Speculating steals show at Yearling Sale

Nonios sired the sales topper at the annual Manitoba CTHS Yearling Sale on Thursday at Assiniboia Downs, but it was Speculating who stole the show.

A total of 45 yearlings went through the sales ring this year compared to 40 last year, and 26 were sold for an average price of $9,292.31 and total receipts of $241,600. Last year 21 yearlings were sold for an average of $10,407 and total receipts of $218,550. Twelve yearlings failed to reach their reserve price this year and seven were buybacks.

The sales topper was Hip #32, a half-sister to local champion Mighty Mikee, by Nonios out of the mare Piccadilly Line, who was consigned by breeder Larry Falloon and purchased by Anne Champion for $24,000. The next two highest prices went to sons and daughters of Speculating.

Hip #18, a gelding out of multiple champion mare Hidden Grace was purchased by Cam Ziprick for $21,000, and Hip #47, a full sister to Circle the Bird, was purchased for $20,500 by the owners of that recent stakes winner, Scott MacKenzie and Madison Leonard. Next in line was Hip #7, a colt by Following Sea out of a half-sister to Marine Stakes (G3) winner Brachetto, consigned by Dr. Ross and Brend McKague and Sharra Sage, and purchased by Don Danard for $20,000.

Also of note was Hip #12, a half-brother to Manitoba-bred Canadian champion and millionaire Escape Clause by Speculating, who was consigned by Ziprick Thoroughbreds and bought by one of the original owner/breeders of Escape Clause, Barry Arnason, for $17,000.

That seemed like a bargain considering his sister is the best Manitoba-bred in history, and his sire is hot right now.

“After this year, they’ve got to be believers,” said breeder Cam Ziprick, who stands the stallion Speculating with partner Charles Fouillard. “Especially after last night.” Ziprick was referring to the crushing performance of Circle the Bird on Wednesday, a 2-year-old Speculating filly who won the $40,000 CTHS Sales Stakes by 10 ¼-lengths. “It wasn’t just a win,” said Ziprick. “She crushed them.”

Some breeders had written Speculating off after only a few years of foals, but that judgment was obviously premature. Speculating’s 3-year-old filly Rise Again won three in a row this year including the $40,000 Hazel Wright Sire Stakes on July 15, and she will likely be favoured to win the $40,000 R.C. Anderson Stakes on Aug. 24.

His 3-year-old gelding Bromeo won the $40,000 Frank Arnason Sire Stakes on July 21, and last year he sired stakes winners Twolefttoload and Nikkitysplit.

While the average price at the sale was down slightly from the previous year, that didn’t reflect the quality of the offerings.

“The sale was really fair actually,” said Nolan Allard of A2 Thoroughbreds, who along with True North Thoroughbreds purchased three yearlings. “Some that I thought were going to go high were average, and some that I thought were going to be real low went a lot higher than I thought they would.”

A2 and True North Thoroughbreds purchased Hip numbers #25, #33, and #43. “Hip #33 is really well bred,” said Allard. “And you get to buy horses like that here in Canadian funds instead of American. We appreciate people like Cal Britton bringing horses like that up here.” Hip #33 is by Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal. Hip #25 is a full sister to local champion Bankin on Betty, and Hip #43 is by the underrated sire Kentucky Bear.

“We buy them all together for A2 and True North,” said Allard, who is also going to the Ontario Select Sale to look for more youngsters that will be eligible for millions of dollars in bonuses and rich stakes offered to Canadian sales graduates.

Allard and his partners have had some excellent success racing Manitoba-breds, and they’re among many others who have invested heavily in the local industry.

Incentives offered by the local CTHS and the Manitoba Jockey Club have led to increased investments in broodmares and stallions, and the steadily increasing numbers in the local yearling sale are clear evidence of that.

And just think, of the 45 yearlings in this year’s sale, 23 are male and 22 are female. A few horses on either side are bound to dominate in the restricted stakes in the next two years, each having a very good chance of earning at least $100,000 and probably more.

You can probably narrow the odds of picking a dominant winner even further with some pedigree study, conformation analysis and a good trainer. If you had a 10-1 chance of winning $100,000, what would you bet.

This year the average was just over $9,000.

winnipegfreepress.com/georgewilliams