‘A Lot of People, a Lot of Energy & a Lot of Activity’ – Bolt d’Oro Filly Leads Way During KEESEP Book 5 Finale

A filly by Bolt d'Oro brought $127,000 from Choctaw Racing to lead the way during Thursday's Book 5 finale at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. A son of Frosted was the highest-priced colt on the day and the session's second-highest priced yearling, realizing $110,000 from the Korea Racing Authority.

Ten yearlings brought $100,000 or more during the session while 13 hit that mark last year.

Keeneland sold a total of 289 yearlings through the ring Thursday for $9,276,500, good for an average of $32,099 and a median of $25,000. The gross was down 10.24% from last year's $10,335,000 when 308 horses sold. The average decreased 4.34% from $33,555 in 2022, while the median stayed the same.

Cumulatively, a total of 2,392 yearlings have changed hands for $388,649,700, good for an average of $162,479 and a median of $85,000. The gross is 2.82% below the same period last year when 2,488 horses sold for $399,940,000. The average price of $162,479 is slightly above $160,748, while the median of $85,000 is equal to last year.

Calumet Farm acquired five yearlings for a total of $390,000 to be the session's leading buyer. Taylor Made Sales Agency was Thursday's leading consignor with gross sales of $795,000 for 25 horses sold.

“Today has been amazing,” Taylor Made's Mark Taylor said nearing the end of Thursday's session.

“I don't know what the final numbers will bear out. But it's just been amazing–the activity. Horses got shown more than they ever have in Book 5 and they've gotten vetted more than they ever have in Book 5. And generally speaking, if they vet, they are selling very well. To me, it feels like a lot of people, a lot of energy and a lot of activity. A lot of it is driven by the pinhookers, who have been shut out along the way. I expect Book 6 to be better than usual.”

Airdrie Stud freshman sire Complexity led all sires on the day with eight yearlings sold, including a pair of six-figure sellers, for a total of $402,000 ($50,250 average). Taylor Made Stallions's fellow first-crop sire Instagrand checked in third on the day with eight yearlings bringing $369,000 ($46,125 average). Darley's Frosted split the pair with seven yearlings realizing $399,000 ($57,000 average).

Bred in Kentucky by Gabriel Duignan's Springhouse Farm, Thursday's Bolt d'Oro session topper was consigned as Hip 3590 by Paramount Sales, Agent LXXXIII. The daughter of the unraced Tale of the Cat mare Tigress Tale is a half-sister to last summer's Coronation Cup S. heroine Empress Tigress (Classic Empire).

The aforementioned son of Frosted was produced by the Forest Wildcat mare Streaker, a half-sister to Phipps GISWs Pine Island (Arch) and Point of Entry (Dynaformer). Consigned by Brookdale Sales, agent, as Hip 3572, he was bred in Kentucky by Mr. and Mrs. Oliver S. Tait.

The September Sale has two sessions remaining on Friday and Saturday, both beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

Nothing But Net…

DeJuan Smith, a ringman for Keeneland and also a show person for Taylor Made Sales, enjoyed a fantastic return on investment with a colt from the first crop of Instagrand on Thursday.

Purchased for just $15,000 earlier this year as a FTKFEB yearling, the New York-bred brought $105,000 from Don't Stop Me Now Stable at KEESEP.

Out of the winning More Than Ready mare Sistas Ready, the dark bay received a very timely update when his 2-year-old half-brother Vote No (Divisidero) captured the Pepsi Juvenile Sprint S. at Kentucky Downs last week.

He was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, Agent XXVII, as Hip 3552.

“DeJuan started pinhooking last year, had some success and did very well,” Taylor said. “This was his only one that he had this year and just did a great job raising the horse. It was a New York-bred and he got a very timely update right before the sale. It all came together and he did very well.”

Instagrand has also been represented by a $350,000 colt (Hip 1524) and a $125,000 colt (Hip 1174) so far during this Keeneland September sale. He stood for $7,500 this year.

Instagrand has been great and a lot of people are talking about him,” Taylor said. “He's throwing really nice-looking horses. He's got a lot of momentum right now.”

The post ‘A Lot of People, a Lot of Energy & a Lot of Activity’ – Bolt d’Oro Filly Leads Way During KEESEP Book 5 Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Keeneland Ringman Sends First Pinhook Through Sales Ring

Of all the pinhookers at this year's Keeneland September Sale, DeJuan Smith has definitely taken the most hands-on approach. While some sellers might watch anxiously from the back ring or in a seat in the sales pavilion, Smith will quite literally be on the shank of his own horse as it goes through the sales ring.

Smith is a ringman for Keeneland and also a show person for Taylor Made Sales. On Thursday Hip 3452, his first pinhook project, will sell with Taylor Made.

Could Smith be the first person to ever handle his own horse in the esteemed Keeneland sales ring? Quite possibly.

Smith has led hundreds–if not thousands–of horses through the ring, but will he be nervous for this particular sale?

“Yes,” the horseman said without a moment's hesitation. “I just want people to like him and for him to go to a good home.”

Smith's pinhook is by Palace Malice and out of Fiery Pulpit (Pulpit). The colt's female family features several stakes horses including Grade I stakes-placed Edwards Going Left (Midnight Lute).

“He has a good mind and he's a very strong horse,” Smith explained. “He covers the ground with a nice, big walk and he's balanced through his shoulder and hip.”

Smith leads a million-dollar yearling through the ring during Book 1 of Keeneland September | Keeneland

Smith and his wife Madeline have had a long-term goal of getting involved in the pinhooking game. They decided to take action at this year's Keeneland January Sale. Smith knew he would not have time to peruse the sales grounds looking at horses himself since he would be busy showing at the Taylor Made consignment in the mornings and then working as a ringman throughout the day, so he asked Mark Taylor to pick out a few prospects. They ended up with the Palace Malice colt, a $23,000 purchase, as well as a Preservationist colt who is from the family of champion Halfbridled (Unbridled) and will sell as Hip 4010 on the final day of the sale this week.

Both yearlings have developed at the Smiths' home in Florida, where the couple meticulously prepped them for the sale themselves.

“We've broke them too,” Smith said. “They're already ready for a rider. We probably took a month off of training for someone when they purchase these horses. They love apples and carrots and peppermints. Most yearlings don't know about treats like that, but my wife has them eating out of your hand. When you look at these yearlings and see how good they look, that's all her. That's not Show Sheen. It's just natural shine from her grooming them.”

Smith, who has built an impressive resume in the industry since he first got started in 2008, is the only member of his family to be involved in the sport. He described how his childhood in New York City was a drastically different environment than where he is today.

“We didn't have anything,” he said. “It was my mom, my brother and me and we were living between shelters and moving around the city a lot. My mom had some personal issues so we eventually had to go with her sister for a bit until she got straightened out.”

Smith was a self-described 'knucklehead' as a teenager, but when he and his family moved to Virginia, it was there that he was introduced to horse racing.

At a party, he met the son of Dale Jenkins, brother of legendary show jumper and trainer Rodney Jenkins. Smith was instantly interested in the business and began helping his new friend turn out horses and scrub water buckets.

Smith said his favorite job in racing is riding, exclaiming that he has, 'A need for speed!' | photo courtesy DeJuan Smith

He began working as a groom at various farms and major sales, and eventually claimed a horse for $500 at Charles Town. The filly won several races and when it came time for her to retire, Smith decided to teach himself how to ride.

“Nobody ever has time to teach you,” he said. “So I just watched what other people did. I'm perceptive in that way.”

From there, he looked to get involved with the 2-year-old sales.

“I knew how to ride and had been working the yearling sales, but it's very hard to get in when people haven't seen you ride,” he said. “Eventually Kip Elser [Kirkwood Stables] gave me a shot. I'm still an assistant trainer for him to this day. At the time he had some difficult horses and people saw how I handled them, so it kind of gave me a name.”

When Smith wanted to try his hand on the racetrack, he spent several summers exercise riding in Saratoga for Todd Pletcher and Jonathan Thomas, riding the likes of Grade I winners Audible, Always Dreaming and Catholic Boy. It was there that he met his wife Madeline, who was working for trainer Jeremiah Englehart.

While riding is easily his favorite job amongst all the many hats he has worn, Smith said that he and his wife hope that their pinhooks this week at Keeneland September will serve as the launching point for them to get more involved in the sales arena. Smith doesn't spend much time shadowing bloodstock agents or watching the sales from the sidelines. Instead he prefers to learn in action as he shows horses at Taylor Made and works as a ringman.

“Even when you're doing stuff like that, you're meeting people and they're telling you about confirmation and pedigrees and everything,” he explained. “The more you're around it, the more you learn. Right now I'm trying to learn the sales business and make a bit of money. I still have a lot to learn, but I think I'm pretty good at the confirmation part.”

Once the Keeneland September Sale concludes, Smith will catch a flight west to help run a consignment for the Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings and Horses of Racing Age Sale. From there, he'll be in Florida for the OBS October Sale and then will head back to Kentucky for the fall breeding stock sales. After that it's back home to Ocala, where 2-year-old consignors are already clamoring for his help leading into the juvenile sales season.

Smith explained that he is a completely different person than he was before he got involved in racing and he credits people like Mark Taylor and John Hall, the late, longtime yearling manager for Taylor Made, who have helped him along the way.

“With racing, I learned that trying to be a good person and staying humble gets you farther than trying to always be looking for your next quick move,” he said. “Ever since I started with the sales, people like Mark and John Hall have been life-changing people. Their presence inspires you to do well.”

Aside from the Smiths, no one will be more excited to watch this pair of pinhooks go through the ring than Mark Taylor.

“I have a lot of respect for DeJuan,” Taylor said. “He's very loyal, smart and hard working. He's everything you would want from someone working for you, and now the fact that he owns horses is great. One of the great things about this business is that it gives the opportunity for people who have started at the bottom and have an entrepreneurial spirit to take that step and become participants. We're going to be working hard so we can help him have a good sale.”

“We're not expecting to make a fortune,” Smith said. “But we're hoping to make a return so we can get another one.”

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