The May Digital Selected Sale closed May 17 with 13 offerings sold for $1,150,000. Among those sold were racing prospects, broodmare prospects, and in-foal mares. Bidding initially opened on May 12.
Impressive 2-year-old winner Awesome Strong (Hip 24) topped the sale when sold for $500,000 to Bill Childs from the consignment of Elena Racing, agent. The Florida-bred colt won by an eye-catching six lengths on debut at Gulfstream Park May 6 in an open Maiden Special Weight. Awesome Strong is from the first crop of multiple graded stakes-winning and grade 1-placed Florida sire Awesome Slew out of the Pleasant Tap mare Pleasant Ring. That mare is a full sister to stakes winner and graded-stakes producer Pleasant Chimes.
Pleasant Ring has produced six winners from 10 starters to date, including multiple-stakes winner Bad Debt (by Grand Reward), a multiple graded stakes-placed earner of $838,330. Already proven in open company, Awesome Strong remains eligible for a trio of 2022 Florida Stallion Series races with combined purses of $700,000. He was offered as a racing/stallion prospect from his home base in Ocala, Fla.
Three-year-old Sareeha (Hip 10) was the leading racing/broodmare prospect offered, selling for $150,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. The filly was consigned by Carriganog Racing (Joseph O'Brien). Placed in her second career start April 23 at Limerick, Ireland, Sareeha is a daughter of European champion Shamardal out of the winning Dansili mare Saraha. The bay filly hails from the immediate family of Eclipse champion Lahudood and multinational group 1 winner Aghareed. Sareeha sold from Kilkenny, Ireland.
"We believe a good horse can come from anywhere, at any time," Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners said. "Sareeha is a filly who was on our radar as a potential private purchase in Ireland after her race last month, so when she was entered in the digital sale, it made sense for us to monitor her status. The world is getting smaller by the day, especially in our industry, so we cannot rule out any avenue by which horses can be acquired. We were able to connect with Joseph O'Brien, who trains for Eclipse in Ireland, which made it a bit more comfortable. That said, the process was seamless and the technology was user friendly. We applaud Fasig's willingness to be innovative, and we certainly hope Sareeha is a success story for the program sooner rather than later."
Ontario-bred Truth Hurts (Hip 13) was the top-selling broodmare prospect, acquired by Machmer Hall for $80,000 from the consignment of J Stables and Chad Summers. A multiple stakes-winning, graded stakes-placed daughter of Tonalist , Truth Hurts won four times and earned $302,595. She was offered from her home base at Belmont Park.
Stakes winner Awesome Debate (Hip 16) topped the in-foal mares on offer when sold for $80,000 to Nuevos Proyectos from the consignment of River Oak Farm. A daughter of Honorable Dillon, Awesome Debate won eight of 17 career starts, including a 4 1/4-length romp in last year's Union Avenue H. at Saratoga, and earned $323,527. She is carrying her first foal by Eclipse Champion Improbable and sold off the farm in Nicholasville, Ky.
At the close of active bidding, 13 horses had sold for $1,150,000, good for an average of $88,500. The median was $60,000. There were 120 bidders registered for the sale. Each offering attracted at least five unique bidders. Prospective buyers placed 609 cumulative bids, averaging better than 25 bids per horse.
Buyers may still make offers on horses that failed to meet their reserve by visiting the sale page, then clicking "Make Offer" next to the horse they are interested in purchasing.
Full results are available online.
For more information on buying and selling at future Fasig-Tipton digital auctions, please contact Leif Aaron at laaron@fasigtipton.com or call 859-255-1555.
