Tag: carrie brogden

Kamden Racing Strikes for 550k Spritz as KEENOV Book 3 Closes

LEXINGTON, KY–The market remained competitive as Book 3 of the Keeneland November Sale closed its two-day run Friday with a frenzy of activity towards the end of the session. After a slow, but steady beginning to the day, Spritz (Awesome Again) (Hip 1747) commanded everyone's attention deep into the session, topping the day's action at $550,000 from Gary Holland's Kamden Racing. She is carrying her first foal by Quality Road.

The day's co-second-highest priced offering came just six hips later when the Brogdens fended off all comers for a mare from a family very close to their hearts, the $400,000 Stonetonic (Candy Ride {Arg}), who sold in foal to Yaupon.

SF Bloodstock, who sold the topper, was also responsible for the other $400,000 mare Hotshot Anna (Trappe Shot) (Hip 1561), who was also in foal to Quality Road. She was bought by Frederick and May Construction.

They also bred the weanling co-topper, a $175,000 daughter of first-crop sire McKinzie. That filly tied a filly from the first crop of champion Game Winner at $175,000. Coincidentally, both of those first-season stallions were bred by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, which, of course, produced superstar Flightline.

During Friday's session, a total of 246 head grossed $18,641,500 compared to last year when 282 horses brought $19,590,500. However, average was up from $69,470 to $75,778 and median was up from $57,000 to $60,000. The RNA rate increased from 15.32% for the fifth session last year to 21.41% this term.

Through the first five days of selling, 1,041 horses have sold for $182,437,00, well ahead of last year when 1,120 grossed $166,206,000. Average is up to $175,252 compared to $148,398 last year and median increased from $95,000 to $100,000. The RNA rate was up from 20.90% to 25.38%.

“I think the market is good. It is a careful market,” said Neal Clarke of Bedouin Bloodstock, which sold the mare and weanling toppers Friday and were the session's leading consignor by average. “There is plenty of money there for the right stock. I don't think a high tide raises all boats. I think it raises a lot of them, but others get left by the wayside. I think it is a very good sale. We are enjoying it. Long may it last.”

Carrie Brogden noted that as we reach the midway point of the sale, a stronger middle market is starting to emerge.

“We walk up here looking to spend $100,000 or $200,000 on a mare and they bring $390,000 or $350,000,” the horsewoman said. “I think there is plenty of money for those that tick all the boxes. It is very strong for quality. I will say things are starting to change here and there is more of a middle market for weanlings.”

The Keeneland November Sale continues through Wednesday with sessions starting at 10 a.m. and is followed by a single-session Horses of Racing Age Sale Thursday.

Spritz Tops Strong Day For SF

Mares sold by Gavin Murphy's SF Bloodstock have been extremely popular this week at Keeneland and two of them topped Friday's trade during the Book 3 closer. Spritz (Awesome Again) (Hip 1747) was the session topper, bringing $550,000 from new owner Gary Holland's Kamden Racing, and Hotshot Anna (Trappe Shot) (Hip 1561) shared the second spot at $400,000 from Frederick and May Construction. Both mares were sold by Bedouin Bloodstock carrying foals by Quality Road.

“It's been a great sale for us,” said SF's Caroline Wilson. “They are both in foal to Quality Road and are both great mares, who we thought would suit the sale very well. Obviously, we are invested in Quality Road. We have a lot of faith in him. He really adds value to his mares. We thought they would be great sale prospects and they have not let us down.”

Bred by SF in partnership with Tony Holmes, Spritz raced under SF's colors after they bought out their partner at KEESEP for $140,000. Out of SW Holy Blitz (Holy Bull), the 4-year-old filly is a half-sister to champion female sprinter Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper). Spritz was stakes-placed during her 11-race career and is carrying her first foal.

“I bought this for a new guy, Gary Holland,” said Darby Dan's Charlie McKinlay, who signed the ticket as Kamden Racing. “He just bought the old Windhaven Farm. This mare will be the top of the heap. He is just getting into the game. He lives in northern Kentucky and owns a bunch of restaurants in the area, like the Merrick Inn.”

McKinlay added, “I think she really stood out today. I think she was the prettiest one by far.”

Hotshot Anna, who is also carrying her first foal, was a dual graded winner who earned just over $975,000. The SF team purchased her for $100,000 at the 2020 renewal of this auction.

“We purchase mares with two ideas in mind,” Wilson said. “We may keep them in our broodmare band and take foals out of them or we may breed them and put them back into the market. We thought this was a good opportunity to put Hotshot Anna back into the market. She was a tremendous racehorse and now in foal to Quality Road, which makes her appealing and an exciting horse to sell.”

She continued, “Spritz we actually co-bred with our good friend Tony Holmes. We purchased her as a yearling and raced her ourselves. She got her stakes placing with our friend Rodolphe Brisset. She was a special horse for us. We bred her to Quality Road and thought it was a good time to put her back in the market. We are delighted with how she has done.”

SF also bred and sold the weanling co-topper, a $175,000 filly (Hip 1594) from the first crop of MGISW McKinzie.

Anna Still a 'Hotshot' at Keeneland

MGSW Hotshot Anna (Trappe Shot) (Hip 1561) was back in the spotlight at Keeneland Friday, summoning $400,000 from Chad and Todd Frederick's Frederick & May Construction while carrying her first foal by Quality Road.

“We have been wanting to pick up a mare,” said Chad Frederick. “We have lost out on several, so we decided this was one we were going after. A racemare in foal to Quality Road meant a lot.”

As for the price, he said, “It was a little more [than we thought], but it was our limit. The market is very strong.”

The Frederick brothers bought a pair of weanlings post sale, a $100,000 Bolt d'Oro colt (Hip 1031) and a $90,000 Audible filly (Hip 1007). Todd Frederick also signed the ticket on A Bit of Both (Paynter) (Hip 1412), who brought $110,000 in foal to McKinzie.

Hotshot Anna was a six-time black-type winner, with two of those being graded events. She had 12 wins in total from 27 starts and earnings over $975,000. SF Bloodstock purchased her for just $100,000 at the 20202 KEENOV sale.

“We were hoping for this,” said Neal Clarke of Bedouin Bloodstock, which consigned the 8-year-old mare. “Everybody really, really liked her. It is very hard to find a mare that had that graded stakes-winning streak that she had. Twelve wins, seven seconds, a real racemare and in foal to Quality Road. It was the perfect package.”

Bedouin and SF have been having a very good November Sale, including selling the day three topper, the $1-million Proud Emma (Include), who is in foal to Charlatan.

Stonetonic a Sentimental Purchase For Brogden

It is no secret just how special the aptly named Special Me (Unbridled's Song) is to Carrie Brogden. Purchased for just $6,000, the now-17-year-old mare has produced four graded winners, two at the Grade I level, and the Brogdens have sold her offspring for a combined $3.081 million over the past decade.

Brogden and her husband Craig, who operate Machmer Hall Farm with her mother Sandra Fubini, have not retained any of Special Me's daughters, so they were hell bent on acquiring her grandaughter Stonetonic (Candy Ride {Arg}) Friday and were successful at $400,000. The 4-year-old sold in foal to new sire Yaupon.

“Special Me has paid for everything,” said Brogden as she choked back tears after Craig Brogden signed the ticket out back. “She has paid for our kids' education, our house. Special Me is getting old now and we don't know how many more foals we will get out of her. She had a Curlin filly that got kicked and killed in a freak paddock accident, which just broke my heart. She has a Twirling Candy filly in her belly and people ask if we are going to keep her. She will be a half to four graded winners. They get to be so valuable.”

The Brogdens and Fubini bred Stonetonic's fleet-footed dam Stonetastic (Mizzen Mast), who was Special Me's second foal and brought $77,000 as a KEESEP yearling from Stoneway Farm. She went on to win four black-type events, two at the graded level, and was Grade I-placed for earnings over $856,000.

Stonetastic was Special Me's first black-type winner and was followed by Grade I winners Gift Box (Twirling Candy) and Gina Romantica (Into Mischief)–a seven-figure yearling and recent winner of the GI QEII Challenge Cup here at Keeneland–as well as MGSW Special Forces (Candy Ride {Arg}).

The first foal out of Stonetastic, Stonetonic (Hip 1753) was retained by Stoneway Farm and never made the races. She is carrying her first foal by new Spendthrift stallion Yaupon (Uncle Mo).

“This filly was so much like Stonetastic, who was a beautiful, beautiful yearling,” said Carrie Brogden. “We were going to buy her no matter what she cost! I was kind of hoping no one else felt about her the way we did. I was told Mandy Pope did. We love the mating with Yaupon, too.”

She continued, “When you make millions of dollars out of a mare and then all those horses run and win and have heart and beauty and they vet, we are just very blessed. David Ingordo, who bought Gift Box off of us, bought Stonetastic's Gun Runner [filly for $925,000] in September [at Keeneland], so we have a lot of faith in that program.”

McKinzie's First Crop Proves Popular at KEENOV

The first foals by MGISW McKinzie (Street Sense) were in high demand at Keeneland this week with one of his daughters co-topping all weanlings during Friday's session. Hip 1594 summoned $175,000 from Creek Bloodstock, tying a colt from the first crop of champion Game Winner (Hip 1735) for top-priced weanling. Another filly by the Gainesway stallion (Hip 1551) sold for $170,000 to Teddy Town Racing.

“We are proud to be shareholders in McKinzie,” said Caroline Wilson of SF Bloodstock, which bred Hip 1594. “We had a lovely weanling out of Lady Rapper. We are very pleased with how that filly sold. Bedouin has done a great job for us. We got a lot of action today. The price was great for her.”

Hailing from the same farm that produced Flightline and Game Winner, Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, McKinzie won five Grade Is at varying distances throughout his career and was a solid second to champion Vino Rosso in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The 'TDN Rising Star' has had 22 weanlings sell so far at Keeneland for a total of $3.13 million and an average of $142,273.

“We are really thrilled with the way the marketplace has accepted the McKinzies,” said Gainesway's Brian Graves, who consigned Hip 1551. “When we first started looking at the offspring of the stallion, it was obvious he was really stamping and that's what we've put out there. They are all these big, leggy, bay horses with big, long, beautiful necks just like him. They are correct and we are thrilled. It is just as optimistic a start for a stud as we could hope for.”

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First-Crop Yearling Previews: Audible

The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. Check out the first few editions of our series here.

WinStar Farm's Liam O'Rourke vividly recalls the day that breeders got their first look at Audible (Into Mischief – Blue Devil Bel, by Gilded Time) just after the new stallion moved into the stud barn.

“We had a little party here to welcome him to the WinStar stallion barn and when we brought him out in front of breeders, there was an immediate draw to him,” O'Rourke explained. “He's just such a eyeful and is among the very best of the physicals by Into Mischief. From that point, people started shouting for seasons.”

Demand to breed to the 2018 GI Florida Derby winner was so high that Audible was the most popular first-year stallion in WinStar's history, breeding just over 220 mares in his debut season with a $25,000 stud fee.

“Demand for him has been extremely strong through all three years he's been here,” O'Rourke reported. “Right from the get go, there was a buzz around town on Audible.”

A $175,000 New York-bred yearling pinhook and a $500,000 2-year-old purchase for WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, Audible broke his maiden as a juvenile for Todd Pletcher and returned at three to take the GII Holy Bull S. by over five lengths and the GI Florida Derby by three. He ran third to Justify in the GI Kentucky Derby and later added another victory in the Cherokee Run S. Audible retired at four with over $2 million in career earnings.

As Audible's first crop of foals arrived last year, O'Rourke said that he quickly found several common trends in the youngsters.

“They're a very consistent group,” he noted. “He throws great substance, plenty of length, great quality and good bone. They're a robust, muscular type but with lots of length and they look like they can stretch out. The feedback from breeders was very positive from the start and we realized pretty early on that he was going to have a big November.”

Audible ranked second in his class with his first crop of weanlings. His progeny averaged $103,813 with 43 of 53 sold, including 16 six-figure weanlings led by a $360,000 filly out of Nagambie (Flatter) named Cosmic Thread and a $200,000 filly out of Safwah (Medaglia d'Oro).

With his first yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, Audible's progeny continued to trend upward. Seven of his nine lots sold for six figures, led by a colt out of I'm Guilty (Verrazano) that brought $220,00 to Bradley Thoroughbreds and a second colt out of Wonder Stone (Super Saver) that sold to Gus King for $200,000.

“Some of the best judges were on the Audibles in July, including Donato Lanni, Peter Bradley, Travis Durr and Nick de Meric,” O'Rourke said. “He has seven entered at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, which is more than any other freshman sire, so we think that's a great sign.”

Machmer Hall's Audible filly sells as Hip 43 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale | Sara Gordon

One filly bound for Saratoga will represent the Machmer Hall consignment as Hip 43. The yearling out of Patsy's Kim (Dixie Union) was bred by Teresa Little and was a private purchase for Machmer Hall Sales. Carrie Brogden said that the youngster is the type of yearling that their consignment hopes to offer in Saratoga.

“She's big and fancy and two-turn, but looks like she'll have speed,” Brogden said. “She vets, she's correct and she's got a classy brain. Our farm has a share in Audible. I was a big fan of him as a racehorse and obviously WinStar has an incredible track record making stallions. We had two Audibles in July and they were more of a pinhooker-style horse. Both of them looked very speedy. This [Saratoga-bound] filly has a lot more scope and stretch.”

Of the Audibles that have been on her farm, Brogden said that all have shared one trait that she has also noticed in Into Mischief's progeny and the offspring of other sons of the champion sire.

“They all have the Into Mischief brain,” she said. “When you're pushing the feed cart, they're always whinnying and beating down the door for feed. For me that's a wonderful sign of a racehorse because it means they're not going to back out of their feed tub. It's a common theme that I see again and again.”

Another yearling slated for the sales ring in Saratoga is a colt out of Peter Blum's homebred Tapit mare Sundown. The gray will sell as Hip 97 with Bridie Harrison.

“We like this colt a lot,” Harrison reported. “He's tall with a lot of leg and great length. Audible added a lot of size and scope to Sundown. This is certainly one of her bigger foals. He's a very nice mover and has a great temperament.”

After the Select Sale in Saratoga, nine Audible yearlings will go through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale.

As Audible's progeny soon begin making their way to the racetrack, O'Rourke said to look for them to come out in force early next year.

“He was a precocious horse,” he noted. “He breezed fast and then went out and performed as a 2-year-old on the racetrack. His sire line has precocity so I do think there's going to be precocity there, but with the way he's built, I think they are built to carry that speed a route of ground. They'll be able to go around two turns with their length, but do so in a front-running fashion.”

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Optimism Prevails as Yearlings Go Back on the Market at Fasig-Tipton July Sale

LEXINGTON, KY – The yearling sales season kicks off Tuesday with the Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings at Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. Bidding at the one-session auction begins at 10 a.m.

“We're optimistic,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said of expectations for the sale. “We've seen a very solid 2-year-old marketplace throughout the spring. There is demand for quality horses, certainly plenty of interest. Racing is pretty good right now.”

On a balmy Monday morning in Lexington, buyers were out in force and consignors were busy showing yearlings to a strong mixture of pinhookers and end-users.

“Hopefully it will be the same as usual,” Paramount Sales' Gabriel Duignan said of expectations for the July market. “Racing is very good, purses are great. The traffic seems to be busy here. The pinhookers had a good year and this sale is driven by pinhookers. So I am very hopeful it will be a good sale.”

Brian Graves, overseeing the Gainesway consignment Monday morning, agreed activity has been brisk at the sales barns.

“It's been busy,” Graves said. “There are a lot of people here. It will be interesting to see how many are end-users, but the market is alive and well, that's for certain. Most of the horses in the barn have been vetted well before they sell tomorrow. Usually, in a different climate when it's not so busy, you are waiting right up to the end to see some action. It seems like people are here to participate. I would expect it to be a fair market, whether it's as good as it was last year or not remains to be seen, but it will be healthy.”

Canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, the July auction rebounded with a strong showing in 2021, setting its fourth highest average and second highest median. A filly by Into Mischief brought the auction's top price when selling for $800,000.

Following a spring of competitive results at the 2-year-old sales and with purses at record levels, a strong yearling market would seem a safe bet, but volatility in the stock market–and in the overall economy–looms in the background.

“[Economic conditions] are a little concerning, but our racing is so healthy at the moment and I think there is a shortage of horses,” Duignan said.

Graves said, “The thing about horse people is they can't just take up plumbing. They just can't take up a different profession. They make their living by buying, developing and selling horses. Whether the horse market trails the stock market and it's off 10 or 15%, it could happen. What is important to me is that there is healthy trade. That you can take a horse and turn it into cash. And that clearly looks like it will be the case here. I don't see any big red flags.”

The July sale comes just a week after the implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and the new authority is another positive for the industry, according to Machmer Hall Sales' Carrie Brogden.

“I think everyone has to be aware of what is happening in the world-wide economy and in Ukraine and food prices, etc., but I think there are a lot of things to be very excited about,” Brogden said. “Obviously, there are some big changes in our industry with HISA coming online, but I personally am very optimistic that, after the changes shake out, we are going to be better and stronger. For me, I hate that the foal crop keeps shrinking. That means less product, fewer horses to race, but I am hopeful that all the changes, even though in the short term it may be hard for people to get through, ultimately we are going to get through it a lot stronger and reverse the trend on the other side.”

A total of 302 yearlings have been catalogued for the July sale, with 39 withdrawn as of Monday late morning. The auction opens with an offering of 88 youngsters by first-crop sires. The group of new stallions includes: Audible, Catalina Cruiser, Catholic Boy, Copper Bullet, Demarchelier (GB), Enticed, Flameaway,  Maximus Mischief, Mitole, Omaha Beach, Preservationist, St Patrick's Day, Vino Rosso, World of Trouble, and Yoshida (Jpn).

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Line of Vision Tops Wanamaker’s April

Wanamaker's, host of monthly online Thoroughbred auctions, closed April's sale with a top price of $60,000 for young broodmare Line of Vision (Court Vision). The MSW is carrying her first foal, which is due next spring and is by Coolmore America's MGISW Tiz the Law. Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall signed the ticket.

“One of my clients alerted me to a stakes-winning mare carrying her first baby by Tiz the Law in the Wanamaker's Sale,” said Brogden. “We have had several of his babies born on our farm and were very impressed with his progeny, so this seems like a very solid, long-term purchase for us.”

A total of 19 horses changed hands at the Wanamaker's April Sale, bringing a gross of $197,300. The next Wanamaker's auction will take place May 26, with entries being taken up until May 17. For more information, visit wanamakers.com.

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