Keeneland will accept offers Monday at 9 a.m. for the six now two-year-olds previously purchased at Keeneland September for which the company was never paid. The six, purchased for a collective $4.875 million in September through bloodstock agent Richard Knight, have been in training in Ocala with Niall Brennan and David Scanlon since they shipped from the September sale. Their pedigrees, videos are photos have all been posted by Keeneland, here.
Interested parties have the opportunity, as do their veterinarians, to inspect the horses in-person or virtually. Radiographs and endoscopic videos are in the Keeneland Repository. Interested parties will submit one offer on each horse they are interested in, with the highest acceptable offer taking the horse. There is no public or online live auction that will take place, and buyers must pay for the horses in full by March 8 at 5 p.m., with buyers being responsible for the horses' training, treatment and other fees as of March 1.
The most expensive of the group and the eighth-most expensive horse to sell at Keeneland September 2022 was hip 192, a Constitution—Cozze Up Lady colt, who brought $1.3 million.
“He is a nice, big, tall, leggy colt,” said David Scanlon. “He has a great walk to him, a really nice step, and good length to him. He really attracts your attention on the racetrack. I think you can see on his videos that he moves really well. He really covers the ground effortlessly. He's a very good-moving horse.”
Scanlon has seen significant development in the colt in the five months he has had him, he said. “He was always a big-framed colt, had all the right angles and all the right things. He was a little taller, maybe a little leaner version of what he is now. And over time and training, he's really filled out and muscled up. He's just matured and filled out more.”
The second-most expensive September yearling of the group is a filly with Niall Brennan, by Gun Runner—Just Wicked, a full-sister to the multiple graded stakes winning Wicked Halo, who brought $1.1 million at Keeneland September. Since the sale, Wicked Halo has padded her resume with her second Grade II stakes win in the Lexus Raven Run S., and was third in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
“The Gun Runner filly, she speaks for herself,” said Brennan. “Her sister won a Grade II after they bought her, when she won the Raven Run at Keeneland. The mare is a producer, so it's a fabulous Winchell family. She's a lovely specimen for Gun Runner. She's done very well since September. She's grown some, and she's filled out tremendously. She's a very substantial filly. She's a good size with great substance, a beautiful head on her, very intelligent eye, and she trains that way.”
He continued, “She's very laid back and very smart. She just does what she has to do. She's very easy on herself. Again, they've been doing easy stuff, just nice, easy gallops every day, but she could go on at any time. She's got the strength and maturity physically and mentally to be a nice late-summer two-year-old. And she has speed because she's a very strong filly and an efficient mover on the track. But I also think she's built and bred to stretch out a bit. The Gun Runners have got great minds. I'd say she's quite typical of the Gun Runners, except she's probably got a little bit more substance than many of them at this stage.”
He also has a filly by Justify—Fully Living, who brought $1.05 million as a yearling.
“It's funny, because obviously there are a lot of inquiries on these fillies right now and people who say, `Which one do you prefer, Niall?' Or, `Which one is better Niall?'” said Brennan. “And my answer to them is that you can't compare. These are kids in second grade. You're asking what they're going to be like in college. And that's the fact. The two fillies that I have are both beautiful fillies, but they're very different. The Justify filly is a tall, scopey, growthy filly right now. She's really gone through a growing stage. She's another one that's got a lovely demeanor. And again, you could see on the gallop video, she's a lovely mover on the racetrack. She's very light on her feet, doing things effortlessly. She's a stretchy filly. She's growing again right now, and if you give her a little bit of time, this filly could be really nice in the fall. And again, she's another that's bred to be a really good three-year old. She's bred to run long, as in a mile-plus.
“She very athletic. She'll come to hand easily, in my opinion. And there's something about her that's really, really nice that's not obvious. She's got a lovely mind and is very professional. The frame is there, but she'll benefit with more time.”
In training with Scanlon is the Street Sense—Bambalina colt who brought a final bid of $725,000 in September.
“The Street Sense is a very strong horse. He has a really nice hip and high leg, a very good, strong shoulder on him, and a wide chest. He's another horse you can just see is a very powerful horse. And he actually gets over the ground really nicely,” said Scanlon. “Street Sense over a Bernardini mare is a beautiful cross that has done very well. He's a very classy horse with a lot of presence.”
Scanlon also has an Omaha Beach colt out of Daisy, who brought $400,000 in September.
“The Omaha Beach is a really nice, strong horse,” said Scanlon. “He's a very fleshy type. He gets that from the War Front side. But then he's got some nice refinement, too. He's got a beautiful head and nice angles, a good bit of leg under him. He's got a really good hindquarter and shoulder on him, gets over the ground really nicely, and just has a nice presence to him.”
And finally, Brennan is training the Twirling Candy—Danceforthecause colt who brought $300,000.
“This colt has done extremely well since September and he's grown at least a good two inches,” said Brennan. “He's 16.1 now. He's put on about 150 pounds. He's a big boy now, but he's a gentle giant. He's got a great temperament, very professional. He's a beautiful mover on the racetrack. For his size, he's very light on his feet, and as you can see in the gallop videos, he's just a very smooth horse. He's obviously got a lovely pedigree.”
The colt is a half-brother to Say the Word (More Than Ready), a multiple-Grade II and Grade I stakes-placed runner; and Rideforthecause (Candy Ride {Arg}), also a Grade II winner.
“His brothers were stakes winners on the turf,” said Brennan. “He does move very well on the dirt, but we're in the early stages. We're doing second, third grade stuff right now. So they're just kids going through the learning process. But he does everything right and he's got a tremendous temperament.”
“I think he's going to be a better later developer,” he continued. “He'll be a fall two-year old and a better three-year old. That's what he's bred to do and that's what he physically looks like. He's going to be a lovely horse for the future. He does everything right. He's just a big baby right now.”
Globally, said Scanlon, the six on offer are of a very high quality. “My three, and I've actually heard of the others as well, they all justified their purchase prices. They're beautiful. They did a great job buying the horses. They're all very quality, high-end quality horses.
“The situation is a shame. But the one good thing is you've got a very good product to have to reoffer to the public. It's not like the gentleman didn't do a good job. It's a very nice product to put out there. The horses are all standout horses.”
Brennan said he agreed.
“I do think they were well-bought,” he said. “They're horses that are very nice, and obviously the fillies sold accordingly back in September. It was a very competitive bidding market, and these fillies had pedigree and presence, and they were desirable. People wanted them. The way this bidding process is, it's a sealed bid, so it's just one bid. And so people are a bit confused about this because obviously human nature has you wanting to bid against somebody else. In this process, it's important for them to know it's one bid. You make your best bid.”
He said a lot of potential buyers had been inquiring about how much they will bring.
“People ask me, `How do you value them?' I said, `This is how you value them. These are top-quality prospects. In three weeks' time, we're going to start the two-year-old sales process at OBS, and there will be horses over there with no pedigree that breeze exceptionally fast, and people will be battling each other to buy them, and they'll be bringing double what they're worth. And these horses here now are horses that brought the prices legitimately in the market back in September, walking on the end of a shank. Now you've got the benefit of seeing them six months later, galloping beautifully on the racetrack, where their vet work is done and clean and they're ready to go on. How can they not be worth what they brought in a competitive market back in September?”
He points out that potential buyers' have now saved on five months of training bills.
“And that's really how people need to value it right now,” he said. “This (two-year-old) sales market is about to start and it's going to be hot and you're going to regret not buying these. By the time April comes around, people are going to look back and regret not taking the opportunity to buy these horses with their best offer. Because these are collector's items.”
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