Big four set to be a hit in the market place
With the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearlings Sale due to take place on July 13 and 14, we highlight some of the lots on offer by Darley's four young guns - Any Given Saturday, Discreet Cat, Hard Spun and Street Sense
In recent years, Fasig Tipton's July sale has served as an avenue to launch the careers of Street Cry's newest G1 sensation Victor's Cry, and dual G1 winner Gabby's Golden Gal, a daughter of Medaglia D'Oro. With hot anticipation Darley's fashionable foursome - Discreet Cat, Any Given Saturday, Street Sense and Hard Spun take center stage at the Freshman Sire Showcase with a fantastic mix of 25 for their summer sale debut.
John Philips, owner of Darby Dan Farm, described the July sale as a "unique market, where maturity is very important." He added, "You have to bring a horse there that the particular market can envision as moving on quickly."
Darby Dan Farm is offering two Darley freshman sired yearlings - a Hard Spun colt (hip 29) and an Any Given Sunday filly (hip 83) - both well suited to the sale at Newtown Paddocks.
Philips referred to the chestnut filly as "a lovely horse." She is a half to three winners from the Listed winner Marsheslew, a mare that herself has four black-typed siblings including Flag Play, Code Blum, and the hard-fought Eclipse Award champion Left Bank. Lost precipitately to colic just weeks after his record run in the G1 Whitney Stakes; Left Bank held the respect of the turf writers in 2002 to be named champion older male ahead of Street Cry and Volponi. The February-foaled filly is bred on a Distorted Humor/Seattle Slew nick which can also be found within Derby champion Funny Cide's pedigree.
Raised at Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, their Hard Spun entrant is a son of Drawing a Blank, a hard-knocking $200,000 earner sired by Sadler's Wells' Irish juvenile champion El Prado, also sire to leading second and third-crop sire Medaglia D'Oro. Drawing a Blank has a current five-time winner in Toothache. Her Cure the Blues dam turned out eight well-gained performers; six topping a hundred grand in earnings, including G3 winner Miss Matched ($339,799) and Stakes winner Becky in Pink ($209,896). This strong bay colt traces directly to the dam of 1956 Ky Derby winner Iron Liege.
Philips opined, "I think both of these individuals have enough size and development that they will be well received and we are excited to be taking them."
Of Hard Spun and Any Given Saturday he said, "Both sires seem to be producing stock that has some real potential."
Hard Spun attracted 225 Stakes winners or producers in his first two books. Hard Spun's freshman weanling numbers was second only to Street Sense by average at $142,077. His potential stars include a colt out of Stakes producer Teewinot, by Vice Regent (hip 129). The chestnut notably embodies a Danzig/Northern Dancer nick which has previously produced Classic winners Big Brown and Rock of Gibraltar. Selling on behalf of Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC, is a filly out of Stakes winner Rose Colored Lady (hip 106) that is a half-sister to five Stakes horses including multiple G2 winner Too Much Bling. Also catalogued is a colt ( hip 69) out of Kew Garden, by Seattle Slew from the family of Champion two-year-old Folklore.
Hard Spun was undefeated in four lifetime sprints. His most significant victory came in the G1 King's Bishop Stakes at seven furlongs. As a natural miler, he was blessed with a high cruising speed and showed amazing durability to finish runner-up in the G1 Kentucky Derby, G1 Breeders' Cup Classic and the G1 Haskell Invitational. In all, Hard Spun recorded seven wins in 11 starts and earned $2,673,470 to become the fifth leading earner for his prominent sire, Danzig.
Any Given Saturday's sale offspring also showed strong returns; upward of $260,000. Any Given Saturday was masterful in the nine-furlong G1 Haskell. He caught Hard Spun in mid-stretch and pulled away for a decisive 4 1/2-length victory, with Curlin in third. After the race, trainer Todd Pletcher fervently affirmed, "He beat them convincingly today. Obviously, he's as good as any three-year-old in this crop." The G2 Dwyer and G2 Brooklyn Handicap winner lit the tote in nine of 11 starts to total $1,083,533.
One fine Any Given Saturday yearling heading to the sale for Woodford Foals LLC is a dark bay or brown colt (hip 45), who is also gifted with entrenched ascendency through his female line. Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer and His Majesty are stamped 1-2-3 on his page. The colt's half-sister is G3 winner Spring Meadow; a near half-million dollar hitter who sold at two for $200,000. She thrice placed at top level at three while giving game chase to Texas' Horse of the Year Got Koko, You, and Carson Hollow.
Unbeaten in six races at two and three, Discreet Cat showed impeccable brilliance when he crushed an international assembly in the G2 UAE Derby, and on domestic shores equaled Easy Goer's one-mile Belmont record of 1:32.40 in the G1 Cigar after reeling off shotgun fractions of :44 4/5 at the half, and 1:07 3/5 past six panels. He entered stud as the leading earner for his sire Forestry with a tally of $1,694,180.
An excellent match for Discreet Cat his first season was Capote's Halo, the dam of Johnny Eves - a game gelding that outlasted a dual to capture the G1 Malibu S at seven furlongs. Capote's Halo's resulting March filly (hip 14) is consigned by Legacy Bloodstock. We expect she will be precocious, regardless of surface, either dirt or the synthetics.
As a weanling, daughter of Discreet Cat/Famous Story (hip 36) obtained by Michael & Julia O'Quinn at four times the introductory fee is being reeled back to the sales arena for the showcase. Famous Story, by Rahy, is sister to graded winner Tubrok and graded-placed Sunshine for Life. The family includes Pearl Bracelet, who shined in the G1 French 1,000 Guineas, and G2 Pennsylvania Derby victor Anak Nakal.
We are very excited to see the Street Sense yearlings this summer. The breakaway winner of the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile raised the bar at three to not only win the G1 Kentucky Derby, but also the G1 Travers Stakes. At auction, nine of twelve lots sold in the northern hemisphere have demanded final nods between $110,000 and $340,000.
Two March-foaled Street Sense colts go under the hammer at Fasig-Tipton. Taylor Made Sales Agency is turning out hip 52, from the Nippon-raced Hishikatsu Ballado, a daughter of Halo and six-time Grade One heroine, Twice the Vice. Hunter Valley Farm is bringing hip 47 from a decent Argentinean family. The colt's dam, Good Student, is sired by Louis Quatorze, a Sovereign Dancer horse who is best remembered for delivering trainer Nick Zito his only Preakness triumph while shutting the door on D. Wayne Lukas' from winning his seventh Triple Crown race in a row. Louis Quatorze defeated Skip Away by 3 ½ lengths in a time that equaled Tank's Prospect, ironically trained by Lukas. Good Student finished second by a neck to Champion Mare in Argentina Miss Loren in the G1 Santa Maria H. at Santa Anita.
For more information on any of these stallions, please contact the nominations team.
07 July 2010