Tag: Four Star Sales

$825K Cancel This Tops ‘Realistic’ Book 2 Opener at Keeneland November

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis

LEXINGTON, KY – The first of two Book 2 sessions of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale saw marked polarization, as the demand for the perceived quality remained strong, but fell off for the less desired offerings.

“It's been a realistic, selective market today,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “I think it was pretty evident throughout the day, people knew what they wanted and they were very specific about what they were willing to invest in. Speaking to a lot of sellers, they were very pragmatic about the market. They saw, if a mare was young and was well-bred, you were in pretty good shape. I think any mares that were a little older probably have been exposed a little bit and were a tougher sell. And from the consignors we spoke to, there was an acknowledgment that that's where the market is at the moment. So a little bit of softening, but again, that's to be expected in certain areas.”

For the session, 213 head grossed $34,428,000. The session average of $161,634 fell 9.21% from a year ago, while the median fell 14.29% to $120,000.

The 4-year-old racing/broodmare prospect Cancel This (Malibu Moon), consigned by Four Star Sales, was the session's top-priced lot when selling for $825,000 to Larkin Armstrong on behalf of Helen Alexander.

Competition for the top weanlings continued to be strong Thursday, with a colt by Constitution selling for top price of $525,000 from Cherry Knoll Farm. The weanling was one of five to sell for $400,000 or over during the session. There were two to reach that level in the same session last year.

“The market has been really strong and on a bull run for some years,” said Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach. “We had a great September sale and yearling market this year. I think that's reflected in strong foal sales.”

The Keeneland November sale continues through Nov. 16 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Cancel This Shines at KeeNov Opener

Well into Thursday's session, Cancel This (Malibu Moon) (Hip 601) broke to the fore with a session-topping $825,000 bid from Helen Alexander, bidding from her customary place in front of the media stand at the back of the pavilion. Consigned by Four Star Sales, she was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect.

Kerry Cauthen, Larkin Armstrong, and Helen Alexander | Keeneland

“We [initially] thought maybe we should put the whole budget on one mare, but we got blown out of the water [at Fasig-Tipton Tuesday]. So we decided to divide it up instead,” said Larkin Armstrong, signing on behalf of Alexander. “We were waiting for this one. [She was good enough to] have sold in any sale.”

Alexander also signed for a pair of mares in Keeneland's Book 1: Candy Raid (Candy Ride {Arg}) (Hip 206), who brought $425,000 and Weekend Away (Malibu Moon) (Hip 166), a $400,000 purchase. Both mares were consigned by Taylor Made Sales.

“[Alexander] went into the sale wanting to buy some nice young mares for her breeding program, so I feel like we got horses that we're really excited about,” added Armstrong.

The 4-year-old filly was sold by Corey Johnson, whose CJ Thoroughbreds secured the filly for $180,000 at Keeneland September in 2020.

“When Dale Romans picked her out, I remember thinking that she was one of the most athletic, well-balanced yearlings we had ever bought,” said Johnson, obviously reveling in the moment following her sale. “That was three years ago. Our plan was to buy yearlings, race, and then sell them as broodmare prospects. I would say this one worked out very well.”

The bay made 20 starts over three seasons on the track, winning only once but hitting the board on 11 other occasions, including a runner-up effort in Presque Isle's Satin and Lace S. in July. She entered the sale with earnings over $240,000.

“She had really a good, solid racing career,” said Johnson. “And then, of course, we get a little lucky where the pedigree really booms up. It would be very difficult to expect something like that. We just figured the market would take her as far as it would go. We're very excited.”

 

Out of MSW Catch My Fancy (Yes It's True), the filly is a half-sister to SW and GSP Dubini (Gio Ponti), SW What a Catch and full-sister to Catch the Moon, dam of GI Haskell Invitational winner Girvin (Tale of Ekati) and Grade III scorers Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), who also finished second in the GI Preakness S. and GI Travers S., and Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John). To add some extra luster to the page, Cancel This is also a full-sister to Clarendon Fancy, dam of this summer's GI Spinaway S. winner Brightwork (Outwork).

“We sold her for some really great clients, Corey Johnsen. It's always great to win for friends,” added Kerry Cauthen.  “I think that was beyond our expectations by quite a number, but when you bring out the best-looking filly of the day, you're going to get rewarded.”–@CbossTDN

Finley Strikes Late for Exotic West

Unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Flightline took Terry Finley and his West Point Thoroughbred partners on the ride of a lifetime last year and Finley was keen to acquire Exotic West (Hard Spun) (hip 667), in foal to the champion, Thursday at Keeneland. Finley purchased the 5-year-old mare, the second to last horse through the ring during the second session of the November auction, for $650,000.

“David [Ingordo} really liked the mare. She was a beautiful mare,” Finley said. “The Flightlines have been selling really well, but we thought with her placement in the sale, we might get a little lucky. And I think we were–either people were tired or they went to dinner. Obviously, the appetite for Flightline is really over the top–better than we expected and we had high expectations. Anytime you can get one in a belly with a young mare like that, you're going to take a shot.”

Consigned by Grovendale Sales, Exotic West won the 2022 Top Flight Invitational and was second in the GII Allaire DuPont Distaff S. after being claimed by Louis Lazzinnaro for $40,000 at Saratoga in 2021.

Seven mares have sold in foal to Flightline for $6,625,000 through two sessions of the Keeneland November sale. Leading the way were the $1.65-million Dalika (Ger) (Pastorius {GB}) and $1.45-million Champagne Lady (Uncle Mo).

“Our outlook is we can't get enough of them,” Finley said. “We are really happy with [Flightline's] first book of mares and the second one is shaping up really well already. If you can't get excited about owning a piece of Flightline and having a shot to have his babies and the expectation of having them hit the track in a couple of years, you probably don't need to be in the game.”

Lady Scarlet Brings $625K On Day 2

Early in Thursday's Book 2 opener at Keeneland, Lady Scarlet (Union Rags) (Hip 338) brought $625,000 from Thirty Year Farm. The Saratoga-based farm's Kristen Esler handled the signing duties on the GIII Miss Preakness S. winner.

Kristen Esler | Keeneland

“We loved her,” said Esler, who operates Thirty Year Farm with her husband, Matt. “She was our first pick. She was in my heart from the moment I saw her. She's beautiful and she's everything we looked for in conformation. She was an A+. She carried herself really well. I like to look them in the eye and spend some time. She is one that we wanted to bring to our farm.”

Consigned by Lane's End, the 4-year-old is a daughter of Exclude (GB) (Include), a daughter of SW Soldera, herself responsible for MGSW Exhi (Maria's Mon) and SW Diluvien (Manduro). The daughter of Polish Numbers is also a sister to Soldata, dam of Group 2 scorer Alignement (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

A $200,000 purchase at this venue in January, the mare visited Flightline before returning to Keeneland Thursday.

Thirty Year Farm also made a purchase in Book 1, buying Hip 163 Walking Miracle (Into Mischief) for $525,000.

“This is the one that was our highest priority. We had one that we got yesterday and we were happy with that purchase, so we may be set, but we don't know yet.” —@CbossTDN

Muths Flip a Lady

Chip Muth and his sons, always on the lookout for young mares to buy, put in foal and return to the market, purchased Lady Scarlet (Union Rags) (hip 338) for $200,000 at the Keeneland January sale earlier this year. Covered by champion Flightline, the mare returned to the Keeneland sales ring Thursday and sold for $625,000 to Thirty Year Farm.

“We needed a couple of mares and we went through looking at young stakes mares,” Muth said. “That mare kind of caught our eye. And we got lucky and got her for the right kind of money.”

Lady Scarlet | Keeneland

The 4-year-old Lady Scarlet won last year's GIII Miss Preakness S. and Cicada S.

Muth admitted he thought the mare might have brought more money Thursday.

“To be honest, we all felt like the mare would bring more,” he said. “We sold two mares out here last year almost back to back for $750,000 and one for $700,000.”

Also Thursday at Keeneland, Muth sold Miss Mattie B (Tonalist) (hip 373) for $425,000. The 4-year-old, who was third in last year's GII Santa Ynez S., sold in foal to Quality Road.

“That's pretty much what we do,” Muth said. “We buy mares and put them in foal to the right horses. We restock 24/7. We are always on the prowl. We very seldom buy on the open market–just when we have a need for one and haven't been able to find something to fill a need.”

Asked what the family looks for in mares to buy with an eye towards resale, Muth smiled and said, “Can't tell you our secrets.”

But he added, “Physicals. Young mares, nice American fillies by name brand stallions. And they have got to be drop-dead gorgeous kind of mares.”

Muth said he generally sells about 20 mares a year.

“We concentrate on November,” he said. “We bring mares here in the fall and in January we will bring some that got in our program a little later and might be carrying a later foaling date.”

Constitution Colt Tops Thursday's Weanlings

South Carolina horseman Peter Pugh purchased Thursday's top-priced weanling when going to $525,000 to acquire a colt by Constitution (hip 286) from the Nursery Place consignment.

Hip 286 | Keeneland 

“He was super well-balanced and a real good mover,” said Pugh, who purchased the weanling in the name of Cherry Knoll Farm. “Every time we saw him, he was the same.”

Asked if the plan was to pinhook the dark bay colt, Pugh said, “For now. Obviously you want to hit the home run, but I have a partner on him also, we discuss all of this stuff as time goes on.”

The weanling is out of Gone to Town (Munnings) and was bred by Nursery Place and Dicken Equine. Nursery Place purchased the mare for $240,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November sale. She RNA'd with the Constitution colt in utero for $190,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

 

“We try to bring a handful of weanlings every year to Keeneland–a very select few,” said Nursery Place's Griffin Mayer. “They have to be really, really nice with pedigrees and by the right sires. He checked all the boxes and honestly, he's probably one of the better colts that we've raised in the last 10 years. He's very special. He's a homebred for my dad and one of his partners, John Dicken of Dicken Equine.”

Cherry Knoll has purchased three weanlings at Keeneland so far this week and acquired two colts at the Fasig-Tipton sale Tuesday, going to $500,000 for a son of Into Mischief (hip 268) and $270,000 for a colt by Not This Time (hip 61).

“It's the same old, same old,” Pugh said. “The better horses bring the money. You have to pay for them.”

Klaravich Enjoys Strong Results at November Sales

Ranking as the nation's second-leading owner in earnings so far this season, Klaravich Stables capitalized on that racetrack success with the sale of a trio of its stable stars in the select sessions of this week's most important breeding stock auctions. Among the headliners at Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton November sale was GI Acorn S. winner Search Results (Flatter) (Hip 179), who sold for $3.6 million to Katsumi Yoshida.

Turning its focus on Keeneland in Book 1, the Seth Klarman-led operation also followed up with the sale of four-time graded winner and Grade I-placed Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) (Hip 145), who sold to Japan's J S Company for $1 million in addition to black-type producer Strong Incentive (Warrior's Reward) (Hip 264), who realized $2.15 million from Alpha Delta Stables. She sold in foal to hot sire Good Magic.

Klaravich had GII Mother Goose S. winner Gerrymander (Into Mischief) also entered at Fasig-Tipton earlier this week, but opted to withdraw her and retain her for a 5-year-old campaign.

“[Klarman] really likes racing and he wanted to run her as a 5-year-old,” said Klaravich's bloodstock agent Mike Ryan. “If they are sound, they have talent and they still have the desire, then you can run them. Many of them are really not at their best until they're about five anyway. And with turf horses, it can be older than that. There is so much opportunity, you don't have to run them frequently. You know what they are. You pick your spots, five or six races and they can be very successful.”

Technical Analysis | Sarah Andrew

All consigned by Elite, the trio of mares were campaigned throughout their careers by Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, whom Ryan credits with much of the team's success on the track.

“Chad is a huge part of the success,” said Ryan. “We understand each other very well now. When I tell him I really like something, he listens. And I know what he likes. We have a great dialogue and a tremendous trust between us. That's important.”

The most accomplished of the trio, Search Results, a daughter of Co Cola (Candy Ride {Arg}), was bred by Machmer Hall. In addition to the Acorn, she also won five more black-type races, including the GII Ruffian S. and GIII Gazelle S. She also hit the board in six Grade I tests, headed by the Kentucky Oaks.

Search Results, who brought $310,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale, led that season's Book 4 opener.

Ryan recalled, “She was an exceptional-looking filly. I remember when I bought her [at KEESEP] it was very late in the sale and I said 'this filly will top the sale today. We need to buy her.' And she did. I remember saying at the time that I thought she could win the Spinaway. She was really special. And she is by a sire that I really like and out of a mare by Candy Ride, who is starting to show up prominently in pedigrees. She was a magnificent physical all her life.”

He continued, “From a physical perspective, it was very hard to fault her. She reminded me of [champion turf female] Rushing Fall [More Than Ready]. Very elegant, had size and substance and class. She had the whole deal.”

Through four seasons on the track, Technical Analysis accounted for eight wins, six at the stakes level, including her latest trip to the winner's circle in the Athenia S. last month. She also placed in the GI QEII Challenge Cup S. and the GI Diana S. The daughter of Sealife (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who realized 200,000gns at the 2019 Tattersalls October Sale, sold at Keeneland as a racing or broodmare prospect.

“When we bought her in Newmarket, there was no black-type in the first two dams,” recalled Ryan. “We thought we just bought a nice filly at the time. Kingman was starting to roll on pretty good. But she really made her own pedigree. She proved to be a very successful filly, just a notch below Grade I. I thought she was going to bring a little bit more than she did, to tell you the truth, but I think the fact she was the only black-type under the first two dams might have had something to do with it.”

Also showing stakes prowess on the racetrack albeit lightly raced, Strong Incentive collected her only taste of black-type in Woodbine's Jammed Lovely S. in 2015 before retiring to the breeding shed. The mare proved to be of greater value in her latter career, producing Grade III winners Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) and Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}).

Ryan went to $200,000 on behalf of Klarman and William Lawrence at the OBSAPR sale in 2014, and was back to secure the filly for Klarman at Keeneland November in 2018 after the Klaravich partners decided to part ways. Her son, Highly Motivated, was also sent to the sale's ring that season, bringing $240,000.

“Both Strong Incentive and Highly Motivated went to the sale that year to dissolve the partnership,” said Ryan. “She was open at the time she sold. She was a big, beautiful mare and didn't have any black-type at that time, but she was a gorgeous mare and there was so much going for her. I told [Klarman] he needed to keep this mare. For only $40,000, she's proven to be a steal.”

Underscoring the point, Strong Incentive's most recent foal to race, Ways and Means (Practical Joke), finished runner-up in this summer's GI Spinaway S. And according to Ryan, the 'TDN Rising Star' could be the crowning jewel of the mare's produce thus far.

“Highly Motivated was very good, but I think the best one might be Ways and Means,” he opined. “She missed the Breeders' Cup with a bit of an issue, but she is very, very good. Three top horses out of three different sires. That's impressive for any mare.”

Given Klaravich's latest success in the sales ring, Ryan is quick to give props to the patience and commitment of Klarman, who is likely to find himself once again among the finalists for leading owner of the 2023 season.

Ryan said, “It is great to see him rewarded because he invests a significant amount of capital every year to buy yearlings and 2-year-olds and racing is his passion. He's a great owner. Really loves the game. And he deserves all the success.” —@CbossTDN

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Well-Stocked for Keeneland September, There is Nothing Random about Cove Springs’ Success

Richard and Connie Snyder moved their commercial breeding operation from New Mexico to Kentucky nine years ago with the aim of competing at the highest levels of the game. The Snyders' Cove Springs Farm seems to have that goal well in its grasp after a memorable August which saw the operation represented by its first Grade I winner when Randomized (Nyquist) captured the GI Alabama S. and by a high-water mark in the sales ring when a colt by Not This Time brought $725,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. Cove Springs will hope the momentum carries into the new month with offerings from Book 1 straight through Book 6 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, including a half-sister to Randomized who sells in Book 3.

Asked how the couple first got involved in racing, Richard Snyder paused before admitting, “Oh my goodness. That's too long ago. I can't remember that far back.”

Straddling breeding in New Mexico and Kentucky, the Snyders decided to commit to the bluegrass nearly a decade ago.

“We've had horses for a long time,” Snyder said. “We were breeding some horses in Kentucky and we decided, if we were to be successful and where we wanted to be, we needed to be here in Kentucky.”

The Snyders hung the Cove Springs sign outside their new farm on Paynes Mill Road in Versailles in August of 2014. One of their first big investments for the new farm was French Passport (Elusive Quality), who they purchased in foal to American Pharoah for $200,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

“She was the first big-money mare that we bought,” Snyder said. “If you are going to live here and compete with these guys, you've got to play the game. You've got to compete.”

The unraced French Passport is a half-sister to graded winners Smooth Air (Smooth Jazz) and Overdriven (Tale of the Cat), as well as to the dam of multiple Grade I winner Got Stormy (Get Stormy).

“We were very familiar with the family,” Snyder said of the mare's appeal. “It's a deep family. At one time we had a stallion that is back in that family. So we just kept up with the family and knew it well and when she showed up in foal to American Pharoah, we knew this was where we were going to start.”

After RNA'ing for $225,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, the mare's American Pharoah colt sold for $550,000 at the 2021 OBS March sale. French Passport's second foal bred by Cove Springs was Randomized, who was purchased by Klaravich Stable for $420,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale. Klaravich came back to purchase the mare's yearling colt by Justify for $410,000 last September.

Randomized, a maiden winner at Aqueduct in March, was well-beaten in the GI Acorn S. in June, but rebounded with a win in the Wilton S. at Saratoga in July. She glided home a front-running four-length winner of the Alabama Aug. 19.

What was it like to watch the farm's first Grade I winner come down the stretch in front at Saratoga?

Snyder laughed. “It was unbelievable,” he said.

Snyder admitted he was impressed with French Passport's Nyquist filly right from the start.

“Did we know she was going to be a Grade I filly? Of course not,” he said. “But she always had a tremendous air about her and a great, great walk. She always wanted to do more than we would let her. This mare's babies are all like that.”

Through the Hidden Brook consignment, Cove Springs will offer a half-sister by Frosted to the Alabama S. winner as hip 1711 during Sunday's sixth session of the two-week auction.

“I love her,” Snyder said of the yearling. “She is beautiful and has the same aura about her. She knows she is who she is. And she's a great-moving filly. She's maybe not be as big as Randomized, but she's a beautiful filly.”

Cove Springs's September contingent is led off by a Book 1 filly by Justify (hip 133), who sells during Monday's first session of the auction with Four Star Sales. The yearling is the first foal out of Gaels Win (Daaher), a half-sister to graded winner T.D. Vance (Rahy) and to graded-placed Bergerac (Rahy) and Philippe (Mineshaft). Her third dam is Grade I winner Fantastic Find (Mr. Prospector), who produced multiple Grade I winner Finder's Fee, the granddam of Flightline.

“She is drop-dead gorgeous,” Snyder said of the bay filly. “She's a big, scopey, great-moving filly. And it's an outstanding family. I think buyers will appreciate this pedigree. It's loaded with both turf and dirt runners. So I think she will appeal to a wide range of people. We are expecting big things for her.”

The Snyders purchased Gaels Win, who is currently in foal to Tapit, for $375,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale.

“She was in foal to Into Mischief when we bought her,” Snyder said. “Unfortunately, she aborted that foal, so this is her first filly.”

Cove Springs has about 20 broodmares of its own and is home to some 10 to 15 outside mares.

The plan is to sell their foals as yearlings, Snyder said, adding, “That's Plan A. It doesn't always work out. Consequently our sales are pretty good, but our racing stable is not always on top. But we do have some nice horses in training at the moment.”

The operation enjoyed success in the sales ring in Saratoga when its colt by Not This Time out of Speightstastic (Speightstown) (hip 171) sold for $725,000 to Repole Stable and Spendthrift Farm.

“Realistically, we thought he would sure bring $500,000 to $600,000, so he brought more than we expected of course,” Snyder said. “But he was a beautiful horse. And I think he has a huge future in front of him.”

The couple will stay busy straight through to Book 6 of the Keeneland September sale when they will offer a colt by Good Samaritan out of Lightning Dove (Uncle Mo) as (hip 3752) with the Legacy Bloodstock consignment.

“We have some other really nice horses in the sale, all the way from Book 1 to Book 6,” Snyder said. “We have a great horse in Book 6. We are pretty proud of him.”

Connie and Richard Snyder are reaping the rewards of some 35 years of working together towards a common goal.

“Connie and I work hard at it,” Snyder said. “This is what we do and this is what it takes to get there. If hard work and want-to is the key, we should move forward.”

The Keeneland September sale begins with a pair of Book 1 sessions Monday and Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11 a.m. Following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 23 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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‘A Sale of Physicals’: Fasig-Tipton July Kicks off Yearling Sales Season Tuesday

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings will open the yearling sales season Tuesday in Lexington, with bidding slated to begin at Newtown Paddocks at 10 a.m. The 370 catalogued offerings kick off with a selection of 109 yearlings by first-crop sires.

Activity at the sales barns was brisk throughout the weekend and continued to be strong on a cloudless, sunny morning in Lexington Monday.

“We are into day three of showing,” said Kerry Cauthen outside of his Four Star Sales consignment barn. “The first two days were very strong. Early on Saturday, we were covered with all-lookers and yesterday it started to separate into, 'OK, these are the ones we like,' and still we had nothing but dead steady, all-day long, great traffic.”

Shoppers at the barns Monday included the major 2-year-old pinhookers–Paul Sharp, Eddie Woods, Dave Scanlon, Ciaran Dunne, Tom McCrocklin, Steve Venosa and Raul Reyes were seen making the rounds–interspersed with a mixture of end-users and agents such as trainer Ken McPeek–perenially very active at the summer auction–Steve Young, Marette Farrell, and Tom McGreevy.

“It's always been seen as a pinhookers sales, but we have had a lot of end-users–Kenny McPeek just came through here, Marette Farrell just came through here–so there are plenty of end users,” said Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall Sales.

The Fasig-Tipton July sale has developed a strong roster of graduates, with the likes of Grade I winners Chocolate Gelato (Pratical Joke) and Faiza (Girvin) gracing this year's cover. Both of those 2021 graduates rewarded their buyers when selling for nifty profits at the 2-year-old sales last year before finding top-level success on the racetrack. The 2022 July sale also produced the $2.2-million son of Good Magic who topped this year's OBS April sale.

“This is a sale of physicals,” Brogden said. “People have been complaining about the pedigrees, but this is supposed to be a sale of physicals. We just try to bring the type that the more you look at them, the more you like them.”

Consignors are expecting to see familiar trends in the marketplace as the yearling sales season opens.

“I think we are going to continue to see the general trend that we've seen the last couple of years,” said Conrad Bandoroff of Denali Stud. “The top-quality offerings are going to bring as much or more, as they always do. Whether there is going to be any correction in the middle market, my crystal ball is not that good, but all I can say is we are showing these yearlings a lot.  The feel and the appetite for horses seems good.”

Cauthen has similar expectations.

“As always, it will depend on the individuals that they are looking at,” he said. “I think for the good individuals, it will be a very good marketplace.”

Last year's July sale, topped by a $600,000 son of Curlin, saw 189 yearlings gross $21,763,500 for an average of $115,151 and a median of $90,000. It was the auction's co-highest median, second highest average, and its highest gross since 2008.

The yearling market only seemed to get hotter from there. But while bidding was fierce throughout the yearlings sales last summer and fall, consignors at the 2-year-old sales this spring found they were selling in what seemed to be a more cautious marketplace.

“When you talk about softness in the 2-year-old market, I think there are a whole lot of different variables that go into that–were they able to buy the same quality of product that they had in the past,” Cauthen said. “I think [a weaker 2-year-old market] is, of course, always a concern, but honestly I think, based on traffic, based on attitude, I think there is quite a bit of buyers' interest at this point.”

Brogden seemed to be thinking along the same lines when she reflected on the yearling market from a year ago and the resulting juvenile market this spring.

“My personal opinion as to why the 2-year-old sales were not as strong is because the yearling sales last year were insane,” Brogden said. “I felt like a lot of the 2-year-old consignors had to compromise or overpay for what they bought. In our own consignment, I felt like 2-year-old consignors, especially in the later books in [Keeneland] September, were buying horses that really weren't the type of physicals or vetting I would have thought that a 2-year-old consignor would take a risk on. But you have to have numbers. Just because the market is strong doesn't mean you don't need product. So people were buying.”

Brogden said she would encourage buyers to be ready to be quick out of the gates as the July sale opens Tuesday.

“Last year, I felt like as we rolled on through the sales that the yearling market got stronger and stronger,” she said. “I've tried to say to people for years, look hard and spend in July. People come to the July sale and say there are 4,000 more selling in the later sales. And I say, 'Yeah, but by the time you guys get to Book 3 September, you're going to be begging me to have horses that have these physicals that we are selling in the July sale.”

Despite any downturn in the 2-year-old market, pinhookers are always going to need yearlings this time of year, Bandoroff agreed.

“The nature of our business is, regardless of whether we had a good year or a bad year, we have to go back and reload and restock our inventory,” Bandoroff said. “The buyers may be being more careful, but when they see that horse that fits the mold of what they are looking for, I still think they are going to be trying to buy them.”

Looking out over a bevy of shoppers, Joe Seitz of Brookdale Sales said the yearling market was strong enough to survive a slight correction.

“A lot of those people [pinhookers] that you just mentioned are here, so that's a good sign,” Seitz said. “If people are being a little more conservative, that's OK. I still think it will be healthy. It's been really strong for a couple of years now, so even if it were to level a little bit, I think we will be fine.”

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“As Exciting as Winning a Race,” Steve Cauthen Talks Keeneland September Score

Steve Cauthen sat in the shade of Barn 42 at the Four Star Sales consignment Tuesday afternoon, basking not in the memory of his glory days as a Hall of Fame jockey, but in quiet celebration after selling one of the top-priced yearlings of the day at the Keeneland September Sale.

The colt, a flashy son of Sharp Azteca out of the stakes-placed mare She's Roughin It (Forest Camp), sold for $250,000 to Jerry Namy and Garry Simms.

“This is as exciting as winning a race,” Cauthen declared. “When you get a good one and people like it enough to fight for it, it's great.”

Cauthen has been involved in the breeding side of the industry since back when he was riding, when he owned a few mares that stayed with his father at the farm in Walton, Kentucky. After retiring from the saddle in 1992, the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year took up golf for a while, but got bored after a few years. So, he decided to go out and find a few more broodmares to get more involved as a breeder.

Today, Cauthen has eight mares at his Dreamfields Farm in Kentucky. Most of the broodmares are owned in partnership with various friends. They focus on breeding to sell, but have also raced several homebreds over the years.

“We've done quite well,” Cauthen said. “We've breed some nice stakes horses. We bred a nice colt called Pegasus Wind (Fusaichi Pegasus) that ran in the 2006 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.”

Cauthen picked out She's Roughin It, the dam of this most recent yearling success, at the 2007 Keeneland November Sale for $80,000. The daughter of Forest Camp had placed in a pair of stakes as a juvenile and won once as a sophomore for Steve Asmussen before landing with Cauthen.

She's Roughin It's first foal, The Truth and K G ( Successful Appeal), won over $200,000 and placed in a Grade III. She has since produced five more winners including Francesco Appeal, another stakes-placed son of Successful Appeal.

“She has had a lot of good foals,” Cauthen noted. “They're all really typey and the great thing is, her last three foals have been the best foals she has had.”

In addition to this Sharp Azteca colt, the mare also has a juvenile filly by the same sire named T. T.'s Women who ran fourth in her debut earlier this month as well as a weanling filly by Cloud Computing.

Cauthen was first drawn to Three Chimneys sire Sharp Azteca when the Grade I winner retired to stud. Doug Cauthen, a member of the advisor board at Three Chimneys, encouraged his brother to go visit the new stallion. Now a standout young sire, Sharp Azteca currently leads his class of first-crop sires by winners.

“Sharp Azteca is a big, beautiful stallion,” Cauthen said. “He's a striking individual and did plenty on the track, so I was happy to get involved and now I have a breeding right to him. I think with the fact that he has had MSW Tyler's Tribe, GSP Honed and SW Sharp Aza Tack, his horses are going for the top races and that's what gives people confidence to say maybe this horse can be a top stallion.”

Cauthen's colt was the first Sharp Azteca yearling to go through the ring this year at Keeneland September, with nearly a dozen more to follow as the week progresses.

Cauthen said that he had high hopes for his homebred from the beginning. The youngster spent his early days at Cauthen's farms before going through sales prep with Renee Dailey.

“This colt looked good since the day he was born,” Cauthen shared. “He was always a good type of individual and he just kept growing and improving. From a long time ago, I was hoping to get to $200,000 with him so this is a little better than I was expecting, but of course this has been a crazy good market. It's unbelievably strong and when you get to this point in the sale, there are still some good horses but less really nice individuals, so you hope [the buyers] all end up fighting for them.”

Cauthen is looking forward to watching another one of his yearlings go through the ring later in the week. His Cloud Computing filly out of the Dialed In mare Brilliant Dial sells as Hip 3381 with Fours Star Sales on Thursday. Until then, he'll celebrate today's achievement.

“The highest-priced yearling I've ever sold was $425,000,” he said. “My mares are nice but they're not Grade I winners so for me, this was great.”

The post “As Exciting as Winning a Race,” Steve Cauthen Talks Keeneland September Score appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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