Tattersalls Spring Mixed Sale Preview

Sunday’s sale at the Meadowlands offers a huge number of horses currently racing

by Dave Briggs

Of the more than 90 horses set to sell at the Tattersalls Spring Mixed Sale on Sunday (May 7) in the paddock at the Meadowlands Racetrack, 83 have raced recently, or are in to go tonight or tomorrow before hitting the auction ring.

“I can’t stress enough for the public to check the updated racelines on http://www.tattersallsredmile.com, because 56 horses have raced in the last seven days and there’s 27 horses that are in to race from today through Saturday,” sale manager David Reid said Thursday. “It’s not a big sale. As far as numbers are concerned, we’re down a little bit from last year, but the number of horses racing is, I think, the highest percentage we’ve had in a mixed sale in a long time.”

More than 93 standardbreds — about 80 in the main catalogue minus the outs, plus 13 in the supplement — are expected to go through the ring beginning at noon, sharp.

Main catalogue (link available here)
Supplemental catalogue (link available here)
Sortable roster (link available here)
Outs list (link available here)
Updated race lists (link available here)

Last year, the Tattersalls Spring Mixed Sale was held a month later to try to take advantage of those wishing to sell or buy two-year-olds.

“With the two-year-old market, the buyers seem to want to have horses racing,” Reid said. “The training aspect of it just didn’t seem to take off. But we do feel there’s going to be a market for the two-year-olds that have baby raced and/or raced. So, we have a proposed date to have the sale at the Meadowlands on July 16 with the hope that by shifting the two-year-olds that would normally be in this sale to the mixed sale in July that the two-year-olds would be qualified or baby raced and racing by then. I’m quite excited about that. The timing for Sunday’s sale is you’ve got a lot of stables coming north from Florida. Sometimes those people want to focus on their stakes operations and it gives the owner and trainer an opportunity to create some cash flow and stall space to focus on the upcoming stakes season. That’s the reason I moved it up this year.”

Reid will have the largest consignment at the sale through his company Preferred Equine Marketing, which will send 56 horses into the ring. He pointed out a few notable horses.

“Our consignment is led by a 15-horse reduction from the Ron Burke and Partners stable. It is led by hip #78, Rock N Roll World. He’s a well-bred horse from a deep family and the horse is racing and winning,” Reid said. “He’s in to go Saturday night at the Meadowlands. The one thing that gets overlooked a little bit is the Burke and Partners Stable, they started buying younger horses a few years ago and they’ve been having these semi-reductions at Mixed Sales and the graduates have gone on for the new owners, including the runnerup from this year’s Levy and the Matchmaker finals, Somewhere in L A. He was a graduate of one of the reductions and Medusa. She was second in the final of the Matchmaker. So, they have life in them, they have races left to go. Most of them are racing in conditioned events. I think there’s a number of horses there that are racing at many venues and get around all size tracks and are useful racehorses.”

Northwood Bloodstock’s Bob Boni will sell 28 horses Sunday. He pointed out a number of horses, most notably, “hip 103, Bend In The River. He’s in the supplement and he’s going to be entered in the final of the Weiss. He’s won a couple of legs, he’s been second in a couple of legs, he was second two nights ago. He’s a legit horse that’s going to be eligible right away for a $30,000 race. It will be drawn by sale time. He’s a horse that you’re going to know where he’s going to be. That race is Tuesday night at Pocono. He was second the other night. He’s won a couple of legs. He’ll be one of the favorites in the race. That makes him an ideal horse for somebody and he’s been a decent horse before that. I would definitely look to him.

“Something a little more proven, one of the nicer pacing mares in the sale is Vintage Babe #62. A nice update is Shady McCoy. Another nice horse that qualified well at Harrington the other day, Bad Gamer, 34. He’s a horse that’s made $100,000-some odd lifetime, a horse that can go on any kind of racetrack. He went a good mile at Harrington and he’ll fit anywhere. He’ going to find a spot in almost any racetrack you take him to. One of the nicer trotting mares in the sale, would be Alvarez, #31, an Andover Hall, a stakes winner. She’s shown she can win at Yonkers. That’s pretty good money when you’re racing at Yonkers.”

Reid said Preferred is also selling some nice three-year-old prospects.

“Hip #6 (Aplomb Hanover), he’s been racing very well. He’s a green trotter. He was just second on May 2 at Pocono in :56.3. He’s a nice prospect. Hip #11 (Iminurblindspot) is a Bettor’s Delight that has been racing over at Pocono and last week he was timed in :52 and change. He’s a nice prospect. Hip #25 (Town Speaker), he had five wins in 11 starts. He’s a horse that I think is going to go on. Hip #27 (Twist Of Fate), a very nice, well-bred New York-eligible filly and well-staked. She was just third in the Weiss final the other night racing against older horses. There again, it’s a filly that’s well-staked, well-bred and racing very well. Then for four-year-old prospects, I have a liking to hip #35, Blaise MM Hanover. He has four wins this year and been 1-2-3 in nine of 10 starts and a proven winner over all size tracks. Raced very well at Yonkers and raced very well the last two starts at Harrah’s (Philadelphia). Hip #40, Home James, a horse that came in from Canada. He was just third last week at Pocono in 1:51.4. Hip #75, Parnu Hanover, he was a recent winner at Yonkers in :52.4 and, obviously, Rock N Roll World, who was a winner last week at Harrah’s.”

Boni added that he’s selling, “a good horse in the supplement, a legit horse. He’s in to go the night before the sale, Winds Of Change. Here’s a horse that won that won in :50.4 at Yonkers last year and two weeks ago won in :53 at Yonkers and he’s just starting back this year. He made 33 starts last year and he’s just making his fifth start here on Saturday night at Yonkers. He’s an open pacer. He won an open at Yonkers last year. He’s racing just below that now, but he’s shown that he can race with top horses. He’s a six-year-old American Ideal and he’s made almost half-a-million lifetime.”

Both Reid and Boni stressed the “cliché line” that there is something for everybody.

“These are horses that have proven to get around all size tracks. With all the racetracks open and racing right now, I really think we have a nice offering of horses for multiple venues,” Reid said.