Cancel This, a 4-year-old winning daughter of Malibu Moon from the family of Grade 1 winner and sire Girvin and 2023 Grade 1 winner Brightwork, sold to Larkin Armstrong, agent for Helen Alexander, for $825,000 to highlight the second session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
On Thursday, 213 horses sold through the ring for $34,428,000, which dipped slightly from the corresponding session in 2022 when 197 horses grossed $35,073,000. The average of $161,634 declined 9.21 percent from $178,036, while the median of $120,000 was 14.29 percent below $140,000.
Through the first two sessions of the November Sale, Keeneland has sold 333 horses through the ring for $88,768,000, for an average of $266,571 and a median of $180,000. The gross declined 13.02 percent from the same period last year, when an equal number of horses brought $102,053,000. The average declined 13.02 percent from last year's $306,465, and the median was 5.26 percent below $190,000.
“It's been a realistic and selective market today,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “People were a little selective and specific about what they wanted to invest in. The foal market was very active. Five of today's top prices were paid for weanlings. Mares that were young and well covered were very popular. Mares that were older and maybe a little more exposed were a bit of a tougher sell. So there was a bit of softening, but that was to be expected in certain areas.”
“The market's been really strong and kind of on a bull run for some years,” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “We had a great September Sale and yearling market this year, and that's reflected in strong foal sales. What we're seeing – we haven't had a lot of time to digest it – but possibly some more realism in mare evaluations. But we still feel that we have a lot more to come. We've gotten a lot of positive feedback about what's in tomorrow's session. It's the way the world is; it's still a good sale.”
Cancel This, who is out of stakes winner Catch My Fancy, by Yes It's True, was consigned by Four Star Sales, agent, and cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect.
Armstrong said Alexander wanted to purchase young mares for her breeding program.
“It was one of the pages we loved the most in the whole sale,” Armstrong said about Cancel This. “We have been waiting for her. We loved her, and we thought it was amazing that two of her full sisters (Catch the Moon, dam of Girvin and Grade 1-placed Midnight Bourbon, and Clarendon Fancy, dam of Brightwork) are Grade 1 producers. We were impressed with her all around. We stretched to get her, but we're really excited to get her.”
Three of the five highest-priced horses were broodmares carrying members of the first crop of 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline.
The first was stakes winner Exotic West, a 5-year-old daughter of Hard Spun who sold to Gage Hill and Runnels Racing for $650,000. Grovendale Sales, agent, consigned the mare, who is out of Miss Personality, by Broken Vow, and from the family of Grade/Group 1 winner Ron the Greek and Grade 2 winner Musket Man.
Gage Hill's Terry Finley, whose West Point Thoroughbreds co-owned Flightline, was thrilled to acquire a mare in foal to the stallion.
“Our outlook is that we can't get enough of him,” Finley said. “We're really happy with the first book of mares that he had, and the second (book) is shaping up really, really well already. If you can't get excited about owning a piece of Flightline and having the shot to have his babies and the expectation for a couple years from now when they hit the track, then you probably don't need to be in the game.”
Spending $1,525,000 on three horses, Gage Hill and Runnels Racing led buyers during the session.
Thirty Year Farm paid $625,000 for Grade 3 winner Lady Scarlet, a 4-year-old daughter of Union Rags also in foal to Flightline. Consigned by Lane's End, agent, she is out of the winning Include mare Exclude (GB) and from the family of Canadian Horse of the Year L'Enjoleur, Canadian champions La Voyageuse and Medaille d'Or and Grade/Group 2 winners Exhi and Alignment.
“We loved her. She was our first pick,” Kristen Esler of Thirty Year said. “She was in my heart from the moment I saw her. She's beautiful, and she's everything we looked for in conformation. She was an A+. She carried herself really well. I like to look them in the eye and spend some time. She is one that we wanted to bring to our farm.”
Lane's End was the session's leading consignor with sales of $5,127,000 for 26 horses.
Lane's End also sold another broodmare in foal to Flightline. She was stakes winner and Grade 1 runner-up Esplanade, a 5-year-old daughter of Daredevil who brought $650,000 from Rifa Mustang Europe. Out of the Dixie Union mare Southern Silence, Esplanade is a half-sister to stakes winner Liberate.
Empire Gal, a 4-year-old winning daughter of Empire Maker carrying a member of the first crop of Life Is Good, sold to Becky Thomas, agent for Chester and Mary Broman, for $535,000. Frankfort Park Farm, agent, consigned the mare, who is out of Double Tapped, by Tapit, and from the family of champion Untapable and Grade 1 winner Paddy O'Prado.
At $525,000, the session's top-priced weanling was a son of Constitution sold to Cherry Knoll Farm. Out of the winning Munnings mare Gone to Town, the colt is from the family of English champion Negligent (IRE), Grade 2 winner Selflessly and Grade 3 winner River Seven. He was consigned by Nursery Place, agent.
“We try to bring a handful of weanlings every year to Keeneland – a very select few,” said Griffin Mayer of Nursery Place. “They have to be really, really nice with pedigrees and by the right sires. He checked all the boxes and honestly, he's probably one of the better colts that we've raised in the last 10 years. He's very special. He's a homebred for my dad (John) and one of his partners, John Dicken of Dicken Equine.
“We sell 25 yearlings or so every year at Keeneland,” he added, “but there are always three or four that are so nice as babies and you think, 'Why do we hold onto them?' We've had a lot of success here at Keeneland November selling babies because it's a great market.”
Purchases by Randy Hartley and Dean De Renzo's AAA Thoroughbreds were led by a colt by Uncle Mo for $510,000. Consigned by Stone Farm, agent, he is the first foal out of the Curlin mare American Caviar and from the family of Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour.
“If you find a good baby now, you've got to step up and pay,” Hartley said. “It's up to us to come buy the babies and to get the best ones. We're super big Uncle Mo fans. (He is out of) a Curlin mare – just the whole family thing we were just shooting for. I got a big order of babies to buy. So it's hard because I've got to stretch a little bit in order to get them.”
The November Sale continues Friday with the second session of the two-day Book 2. All remaining sessions of the auction, which continues through Thursday, Nov. 16, begin at 10 a.m.
On Friday, Nov. 17, Keeneland will present the November Horses of Racing Age Sale. The auction starts at noon.
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