Tag: Bloodstock

A colt by Quality Road sold for $1.7 million and a son of Gun Runner brought $1.2 million during Thursday's session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, which recorded a fourth consecutive day of spirited trade and strong results.

Today's session marked the final day of a vibrant Week 1 of the auction, which produced gross sales of nearly $237 million and the sale of 30 horses for $1 million and more.

For the second consecutive year, Week 1 featured Books 1 and 2 during the first four days, when more than 1,100 horses, among the sale's finest individuals based on pedigree and conformation, were cataloged. The format was designed to offer the largest number of exceptional horses possible to major domestic and foreign buyers before the sale takes a one-day break on Friday, Sept. 16.

On Thursday, Keeneland sold 230 yearlings through the ring for $56,635,000, for an average of $246,239 and a median of $202,500. The gross was 16.05 percent above the $48,801,000 for the corresponding session of 2021 when 201 horses sold through the ring. The average was 1.42 percent above the $242,791 from the same session last year and the median rose 1.25 percent from $200,000.

“Today was competitive and energetic,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “This session last year was extremely strong so the fact that we ticked up a slight bit is very encouraging. The RNA rate (28 percent) was a little higher than we'd like. Buyers might have rushed on to Book 3 in some cases and overlooked a few quality individuals. But I know a lot of sellers were very, very happy today.”

Cumulatively this year, 669 horses sold through the ring brought a total of $236,990,000, for an average of $354,245 and a median of $275,000. Compared to Week 1 of 2021, the gross is up 18.25 percent from $200,419,000, while the average is 9.59 percent above $323,256 and the median increased 10 percent from $250,000.

“It's been an excellent Week 1,” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “We had a 10 percent bump in average and median over what was an exciting Week 1 last year. The RNA rate for this week is 25 percent versus 30 percent last year. So everything is trending in the right direction. We feel a sense of gratefulness to the breeders because they really supported us and what we're trying to do. Seeing these results gives us the energy to continue improving.”

“We turn the page now and head into Book 3,” Lacy added. “Activity in the barns is very strong, and the middle market I would predict to be as healthy as it was last year.”

Donato Lanni, agent, signed the ticket for the session's $1.7 million high seller, a colt by Quality Road from the family of Grade 1 winner Joking and Grade 2 winners and sires Tale of the Cat and Fed Biz. Consigned by Nardelli Sales, agent, he is out of the winning Street Sense mare Act Now.

The price equals the third highest price of Week 1.

“He's a lovely horse we bred and raised,” Rodney Nardelli said. “He's got everything. He's beautiful. He's been nice all his life. We're appreciative of Keeneland's (September Sale) format and the support of the buyers. Most of the major players were on him.”

Lanni said the colt will go to trainer Bob Baffert.

“He loved him, we all loved him,” Lanni said. “Everyone was waiting for him to walk into the Pavilion. He is a beautiful horse. Super athletic, pretty laid back. A fast-looking Quality Road and made really well; he is the kind you want to take home. This has been a great sale. (The price) is what I figured was going to happen. (This client) is always game to play at this level. Bob did such a good job with (champion) Corniche (by Quality Road). This horse kind of reminded us a lot of him.”

Mike Ryan, agent, paid $1.2 million for a colt by Gun Runner out of Grade 1 winner Malibu Prayer, by Malibu Moon. Four Star Sales, agent, consigned the colt, who is from the family of Grade 1 winner Swagger Jack and Grade 2 winners Valid and Tap Dance.

Ryan signed the ticket as agent for a partnership and said the colt will be trained by Chad Brown

“He reminded me quite a bit of (2022 Preakness winner) Early Voting,” Ryan said. “He's a big, imposing horse that moved like a cheetah. And I said to Chad, 'Can you imagine Flavien Prat or Irad Ortiz on his back right now?' He was a magnificent horse, a lot of class, a lot of quality. Bred to get a mile and an eighth or a mile and a quarter. Look at the page: It's the best of Spring Hill Farm, Ned Evans, and Three Chimneys raises a great horse. And what more can you say about the stallion?”

“That was awesome,” Four Star Managing Partner Kerry Cauthen said. “We knew we had a lot of activity on this horse. He is a great individual. The reserve was less than half (his sale price). That is the whole point of coming to an auction. You have a chance for people to fight it out. That is what makes an auction.

“He always was a good physical,” Cauthen added, “but at the time of placement for the catalog, he seemed like a Book 2 horse. But he improved, and that changed the whole dynamic. You don't have a crystal ball when you are four months out from the auction when you are placing the horse (in the sale).”

A filly by Gun Runner out of Grade 2 winner Stonetastic, by Mizzen Mast, sold to Mayberry Farm for $925,000. Consigned by Paramount Sales, agent, she is from the family of Grade/Group 1 winners Gift Box and Our New Recruit.

“I love Mizzen Mast broodmares, I love Stonetastic,” David Ingordo, who signed the ticket, said. “This filly is by Gun Runner; she is the proverbial whole package. She cost a lot of money, but she is a long-term asset. This client is building a broodmare band, and this filly fits all the parameters. She looks like an athlete and she has pedigree.”

“She is a gorgeous filly out of a beautiful mare,” Paramount's Pat Costello said. “She has that speedy look to her. She made what she was supposed to bring. Since she arrived at the sale, she has been spectacular.”

Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket, paid $700,000 for a son of Uncle Mo out of Grade 1-placed winner Still There, by Union Rags. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, consigned the colt, who is from the family of Grade 3 winner Raging Daoust.

Two horses were purchased for $625,000 apiece.

A colt by Liam's Map consigned by Hinkle Farms sold for the amount to Michael Wallace, agent for St. Elias Stables. Out of the winning Speightstown mare Giulio's Jewel, he is from the family of Group 2 winner Rabbit Run and Grade/Group 3 winners Bertolini, Rainha Da Bateria, Assateague and Kindergarden Kid.

Tomoyasu Sakaguchi paid $625,000 for a colt by City of Light who is a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Spielberg. From the family of Grade 1 winners Dream Deal, Clear Mandate, Strong Mandate and Romantic Vision, he was consigned by Warrendale Sales, agent. His dam is Miss Squeal, a winning daughter of Smart Strike.

Four yearlings sold for $600,000 each.

A colt by Uncle Mo who is a half-brother to stakes winner Bet She Wins was purchased for the amount by West Bloodstock. St George Sales, agent, consigned the colt, who is out of Spring Eclipse, by Unbridled's Song, and from the family of Grade 2 winners Softly and Conquest Big E.

Also selling for $600,000 was a Medaglia d'Oro colt out of Grade 3 winner Valadorna, by Curlin, acquired by Jupiter Farm. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, he is from the family of Grade 1 winner Complexity and Grade 2 winners Springside and Real Cash.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables paid the same amount for a colt by Constitution out of the stakes-winning Street Sense mare Walk of Stars. Betz Thoroughbreds, agent, consigned the colt, who is from the family of stakes winners Strike the Moon and Never Enough Time.

The partnership of Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables led all buyers Thursday by spending $3,875,000 for 12 horses. During Week 1, this partnership spent $12,540,000 for 30 yearlings.

“One of our goals has been to build a catalog that attracts principals to come to the sale,” Breathnach said. “Having Mike Repole and his team here has really given the sale a lift and created a lot of buzz in the Sale Pavilion.”

Additionally, major entities such as SF/Starlight/Madaket, Courtlandt Farm and Richard Knight Bloodstock topped the Week 1 leading buyer list.

The fourth $600,000 yearling was a son of Munnings who sold to West Bloodstsock, agent for Robert and Lawana Low. Ashview Farm (Bryan Lyster and Gray Lyster) agent, consigned the colt, who is out of West Riding, by Tapit, and from the family of Grade 1 winner A. P. Indian.

Taylor Made sold 25 yearlings for $5,915,000 to top the session's consignors.

Friday is a Dark Day at the September Sale, when no horses will be sold. The auction will resume with the Book 3 catalog on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. ET and continue daily through Sept. 24.

The post Week 1 Of Keeneland September Yearling Sale Concludes With Competitive Trade, Strong Results appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The buoyant success of the first two sessions of Keeneland's September Yearling Sale on Monday and Tuesday powered steady trade at Wednesday's third day of selling with healthy increases in results and the sale of six seven-figure horses – topped by a colt by Into Mischief for $1.4 million.

A total of 28 yearlings have sold for $1 million or more during the first three days of the auction, marking the highest number of seven-figure horses sold at a September Sale since 2007.

On Wednesday, the first day of Book 2, 219 yearlings sold through the ring for $66,695,000, up 9.34      percent from last year when 211 yearlings grossed $60,996,000. The average of $304,543 rose 5.35   percent from $289,081 in 2021, while the median increased 8.70 percent, from $230,000 to $250,000.

Cumulatively, Keeneland has sold 439 horses for $180,355,000, for an average of $410,831 and a median of $325,000. The gross is 18.95 percent higher than the total from the corresponding period last year when 419 yearlings sold for $151,618,000. The average is 13.53 percent higher than last year's $361,857, while the median is 12.07 percent above $290,000 in 2021.

“It was a great session,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “When you are seeing six million-dollar-plus horses in session three – which brings us up to 28 for the three days – it brings it back to the 2007 levels. The average and the median again are up over last year. It was a solid, competitive session with a diversity of buyers and the money spread among the sellers to large breeders and small breeders. That has been true the whole sale and that is very encouraging.

“It is very active in the barns,” Lacy added. “There is a whole wave of pinhookers from Europe who are just arriving. There are a lot of international people who are coming for the first time or the first time in a long time. I predict the market to be energetic through the entire sale.”

“I think one of the strengths of the September Sale is that good horses come out of every book,” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “They're harder to find. They're not as obvious on paper, but there are always horses in the middle and later books that have updates and maybe don't have quite the sire power or had quite the pedigree at the time of placement to end up in the front. There's good reason to stay involved, and we're expecting that to drive the buyer base deep into next week as well.

“I spoke to one of the biggest buyers on the way in this morning,” he continued, “and they said they vetted 38 horses yesterday and only managed to buy one. That was pretty staggering to hear. It's frustrating for them, I'm sure, but it is what creates a buoyant market like we're seeing here and hopefully putting a lot of money in our breeders' pockets as well.”

On Wednesday, Larry Best's OXO Equine paid $1.4 million for the colt by Into Mischief who is the first foal of stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Dawn the Destroyer, by Speightstown. He was consigned by Summerfield (Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck), agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised.

“It's always good when the breeder offers to partner with you on the horse (after he sells),” Best said. “As you know I love Into Mischief. I have all these filters I use (in the selection process), and rarely does a horse meet all the filters when it's a colt. That's why you don't see me buying many colts. My filter is pretty stringent. Believe it or not, this one cleared them all and I said, 'Why am I not buying the horse when I've bought all these other Into Mischiefs and done well with most of them?' I waited until I saw it in the ring again, and I said if I'm going to roll the dice at a big number for a colt and I'm going to stick with the Into Mischief bloodline, this one looks as good as I've seen.”

“The horses like him, there aren't a lot of them,” Francis Vanlangendonck said. “There are so many agents and they have good eyes, so it doesn't matter where you put them. They're going to find them. (The colt is) just such an athlete. He's big, and he looks like an NBA player.”

Justin Casse for John Oxley, M.V. Magnier and Breeze Easy purchased a son of Gun Runner for $1.15 million. Woods Edge Farm (Peter O'Callaghan), agent consigned the colt, who is out of stakes winner and Grade 3-placed Kathballu, by Bluegrass Cat, and from the family of Grade 1 winner Friendly Michelle and Grade 2 winner Kathmanblu.

“I would say all the big money was on him,” O'Callaghan said. “It seemed like they all followed him up here. He was just a lovely, lovely colt very much in the mold of his sire. He was very straightforward. He was a very nice colt when we bought him (as a weanling) and did fabulous. Wonderful temperament. Very solid. All these Gun Runners are easy to train.”

“Everyone likes Gun Runner these days,” Casse said. “They all seem to have tremendous walks and smooth movement. (This colt) has a very good top line. He comes from a good nursery; they raise a good horse. He was a class act on the end of the shank from Day 1. When you have the opportunity to partner up with Coolmore, you have to take it.”

Immediately prior to the sale of the session-topping colt, Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm went to $1.1 million for a Tapit filly from the family of champion Jaywalk and Grade 2 winner Mission Impazible. Consigned by Gainesway, agent, she is out of the stakes-winning Grade 3-placed Dunkirk mare Danzatrice.

“We bought the (full) brother (Tapit Trice) here last year (for $1.3 million), and he is training great with Todd Pletcher in New York,” said Whisper Hill's Todd Quast. “We have a lot of our mares at Gainesway, and we have seen her there and Mandy was just in love with her. You know how Mandy has an affinity for Tapit. I did not want to pay that much, but you have to pay what the market dictates.”

Three yearlings sold for $1.05 million apiece all to Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket. The initial two in the ring were consigned by Pope McLean (Crestwood Farm), agent.

The first, a colt by Gun Runner from the family of Grade 1 winners Flute and Weep No More, Grade 2 winner Filimbi and Grade 3 winner Current, was the fourth horse in the ring.

“Beautiful horse raised by some wonderful people,” Tom Ryan, who signed the ticket, said. “Gun Runner is a sensation. There is no other way to describe him. Our whole team loved this horse. Everyone who (saw) him loved him. It was a very simple consensus vote. We are happy to land him.”

“He was a special horse,” Crestwood Farm Manager Marc McLean said. “He's a horse we thought could break through and it happened. It was a nice surprise. He was bred by a client; he was foaled and raised at our farm. He has always been a standout. He has such good scope and size, and that's what made him special. We got lucky and got him in the right spot (in the sale). We were pretty busy this morning; buyers kept coming back, which is a good thing. He was early in the session, which made us nervous, but I believe everybody had done their homework.”

Midway during the afternoon, the same connections acquired a colt by Quality Road who is a full brother to stakes winner Stillwater Cove. Out of the Broken Vow mare Celibataire, he is from the family of Grade 2 winner Interactif and stakes winner and Grade 3-placed Stretching.

“It's been a great day; unbelievable really,” McLean said. “He was not a huge colt but just a beautiful mover. We wouldn't dream he would go that high. It was a good job by the sales team. Both of these were for clients and were raised and foaled at our farm. It is rewarding.

“When they (buyers) are on them, they're on them,” McLean added. “I am more surprised by this one (price) than the first one. We've been doing this so long we appreciate it (having seven-figure yearlings).”

“The market is very strong,” Ryan said. “It's carrying through from Book 1 to Book 2 very nicely. He's a big, strong, beautiful Quality Road colt. He's well raised with a proper pedigree, so it's not that surprising.” Acquiring seven horses for $5.32 million, Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket was the session's leading buyer.

Also selling for $1.05 million to Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket was a colt by Into Mischief out of Grade 2 winner More Chocolate, by Malibu Moon. Consigned by Gainesway, agent, he is from the family of Grade 2 winner Little Treasure (FR).

During the session, two yearlings sold for $925,000 each.

Gainesway, agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised, consigned a colt by Curlin purchased for the amount by Courtlandt Farm. Out of Grade 2 winner Road to Victory, by Quality Road, he is from the family of Japanese Group 1 winner Moanin.

“He was a beautiful horse when we saw him on the farm, and he was a beautiful horse here,” Gainesway General Manager Brian Graves said. “I expected him to be one of our top lots. He was everything you want to see. I considered him for Book 1, but at the time Stonestreet had other horses they ranked higher. That just shows you the quality and depth of their program.”

Gainesway was the session's leading consignor with sales of $9.78 million for 27 horses.

The second $925,000 seller was a filly by Twirling Candy sold to Rigney Racing. Consigned by Woods Edge Farm (Peter O'Callaghan), agent, she is the first foal of the winning Distorted Humor mare Double Sharp and from the family of Grade 2 winners Bsharpsonata and Backtalk.

Maverick Racing and Siena Farm paid $900,000 for an Into Mischief filly who is a half-sister to champion and sire Shanghai Bobby. Consigned by Stonehaven Steadings, she is out of the stakes-winning Orientate mare Steelin' and from the family of 2022 Megahertz (G3) and Wilshire (G3) winner Canoodling.

“She is a very athletic, strong filly with a lot of power,” Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm President/CEO and Racing Manager, said. “We thought she would be a good broodmare type down the road. We're always looking to try to get them to run and then add them to the broodmare band. (The market) is very strong. We have sold really well. For the horses we raised at the farm for China Horse Club and ourselves, it's been a great sale so far. We're trying to buy a few to replace the ones we sold.”

“We've been very high on that filly all along,” said Aidan O'Meara of Stonehaven Steadings. “She was a Book 1 quality filly but we had two Into Mischief fillies and we wanted to separate them a little bit. She was super popular at the barn. We are delighted with the result. We lost her mother (Steelin') last year, and it's great for her to go out with a bang.”

The fourth session of the September Sale, which marks the conclusion of the two-day Book 2, begins tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET. The entire sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.

The September Sale runs through Sept. 24.

The post Bustling Commerce Continues On Third Day Of Keeneland September Yearling Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Pat Costello, Callan Strouss, and Darcia Fantucchio had just finished up day two at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale on Tuesday, and they'd found a corner of the patio bar behind the pavilion's back ring just quiet enough to catch a race on one of their phones.

By the time Duke of Love kicked away from Ironstone down the muddy Fort Erie stretch to secure the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of Canada's Triple Crown, that corner of the patio wasn't too quiet anymore.

Costello, along with the husband/wife team of Strouss and Fantucchio doing business as Caldara Farm, were half of the partnership of breeders that brought the Prince of Wales winner into the world, joining David Whitford and Tom Zwiesler, who both have ties to legendary Canadian operation Sam-Son Farm.

“We were cheering and yelling,” Strouss said. “It was great. That track was sloppy as it could be. I knew when they were whipping the leader (Ironstone), and I saw our horse, and he hadn't even asked him, I said, 'We might be okay.'”

The partnership between Duke of Love's breeders is the result of several other professional partnerships amongst each other and the companies they work for.

Whitford is Sam-Son Farm's former general manager, and Zwiesler is the operation's current racing manager. Sam-Son boarded its mares at Lane's End's Oak Tree division, which Strouss manages. The Canadian operation also boarded mares at Costello's former Drumkenny Farm operation, and he consigned horses for Sam-Son under his Paramount Sales shingle.

Costello, Strouss, and Fantucchio have known each other professionally for decades, but they became neighbors about 10 years ago.

“Our working relationship is going to lunch together every Saturday, and having the odd beverage,” Costello said. “We're just great friends.”

All of those connections intertwined with Tell the Duchess, a Sam-Son homebred filly who never made the races, and wasn't deeply entrenched in any taproot Sam-Son bloodlines for farm president Rick Balaz to merit keeping around to join the broodmare band.

However, that didn't mean the mare didn't have broodmare value. The daughter of Smart Strike has a female family deep in black type in North America and Europe, led by winner Humble Eight, winner of the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes.

Tell the Duchess was offered as a broodmare prospect through the Paramount Sales consignment at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, and she finished under her reserve with a final bid of $14,000.

After the sale, Whitford and Zwiesler approached Costello and the Caldara duo to let them know Tell the Duchess was available for, in Costello's words, “little money.” The four parties bought in, and kept the mare in Canada to produce Ontario-breds.

Commercial breeders will often send unproven young broodmares to first-year stallions for the built-in marketing point the ensuing foals will have at the sales. Many stallions will never cover more mares than they do during their rookie season because breeders know that buyers hold the potential of a new stallion at a premium.

Tell the Duchess wasn't a standout based on her race record or her pedigree, and her new owners represented some of the industry's most prominent breeders and consignors. If the mare's foals were going to attract attention early on, the sire was going to have to do the heavy lifting.

The group sent Tell the Duchess to young shuttle stallion Vancouver for her first mating. The ensuing foal, a colt named Voyant, left the Paramount consignment as a weanling for the minimum bid of $1,000, and he earned his first win in a maiden claiming race at Delta Downs. Voyant is currently competing in the allowance ranks at Fort Erie.

Tell the Duchess visited first-year stallion Cupid for her second mating, which produced Duke of Love.

The colt was offered as a weanling by Paramount Sales at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, and he finished under his reserve in the ring. The colt later sold privately to War Horse Place for $15,000 – less than his initial hammer price.

War Horse Place then turned him around for $40,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. Pinhook buyer Julie Davies secured the colt at that auction, and sold him to current owner MyRacehorse for $85,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

With the benefit of hindsight, Costello admitted he might have let Duke of Love go a little too easily.

“We always knew he'd do this, actually,” the consignor said, his tongue firmly in-cheek. “Obviously, we undersold him.

“I remember saying we were kind of disappointed with the price, because he was a lovely balanced foal,” Costello continued “He was straightforward. It was a bad price at the time for him, we thought, but we were sellers.”

Duke of Love went to the barn of trainer Josie Carroll, and he broke his maiden on debut as a 2-year-old at Woodbine. He returned to Woodbine two starts later to win his 3-year-old bow in May.

It was the last race Duke of Love would win prior to the Prince of Wales. He jumped up to stakes competition at Woodbine after winning his seasonal debut, but despite often putting himself in contention when the chips were down, he couldn't finish the job. His best effort was a runner-up finish to Rondure in the G3 Marine Stakes at Woodbine.

Duke of Love finished fourth in the Plate Trial Stakes, then never found his stride in the Queen's Plate en route to an eighth-place finish.

In the Prince of Wales, Duke of Love tracked post-time favorite Ironstone throughout the 1 3/16-mile race, took command in the stretch, and held off his rival, who refused to go away. Duke of Love crossed the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of Ironstone, who was himself six lengths ahead of third-place Ice Road.

“He got into so much traffic in the Queen's Plate, and today was such a clean race,” Fantucchio said. “He finds a gear. If you go back and watch his race where he was second to Rondure, he found another gear and got up and got second.”

A Canadian classic victory would be a fine update for any young broodmare with something to prove, but the breeders behind Duke of Love won't be able to benefit from it. They sold the mare privately shortly after Duke of Love went through the ring, and she is now producing foals in Ontario for Krasauskaite Racing Stable.

Since leaving the quartet of breeders that produced Duke of Love, Tell the Duchess has had one foal: Achluophile, a yearling Danish Dynaformer colt. The mare failed to produce a foal in 2022 after being bred to Shaman Ghost and Silent Name, and she was bred back to Shaman Ghost for the 2023 foaling season.

That doesn't mean the band won't get back together to try it again with a different mare, though, whether it's working toward a Canadian classic winner, one in the U.S., or elsewhere on the map.

“We will soon,” Strouss said with certainty. “All four of us will soon.”

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For many stallions, the commercial appeal of second-crop yearlings is not as high as a year earlier, when the same horse's debut foals were the shiny new thing on the commercial market.

City of Light managed to buck that trend in the deepest waters of the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he posted the biggest year-to-year gain in average sale price during the auction's select Book 1 sessions (among those with two or more sold in Book 1 both years), and he did it with his second crop.

The resident of Lane's End saw six yearlings change hands for an average price of $662,500 during this year's two-day Book 1, which marked an improvement of $301,786 from his debut sale in 2021, when he had seven horses sell for an average of $360,714.

Of course, City of Light's 2021 Keeneland September sale was something of an anomaly in the sale's history. He was responsible for the highest-priced offering of the sale, a $1.7-million colt now named Prosper, but that colt did not go through the ring until Book 2.

Had last year's sale-topper been offered a day earlier in Book 1, City of Light's average price for that portion of the catalog would have been $528,125. His year-over-year average still would have improved by $134,375, which would have been the third-biggest jump among qualifying stallions.

With or without the spike of last year's sale-topper, City of Light proved in 2022 that he could make himself comfortable among the market's top commercial sires.

City of Light's slate of Book 1 offerings this year was led by a pair of seven-figure yearlings.

The partnership of Repole Stable, St. Elias Stables, and West Point Thoroughbreds landed a colt out of the unraced Medaglia d'Oro mare Numero d'Oro for $1.1 million. The bay colt is a half-brother to Grade 3 winners Wit and Barkley.

The colt was offered as property of Rosilyn Polan's Sunday Morning Farm, which also offered last year's sale-topper by City of Light.

Courtlandt Thoroughbreds bought the other seven-figure City of Light yearling from this year's Book 1, a colt out of the stakes-winning Pulpit mare Tea Time, for $1 million. Consigned by Betz Thoroughbreds, agent, the colt hails from the family of champion Covfefe and Grade 1 winners Arch and Acoma.

City of Light, an 8-year-old son of Quality Road, currently sits in fifth in the freshman sire standings by progeny earnings, with $826,793. He is also the top freshman sire by turf earnings and turf stakes winners through Sept. 14.

The greatest contributor to the stallion's numbers thus far has been Chop Chop, who held on by a nose to win the Aristocrat Gaming Juvenile Fillies Stakes on Sept. 3 at Kentucky Downs and took home the winner's share of a $500,000 purse.

Chop Chop, a filly out of the Giant's Causeway mare Grand Sofia, has won both of her career starts, also taking a maiden special weight at Ellis Park, and earning $336,700 to date.

On the same card at Kentucky Downs, Gaslight Dancer won a $150,000 maiden special weight to further boost his sire's coffers.

All three of City of Light's black type earners thus far have done so over the turf. Chop Chop was joined among the ranks of the stallion's stakes winners by Sendero, who romped to a 2 1/4-length score in the Jamestown Stakes on Sept. 7 at Colonial Downs.

City of Light earned his first graded black type at stud with Battle of Normandy, who finished second by a neck in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes on Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course. That effort came after a 2 1/4-length maiden special weight score over the Saratoga turf.

Though his most successful runners have come over the turf in the early months of the freshman sire race, City of Light's success has not been limited to that surface. His main-track maiden winners have struck at venues including Saratoga, Gulfstream Park, and Ellis Park.

City of Light has 67 yearlings cataloged in this year's Keeneland September sale.

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