“She's a lovely filly and has been extremely well trained by Charlie Fellowes,” said McStay of lot 59. “I inspected her [Wednesday] morning and was very taken by her–she's gorgeous looking with a great walk. It's a family I know very well from my days at Godolphin and Rabbah. I think it's safe to say that Sea The Stars is looking like being a very good broodmare sire. She's been bought for an Irish breeder with no mating plans yet, but we're delighted to get her.”

Fellowes added, “She was a very good racemare, she ran a massive race to finish fourth at Royal Ascot and got some black-type after that. We felt that the Online Sale worked really well for her because we felt she stood out, and we were delighted with the price we got for her. I am very much look forward to following her babies when they no doubt turn up at Tattersalls!”

Also included among Thursday's leading lots: 2-year-old Regal Defence (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) (lot 5), who finished an eye-catching third at Kempton on debut Wednesday night and realised 52,000 guineas to trainer Ian Williams. Recent Dundalk winner Never Cry Never (Ire) (No Nay Never) (Lot 52) was purchased for 21,000 guineas by Ger O'Leary from Fozzy Stack's Thomastown Castle Stables and the 4-year-old filly Reinitinruby (Ire) (Leading Light {Ire}) (Lot 125), a recent third in a competitive point to point, brought the same amount from Dan Astbury, acting on behalf of Stockton Hall.

At the close of bidding the Tattersalls Online December Sale realised a turnover of 566,800 guineas for the sale of 53 lots from 111 offered, at an average of 10,694 guineas. Almost 250 bidders registered for the sale from across Great Britain, Ireland, North America, Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and the Gulf region.

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“With Irish Point-to-Points being so hard to buy out of, you have to go elsewhere,” said McConnell. “This is a nice horse who ticks the boxes and has plenty left in the tank. He could be anything and I'm glad to have found him in the Spring Sale.”

A total of 16 of 19 lots sold for an 84% clearance rate. Several of the pointers are eligible for ThoroughBid's popular £5,000 Point2Rules Bonus, including Hypersonic Missile.

“With Hypersonic Missile, we'll be trying to win first time out and will try him in a bumper,” added McConnell. “I haven't bought him for anyone in particular so, if anyone's interested, get in touch!”

Other notable horses sold in the Spring Sale included Irish pointer Moorefields, who sold to Tom Malone Bloodstock for £22,000 and two hurdlers, The Priests Leap and What an Ocean, who were bought by Aidan 'Mouse' O'Ryan.

CEO of ThoroughBid, James Richardson added, “We are delighted with the Spring Sale results and to have a clearance rate of over 80% is particularly pleasing. It's great to see both British and Irish pointers such as Moorefields and Hypersonic Missile selling so well to new connections, who are now in with a realistic chance of winning our £5,000 Point2Rules Bonus.”

“Having the likes of Tom Malone and Mouse O'Ryan involved in the online bidding battle today was good to see, and we wish them the best of luck with their new purchases.”

For the complete results, click here.

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The catalogue offers selected horses of racing age and breeding stock. Included among these are 37 offerings from the partial reduction of Lovacres Ranch, which are catalogued as hips 33-69.

“This is our first digital sale following a summer break, and we are very pleased with the quality of our catalogue as there is something for everyone in here,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “The partial reduction of Lovacres Ranch should draw significant interest from both breeders and racing stables, as the Lovacres program is annually at the top of breeding and racing ranks in California.”

For the complete catalog, click here.

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“Successful results in our initial online auctions are generating substantial interest from sellers in the Fasig-Tipton Digital platform,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales.  “This May Digital catalogue features another quality group of breeding stock offerings and some very exciting horses of racing age. Included among the horses of racing age are some impressive recent stakes winners and promising last-out 2-year-old and 3-year-old maiden special weight winners.”

Horses of racing age on offer include Tom's Regret (Tom's Tribute) (Hip 12), an undefeated California-bred 2-year-old filly that defeated colts in the Kentucky Juvenile S. last week at Churchill Downs; and Awesome Strong (Awesome Slew)(Hip 24), a 2-year-old Florida-bred colt that recently won his debut at Gulfstream by six lengths.

Also included among the horses of racing age are Sadie Bluegrass (Bluegrass Cat)(Hip 20), winner of the Camilla Urso S. at Golden Gate Apr. 30; as well as recent maiden special eeight winners Baltasar (Bodemeister) (Hip 17) and Sunny Lane (Mastery) (Hip 21).

The catalogue also offers an attractive group of in-foal mares–including black-type performers and graded stakes producers–in foal to Candy Ride (Arg), Improbable, Independence Hall, Knicks Go, Silver State, Tiz the Law, and Volatile. MSW & GSP Truth Hurts (Tonalist) (Hip 13) is being offered as a broodmare prospect.

Each entry's page features a catalogue-style pedigree, five-cross pedigree, photos, and walking videos. Horses of racing age and racing/broodmare prospect pages offer Daily Racing Form Past Performances, Thoroughmanager past performances, Ragozin speed figures, and race replays. Access to veterinary information and a repository are available on applicable entries.

Location information for entries is also provided, and registered bidders may contact sellers from the entry's page to arrange an inspection or ask for additional information.

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Consigned by Horseco Bloodstock, agent, the daughter of SW Heavenly Humor is a half-sister to MSW and GSP Funny Guy. The 9-year-old mare is from the family of Grade I winner Heavenly Ade. Online bidding for the August Sale opens at 10 a.m. ET on Aug. 31 and will begin to close that day at 2 p.m.

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Keeneland encourages buyers to register for an account in the Keeneland Digital Sales Ring prior to June 29 in order to log into the Keeneland Digital Sales Ring. The universal login applies to both the Sales Portal and the Digital Sales Ring.

• Visit portal.keeneland.com and create an account or log in to the existing Keeneland Sales Portal Account
• Upon sign in, click MY ACCOUNT and review current credit limit. Request credit as needed. We recommend you do this prior to the sale day
• Click the DIGITAL SALES RING button in the top right corner to automatically access and participate in the Digital Sale.

Buyers have two options for bidding on the day of the sale:

• Direct Bid manually (bid as you go).
• Max Bid – establishes a top price – the software will automatically bid on your behalf as you are outbid up to your maximum.

For more information, contact Dean Roethemeier at droethemeier@keeneland.com, Kyle Wilson at kwilson@keeneland.com or Chip McGaughey at cmcgaughey@keeneland.com.

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The Minnesota Thoroughbred Association (MTA) will conduct its 2021 Stallion Season Auction Jan. 3-11, featuring over 50 stallions from Kentucky, Florida, Oklahoma and Minnesota. The on-line auction will be hosted at www.thoroughlybred.com.

A new incentive is also being offered for this year’s auction from the Minnesota Breeders’ Fund. Breeders who purchase a stallion season through the 2021 MTA Stallion Season Auction with the resultant foal born in Minnesota will receive a $1000 check when the foal is registered with the Minnesota Racing Commission in 2022.

“As we leave 2020 behind, organizers at the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association are excited to provide breeders with many terrific stallions to build on in the future,” said Kay King, Executive Director of the MTA.

Bids will be placed on a rolling basis for all eight days of the sale. New stallion seasons may continue to be added through the duration of the sale. For the latest Stallion Season Auction list, visit www.minnesotabred.com.

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Regally bred 3-year-old filly Trapezium (Hard Spun) (hip 26) topped Keeneland’s first-ever digital auction, the Select Horses of Racing Age sale, Tuesday on a winning bid of $327,000 from Vinnie Viola’s St. Elias Stables. A Gulfstream maiden special weight runner-up in February, the granddaughter of blue hen Toussaud was consigned by her owner/breeder, Juddmonte Farms, Inc. The Juddmonte draft was responsible for four or the sale’s top five lots at the close of trade.

“The successful launch of the Digital Sales Ring marks a milestone in Keeneland’s storied auction history because it enables us to deliver another high-quality sales option to our clients,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said. “This sale met the needs of the market by providing buyers, as tracks reopen around the country, the opportunity to purchase proven, ready-made racehorses from top-flight consignors.”

The sale grossed $829,500 for 12 horses, at an average of $69,125 and a median of $32,750.

With buyers and sellers still figuring out the nuances of a digital sale, 19 of the 31 offerings failed to meet their reserves or sell immediately after trade had closed, including 2-year-old debut winner Queen Arella (Speightster) (hip 475), who RNA’d for $475,000.

While all three horses consigned by Niall Brennan Stables were initially bought back, sophomore filly Eloquent Speaker (Flatter) (hip 35) was subsequently purchased by Anthony Mitola for $200,000 and recorded in the final results as sold to be the day’s second topper. The New York-bred, co-owned by Brennan and Mike Ryan, broke her maiden second out for trainer Jeremiah Englehart at Belmont June 12.

“Since the sale, we’ve sold one of our three, and we’ve had three or four calls on each of them,” Brennan said. “I think some people had trouble navigating the process. It’s the first time we’ve done this and it’s a little different. Even when you went online and the instructions were quite specific, I think people were caught off guard thinking they could just hop online and bid. They didn’t realize they had to register and then go back and get credit even if they’ve bought with Keeneland before. They didn’t realize they had to re-establish credit. There’s no live bidding, which we’re used to. Even if you’re on the phone at a live auction, you’re listening and you’re involved. But this time there’s no auctioneer and it feels like a dead bid. So there may be some confusion, but it’s the first time out of the box and I’m sure Keeneland and the buyers expected to iron out some kinks and for there to be a learning curve.”

Brennan added, “Our three horses were legitimate, and they vetted clean. The one sold, and she won last week at Belmont in a nice maiden race. She’s a lovely filly and I hope the buyers have good luck with her. She’s got stakes potential and she came out of the race really well. Jeremiah is really high on her. They can run her back at Saratoga if they want.”

“As far as the platform is concerned, I loved it,” said ELiTE’s Brad Weisbord, who consigned $210,000 RNA Wondrwherecraigis (Munnings) (hip 30) and who said he also bid on another horse who RNA’d. “In the case of the one horse we consigned, we wanted to support the sale and try out the platform. We used our best clients who were willing to support our endeavor in doing that; we hand-selected a horse who we thought would really fit the model–he was two-for-two, and had fast speed figures… Anybody who called to discuss, I was very stern in saying that they’re going to want $200,000 to $225,000 for the horse because they think he’s a stakes horse. That was the messaging, and they didn’t waver and we didn’t waver. It seemed like there was live money in the $150,000 range, but for a horse who’s two-for-two, I wouldn’t let them sell him for that–even with decreased purses around.”

Weisbord added, “I think the main hurdle to navigate is that you still need to inspect these horses–we didn’t have one inspection on Wondrwherecraigis. We did provide the X-rays to multiple trainers and owners, and we produced a vet report that we placed online, but I didn’t think anyone would be giving $200,000-plus for a horse they didn’t inspect… I think you need to determine if the horse’s feet are in good condition; if their coat is in good condition; if they have any vices; how they train and gallop. That’s the stuff that an inspection can take care of–I’m not as concerned about the actual vetting, because as long as everyone’s being ethical, our vets can interpret X-rays, and if we need to ultrasound something we can do that or ask the consignor to do it. But, the inspection part is tough–especially with COVID. People don’t want to travel, and if they do, they can’t get on the backsides. So I think that’s really going to hurt the online platform until COVID is over.”

Agent Nick Hines, who purchased 3-year-old colt Juror (Tapit) (hip 8) for $55,000 out of the Juddmonte consignment, also had positive impressions of the digital platform but experienced some of the same logistical hurdles mentioned by others.

“As far as making the credit request and getting set up to bid online, it was pretty seamless,” he said. “It was probably comparable to getting set up for the Keeneland September sale

–it was as easy as that. As far as the actual vetting and inspection process, however, the logistics were a bit tedious knowing that horses were in different locations, but it’s still something new and I’m sure everyone will continue to figure it out. For the actual bidding online, I think we’ve all been eBay shoppers at some point, and it was pretty straightforward. The most difficult part in getting this done was having a vet in place and getting it done in a timely fashion. I think it’s also probably prudent to know who you’re buying from–as you would in any other market–and to ask questions.”

Hines said Juror, who was second on debut for trainer Chad Brown at Tampa Bay Downs June 1, would be sent to California to take advantage of Del Mar’s “Ship and Win” program and that the additional $2,000 incentive announced for purchases made Tuesday added to the appeal of shopping the sale.

Juddmonte Draft Dominates

 Trapezium (Hard Spun) was the major standout of the inaugural, all-online Keeneland Select Horses of Racing Age sale as the Juddmonte draft–many selling without reserve–dominated the market.

Bidders jumped at the chance to acquire a filly from the direct line of Juddmonte blue hen mare Toussaud (El Gran Senor). The bidding was almost to the $300,000 mark by half-past noon, and the virtual gavel stuck at $327,000 two hours later.

The sophomore filly is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Mesmeric and is a half-sister to the near-millionaire and three-time graded stakes winner Honorable Duty (Distorted Humor). Mesmeric is a daughter of 2002 Broodmare of the Year Toussaud, dam of four Grade I winners including late sires Empire Maker (Unbridled) and Chester House (Mr. Prospector) and Honest Lady (Seattle Slew), in turn the dam of GISW First Defence (Unbridled’s Song).

“Juddmonte is obviously one of the most premier private breeding operations in the world. But what attracted us to her is that while most of their stock races on turf, this family is different in that it’s primarily a dirt family with Empire Maker and Honest Lady and several other top dirt stakes winners,” said John Sparkman, bloodstock advisor to Viola.

Trapezium was eighth in her debut on the Gulfstream grass for Bill Mott Dec.  29, but earned a 76 Beyer Speed Figure when improving to be second in a similar spot Feb. 2. She has posted two published works this month at Juddmonte’s Lexington farm.

“She’s a filly from one of our very best families,” said Juddmonte General Manager Garrett O’Rourke. “There are many great horses in this family who have headlined for Prince Khalid over the years. It’s a family that other breeders are very keen to try to access. When she was first placed in this catalogue, I wasn’t sure how she might be received in a training sale. But any fears we might have had were quickly dispelled because by the time we got to last Friday, both my phone and Leif Aaron’s phone were ringing, and even Bill Mott told us about the calls he was getting. It was good for us that she did stand out, but it was also indicative of how many people actually paid attention to this sale. Quite a few people came to see her at the farm and ask questions. My expectations were tempered by a fear for the market being down in these times, but the reality is that when you bring quality to the market, even in down times, people will still pay a premium.”

With the logistical hurdles of conducting a sale of horses spread out around the country, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the St. Elias team enlisted help inspecting its target.

“It was critical for us that since I couldn’t be there, we were able to get Tom Clark from Trackside Farm to go to Juddmonte and take a look for us,” Sparkman said. “He gave us confidence that she was a nice mare. We’re very excited to have her.”

Sparkman reported that Trapezium will be sent to Dr. Larry Bramlage for a thorough once-over before leaving Kentucky and heading to the barn of Todd Pletcher in New York.

“Hopefully we can win a race or two with her,” he said.

Sparkman also gave a nod to the online sales process, saying everything ran as planned.

“The sale seemed to go pretty much as predicted,” he said. “It was a smooth process for us and I thought it worked well. Her price was pretty much on the money for what we expected.”

Along with Trapezium, Juddmonte Farms consigned four other horses through the online sale, including a son and daughter of Into Mischief who each brought $65,000.

O’Rourke said that the success of Juddmonte’s five-horse consignment fully exceeded his expectations.

“I think there’s a learning curve for how a sale like this takes place,” he said. “There’s a lot that we had to learn and I’m sure a lot that Keeneland had to learn as well. There might be things that we do better going forward, but I think it was a sale that was put together at a time when there was a necessity for a sale. Everybody latched onto it and learned how to use the portal readily.”

O’Rourke also said that in the future, Juddmonte’s consignment will aim to make more information readily available for potential buyers.

“As time goes on, we will have to learn more about what buyers demand from these online sales,” he said. “We want to give them as much information as we can. We can do a better job in providing video of the horses and more editorial on what the horses are doing. We learned from the questions that were asked of us on the phone. If we have a description of why the horse hasn’t worked in a while, why it was on a layoff, and maybe quotes from the trainers, all of these pieces of information can give the buyers confidence.”

Looking ahead, O’Rourke said he sees continued long-term potential for online sales because of the ease of use for end users located across the country and worldwide.

“Even if you aren’t in town for the sale, you can still engage in a sale like this,” he said. “We spoke with people in New York and California. These sales enable end users to be able to engage from afar. I think that’s going to be a huge advantage for online sales. If it means you can spread a larger net over your potential buyers and have more people engaged in the sale, then it’s good. Overall, any commerce is good especially in times like these. I commend Keeneland for putting on this sale in short notice.”

He continued, “To be honest, I think people were having fun with it. We tried something new. Sometimes you do that and it doesn’t work, but I definitely think this worked. It doesn’t mean we have to do this every single month, but it’s a very useful tool to fill in for specific types of horses at a time where there aren’t major on-site sales.”

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The catalog features 34 horses, among them Grade II-placed Tempers Rising (Bayern). Other offerings include GSP Surf and Turf (Kitten’s Joy); GSW Ballagh Rocks (Stormy Atlantic); Juror (Tapit), second in his career debut at Tampa Bay June 1; Frills (Candy Ride {Arg}), won her last start in March at Turfway;   undefeated Wondrwherecraigis (Munnings); Queen Arella (Speightster), who won her career debut by four lengths at Gulfstream; and Eloquent Speaker (Flatter), who won her maiden at Belmont June 12.

Bidding begins at 9 a.m. ET on sale day. Bidding closes on Hip 1 at 2 p.m. and then at increments of approximately every two minutes on subsequent hips.

For additional information on registering or bidding, contact digitalsales@keeneland.com or visit Keeneland Digital Sales Ring.

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