Songandaprayer Filly Tops Texas Yearling and Mixed Sale

Hip 83 (Photo courtesy Clear Creek Stud)

A Louisiana-bred filly by Songandaprayer topped the yearling session of Monday’s Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale at Lone Star Park. Held jointly by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and the track, the auction reported 44 of 82 yearlings sold for a total of $414,300. The median jumped 72.2 percent to $7,750 from last year’s mark of $4,500, and the average dropped from $11,556 to $9,415 this year. The buy-back rate this year was 46.3 percent.

Last year the yearling session grossed $681,800 with 59 of 90 sold.

Susan Naylor signed the ticket on the sale-topper with a price of $30,000 on hip 83. The March filly from the consignment of Clear Creek Stud, agent, is out of the stakes-placed Lion Heart mare Those Lion Eyes, whose one foal to race is a winner.

“Obviously we would have liked to see some bigger numbers today, but overall the middle and lower-end of the market seemed fine,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We just didn’t have the really exceptional individuals we had last year, so the average was down a bit but it’s encouraging that the median jumped almost 75 percent. It was also good to see the mixed session numbers jump compared to last year.”

In the mixed session this year, 18 of 24 head sold for $93,100 with an average of $5,172 and a median of $2,350. Those numbers compared favorably to last year’s mixed session that grossed $30,000 with 13 of 36 head sold for an average of $2,357 and median of $1,400.

The highest-priced horse in the mixed session was a weanling filly by Too Much Bling who sold for $19,000 to Naylor from the consignment of Benchmark Training Center, agent for the Estate of Ed Few. A good portion of the mixed session was composed of horses from Few, one of the state’s leading breeders and owners who passed away in April.

The Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale is next up on the sale calendar at Lone Star and will be held April 9.

For hip-by-hip results, click here for the yearling results or click here for the mixed results. Or for complete results in printable PDF form, click here.

Nearly 120 Head Consigned to Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale

The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park have announced a catalogue of 119 head for the upcoming Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale. The auction will be held August 27 at 12 noon at the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park.

Other sale events include a pre-sale party on the night of August 26 and a seminar that morning with representatives from The Jockey Club and equineline.com explaining the new digital certificates for foal registration. The seminar will include a demonstration of the new process and a question and answer session, so the TTA encourages all horsemen to attend in order to better understand the upcoming changes.

The catalogue includes 90 yearlings and 29 weanlings and broodmares. Many of the weanlings and broodmares are consigned by the Estate of Ed Few. The noted Texas breeder and owner passed away earlier this year.

“I think the quality of it has ticked up a notch this year,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We had two Texas-breds sell at this auction for $100,000 apiece last year, and that really proved that the market is still vibrant here for horses in Texas and around the region.”

Click here to view the online catalogue.

Texas Juvenile Sale Posts Increased Gross, Average Nearly Steady

Hip 94 (Photo by Denis Blake/Texas Thoroughbred Association)

Tuesday’s Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale on the grounds of Lone Star Park concluded with a sizable increase in gross sales and a slight decrease in average compared to last year’s smaller catalogue. A total of 106 horses went through the ring at the sale operated by the Texas Thoroughbred Association in partnership with Lone Star Park and 84 horses found new homes. Last year’s auction included 93 head with 70 selling.

Gross sales this year totaled $2,161,900, up 15.4% from last year’s mark of $1,873,900. This year’s average was $25,737, down 3.9% from last year’s $26,770, and the median slipped 18.2% from $16,000 to $13,100. Buybacks this year came in at 20.8% compared to 24.7% last year.

“I was really pleased that we attracted a larger catalogue this year after last year’s successful sale, and it was great to see the average almost the same with a nice increase in the gross,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We had four horses sell for more than $100,000 with a Texas-bred, Louisiana-bred and two Kentucky-breds, so that shows the variety of quality offerings we had.”

A Louisiana-bred filly named Charlotte G by promising young Louisiana stallion Bind topped the sale with a $140,000 bid from Gary Simms, agent for M&M Racing. The April 30 foal was one of two horses to work the fastest time of :10.2 during Sunday’s under tack show at Lone Star. She is the first foal out of the unraced Summer Bird mare Promise Me G, whose family includes Grade 3-winning Texas-bred Promise Me Silver.

Three other horses cracked six figures, including a Texas-bred colt by Texas stallion Grasshopper who sold for $120,000 from Wolf Creek Farm, agent. Another purchase by Gary Simms, agent for M&M Racing, the colt is a full brother to multiple stakes winner Supermason, an earner of $331,985. He clocked an eighth-mile in :10.4.

Also selling for $120,000 was a filly by Uncle Mo who is a half sister to Grade 1 winner Romance is Diane and Grade 2 winner Romanceishope. Consigned by Inside Move Inc., agent, and purchased by Swan Equine Co., the Kentucky-bred worked :11.2 in the under tack show.

The other six-figure horse was a Kentucky-bred colt by Twirling Candy who sold for $110,000 to Susan Moulton from Twin Oaks Training Center, agent. The March foal covered an eighth-mile in :10.3 to tie for the second-fastest time.

Full results are available by clicking here. Or for results as a printable PDF, click here.

Next up on the Texas sale calendar is the summer yearling sale on August 27.

Offspring of Munnings, Bind Post Fastest Breezes for Texas Juvenile Sale

Hip 94 (Photo by Denis Blake)

A colt by Munnings and a filly by Bind both clocked a co-fastest eighth-mile in :10.2 during Sunday’s under tack show for the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Lone Star Park. The horses worked against a moderate headwind on a chilly day at the Dallas-Fort Worth area track in advance of the auction set for Tuesday at 12 noon Central.

“There were some impressive works today even if the times don’t fully reflect that,” said Tim Boyce, who manages the sale for the Texas Thoroughbred Association in partnership with Lone Star Park. “We had a good crowd on hand despite having temperatures in the 40s, and with a larger catalogue than we had last year we expect to see some new buyers on Tuesday. We’ve also upgraded our video services so that will be an enhancement that both buyers and consignors will see.”

Hip 94, a Louisiana-bred daughter of Bind named Charlotte G, was the first to work :10.2. The April 30 foal from the consignment of Twin Oaks Training Center, agent, is the first foal out of an unraced Summer Bird mare from the family of Texas-bred graded stakes winner Promise Me Silver.

Hip 95 (Photo by Mary Cage)

Hip 95, an unnamed Texas-bred colt by Munnings, equaled that time over the Lone Star surface. Also consigned by Twin Oaks Training Center, agent, the unnamed March 18 foal is out of the stakes-placed Seneca Jones mare Proudtobeajones, who has produced four winners including $94,365 earner Proud Player.

Click here to view all the breeze show times.

Videos of the under tack show will be online this evening at www.ttasales.com, and live video of Tuesday’s sale will also be available on the website.

Pre-Sale Photos Posted, Outs Listed for Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale

TTA Sales and consignors have posted dozens of photos and videos in advance of the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale set for Tuesday, April 10 at 12 noon at Lone Star Park. Photos and videos can be viewed by clicking the individual hip numbers in the interactive sale catalogue. Videos of the under tack show, which will be held Sunday, April 8 at 11 a.m., will be posted online that evening. A live video feed of Tuesday’s sale will also be available.

As of April 8, below is the current list of outs for the sale:

2, 4, 7, 11, 12, 18, 29, 42, 51, 60, 70, 71, 72, 78, 79, 117, 123, 124, 125

Important Note About Faxing in Sale Paperwork

Effective immediately, please do not fax any sale paperwork to the Texas Thoroughbred Association office in Austin as TTA staff is en route to the sale at Lone Star Park. From now through sale day, paperwork can be faxed to the sale office at 972-237-5257. The sale office can be reached by phone on the day of the sale at 972-237-4886 or contact Sale Director Tim Boyce at 972-523-0332.

Catalogue for Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Continues to Grow

A total of 126 head have been consigned for the Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale on April 10 starting at 12 noon at the Texas Thoroughbred Sale Pavilion at Lone Star Park. The under tack show is set for April 8 at 11:00 a.m. at the track located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

This catalogue represents a 20-percent increase in the number of head compared to last year, and the sale has also eclipsed itself with a considerably-improved quality in pedigrees. Such national sires as Blame, Congrats, Curlin, Flat Out, Gemologist, Into Mischief, Jimmy Creed, Kantharos, Kitten’s Joy, Munnings, Orb, Paynter, Point of Entry, Shanghai Bobby, Stay Thirsty, Street Boss, Street Sense, Tiznow, Twirling Candy and Uncle Mo give evidence that the sale has surged upward after the solid performance of last year’s auction. Cairo’s Prince and Will Take Charge lead a list of first-year sires that includes Can the Man, Cross Traffic, Goldencents, Moro Tap, Shakin It Up and Sum of the Parts. Leading the regional sire contingent is Texas’ leading sire Too Much Bling, with solid company from Closing Argument, Euroears, Grasshopper, Half Ours, Intimidator, My Golden Song and Special Rate.

The sale again features a unique interactive online catalogue where consignors can post photos and videos as well as the pedigrees of their sale horses for buyer perusal prior to the gallop show. This year the gallop show is being filmed by the Ocala, Florida-based group Dillon Video and Photo and is expected to be online shortly after the gallop show on April 8.

“I am very excited about this year’s sale”, commented Sale Director Tim Boyce. “Along with the solid increase in numbers and quality, I look forward to working with the Dillon crew for the production of our under tack show. This is something the market has wanted, and I am glad we are able to give it.”

The cover of this year’s catalogue features the 2017 winners of both divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity at Lone Star Park, Carl Moore and Brad Grady’s Galactica and Susan Moulton’s Janae. Both horses went through the ring at last year’s 2-year-old sale and gave early returns to their owners. The two divisions of the race this summer are estimated to have purses of $100,000 apiece.

This will mark the third juvenile sale held by the Texas Thoroughbred Association in partnership with Lone Star Park. The 2016 auction featured 85 head, and the catalogue grew to 105 head last year.

“It’s very gratifying to see that we’ve been able to attract about 20 more head each year,” said TTA Executive Director Mary Ruyle. “Our goal was to re-establish a viable marketplace for consignors and buyers from around the Southwest, and the increased catalogue size each year shows that we are on the way to doing that.”

Catalogues will be mailed out the first week of March. The sale can now be viewed on the TTA Sales website by clicking here as well on the Equineline Sales Catalogue app.