[Kasept]

Tapit Colt Stars at Fasig-Tipton October
By Glenye Cain Oakford

Hip 1363 by Tapit was the session 4 topper.

Topped by a $410,000 Tapit colt that John Oxley bought Thursday Oct. 22, Fasig-Tipton's October yearling sale ended Thursday evening with a slightly lower average than last year but an 18.9% drop in median that many consignors took as evidence of broader yearling market polarization.

Fasig-Tipton added one day to the auction in 2015, expanding the sale from three to four days. The four-day edition sold 854 yearlings for a total of $29,369,300, down 2.1% from last year's $30,006,200 for 837. The cumulative average dipped 4.1%, from last year's $35,850 to $34,390. Median was $15,000, down from $18,500 a year ago. The overall buyback rate also increased, from 20.7% last year to 30.8%.

Overall at this year's auction, nine yearlings brought $250,000 or more. Ten sold at that level last season.

"All four days were fairly similar in terms of average price, median price, and so forth," said Fasig-Tipton chief executive Boyd Browning. "I think what we saw was an overall pretty consistent marketplace, not dramatically different than 2014 levels, and not significantly different than what we kind of expected and have seen throughout the yearling season this year. ...

"The market for a horse below $15,000, in terms of value, is extremely difficult. From $15,000 to $50,000 is sticky but still manageable, and once you get above $50,000 it was pretty daggone good."

The declines in average and median were "probably just a little bit of reflection of a little bit of softening of the marketplace below $25,000," said Browning.

The Oct. 22 closing session produced the sale-topper, a May 13 son of the graded-placed stakes winner Apple Charlotte, by Smart Strike . Brookdale Sales consigned the gray or roan Tapit colt, who had been a $340,000 buyback at the Keeneland September sale, on behalf of breeder Jack Swain.