'The surface was excellent today and all the horses showed up'

The Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale under tack show got underway on Monday with 72 juveniles breezing throughout the morning and early afternoon under a beautiful sun and blue sky.

An Uncle Mo colt, consigned as hip 96 by Wavertree Stables, laid down a record blazing eighth-mile in :9 3/5 during the second set. The fastest quarter-mile was set in :20 2/5 by a Bolt d'Oro filly consigned by Tom McCrocklin as hip 48.

"We had a great day, we had 14 horses today in the under tack show, and I think, for the most part, they all showed up with what we were hoping. There are always a couple you think could have gone a tick better, but we are happy with most of them," consignor Ciaran Dunne said in the afternoon after the breeze show.

"These horses are more two-turn horses with two turn pedigree's they are not really :9 4/5 type horses. The Uncle Mo was exceptional and it's how he has displayed himself all winter long. Were we expecting :9 3/5? Of course not, but we thought he would be right around as quick as anything would be here."

The fast son of Uncle Mo out of the winning Elusive Quality mare Brusquer comes from the immediate family of perennial leading sire Tapit by way of his second dam, Tap Your Heels. Her first foal, Tapit, a son of Pulpit, is the Grade 1 winner turned three-time US leading sire of 2014-2016. The Gainesway sire has become the number one active leading sire by Grade 1 and Graded winners and all-time leading sire by progeny earnings.

This will be the second time through the sales ring for the Barouche Stud-bred colt from Kentucky after failing to meet his reserve at the Keeneland September Sale at $385,000 for consignor Paramount Sales.

He is the second foal out of Brusquer, her first foal by Orb, a three-year-old filly named Alia Max is a winner at two who is putting in recent works to make a 2022 start. The mare has a yearling filly by Spendthrift's Audible, also bred by Barouche Stud.

Two juveniles recorded the second-fastest quarter-mile in :9 4/5, a colt consigned by Classic Bloodstock as hip 62 by Nyquist and hip 100, a colt by City Of Light consigned by Top Line Sales. Both colts went out during the first set of the morning.

Bred in California by Bud Petrosian, the Nyquist colt was initially sold through the Fasig-Tipton Calder Sale to Classic Bloodstock for Sasulito and Breckenridge for $275,000. He is out of the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Soul Crusader, a winner and producer of the stakes-placed There Goes Harvard.

Consignor Niall Brennan who brought six select horses for the South Florida sale commented: "We had a few that stood out today, the Gun Runner filly [hip 13] is a lovely filly, a real sweetheart and breezed beautifully today [in :10.1]. The Into Mischief [hip 72, clocked at :10.2] is a very powerful colt, the mother is a half-sister to Kobe's Back, who we sold here in 2013, and this colt is very like his brother. He's a big colt who will improve a ton from here moving forward.

"The Runhappy colt [hip 64] had one of the prettiest breezes of the day [going in :10.1]. He is so athletic and a good-looking colt and will improve a lot. I was pleased with all my horses, and I thought they all tried hard today."

Top Line Sales consigns hip 100 by Lane's End Farm's freshman sire City Of Light after buying him from their consignment at the Keeneland September Sale for $275,000. Out of the Dixie Union mare, Cool Flame, who heralds from the family of multiple Graded winner Raging Fever, an earner of $1.45 million for owner-breeder Edward Evans.

Freshman sire Bolt d'Oro was well represented by three juveniles who breezed during the under tack show with a filly out of Rich Love, by Not For Love establishing the fastest quarter-mile in :20.2.

The Kentucky-bred filly changed hands at the Keeneland September Sale for $85,000, selling to McCrocklin, for Solana Beach Sales under the Eaton Sales banner. She comes from the female family of Richetta, a multiple stakes winner by Polish Numbers and dam of two stakes winners in Concealed Identity and Peach Of A Gal along with the stakes-placed Cu Rahy.

McCrocklin also consigned the second fast time at a quarter-mile with hip 21, a colt by Uncle Mo, which he picked up from the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale for $250,000 from the Paramount Sales draft for Champion Equine. Bred by Parks Investment Group in Kentucky, he is out of the Tapit mare Lady Tapit, third in the 2017 Adoration Stakes at Santa Anita Park. She is a half-sister to American Oaks Invitational Stakes winner Gozzip Girl.

The Gulfstream Park dirt track seemed favourable throughout the day, with consignors pleased with the times turned in by their juveniles.

"It was solid all day, which is an advantage to the small number," Dunne commented. "We were able to get in and out before the track had a chance to dry out or for the wind to do something silly. I think people will tell you the better horses performed throughout the day; with the numbers, we always have a lot in every set."

SGV Thoroughbreds' Steven Venosa shared a similar feeling: "My horses have trained well all week and performed well today. This is a beautiful place with a great racetrack, the surface was excellent today, and all the horses showed up. We have a Good Magic colt [hip 14] who worked excellently today and a Tapwrit colt [hip 69], coming down here with horses that were specifically targeted for this sale, and they all did great today."

The sale begins on Wednesday at 2pm local time, with hips 1 to 101 scheduled to go under the hammer in the Gulfstream paddock. As of Monday evening, there are 32 horses withdrawn from the sale.

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