Fasig-Tipton March Digital Sale Opens With 189 Cataloged, Bidding Closes March 24

Just Beat the Odds took down the Grade III Elite Power Stakes at Aqueduct in late December before getting caught on the wire by Imagination in the Grade II Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia last month — and now a piece of him is up for grabs. A 33.3% interest in the graded stakes-winning 6-year-old by Munnings is consigned by Highgate Sales as part of Fasig-Tipton's March Digital Sale, where bidding closes Tuesday, March 24, beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton director of digital sales, noted that "with nearly 190 cataloged, our March Digital Sale has grown by more than 50% over last year." The 189-entry book is the largest the platform has fielded, and Aaron credits a broadening seller base for the growth. "Offerings include more than 100 horses of racing age, as well as broodmare prospects, broodmares — including mares with foals at foot, 2-year-olds in training, and 'short' yearlings. We're also excited to offer a fractional interest in graded stakes winner and recent Riyadh Dirt Sprint Stakes runner-up Just Beat the Odds," he said.

The headliner among the racing-age horses is Maximum Bourbon, hip 5. A 4-year-old gelded son of Maximum Security under trainer Joe Sharp, he broke his maiden by 7½ lengths as the only first-time starter in a $50,000 maiden claimer at Churchill Downs in late November. In his four starts since, he's been off the board just once, winning two others and, most recently, finishing second to Built — who set a new track record — by just 1½ lengths at Fair Grounds on March 13. He carries four 90+ Beyer Speed Figures across his four dirt starts, including a 103 Beyer and 4 Ragozin in that most recent outing.

Tom Hamm of Taylor Made Sales Agency, which consigns Maximum Bourbon, pulled no punches on the colt's ceiling. "It's clearly a big step up [in class]," Hamm said. "But with the numbers he's running, the 103 Beyer and the 4 Rag, those are graded stakes numbers." Maximum Bourbon's current connections have indicated a potential next start in the Grade I Churchill Downs Stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 2.

Hamm also spoke to the strategic logic of selling through a digital platform while a horse is riding momentum. "We've had a lot of luck on the digital platform," he said. "It reaches so many buyers that sometimes can't even be in town [for an in-person sale]. I think that gives you the opportunity to reach the maximum amount of bidders. And coming off his last race, if you're going to sell, why not sell [with the momentum of] his last race?"

That sentiment was echoed by another consignor in the sale, identified by Thoroughbred Daily News as Jill Gordon. "It's a huge benefit to the horse," Gordon said. "You're not taking them out of their routine. You're not asking them anything different than what they're used to. [The platform] allows you to capitalize on opportunities like this when a horse is coming off a huge effort."

Rounding out the featured lots is Miss Lizzy, hip 6, a graded stakes-placed and stakes-winning racing/broodmare prospect consigned by Doug O'Neill as agent for Wilshire Farm. She has accumulated lifetime earnings of more than $285,000 and carries a pedigree note that she is out of a 100-percent winner-producing Bernardini daughter of graded stakes-winning millionaire Somthinaboutlaura.

The broader catalog also includes mares in foal to Complexity, Cyberknife, Early Voting, Gun Pilot, Mage, and Two Phil's, as well as mares with foals at foot by Bright Future, Cyberknife, Elite Power, Girvin, Kingsbarns, and Oscar Performance, among others.

To create an account or register to bid for the March Digital Sale, prospective buyers should visit digital.fasigtipton.com. For additional information, Fasig-Tipton director of digital sales Leif Aaron can be reached at (859) 255-1555 or laaron@fasigtipton.com.