Geoffrey Russell | Horse Racing Free Tips

Keeneland November Sale Wraps Up

Despite the upheaval and chaos caused by COVID-19 this year, the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale proceeded during its usual spot on the calendar following the Breeders’ Cup, which was held at the Lexington oval this year. Starting on Nov. 9, the auction concluded its 10-day run Wednesday with nine million-dollar mares, topped by Grade I winner Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy), who sold to Larry Best’s OXO Equine for $1.95 million.

“If I had a takeaway from this whole fall, it’s a word we usually use this time of the year, which is ‘gratitude,'” said Keeneland’s President Elect Shannon Arvin. “This year we’re all feeling gratitude to consignors, breeders, sellers, buyers, media–our whole industry–for being so resilient through tough times. We’re all very pleased with results from our fall.”

Arvin continued, “I think with some of the innovations we’ve had, with the internet bidding and phone bidding, we’ve found creative ways to participate and see the horses when we can’t necessarily be right here in a way we are accustomed to being.”

Throughout the 10-day auction, 2,286 horses sold for a gross of $157,815,300. The average was $69,036 and the median was $25,000. In total, 521 Thoroughbreds left the ring unsold.

“Once you get into Book 3 to the end of the sale these people are more motivated to sell and to move on and to continue trade,” said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland’s Director of Sales Operations. “We’re fortunate in that we are able to satisfy that market.”

When asked if he thought breeders were holding on to their mares and weanlings given the current economoy, Russell said, “Our numbers were down the same for mares and foals. This is the factory and you don’t have to sell the factory every year. They can hold on for the next year. A weanling you can hold, so those people decided to hold on until the yearling sale which is another viable option.”

Last year’s Keeneland November Sale took place over 12 days with 2,671 horses summoning $200,135,200, with an average of $74,929 and a median of $25,000. Overall, 682 horses failed to meet their reserves. These numbers include post-sale transactions.

The 2019 edition of this auction was topped by champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant’s Causeway), who brought $3.2 million from Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa, while carrying a foal by Justify. There were 14 mares who brought seven-figure price tags last term.

Best bought the sale’s top two lots: the aforementioned Concrete Rose (Hip 216), who brought $1.95 million; and Indian Miss (Indian Charlie) (Hip 32), the dam of champion Mitole (Eskendereya), who hammered for $1.9 million, carrying a foal by the nation’s leading sire, Into Mischief.

Best was the sale’s leading buyer by gross with 17 horses purchased for a total of $7,965,000. Eight of those 17 were mares to add to Best’s burgeoning broodmare band and to support his new stallion Instagrand (Into Mischief), who stands his first year at stud at Taylor Made for 2021. Best’s other nine purchases were weanlings to add to his racing stable.

Taylor Made was the sale’s leading consignor for the fourth straight year and the 24th time since 1987. The consignment sold 208 horses for a total of $18,957,600.

International Participation

International buyers from Japan, the Middle East, Europe and beyond are typically quite active at the Keeneland November Sale. Despite travel restrictions caused by the ongoing pandemic, the foreign contingent was still a heavy presence at Keeneland.

Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals’s Spanish-based Yeguada Centurion was the sale’s third-leading buyer with 22 horses bought for $3,857,000. Japan’s Shadai Farm was number seven on the buyers list with three horses purchased for $2,540,000.

“Even with the restrictions in travel, we do have representatives from pretty much all the countries that we have done business with in the past–Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Korea, the Japanese, and the Europeans,” Russell said. “Everybody appreciated the effort they’ve made if they’ve used our technology or actually came here to buy we’re very fortunate we were able to do that. For both sales, we got international waivers for [buyers from] countries that have issues getting in here. As an industry, we worked with the government to try to get international waivers for anybody who wanted to come here.”

Arvin added, “That’s a credit to our public officials as well. We worked with them to overcome what was basically an international travel ban to the United States.”

Keeneland added internet bidding during its September Sale to aid buyers who could not attend the sale due to COVID-19 restrictions and that option remained popular in November. There were 2,993 bids made over the internet throughout the 10-day auction. A total of 245 horses were sold to online bidders for a gross of $16.062 million, or 10.2% of the gross.

“Internet bidding was very popular in September, but it seemed to be even more popular in November,” Russell said. “While it was used in the first three days at the top end, we have sold a lot more actual horses each day of the second week than we did in the first week. People are comfortable buying a broodmare off the internet. Credit needs to go to the consignors. That provide information to buyers, whether on their websites or sent to them–photographs, videos–directly to these buyers when they made requests. Consignors have been very helpful in marketing their horses to these people who are bidding remotely.”

Triple Crown Progeny Prove Popular

The co-highest priced weanlings of the 2020 November Sale were a pair of babies by Ashford Stud’s resident Triple Crown winners. A colt from the first crop of 2018 Horse of the Year Justify (Hip 21) summoned $600,000 from bloodstock agent Donato Lanni and a son of 2015 Horse of the Year American Pharoah (Hip 244B) brought the same price from Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier. The latter, who was supplemented to the sale, is a half-brother to MGISW juvenile Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music).

American Pharoah was leading sire of weanlings by gross with 11 of his foals selling for $2.44 million. Justify topped that category by average with five of his weanlings selling for an average of $427,000 and a gross of $2.135 million.

Throughout the 10 days of selling, 692 weanlings summoned $39,320,100 with an average of $56,821 and median of $25,000.

Top sire Uncle Mo was the sale’s top covering sire with 13 mares in foal to the Ashford resident, bringing $5.89 million. Into Mischief was second on that list with seven mares carrying foals by the Spendthrift stalwart selling for $4,790,000.

The horses of racing age section of the Keeneland November Sale is always popular and this year that portion was topped by ‘TDN Rising Star’ Hidden Scroll (Hard Spun) (Hip 3295), who brought $525,000 from Fergus Galvin, acting on behalf of Marc Detampel. The 4-year-old racing or stallion prospect was sold by WinStar Racing on behalf of Juddmonte Farms.

“We’ve been working on the racehorse section of the catalog for the last couple of years,” said Russell. “WinStar were the first people to come to us and ask to have a portion of this sale around racehorses. It has grown exponentially since and I think we will be looking at it as we go forward into 2021 and improve on it.”

Final Session

Wednesday’s 10th and final session of the Keeneland November Sale was topped by the 4-year-old colt Mutakaamil (Tapit) (Hip 3753), a racing or stallion prospect, who was purchased by Jeff Engler, acting on behalf of Lea Farms LLC.

A total of 215 horses changed hands for $1,310,600, with an average of $6,096 and a median of $4,000. There were 29 horses who failed to meet their reserves.

The post Keeneland November Sale Wraps Up appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Stakes Winner Contributing Tops Keeneland November’s Third Session

Momentum continued into Wednesday's third session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, generating the top prices of $500,000 paid by Coteau Grove Farms/Cary Bloodstock, agent, for the broodmare Contributing, in foal to Speightstown, and $435,000 from Baccari Bloodstock for a weanling colt from the first crop of undefeated 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.

During a day of brisk trade, Keeneland sold 196 horses for $25,063,000, for an average of $127,872 and a median of $107,500.

Cumulative results for the November Sale's first three sessions reached $102,528,000 for 521 horses, for an average of $196,791 and a median of $125,000.

“Overall, the energy today was really good,” Keeneland President-Elect and Interim Head of Sales Shannon Arvin said. “We saw a lot of competition for foals. Some new buyers and many of the same buyers from the first two days continue to participate. We would love to see stability of the market throughout the sale, similar to what we experienced during the September Yearling Sale.”

Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell agreed.

“It will be a different level of the market moving forward,” he said, “but if we can capture the vibrancy of today and extend it into tomorrow and the next day that would be great.”

Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency, agent, consigned Contributing, a 6-year-old stakes-winning daughter of Medaglia d'Oro from the family of Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can.

“I bought one Medaglia d'Oro mare in foal to Speightstown earlier, so I figured why not hit a double?” buyer Andrew Cary said. “It's an awesome pedigree and Speightstown is showing again how awesome he is, with a horse like (undefeated track record-setting stakes winner) Nashville. (Contributing's) sister produced an Oaks winner. She's gorgeous and she could run. To me she's the whole package.”

Weanlings commanded six of the day's seven highest prices.

The $435,000 weanling, consigned by Elm Tree Farm, agent, is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2 winner Pretty N Cool and is from the family of Grade 1 winner Sean Avery. His dam is Stayclassysandiego, a stakes-placed daughter of Rockport Harbor.

“I've been looking for a really good Justify, and he has a lot of female pedigree, plenty of size and plenty of strength,” buyer Chris Baccari said. “Anybody that looks at him when he goes to be resold will see he looks like he has plenty of bone and looks like he can take a lot of training.

“(The weanlings by Justify) are very good. The public is going to support him now and his yearlings. He was a very good racehorse and I'm a big fan. (This colt) reminds me of his sire. He has a lot of raw strength like he did. The mare is a good producer, and that is what I'm looking for. That is what determines the value to me. He had a good physical, but he has the pedigree to go with it.”

Jody Huckabay, who owns Elm Tree with his wife, Michelle, was pleased.

“This is (breeder) Nancy Shuford's horse, and I think we are pushing 25 years doing business together,” he said. “He was a nice colt and we had the right people on him, but we certainly did not expect that. In this market with everything going on, we are blessed to have the opportunity to sell a horse like that.”

Colts by Justify have been the most expensive weanlings of each of the first three sessions of the November Sale, starting Monday with a $600,000 purchase (a price equaled by a colt by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah) and a $475,000 buy on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Justify also sired a colt sold for $375,000 to Michael Fowler. Consigned by Stuart Morris, agent, he is out of Emily B, by Smart Strike, and from the family of Grade 1 winners Awesome Maria, Pretty Discreet, Discreet Cat and Discreetly Mine.

Larry Best's OXO Equine was the day's leading buyer, spending $1.63 million for six broodmares and weanlings. He paid $400,000 for a weanling colt by Into Mischief, whose son Authentic won Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, and $360,000 for a weanling colt from the first crop of champion Good Magic, winner of Keeneland's G2 Toyota Blue Grass.

“I tend to go earlier now for (weanlings) as opposed to waiting for them to be yearlings,” he said after buying the Good Magic colt. “You take more risk, but you are not spending the same amount of money. You might get two or three shots on goal for what you'd be paying at the yearling sales.”

Paramount Sales, agent, consigned the son of Into Mischief, who is a half-brother to multiple Grade 3 winner Awesome Slew and stakes winner He's Bankable. The colt is out of the stakes-winning Seeking the Gold mare Slewfoundmoney.

“That was a gorgeous Into Mischief,” said Best, who has been successful racing offspring of the stallion. “Beautiful horse – beautiful walk. You could've told me he was by any other sire and I would've bought him. He just looked so, so good.”

Paramount Sales led all consignors during the session, selling 24 horses for $3,285,000.

Another weanling sold for $400,000 when Stonestreet Stables purchased a filly by Mastery who is a half-sister to undefeated Nashville, winner of Saturday's 6-furlong Perryville at Keeneland in track-record time. Warrendale Sales, agent, consigned the filly, who is out of Veronique, by Mizzen Mast, and from the family of Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, Grade 1 winner Tiago and Grade 3 winner Stanwyck.

Stonestreet also paid $375,000 for a filly from the first crop of multiple Grade 1 winner City of Light consigned by Eaton Sales, agent. Out of the stakes-winning Flatter mare Cabana, she is from the family of Grade 2 winner Funny Proposition and stakes winners Mr. Importance, Home of Stars, Humorous Miss, Artistic Star and Jazz Quest.

The $360,000 colt by Good Magic sold to Larry Best is a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Lovely Bernadette and from the family of Breeders' Cup winners and millionaires Shared Account and Sharing. Consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock, agent, he is out of the winning Bernstein mare Inlovewithlove.

“I am trying to diversify with different sires,” Best said. “I bought a Mastery, an American Pharoah filly, etc. This one is by Good Magic and was good looking. Physically, this was about as good as you are going to get for a weanling. I expected to get him for $250,000 or $300,000. I had to go a little higher, but the right people were on it.”

Bedouin Bloodstock, agent, also consigned two mares sold for $350,000 apiece.

The first was Gold Souk, a 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Miss Temple City and is in foal to Speightstown. Coteau Groves Farms/Cary Bloodstock, agent, paid $350,000 for the mare, who also is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Pricedtoperfection.

“I'm thrilled to get her,” Andrew Cary said. “SF Bloodstock has the mother and family, so she is from a top-class operation. I know the family very well and always wanted to get into that family and am absolutely thrilled to get her.”

The second $350,000 seller was Stephanie's Sister, a 4-year-old full sister to two-time Breeders' Cup winner and $4 million earner Stephanie's Kitten who is in foal to Constitution. Through internet bidding, Koichiro Yamaguchi acquired Stephanie's Sister.

The post Stakes Winner Contributing Tops Keeneland November’s Third Session appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Stable Marketplace as Book 2 Concludes at Keeneland

by Jessica Martini, Christie DeBernardis and Brian DiDonato

LEXINGTON, KY- Bidding remained steady as Book 2 of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale concluded Wednesday in Lexington. Andrew Cary made the session’s most expensive purchase, going to $500,000 to acquire the mare Contributing (Medaglia d’Oro) from the Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency consignment on behalf of Coteau Grove Farms. Weanlings held the next six top prices of the session and, for the third straight day of the sale, Justify was responsible for the top-priced foal when Chris Baccari went to $435,000 for a colt by the Triple Crown winner from the Elm Tree Farm consignment. The Coolmore stallion was joined by other first-crop sires Mastery, City of Light and Good Magic with weanlings to sell for $360,000 and over.

“The energy was really good and there was a lot of competition for the foals,” said Keeneland’s President Elect Shannon Arvin. “We saw some new buyers and some of the same buyers from the first few days of the sale continued to participate. I think overall, it was a really good session today.”

During the two Book 2 sessions, 393 head sold for $52,753,000. The average was $134,232–down 9.2% from 2019–and the median was $100,000, down 16.7%.

In the 2019 Book 2 section of the auction, a total of 448 head grossed $66,257,000 for an average of $147,895 and a median of $120,000.

“I think the market is pretty strong,” Baccari said. “For the mares, it’s been really strong. I think the foals are strong, but you have to sift through a lot of them to find the ones you want. When you find the ones you want, you have to pay for them.”

Consignor Stuart Morris said, “The market for weanlings is a little spotty, with the ones at the top being very well-received. Overall, it has been pretty fair. For where we are in the world right now, I am very happy with the results.”

The November sale’s Book 3 section opens Thursday, with bidding beginning at 10 a.m.

“I would hope that what has happened in the first two books will continue on,” Keeneland’s Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell said of expectations for Book 3. “It’s going to be a different level of the market, but if we can capture the vibrancy of today and bring it on to tomorrow and the next day, that will be great.”

Arvin added, “We would love to see the continued stability in the market that we saw in the September sale.”

Contributing Takes Unconventional Route to the Top at KEENOV
Contributing (Medaglia d’Oro) had an unconventional journey from the racetrack to the sales ring, but taking the road less traveled proved successful Wednesday when she topped the third session of Keeneland November at $500,000. Offered in foal to Speightstown, Hip 958 was purchased by Andrew Cary’s Cary Bloodstock for Coteau Grove Farm.

“I bought a Medaglia mare in foal to Speightstown earlier (Hip 645), so I thought why not make it a double,” said Cary, who has been quite active buying mares on behalf of Coteau Grove all week. “She has an awesome pedigree. Speightstown is showing everyone again this year how awesome he is with Nashville. Medaglia d’Oro should be a leading broodmare sire for years. She has a huge pedigree. Her sister produced an Oaks winner. She is gorgeous, she can run and to me she’s the whole package.”

Purchased by Heider Family Stable for $220,000 at the 2015 KEESEP sale, Contributing raced for trainer Tom Proctor from 2016 to 2018, winning three times and placing in multiple stakes. She was sent to the breeding shed, but did not catch and was sent back to the racetrack, this time under the care of Brad Cox.

That twist of fate proved lucky as Contributing scored that black-type win in her 2019 season, capturing the Pan Zareta S. at Fair Grounds. Retired once again, she RNA’d for $260,000 at last year’s renewal of this auction and was sent to Speightstown.

Bred by Mt. Brilliant Farm and Ranch, Contributing is a half-sister to GSW Classic Elegance (Carson City), as well as the dam of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can (Proud Citizen), who in turn produced SW Believe in Royalty (Tapit).

“She is a beautiful mare by Medaglia d’oro, who is in foal to Speightstown with her first foal,” said Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Rita Riccelli. “Speightstown had a great winner on Breeders’ Cup weekend in Nashville, who set a new track record at Keeneland. She was very popular in the barn, so we thought she was going to do well going in. Thankfully that popularity transferred to the sales ring.”

—@CDeBernardisTDN

Cary Continues Quest to Upgrade Coteau Grove Band
Cary Bloodstock’s Andrew Cary has been particularly active this November bidding on behalf of Keith and Ginger Myers’s Louisiana-based Coteau Grove Farms.

After purchasing a pair of mares at Fasig-Tipton November for a combined $800,000, Coteau Grove has acquired another nine through three sessions at Keeneland November for gross receipts of $2,880,000, making them the current fifth-leading buyer. Last year, Coteau Grove spent $940,000 on seven, and in 2018 thought bought eight for $600,000.

“They changed the breed-back rules in Louisiana, and that kind of frees us up to treat it more like the New York-bred program,” said Cary midway through Wednesday’s session. “You still have resident mares, but you can go out of state, so it gives license to upgrade the broodmare band a bit. We thought this would be a good opportunity to do that this year. The market’s still strong for young, commercial mares–which is good to see for the market and long-term players. We’ve been outbid quite a bit, but we’ve been really happy withe the ones we’ve gotten, for sure.”

Before tying the mark Wednesday with hip 958, Coteau Grove/Cary’s biggest expenditure at Keeneland came Monday when they purchased Miss Hot Legs (Verrazano) (hip 66), a stakes-placed half-sister to superstar sophomore filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), for $500,000. Other Keeneland buys have included Multi Strategy (Scat Daddy) (hip 75), in foal to Uncle Mo, for $425,000; MSW/MGSP Taylor’s Spirit (Algorithms) (hip 144), in foal to Triple Crown winner Justify, for $370,000; and hip 645 Gold Souk (Medaglia d’Oro), a half-sister to MGISW Miss Temple City (Temple City) and GSW Pricedtoperfection (Temple City) bred on a potent mating with Speightstown–just like hip 958–for $350,000.

“There’s a lot to be excited about: we’ve got two mares in foal to Justify, one in foal to American Pharoah, bought one in foal to Nyquist today (hip 630, $260,000),” said Cary after buying hip 645 but before grabbing hip 958. “We’re trying to breed more Classic types. We bought a really well-bred Medaglia d’Oro mare today–a half to Miss Temple City. The half to Swiss Skydiver might be at the top. She was a queen, and we’re really excited to see Swiss Skydiver back in training next year.”

Despite a noticeable and expected drop off in prices after Monday’s Book 1 session, Cary still found competition in Book 2 to be stiff.

“Yesterday we bought three, and I probably got outbid another 10 or 12 times,” he said. “There are still a ton of really sharp people here who are all thinking the same thing. It’s just a matter of following them up. Sometimes you’re there, and sometimes you’re not. I think it’s a very healthy market for those long-term investments.”

Cary and the Myers’ got some confirmation this year that their program is working and can continue to grow–Coteau Grove bred ‘TDN Rising Star‘ No Parole (Violence). The $75,000 KEEESEP yearling took this year’s GI Woody Stephens S. Presented by Claiborne Farm. Coteau Grove bought No Parole’s dam Plus One (Bluegrass Cat) for $67,000 here in 2014 carrying an eventual three-time winner and full-brother to No Parole.

“I started helping them in 2014, and we’ve been slowly upgrading and transitioning more from a regional program to a national one,” said Cary. “One of the first mares I bought them that first year became the dam of No Parole, so that was good. We got a taste of what it’s like to have a horse like that. It shows we can do it, and we’ve got a lot more good stuff in the pipeline–we’ve got a lot of mares with really nice yearlings and 2-year-olds going for them, and now we’ve added these new ones to the bunch. It’s really exciting to think where we could be in two or three years.”

This has been a big year professionally for Cary, who launched his own bloodstock agency this winter after Select Sales, in which he was a partner, dissolved.

“It’s been a great transition,” Cary said. “It was a tricky year to do it with the pandemic, but it worked out best for the long run. I’m really, really fortunate to have awesome clients to support me through it. We got to buy some yearlings too. It’s nice to be on the buying end after being on the selling end for so long. It’s been a lot of fun to try and put all my knowledge to work and getting buy these types of horses is really gratifying. It’s really been a dream come true, especially considering what this year could’ve been.” —@BDiDonatoTDN

Pricey Justify Headed to the Yearling Sales
A well-related colt (Hip 829) from the first crop of undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify is destined to return to the auction ring at next term’s yearling sales after being purchased by Chris Baccari for $435,000.

“For me, I’ve been looking for a really good Justify and he has a lot of female pedigree, plenty of size and plenty of strength,” said Baccari. “Anybody that looks at him when he goes to be resold will see he looks like he has plenty of bone and looks like he can take a lot of training.”

Breeder Nancy Shuford purchased the gray colt’s SP dam Stayclassysandiego (Rockport Harbor)–a half-sister to GISW Sean Avery (Cherokee Run)–for $120,000 at the 2012 KEENOV sale carrying her first foal by Scat Daddy. The resulting filly was purchased by Watson, Weitman and Pegram, aka the Three Amigos, for $160,000 at Keeneland September and named Pretty N Cool. Campaigned by Justify’s trainer Bob Baffert, she won three graded stakes and was Grade I-placed.

Members of unbeaten Horse of the Year and 2018 Triple Crown hero Justify’s first crop have been very popular at Keeneland November with his foals topping or co-topping the weanling portion of each of the three sessions. A total of five have sold so far for a gross of $2.135 million and average of $427,000.

“I think the Justifys are very good,” Baccari said. “I think the public is going to support him now and his yearlings. He was a very good racehorse and I’m a big fan. I think I have four homebreds by him.”

The horseman continued, “[Hip 829] reminds me of his sire. He has a lot of raw strength like he did. The mare is a good producer and that is what I’m looking for. That is what determines the value to me. He had a good physical, but he has the pedigree to go with it.”

The second highest-priced Justify weanling of the day came late in the sale when Hip 987 brought $375,000 from internet bidder Michael Fowler, who bred the colt in partnership with Jumping Jack Racing. Like Baccari, this colt’s consignor Stuart Morris said he also liked what he was seeing in Justify’s offspring.

“I am very impressed with the Justifys,” Morris said. “All the ones I have been around have had very good minds. They are very forward, very athletic, very progressive. They are simple and uncomplicated, acting like professional racehorses.”—@CDeBernardisTDN

Veronique Rewards Holmes Once More
Tony Holmes and a longtime employee partnered up on the mare Veronique (Mizzen Mast), purchasing her privately after she RNA’d for $22,000 at last year’s Keeneland November sale, and, thanks to the exploits of her unbeaten colt Nashville (Speightstown), enjoyed a standout result Monday when they resold the 9-year-old for $800,000. The partners continued to reap the benefits of last year’s purchase when selling the mare’s weanling filly by Mastery (hip 885) for $400,000 to Stonestreet Stables Wednesday at Keeneland. The foal was consigned by Warrendale Sales.

“I didn’t plan on putting either of them in the sale,” Holmes admitted after the weanling went through the ring. “It was all Nashville.”

The speedy Nashville is now three-for-three following his track-record setting win in the Perryville S. at Keeneland last Saturday.

“She was a lovely filly and a lovely mover,” Holmes said of the weanling. “You have to be careful setting your reserves when you get a horse of this caliber. So, we had a reasonable enough reserve on her and she took care of the rest herself.” @JessMartiniTDN

City of Light Filly Rewards McCann
When bidding on his mare Cabana (Flatter) stalled at last year’s Keeneland November sale, Bob McCann decided to step in and buy out his partner for $145,000 on the then 8-year-old mare who was in foal to City of Light. The mare’s weanling filly (hip 906) proved it was the right choice when selling for $375,000 to Stonestreet Stables through the Eaton Sales consignment Wednesday at Keeneland.

“I bought her privately with a friend of mine at the racetrack,” McCann said of Cabana. “We thought she was ready to be a broodmare, but we kept her in training for a couple of months. And then when we retired her, we bred her to Nyquist. We planned to flip the mare, but we kind of fell in love with her. We got the Nyquist out of her and bred her to Street Sense.”

McCann continued, “Then last year my partner said he had a couple of businesses that weren’t going well and he was worried about the election–this was pre-COVID–and he said, ‘Why don’t we put that mare in the sale?’ I thought, ‘I don’t really want to sell her, but she’ll bring $200,000+ and I’ll make money. Why not?’ So, we put her in there and she was lingering at $140,000 and I bid $145,000 and I bought him out.”

Cabana’s Nyquist colt RNA’d for $75,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale and sold to Kuehne Racing for $60,000 at this year’s OBS Spring Sale. Now named Dudes Got Game, he is in training with Ralph Nicks at Gulfstream Park and is showing promise.

“The Nyquist is working really well down in Florida,” McCann said. “The people who bought him actually contacted me and asked what the reserve would be on the filly, but I didn’t even know at that point. I think he’ll be a two-turn 3-year-old.”

The mare’s Street Sense filly sold for $25,000 to Craig Wheeler at this year’s Keeneland September sale. But the best for Cabana–and McCann–was yet to come.

“Then I got the City of Light,” McCann said with a smile. “This filly was just a rock star right from the start.”

McCann has about eight mares in his broodmare band and still owns Cabana. The multiple stakes-placed mare is in foal to More Than Ready.

“I generally do,” McCann said when asked if the plan was to sell all his foals. “I did buy a Gun Runner filly back this year with a partner and we’re going to run her. I keep most of mares with Sally Thomas and Pope McLean. Sally raised this one and gave her to [Eaton Sales’] Reiley [McDonald] and I got lucky. We’re very happy with that result.” @JessMartiniTDN

Best Hoping He’s Found More Magic
Larry Best has been quite active buying both mares and weanling this week and Wednesday was no different as the OXO Equine principal made his presence felt early when going to $360,000 for a colt (Hip 670) from the first crop of champion Good Magic.

“I tend to go earlier now for colts as opposed to waiting for them to be yearlings,” Best said. “You take more risk, but you are not spending the same amount of money. You might get two or three shots on goal for what you’d be paying at the yearling sales. I am trying to diversify with different sires. I bought a Mastery, an American Pharoah filly, etc. This one is by Good Magic and was good looking. Physically, this was about as good as you are going to get for a weanling. Again, you take a lot of risk, but I am going to give it a shot.”

SF Bloodstock purchased Hip 670’s dam Inlovewithlove (Bernstein) for $230,000 in foal to Good Magic’s sire Curlin at the 2018 KEENOV sale. The resulting colt brought $425,000 from Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Robert LaPenta’s Whitehorse at the recent Keeneland September Sale.

The New York-bred colt is a half-brother to MGSW Lovely Bernadette (Wilburn), who brought $750,000 from Shadai Farm at the 2018 KEENOV sale. The colt was consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock.

“We had hoped it was going to be that much, but our reserve was a lot less,” said Bedouin’s Neal Clarke. “He garnered a whole lot of interest at the barn and there was a good posse following him up here. I am very pleased with the Good Magics. We have four or five at the farm and they are very good individuals with great minds, great bone and great substance. Very nice horses.”

Best has bought a total of six weanlings so far at Keeneland November. In addition to hip 670, he purchased a $450,000 son of Mastery (Hip 266), a $300,000 colt by Gun Runner (Hip 598) and a $260,000 daughter of American Pharoah (Hip 104), a $200,000 Maclean’s Music colt (Hip 747) and a $400,000 son of his favorite sire Into Mischief (Hip 818). —@CDeBernardisTDN

Best Up to His Usual ‘Mischief’
Larry Best’s affinity for progeny of the nations’s leading sire is well known, and the OXO Equine principal added another son of the Spendthrift Farm stalwart to his valuable holdings Wednesday in the form of hip 818. Consigned by Paramount Sales, Agent LII, the grey son of MSW and GSP Slewfoundmoney (Seeking the Gold) was consigned by Paramount Sales, Agent LII.

“As you can see, I’ve been buying other sires, but when they look like that… that was a gorgeous Into Mischief,” said Best, whose runners by Into Mischief have included Grade II winner Instagrand, MGISP Rowayton and SW Mundaye Call. “For a weanling, that’s a beautiful horse–beautiful walk. You could’ve told me he was by any other sire and I would’ve bought him. He just looked so, so good.”

When asked to compare the colt to any of his other Into Mischief’s, Best said: “This one has some of the mare in him. He looks like an Into Mischief, but different.”

Hailing from a deep Live Oak Plantation family, Slewfoundmoney has already produced four stakes horses, most notable of which is the MGSW and MGISP Awesome Slew (Awesome Again). Slewfoundmoney was purchased at this sale 12 months ago by Arthur Hoyeau, and hip 818 is listed as bred by Magnolia Bloodstock and Lynch Bages.

Slewfoundmoney’s 2-year-old filly Tappingintosuccess was a convincing second-out maiden special weight winner at Monmouth in September. The mare has a yearling full-sister to hip 818. —@BDiDonatoTDN

Mulholland Weanlings Prove Popular
Mulholland Springs doubled up on successes with homebred weanlings Wednesday at Keeneland, with a colt by Uncle Mo (hip 802) selling for $300,000 and, just a few hips later, a filly by Into Mischief (hip 815) bringing $310,000.

Hip 802, out of stakes-placed Samiam (Dynaformer), and was co-bred with Tom Grether Farms and Elizabeth Hage. The weanling’s half-sister by Into Mischief sold for $500,000 at this year’s Keeneland September sale.

“I thought the Uncle Mo was the best foal the mare has had,” John Mulholland said of the weanling. “Her yearling by Into Mischief brought $500,000 in September, but I thought this one was even nicer.”

Hip 815 is out of Sine Wave, who was bred and sold by the Mulhollands and went on to finish second in a pair of graded races before rejoining the family’s broodmare band. The weanling had the advantage of the right sire in Spendthrift’s super stallion Into Mischief.

“I’ve only ever had tremendous luck with Into Mischief and we are going to breed five mares to him again,” Mulholland said. “I am sorry to see him go up to $225,000, but that’s the way it goes. That’s a lot of money for us, we are just a family run farm, but you have to give the buyers what they want and that’s what they want. So, we are going to have to pony up and spend it. We have followed the sire all the way up from when he was $10,000 or $15,000 up to $225,000 and I think he’s the best sire in the world, quite honestly. I’ve never had an Into Mischief that we’ve bred and sold that didn’t go on and at least be a winner and try. I think he puts a lot of heart into his foals and I think he will leave a lasting effect on the industry.”

Mulholland said he was surprised by the strength of the mare market, as compared to the foal market, at the November sale.

“I came into here thinking that the mares would be a little bit down and the foals would be up and I’ve found it to be the opposite,” he said. “I’ve been chasing a lot of mares and haven’t been able to get them bought. It seems like the mare market is stronger than I anticipated and the foal market is very selective from what I’m seeing. But it’s pretty much the same as always. If you have the sire and the right vetting, you’re going to get paid. And we did here. Those were both very nice foals.” @JessMartiniTDN

Munnings Pays for Campion
When Padraig Campion acquired the 3-year-old filly Midnight Hoot (Midnight Lute) (hip 719) for $27,000 earlier this year at the Keeneland January sale, he had his eye on the increasingly popular Munnings for her first cover. The unraced mare returned to the sales ring through Campion’s Blandford Stud consignment Wednesday at Keeneland in foal to the Coolmore stallion and sold for $220,000 to Caroline and Greg Bentley.

“The Midnight Lute in the pedigree,” Campion said when asked about the mare’s appeal in January. “She was a big, good-looking mare. We probably would have given a little more, but not much. The Munnings’ mating obviously made her very attractive and she’s carrying a colt.”

Campion said Munnings was an obvious pick for the new mare.

“He was going up, up and up. He’s one of those stallions you’re always watching,” he said.

Of Wednesday’s result, Campion added, “I thought it was fantastic. If you can do that a couple times a year, you’ll stay in business.”

Campion offered another mare in foal to Munnings Wednesday at Keeneland, with Whats Yur Story (Liaison) (hip 892) bringing a final bid of $135,000 from Springhouse Farm. The 4-year-old mare was purchased by Blandford Stud for $52,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale and she made four starts in 2018 and 2019.

“We probably gave a little bit more for her than we should have,” Campion admitted. “We raced her and she was placed for us. We bred her last year and she got in foal and lost it–broodmare blues–so she kind of made up for it today.” @JessMartiniTDN

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Group 3 Winner Pollara, In Foal To War Front, Tops Second Day Of Keeneland November Sale At $975,000

Pollara, a Group 3 winner in France who is carrying her first foal by War Front, sold to Arthur Hoyeau, agent, for $975,000 during Tuesday's second session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which was marked by international and domestic participation.

A total of 197 horses sold today for $27,690,000, for an average of $140,558 and a median of $100,000.

Through two sessions, 325 horses have grossed $77,465,000, for an average of $238,354 and a median of $135,000.

“Overall the market is strong,” Keeneland President-Elect and Interim Head of Sales Shannon Arvin said. “Five mares sold today for more than $500,000, which is pretty comparable to last year's session. Consignors have commented to us that they have been a little surprised at the strength of the market. So trade is strong.”

Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell agreed.

“Phil Schoenthal from Maryland brought Matt Dorman, who's developing a breeding operation, so they are here to fill up a farm,” he said. “Our international clients who came last year are back buying to lay down the foundations for their breeding operations. Keeneland is where the world comes to buy. If you look at the leading buyers at the end of the day. you have European, American and Japanese interests. There was a great mix of people today, and we hope that continues.”

Pollara, a 5-year-old daughter of Camelot, is out of the winning Storm Cat mare Brooklyn's Storm, a half-sister to French highweight and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Solemia. She is also from the family of French highweight and multiple Group 1 winner Silasol and group winners Prospect Wells and Prospect Park.

“She is going back to France,” said Henri Bozo, manager of Ecurie des Monceaux, about Pollara. “She is a very exciting mare. She is in foal to a very proven stallion. We try to breed classic winners. She stood out in Book 2.”

Pollara was consigned by Claiborne Farm, agent.

“She's such a nice mare, a group winner in France and in foal to the right horse,” Claiborne President Walker Hancock said. “Every single mare in the family is in foal to a world-leading sire. It's a very active family and they've all been bred to the best sires in the world. There are tons of upside to the family. When you have a page like that, a race record like that and in foal to the right sire the sky's the limit.”

Schoenthal, agent for Dorman's Determined Stud, paid $800,000 for Style and Grace, a winning, 4-year-old daughter of Curlin who is carrying her first foal by City of Light, and $600,000 for Vevina, a 5-year-old, stakes-placed daughter of More Than Ready who is carrying her first foal by Uncle Mo.

Style and Grace, a half-sister to Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Furthest Land, was consigned by Lane's End, agent. Out of the Rahy mare Flagrant, she is from the family of Grade 2 winner Ready for Rye and Grade 3 winner Dynever.

Vevina, who was consigned by Kingswood Farm, is out of My Sugar Bear, by Giant's Causeway. She is from the family of Grade 2 winners Possible Mate and Guided Tour.

Determined Stud is a new breeding and racing operation that acquired several horses at Keeneland's 2020 September Yearling Sale.

“We're just buying quality,” Dorman said about Determined's broodmare purchases on Tuesday. “We have some stallion shares so we have some stallions in mind. The farm is in Boyds, Maryland. We are really looking for quality, so I think the band will be around the 15-horse mark and then we will go from there.”

Lane's End was the session's leading consignor, selling 31 horses for $4,716,000.

Woodford Thoroughbreds paid $575,000 for Grade 3-placed mare Hot Cash, a full-sister to Grade 1 winner Stately Victor carrying her first foal by Curlin. Consigned by Hidden Brook, agent, the 5-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper is out of Grade 1 winner Collect the Cash, by Dynaformer.

“She will be a good addition to the broodmare band,” said Lincoln Collins, who signed the ticket for Hot Cash. “No breeding plans yet; we will sit down and think about it. We knew she was going to be expensive but you never quite know what that means. It is a better market than I think any of us thought it would be. The horse business is alive and well.”

“She sold well. We are happy,” Hidden Brook's Dan Hall said. “She's a young mare who could run and she's in foal to the right horse. (Her sale is part of) a major reduction (for Adena Springs), getting the numbers way down. It makes sense right now. We have close to 90, between mares and weanlings, all in this sale. There has been a lot of interest at the barn at all levels.”

For the second day, a colt from the first crop of undefeated 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify was the session's top-priced weaning. On Tuesday, M.V. Magnier paid $475,000 for the first foal of Grade 3-placed winner Inchargeofme. Nursery Place, agent, consigned the colt, who is from the family of Group 1-placed Johann Straus.

“He's a beautiful-looking horse, and Justify is making very good foals,” Coolmore's David Wachman said. “We're just excited to be able to buy a very nice horse by him. Across the board, they're very good, and he's a very smart horse, that horse. We're happy to have him.”

Yeguada Centurion of Spain led buyers by spending $3,127,000 for 17 horses.

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