Woodman whose second dam is the great broodmare Coup de Folie (the dam of Machiavellian). Coup de Folie is by Halo, and is thus inbred 3×3 to the great Almahmoud via him and her tail-female line, as Almahmoud is her third dam. Way of Light’s dam is by Nijinsky, a son of Natalma’s son Northern Dancer. I like that Exaggerator adds Nijinsky’s close relative The Minstrel in as his third damsire – The Minstrel is by Northern Dancer and out of a half-sister to Nijinsky.
Hip #227 Reign Over, a yearling filly by Overanalyze and out of the Stormy Atlantic mare Stormy Salute, caught my eye because of her fourth dam, Oceana. As you can see, this is the family of G1 winners Northernette and Storm Bird, the grandsire of Stormy Atlantic. Her dam was a useful claiming-level mare in the Mid-Atlantic region, winning 6 of her 39 lifetime starts and banking $115,690.
Meanwhile, Overanalyze shows interesting inbreeding to the dam of another genetic giant, Mr. Prospector. In addition to having Mr. Prospector 4×4 in this pedigree, Overanalyze’s third dam is by Mr. Prospector’s half-brother Yukon, by Northern Dancer.
Hip #98 is a yearling filly by Exaggerator and out of the Australian mare Lights Out, by Way of Light. This filly is a half sister to a stakes-placed winner and a multiple black type producer.
I had never heard of Way of Light, but he was a French G1 winner and champion 2yo colt by Woodman whose second dam is the great broodmare Coup de Folie (the dam of Machiavellian). Coup de Folie is by Halo, and is thus inbred 3×3 to the great Almahmoud via him and her tail-female line, as Almahmoud is her third dam. Way of Light’s dam is by Nijinsky, a son of Natalma’s son Northern Dancer. I like that Exaggerator adds Nijinsky’s close relative The Minstrel in as his third damsire – The Minstrel is by Northern Dancer and out of a half-sister to Nijinsky.
Hip #139 is a colt by Midshipman out of the Hennessy mare Miss Del Gallo. This colt is a half-brother to a stakes producer, and his dam is a 3/4 sister to a stakes winner and black type producer.
This colt’s dam, Miss Del Gallo, is very interesting to me. She’s from family 8-c, and shares a distant female line with her sire, Hennessy, and grandsire, Storm Cat (Miss Del Gallo’s 10th dam, Cherokee Rose, is the 7th dam of Storm Cat; Cherokee Rose’s second dam, Belle Rose, is the 11th dam of Hennessy).
Midshipman has done fairly well with mares by stallions from the Storm Cat line, producing G2 winner Princess Warrior out of a mare by Consolidator, as well as three additional stakes winners by stallions from that line. Unbridled’s Song, meanwhile, produced 7 winners from 11 starters (63.6%) out of Hennessy mares, and 83 winners from 132 starters (62.8%) out of Storm Cat mares, with 8 stakes winners (6%).
Hip #158 is a bay filly by Can The Man and out of the Smoke Warning mare Ms Trish S. There is very little black type on her page, even going back to her fourth dam, and Can The Man has yet to make a splash as a stallion, but I love the linebreeding that shows up if you go back just one mare further in her pedigree.
This filly’s fifth dam is the One For All mare One Last Bird, who is the dam of stakes winners Malcoha and Melanyhasthepapers and stakes-placed winners Bucking Bird, as well as the dam of a Stop the Music mare called Crystal Lady. Crystal Lady produced a broodmare who you might be familiar with – the prolific Leslie’s Lady, dam of Beholder, Mendelssohn, and Into Mishief, the sire of Can The Man.
Hip #168 is a filly by American Freedom and out of the Flatter mare My Wish List. On paper, it’s obvious that this filly comes from a big female family – her fourth dam, Northern Meteor, produced seven winners, including two G1 winners and an additional stakes winner. G1 winners Pleasant Stage and Marsh Side also trace back to Northern Meteor. Northern Meteor herself is a half-sister to G3 winner Middle Stage and to a mare named Last Bird, who produced G2 winner Roanoke and the stakes-placed winner One For All, who I just discussed as the second dam of Leslie’s Lady.
The cross of two stallions from the A.P. Indy sireline doesn’t appear to be particularly useful – Pulpit and his sons have produced 46 starters from mares from the sire line of A.P. Indy, with only 26 winners and a single stakes winner (She’s Our Fastest, by Oratory out of a Festival of Light mare). Having said that, I still think this filly is interesting – both parents show a cross of A.P. Indy with Pleasant Colony, and both are results of mixing A.P. Indy with family 1-x of La Troienne, as both My Wish List’s sire Flatter and American Freedom’s damsire Pleasant Tap come from this family.
Hip #433 is a colt by Street Boss and out of the Distorted Humor mare Broadway Ticket. Right off the bat, I like that this horse is out of a half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and by a son of Street Cry. While Street Boss has only one winner in four starters out of mares by Distorted Humor, that winner is the very useful allowance horse Jefazo, who has won six of his 28 lifetime starts and earned $161,382. Additionally, TrueNicks likes this mating based on how Street Boss has done with mares from the Mr. Prospector sire line. From 97 starters on the cross, he has produced 9 stakes winners (9%). This mare has produced two winners from three foals to race, and with such a big family beneath him, I think this could be a very nice colt.
Hip #240 is a yearling filly by Goldencents and out of a Saarland mare named Saaraband. Into Mischief and his sire Harlan’s Holiday have both done very well with mares by Unbridled (Saarland’s sire). Into Mischief has sired four winners from four starters out of mares by Unbridled, including a stakes winner, for an AEI of 6.36. Harlan’s Holiday sired 15 winners from 21 starters out of Unbridled mares, including three stakes winners, for an AEI of 2.83.
Hip #285 is a bay colt by Fed Biz and out of the Tale of Ekati mare Starship Espresso. I’m intrigued by the cross of Fed Biz with a mare by a son of Tale of the Cat, as Fed Biz’s dam is a half-sister to that stallion. Both Tale of the Cat and Fed Biz’s sire, Giant’s Causeway, are by Storm Cat. Giant’s Causeway and his sire line haven’t done well with mares from this same Storm Cat line, with only 64% winners and 4% stakes winners from 216 starters. However, I think the parallels between Fed Biz and Tale of the Cat make this colt worth paying attention to.
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Not many of the racing age horses in this sale caught my attention, but I did want to mention Hip #554, a three-year-old colt named Tactician. By Tapit and out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Funny Proposition, this colt finished second on debut at Gulfstream Park in August of last year, but has encountered trouble in all three subsequent starts and has yet to hit the board again. If you toss his last race, where he tried the turf for the first time, I think he’s still shown a degree of ability and could still be a very nice horse.
Tapit has done well with mares by Medaglia d’Oro, with 6 winners and a stakes winner from 10 starters. He’s done even better with mares by Medaglia d’Oro’s sire El Prado, producing 7 winners and 3 stakes winners from 10 starters.
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Looking at broodmare prospects, I thought one of the most interesting horses in the sale was Hip #463, a multiple stakes-placed broodmare prospect named Chorus Line. By Parading and out of the Lion Hearted mare Brief Encounter, this mare’s entire pedigree is all about La Troienne. Starting from the bottom of her pedigree, Chorus Line’s 7th dam is La Troienne’s daughter Belle Histoire, a more uncommon daughter than the likes of Baby League or Big Hurry, whose female lines are still going strong to this day. One example of that can be found if you look at Sea Hero, the sire of Chorus Line’s second dam. Sea Hero’s fourth dam is Big Hurry, and his sire, Polish Navy, was also from this family – his fourth dam is La Troienne’s daughter Businesslike (who is usually seen in modern pedigrees via her grandson Buckpasser).
Moving on, Chorus Line’s dam is by the stallion Lion Hearted, whose fifth dam is Big Hurry. His second dam, Relaxing, was a champion by Buckpasser. Chrous Line is inbred 5×4 to Relaxing, because Parading’s second dam, multiple G1 winner My Flag, was by Easy Goer. My Flag was, of course, out of the Hall of Famer Personal Ensign, who was herself by a stallion from family 1-x in Private Account, whose fifth dam was La Troienne’s daughter Baby League and who was out of a Buckpasser mare.
Parading’s grandsire, A.P. Indy, also showed linebreeding to La Troienne (as well as inbreeding to Somethingroyal, the dam of Secretariat). A.P. Indy’s second dam was by Buckpasser, and his sire, Seattle Slew, was out of the Poker mare My Charmer. My Charmer was inbred 3×3 to the full siblings Striking and Busher, both out of Baby League.
In total, this mare has 7 ancestors within a 5-cross pedigree that trace to La Troienne directly through their female line, and La Troienne appears twelve times overall in this pedigree. Chorus Line’s ancestors Sea Hero, Relaxing (who appears twice, via her son Easy Goer and grandson Lion Hearted), and Private Account were all inbred to La Troienne on their tail-female line within six generations, and Seattle Slew’s dam My Charmer was also inbred 5×5 to La Troienne via her sire and damsire.
Hip #151 is an unraced 4-year-old broodmare prospect named Mizzen Out. By Mizzen Mast and out of the Danzig mare Starzig, she is believed to be pregnant to Lookin at Lucky. Her second dam is MG1 winner Starrer, by Dynaformer. I love the cross of Mizzen Mast with Dynaformer because both come from family 4-r. Both trace tail-female to the 1907 mare Artless, by Hamburg. She is the 6th dam of Mizzen Mast and the 8th dam of Dynaformer. The cross of Mizzen Mast with Dynaformer also creates linebreeding to the full siblings Graustark (the damsire of Mizzen Mast) and His Majesty (the damsire of Dynaformer). In this mare’s case, the appeal is even greater because Mizzen Out also comes from this female family, though a much more distantly related branch: to find Mizzen Out’s most recent common ancestor with Artless, one must go back to the 1769 Wildair mare Maria Slamerkin.
Lookin at Lucky’s only foal out of a Mizzen Mast mare is the winning Minnesota-bred gelding Minnesota Lucky. TrueNicks rates the cross of Smart Strike with Cozzene as a C, with all three black type runners bred on this cross being by Smart Strike’s son English Channel.
Hip #11 is a broodmare prospect named Golden Jasmine. By Goldencents and out of the Horse Chestnut mare Rock Jasmine, this mare won three of her fifteen lifetime starts and showed some versatility in doing so, breaking her maiden in her ninth career attempt in a six furlong maiden special weight on the dirt at Belterra Park, then after two decent attempts against winners she won a $15,000 NW2 claiming race at the same track over a mile and seventy yards. She returned in her following start to win at a mile on the turf at Belterra. Although she was proven to be way in over her head when facing a starter allowance field at Kentucky Downs in her next start, I still like that she showed some ability over multiple surfaces and distances.
I also like that this mare is a daughter of Goldencents, who is from the same female family as his grandsire, Harlan’s Holiday. Goldencents is out of a mare by Banker’s Gold, who comes from the same female family as Golden Jasmine. Additionally, Golden Jasmine’s second dam is by Ski Chief, a son of Chief’s Crown whose sixth dam is the blue hen Uvira. I think this adds to her appeal as a broodmare, as Uvira is also the tail-female ancestress of the likes of Lemon Drop Kid, A.P. Indy, Raja Baba, and many others.
Considering the success this mare’s family has had with Stormy Atlantic, I think his son Get Stormy would have to be considered as a potential mate for her. In addition to the success her family has had with Stormy Atlantic, there are other reasons I like this pairing. Get Stormy’s damsire, Kiris Clown, is from the same female family as Bankers Gold and Golden Jasmine. Get Stormy’s second dam is by Far North, who is out of a half-sister to Nijinsky (the damsire of Banker’s Gold). His fourth dam is by Amerigo, who is a full brother to the fourth dam of Golden Jasmine’s damsire, Horse Chestnut.
Hip #14 is a daughter of Get Stormy named Go Noni Go. She’s a graded stakes winner by Get Stormy and out of the Perfect Soul mare Lady Larkspur.
I like that this filly has shown she’s a stakes-level competitor. After two failed attempts on the dirt to start her career, she broke her maiden when trying the turf for the first time in a maiden special weight at Ellis Park, and was third in a stakes at Kentucky Downs as a two-year-old, showing some precocity. She won the Bourbenette Oaks on the polytrack at Turfway Park as a three-year-old, and has placed in multiple stakes since then.
I really like the cross of Get Stormy with Perfect Soul, because not only do both come from the same female family, but Stormy Atlantic has done very well with Sadler’s Wells and his sons and grandsons, producing G1 winner El Tormenta and graded stakes winners Stormy Antarctic and Ballagh Rocks from mares by Sadler’s Wells or his sons. Based on that, TrueNicks gives this cross an A++ rating.
In addition to Get Stormy and Perfect Soul, this filly’s fourth dam is actually by another stallion from that same female family 9-f named Swallow the Sun. She is also linebred to her tail-female line, as family 8-c is also the family of her tail-male ancestor Storm Cat.
Hip #50 is an unraced broodmare prospect named Huckleberry. By Liam’s Map and out of the Malibu Moon mare Enhanced, a full sister to G3 winner Prospective, I really love the pedigree on this filly. She’s by a stallion in Liam’s Map that I really think has a huge future, particularly as a sire of fillies and mares. He is inbred to the great racehorse and broodmare Ta Wee, as his second dam is by Ta Wee’s son Great Above (by Minnesota Mac), and his fourth dam is a daughter of Ta Wee by Secretariat. Liam’s Map is by Unbridled’s Song, a son of Unbridled, who shows 4×4 inbreeding to Ta Wee’s dam Aspidistra: his sire, Fappiano, is out of a mare by Dr. Fager, a son of Aspidistra by Minnesota Mac’s sire Rough’n Tumble, and his third dam, Magic (by Buckpasser), is another half-sibling to Dr. Fager and Ta Wee. It’s also noteworthy that Unbridled’s second dam is by In Reality, who was by Ta Wee’s sire Intentionally and out of a Rough’n Tumble mare.
Aside from the influence of Liam’s Map, there’s a lot to like about Huckleberry’s female family as well. Her second dam, Spirited Away, is inbred to her tail-female line, as her fourth dam, Square Generation, is the third dam of her sire, Awesome Again. This mare, unsurprisingly, was not only a stakes winner but an excellent broodmare, producing 7 winners from eight foals to race, including the aforementioned Prospective.
Regarding potential stallion matches for this mare, I think it’s interesting to note that both black type runners under her third dam carry both Storm Cat and Gone West – SW Fufty Too was by Speightstown (by Gone West and out of a Storm Cat mare), and multiple stakes placed winner Hot Danger was by Forest Danger (a grandson of Storm Cat) and out of a mare by Mr. Greeley (a son of Gone West). I think that Speightstown’s son Tamarkuz would be an interesting mate for this mare. An excellent miler who was consistent and competitive until the age of six, I like Tamarkuz’s potential as a stallion a lot. In this instance, I also like that he’s out of a mare by Lemon Drop Kid, who is from the immediate female family of A.P. Indy (Huckleberry’s maternal grandsire).
Hip #80, K’s Bar Bee, is an interesting 9-year-old mare from an obscure stallion in Pride of Burkaan. However, her female line is as good as it gets, with her fourth dam being the great racehorse and broodmare Alanesian, dam of Boldnesian and Princessnesian, and it’s obvious that the line has continued to be productive, as this mare is a half-sister to two graded stakes winners by fairly average stallions in Purim and Strong Contender (it should be noted that both of these stallions carry strong Dynaformer influence; Purim is a son of Dynaformer and Strong Contender is out of a Dynaformer mare).
This mare has had three foals so far: her 2016 filly by Yes It’s True is a winner in twelve starts, and her 2017 filly by Medal Count has yet to win in three starts against maiden special weight company at Fair Grounds and Delta Downs. She has a two-year-old by Temple City and is carrying a full sibling to that colt. I think this is the most promising pair of offspring for this mare so far. While Medal Count and Temple City are both by Dynaformer, Medal Count has produced only 7 winners from 38 starters (18.4%), and no stakes winners, with a poor AEI of .30. By comparison, Temple City has produced 240 winners from 415 starters (57.8%), 14 stakes winners (3.3%), and a respectable AEI of 1.08.
I don’t think K’s Bar Bee is the most likely stakes producer in the sale by a long shot, but I doubt she will get much respect from buyers and I think she might prove to be a useful broodmare despite her relatively obscure sire line. As a side note, I’d like to see this mare tried with Point of Entry, as a son of Dynaformer who is inbred 3×4 to His Majesty, as K’s Bar Bee is inbred 5×5 to his full brother Graustark.
Hip #424 is a nine-year-old mare named Bluegrass Genius, by Bluegrass Cat and out of the Smart Strike mare Coral Genius. This mare was a six-time winner and a half-sister to a graded stakes winner in Chile, and she’s currently in foal to Tonalist with two foals already on the ground by Outwork and Cupid.
I love that this mare’s third dam is a full sister to Storm Bird, the grandsire of Bluegrass Cat. I also love that she’s by a stallion from family 1-x, and that her immediate female family has shown success with stallions from this line, as Mineshaft is also from this female family and by A.P. Indy, the broodmare sire of Bluegrass Cat. I also love that Bluegrass Genius is carrying a foal by a son of Tapit and already has another foal by a son of Tapit on the ground, as her second dam is by Rubiano, who is a 3/4 brother to the dam of Tapit. Tonalist adds intrigue because he is from the female family of Bluegrass Cat’s damsire, A.P. Indy (they share their 4th dam, Missy Baba).