How'd You Do 2017

Auctions Annual Select Auction
1

This was my first time ever going into the Select Auction with high hopes and a large “allowance” I’d given myself to spend. I’m seriously surprised to be done so early and to have gotten almost all of my top picks. I didn’t even spend half of my allowance, either!

First and foremost, I’m excited to add a second stallion to the Ivy Creek roster. [color=blue]ICh. V is for Victory will stand beside Witness, since our current plan is to keep our other stud qualified boys (Ducati & Exit Poll) in training for as long as possible. He is currently bronze ranked, but his oldest crop is only 2. He didn’t find his feet til 3, and only got better from there. His oldest 2yos seem to be doing better, supporting this theory, so I had to take a gamble (and console myself from retiring D&E too early, ha).

I got one broodmare - [color=red]Ch. Runaway Angel - a young broodmare IFT Sun King.  She was selected based on her MSWs and FIVE speed records, and I figured she would be overlooked as a create.

Then I brought home three yearlings:

[color=red]Marigold - a Point Given filly out of a Ch. mare
[color=red]Stormchaser - a Foolhardy filly out of a Ch. mare (renamed, formerly Clue Bars)
[color=blue]Franco Tijuana - an I’m A Classic colt out of a Ch. silver mare

I wanted a Foolhardy girl (I only had colts), and I’m determined to try to get an I’m A Classic son to studhood someday. Overall, I’m incredibly pleased with my acquisitions (and prices!)

2

I started with a list of 12 horses, ranging from broodmares to weanlings.

Almost as soon as the bidding started, we realized we weren’t going to get one of our top 5 choices, Manifesto (WCh. What’s Debatable (S) x On The Run (G)) when the bidding on him opened at a massive $200k and that didn’t even meet his Reserve. Early this morning, we gave up on our #1 choice, Fool’s Kiss (FFCh. Foolhardy § x Ch. Kiss of Indy) when the bidding went over $300k. We have also given up on a couple of others as their prices have gone above what we had “budgeted” for them.

So far, we have successfully bought four horses and are currently high bidder on two others (although with one of them, our maximum bid is less than his Reserve so I guess that we aren’t strictly classified as “winning” by the code).

We won 2 unraced 2yo’s:-
[color=red]Classic Fires, by NCh. I’m A Classic (S) out of Fire It Up (B). We have one racehorse by I’m A Classic (who has done very well for us), and wanted to get another. 6 of Classic Fires siblings have raced so far and all have won, so we have high hopes for her. $50,500
[color=blue]Debate With Me, by WCh. What’s Debatable (S) out of NCh. Nudge Me (B). We owned his sire for a couple of years until his retirement early last year and wanted to get another of his progeny. $50,000

We also won one broodmare, [color=red]Townsend Silk, by Ch. Mr. Townsend (B) out of Silk Cat (B). We have one of her siblings already. $25,000

Our last win so far was an Unnamed weanling, by GCh. Major’s Flight (S) out of Ch. Serena. She has been named [color=red]Hidden Cove. $25,000

We are still winning in one more auction, but will have to wait at least 9 1/2 hours to find out whether we win.

3

I ended up with one, Kick It To Da Curb, by Street Wise (S) out of Lady in Residence (G), so she is half to Von L and She’s No Bull, for 125k. I’m going to keep racing her and see if I can add some additional blacktype to her repertoire before she becomes a broodie.  She hasn’t raced in two years, so I will try through the end of the year then send her to Drummie if she isn’t motivated to run.

4

The horses I initially went for ended up going too high. I probably would have kept bidding on one girl but felt I could make off better elsewhere. Quite proud with my two steals!

[color=blue]Wulfgar we picked up for 25k. A 3yo son of Simply Heroic, he hasn’t raced since May but he ran 2nd in a G3. Hopefully he hasn’t lost a step!

[color=blue]Prongs, originally Spotted Bull, is a yearling by Holy Bull out of MSP Ch. Sonata. I really wanted a Holy Bull foal and he caught our eye the most. His dam hit the board 20 of 23 times, with 4 of 5 stakes starts hitting the board. This is her oldest foal, so no way to tell how he’ll do, but Holy Bull has had a few stakes winners in his 2yo crop and with the dam having done so well, I have high hopes! Picked up for 25k.

5

So far i’ve got 3, waiting for 2 more…

[color=red]Ch. Notanotherhighlane - GOLD rated broodmare by NCh. Highland Wizard (S) out of Heart of Gold (S). So far, all of her running foals are at least Stakes Placed with the highlight being 2yo Ch. Gonnabeamightyking who is already a MSW winning 3 stakes and earning over $650,000. She is also in foal to Demand The Best
Purchase Price: $125,000

[color=red]GCh. Daddys Pride - SILVER rated broodmare by ICh. Highland Pride (S) out of Dream Time (S). Honestly surprised to get her for what I did considering she’s a MSW millionaire who has 3 foals running, 1 is SP and 1 is a SW. She is in foal to silver rated Dark Continent
Purchase Price: $100,000

[color=red]Diamond Dust - Yearling filly by ICh. Ring of Fire (S) and out of Ch. Saturnalia (G), this filly has got NICE lines! She is 1/2 to MSW Ch. Clarity of Night. And everyone loves Ring of Fire…
Purchase Price: $70,500

Waiting on bids for Townsend Flame and Kutt and Dry

6

Kim, thanks for purchasing 3 Crickets. We hope they do well for you. :wink:

7

No more auctions! Can’t believe how much I’ve spent. But, of course the ponies are worth it. :smiley:
My first choice was stud-qualified Edinburgh, but he went slightly too expensive. Here is what I got instead of him:

[color=red]NCh. Queen - I saw her just days before the auction has started, and decided to buy her instead of the stallion. Queen needs no introduction - she has great lineage, was a great racehorse herself, and produces great offspring. She’s in foal to the retired Chef-de-Race Point Given, one of my favourite studs. So far, she’s the 3rd most expensive horse in the auction! ::) Queen is my second Gold ranked broodmare, but the other one I bought when she had no ranking. For $1,000. It’s [color=red]Easy Union. :slight_smile:

[color=red]Ch. Shy Shy - I spotted her when I was still unsure if I will get the Queen, she’s in foal to Ring of Fire, but her due date is very late so maybe I will not breed her next year. She’s created, but ran at stakes level and I like her name. :stuck_out_tongue:

Then I bought two yearlings, also found just before the auction. They are related - the filly has Romeo in her damline, while the colt has him in his sireline.

[color=red]Serena y Dulce - bay filly with THE star and a sock, by NCh. Conflagration, out of Ch. Heart Breaker. Her name means something like “tranquil and sweet”, in Spanish of course.

[color=blue]Raudo y Veloz - liver chestnut colt by NCh. Player, out of Ch. Townsend Glory. Funny that his “hypothetical mating” page doesn’t show that he might be a liver chestnut, but the filly’s page does. Raudo y veloz means “swift and quick”, it’s a Spanish expression like “quick as a bunny” or something.

So now I’m broke but happy! :wink: And I created an auction which starts on October 1st, please have a look. :smiley: By the way, are we going to include new real-life stallions for next year? Because I would have four to suggest!

8

I was going to go for her as well, but was in Belgium with very limited internet over the weekend so she was gone by the time I got home. I hope she does well for you!

I knew I wanted him when Slew O’Scots retired. Plus, I’ve always loved his name (and location - been there twice).

Good luck with her! Sorry for driving up her price but she was my #3 pick so I had to try and get her. :slight_smile: I own so much Highland Rogue bloodlines, though, so figured I didn’t need more.

Yes, I’ve been meaning to open that up for suggestions now that breeding season is over. Need to see what (if any) current stallions have retired/will retire in 2014.

9

I realized that I have a lot of What’s It Worth (11 horses, including [color=red]GCh. Private Party) and only two Highland Rogues - a broodmare and a yearling colt. Now Queen is the 3rd.

10

Ha! I have 60 Rogue (not counting retired/deceased), and 91 Worth. Some of those are probably duplicates as I have a fair amount of Rogue/Worth mixtures.

11

Yeah… Sorry, Shanthi, for driving up the price on Nightshade…but I had to at least try. :wink:

12

No worries. Good luck with Nightcross. :slight_smile:

13

Very pleased with the new additions to the stable although like Hilda I’ll be looking to shift a few of the exisiting horses before the end of the year. I managed to get my three top choices plus two very nice ‘‘afterthoughts’’  :smiley:

First choice was MSW, MSP [color=red]GCh Mississippi, a beautifully bred daughter of Irish River (G) and NCh American Black (G). She is a half-sister to 4 other MSWs and holds three speed records. She’s in foal to Starzen for 2018. I bought her eldest foal at this sale last year, a colt by TakeMeToHollywood, so it’ll be interesting to see how she fares as a broodmare. Much cheaper than I expected at $302,500.

Second choice was [color=blue]Manifesto, a handsome yearling colt by What’s Debatable (S) out of On Thr Run (G) (half-sister to I’m A Classic). His 3/4 brother (by Highland Wizard) was one win away from studification so I’m hoping he might show the same ability. His reserve was however much higher than I’d anticipated at $450,000 - I think he’s officially our most expensive purchase.

Also secured my third choice [color=red]Danzintothetop,a lightly raced 3yo filly by Strider (G) out of MSP Just Danzig (S). She’s been switched to jumps by FF but won a stakes race last time out. We have two of her younger half-siblings as well as her dam and various ‘‘cousins’’ already and it’s a family that’s done well so far. She’s having a short break at the farm. Cost $125,000.

The remaining two are:

[color=red]NCh Nudge Me, a created mare who earned over a million on the track. She’s not produced anything too spectacular yet but she didn’t start racing until she was 4 years old so they might be late developers. In foal to Mr Townsend. She cost $100,000.

[color=red]Dawnsearlylight, another created mare. She’s the Gold ranked dam of WCh Brigade and comes in foal to WCh Drum Major. I think she was a steal at $75,000.

14

Congrats! She was also on my list.

I’ll probably look to tweak the script’s calculations with setting reserves - it also set a reserve for 400k on Kutt and Dry which was a bit high (based on 1 MSW almost-millionaire sib and 1 lightly raced non-earning sib).

15

Haha no problem! Apparently I like your breeding style :slight_smile:

16

Woo, we got our 5. Not the ones we originally set out to buy, but we’re happy with our acquisitions nonetheless.

[color=blue]GCh. Edinburgh (Slew O’Scots x Cigarette - Cigar) was top of our list after his sire retired this spring. Unfortunately he’s been languishing with FF as his owner for quite some time, but as a 3-5yo he did quite well on the track, winning 8 stakes races from 6 to 9 1/2 furlongs. We’re excited to retire him to the breeding shed in January. $900,500

[color=red]NCh. Nightshade (Worth My While x Fleur de Lis - Created) was next up. We own her yearling daughter by Highland Magic, and have been watching 3yo Nighttime Strider’s impressive career with interest. When we realised we only have a pair of colts by Worth My While, we decided this mare would be an excellent addition to the broodmare band. She’s in foal to Harvard Bound for 2018. $755,500

[color=red]Ch. Debatable Move (What’s Debatable x Move Boldly - Easy Street) was our third choice. We do own a few mares by this sire, but they’re all young. This mare is already proven with a MSW and SW from her first two foals to race. Her 2yo is lightly raced but placed thus far. She’s in foal to Deep Impact for 2018, which should be a very interesting cross. $100,500

[color=red]Always In Trouble (Citation x Always Be Mine - Created) was on our list because we don’t own anything by this sire. She was stakes placed on the track herself, and her 2yo filly (by Giant’s Causeway) is a stakes winner already. We’re hoping that bodes well for her future foals, including the 2018 one by The Fighting Fifty. $60,500

[color=red]Faux Finish (Nightfight x Perchance to Dream - Rainbow Quest) was bought for her damline. We own her dam and her big sister (4yo Claire de Lune, by Highland Laird), and were happy to pick up another filly from this family. $350,000

Good luck to the new owners of Stillwater ponies Chasingromance, Showmethemagic, and Brighid (and Stillwater-bred Highland Star). There’s still a very well-bred MSP mare available (Irish River x Black Flames).

17

Great that she’s not FF-owned anymore! I would want her myself but her filly [color=red]Ch. Iyaiyai is just perfect representative of her line at Clicker Lab.

18

Well, we couldn’t resist. Spotted one more to take home, and got her quite cheaply ($25k).

[color=red]La Gordita is a 3yo filly by our stud Take Me Away out of an unraced created mare named High N Fancy. She’s a bit of a gamble as a result, but she’s been pretty consistent under FF ownership. Plus we own 9 colts from TMA and 0 fillies, so we had to rectify that. :wink:

19

Good luck with your Nightfight filly.  I had my eye on her for awhile but real life got in the way of the auction. 

20

Added two more, glad the limit was raised as I was quite torn between my original “afterthoughts” and these two.

I didn’t really need another brood but liked the look of [color=red]Early Tide (create). She’s a 9yo MSW and millionaire. Career highlight was winning the Grade 1 Caulfield Cup. She holds three speed records on turf and will hopefully be a nice match for Blue Smoke (and Quarren when he retires). She’s in foal to Yes It’s Paddy. Cost $101,000.

Our final purchase was a previously unnamed weanling by our resident stud Blue Smoke. We bought Blue Smoke after his first season at stud so don’t have any of his first crop. [color=blue]Big Smoke is a March baby out of Seek For Gold (half-sister to Gunningdownromance). She’s not produced anything amazing yet but he should be fun to play with while we wait for his homebred paternal half siblings. Cost $25000.