The Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Selected Sale of 2-Year-Olds In Training is known for its glitzy prices and successful graduates, but it’s not as well-known for producing blazing times during its under-tack show.
Since Fasig-Tipton’s marquee sale for juveniles in South Florida moved to Gulfstream Park in 2015, only six horses have breezed an eighth of a mile in less than 10 seconds, and three of those came during this year’s slate of offerings.
This might seem somewhat counter-intuitive, given the sale’s status so early on the calendar and its lofty status on the pecking order. One might assume a catalog comprising some of the most talented, forward 2-year-olds on the market would set the track ablaze. However, the Gulfstream sale is somewhat unique, in that it takes place on a racing surface in the midst of an active meet. This means the surface is not necessarily being tended to with screaming one-furlong times in mind.
However, this also means that when a horse turns in a fast time over the Gulfstream surface, they’ve really done something. A :10-flat breeze might not grab headlines at other sales, but it’s a statement effort in Hallandale Beach, and one that doesn’t require much imagination to see a horse repeating when they enter a race at the same track.
With that fact established, the question for both buyers and sellers centers around which horses are most likely to excel over the Gulfstream surface, and which sires are most likely to provide those horses.
By that metric, one sire stands alone.
Leading Sires Of :10-Flat Or Faster Breeze Show Times At Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale Since 2015
| Stallion | :10 Flat Or Faster |
|---|---|
| Uncle Mo | 9 |
| Bodemeister | 3 |
| Into Mischief | 3 |
| Malibu Moon | 3 |
| Nyquist | 3 |
| American Pharoah | 2 |
| Arrogate | 2 |
| Curlin | 2 |
| Medaglia d’Oro | 2 |
| Practical Joke | 2 |
| Quality Road | 2 |
| Speightstown | 2 |
| Will Take Charge | 2 |
Ashford Stud’s record-setting sire Uncle Mo towers over his contemporaries when it comes to siring fast horses during the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream under-tack show, with his nine horses that have worked one furlong in :10 flat or faster being three times his next-closest rivals. He has gotten a :10-flat or faster juvenile all but one renewal of the sale since 2015.
Uncle Mo’s penchant for getting a talented 2-year-old is well established. He was himself a champion juvenile, and his freshman crop of 2015 set a record for first-season earnings.
At the Gulfstream Sale, Uncle Mo has been responsible for two of the six horses to clock a breeze under :10 flat, including this year’s fastest horse, Hip 96, a colt that went in :9 3/5 seconds – the sale’s quickest one-furlong breeze since it moved to Gulfstream Park.
In addition to being a playground for Uncle Mo’s fastest juveniles, the Gulfstream sale has also been a showcase for some of his most expensive offspring.
The 2017 sale was topped by Beyond Grace, an Uncle Mo filly who sold to Larry Best’s OXO Equine for $1.5 million after breezing an eighth in :10 1/5 seconds. A year earlier, Inca Chief sold to the partnership of Coolmore and Stonestreet Stables for $1 million, after being one of three Uncle Mo juveniles to clock the co-fastest furlong in :10 flat.
Though he wasn’t the fastest or most expensive Uncle Mo juvenile to go through the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, it’s hard to argue that the sire’s most successful graduate from the auction isn’t champion and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist.
Hailing from Uncle Mo’s freshman crop, Nyquist breezed in :10 2/5 seconds during the auction’s debut at Gulfstream Park, and he sold to Dennis O’Neill for $400,000. He’d go on to win the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park a year after going through the ring at the same track.
Now at stud at Darley America, Nyquist has extended his sire’s dominance at the Gulfstream sale during his own young career.
With just three crops of racing age, Nyquist is already tied for the second-most :10-flat or faster juveniles at the Gulfstream sale, with three. Two of those have breezed in :9 4/5 seconds, making him and Uncle Mo the only sires with more than one to break that barrier.
One of those came during this year’s breeze show, when Hip 62, a colt out of the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Soul Crusader, tied for the day’s second-fastest time.
The other son of Nyquist to clock in under :10 flat was Bletchley Park, who covered a furlong in :9 4/5 seconds during last year’s sale, then brought the auction’s highest price, going to the Coolmore partnership for $2.6 million.