Welcome to Noel Michaels’ Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend best bets and spot plays from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Check back every week for a couple of highlighted selections designed to help you cash a few bets and make some money.
Month: September 2023
‘The Jockey and Her Horse’ Captures Cheryl White’s Pioneering Story in Print
Books are a remarkable part of our lives. They bind us together through the joys and struggles of characters, both real and fictional, and offer us new perspectives on our own experiences in ways that few media can. Whether it is horses long gone like Lexington or people still a part of the sport like Julie Krone, the words captured on a page are avenues to new worlds and chances to remind us of our connections.
$250,000 Practical Joke Colt Wednesday’s High Seller At Keeneland September Sale
Keeneland had a strong day of trade during Wednesday's ninth session of the September Yearling Sale, led by a colt by Practical Joke from the family of Group 1 winner X Y Jet sold for $250,000 to CJ Thoroughbreds.
Out of Jetbird, a winning daughter of Wildcat Heir, he was consigned by Bluewater Sales, agent.
Results for the day increased across the board as 298 yearlings sold through the ring for $13,430,200, up 3.56 percent from last year's gross of $12,969,000 when 329 horses sold. Average price of $45,068 increased 14.33 percent over $39,419 in 2022, while the median rose 11.67 percent from $30,000 to $33,500.
Cumulative figures are comparable to the corresponding period in 2022. A total of 2,103 yearlings have sold for $379,373,200, down 2.63 percent from last year's $389,605,000 for 2,180 horses. Average price of $180,396 is up slightly from $178,718, while the median of $100,000 is equal to last year.
In other sales Wednesday, a filly by Ghostzapper sold to Donato Lanni, agent, for $240,000. Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, agent, consigned the filly, who is from the family of champion Rags to Riches and 2023 Belmont and Grade 1 Travers winner Arcangelo. Her dam is Everything, by Curlin.
Two horses brought $200,000 each.
SBM Training and Sales purchased a colt by Caravaggio from the family of Grade 2 winner Vertical Oak for the amount. Consigned by Gainesway, agent, he is out of the Elusive Quality mare Becky's Best.
Gainesway was the session's leading consignor with sales of $1,296,000 for 21 yearlings.
Peter Deutsch spent $200,000 on a filly from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Promises Fulfilled out of stakes winner Dynazaper, by Ghostzapper. From the family of Grade 1 winner Very Subtle and Grade 2 winner Broad Dynamite, she was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for WinStar Farm Bred & Raised.
Two yearlings sold for $190,000 apiece.
Kenneth McPeek, agent, and Baccari Bloodstock paid the amount for a colt by Broken Vow who is from the family of Grade 1 winners Dream of Summer, Creative Cause and Vexatious along with Grade 2 winner Destin. He is out of the winning Lion Heart mare Wishcraft.
Purchasing eight yearlings for $695,000, Kenneth McPeek, agent, led buyers during the session.
A colt by Army Mule out of Zooey, by Exchange Rate, sold for $190,000 to Grassroots Training & Sales. From the family of Grade 1 winner Nany's Sweep, he was consigned by Mulholland Farm.
The September Sale resumes Thursday at 10 a.m. ET runs through Saturday.
The post $250,000 Practical Joke Colt Wednesday’s High Seller At Keeneland September Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
$250,000 Practical Joke Colt Heads Keeneland’s Book 5 Opener
A colt by Practical Joke led the way Wednesday, kicking off Book 5 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington. Consigned by Bluewater Sales, Hip 2980 is out of Jetbird (Wildcat Heir), a half-sister to Group 1 winner X Y Jet (Kantharos).
“We were prepared [for the $250,000 price] because of the entire package,” said CJ Thoroughbred's Corey Johnson. “We felt between $200,000-$250,000 was what it was going to take to purchase him. We were expecting somewhere around that number.”
On Day 9, Ashford's Practical Joke was the second leading sire of the session, grossing $565,000 for five yearlings sold, with an average of $113,000. The leading sire of the session, Frosted, drew an aggregate of $617,000 for 11 sold, averaging $56,091.
“[Bloodstock advisor] Marette Farrell selected the horse for his fabulous physical and the potential there. We also believe that Practical Joke brings brilliance to the equation as an emerging top sire,” said Johnson. “Basically, we had a colt that was a really promising physical and by a brilliant sire that brings toughness to the equation.”
Johnson also pointed a little bit farther back on the page, with the appearance of several Argentine performers, including GSP Argentine mare Tripulina (Sings), a sister to Argentine GSW and GISP Tizna.
“I've also spent quite a bit of time in Argentina and watched that industry very closely and what I find is, those families bring soundness and durability to the pedigree,” he explained.
In foal to Bolt d'Oro, 13-year-old Jetbird realized $20,000 at Fasig-Tipton in February, while this May foal brought $27,000 as a short yearling from DKW Racing.
“Today, this was the only horse we were on,” Johnson affirmed. “I thought he is a physical with, just a little bit of vision, you could see where this would turn into a stunning racehorse. He may be just a touch immature but someone like Marette, who has done this for a long time, can see that blue sky ahead with these young horses. We may have gotten really lucky to find this kind of colt in Book 5.”
Through nine sessions, CJ Thoroughbreds, alone or in partnership, collected nine yearlings for a gross of $2.1 million. The operation's top priced purchase was a colt by Not This Time (Hip 594), who realized $535,000.
When asked about the market thus far, Johnson offered, “I think the sale has been really strong. I can't remember a Book 5 with that many people looking. The place was packed with quality buyers. I still see a lot of enthusiasm.”
Indicating that he was likely done on the buying side of things, Johnson said he would now put on his seller's cap for Thursday's session, offering Hip 3485, filly by Spun to Run, who is represented by his first yearlings in 2023. Out of Northern Netti (City Zip), the Feb. 19 foal is a half-sister to SW North County (Not This Time). She is consigned by agent Four Star Sales.
“We sell a horse [Thursday] and she had almost 30 looks today,” said Johnson, underscoring the strength of the current buying bench at Keeneland. “That is really a good sign. I'm very positive about the overall market. At times, it's been difficult to buy a good horse within our budget. But that's why you just have to work hard, have a great bloodstock advisor and hope some things fall your way.”
At the conclusion of Thursday session, gross figures for the first nine days came in at $379,373,200, dipping slightly from last year's blockbuster renewal which generated $389,605,000 over the same time frame. During Wednesday's session, 298 yearlings sold for $13,430,200, up 3.56% from 2022 when 329 sold for $12,969,000.
Both the session ($45,068; +14%) and cumulative ($180,396; 0.94%) averages rose, while cumulative median remained unchanged at $100,000 from last year's sale. This year's median of $33,500 was also up from $30,000 in 2022. From last year's corresponding day, RNAs rose to 60 (+66.67%) for Wednesday's session, up from 36 one year ago.
The 10th session of the sale resumes at 10 a.m. Thursday and runs through Saturday.
The post $250,000 Practical Joke Colt Heads Keeneland’s Book 5 Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
