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Fasig-Tipton October Brings Curtain Down on Yearling Sales Season

Fasig-Tipton, which hosted the opening event of the season with its July Selected Yearlings Sale, will bring the curtain down on the yearlings auction season with its four-day Kentucky October Yearlings Sale which begins Monday at the company's Newtown Paddocks. The sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

The 2021 October sale was a barnburner, setting new records for gross, average and median, and consignors are hoping this year's edition continues a string of strong results this season.

“The market has been very strong throughout the year,” said Zach Madden, who will be presenting 28 yearlings in his first October consignment as sole proprietor of Buckland Sales. “[Keeneland] September was insane. And we had one in Saratoga that went over really well. I think, with the foal crop being down a tick and the purse structure up, it seems like people are just really going after it this year. I came into the business when it was really tough, so I do remember those times, but I think it's going to keep clicking along and hopefully it spills over into the breeding stock sales and the foal market. It's been good timing for a first year being out on my own, too. I definitely don't take that for granted. Hopefully it keeps humming along.”

Hunter Simms of Warrendale Sales agreed with Madden's assessment of the 2022 yearling market.

“I think it will be a good sale based off of what we had in September,” Simms said. “That was a strong market. There was a lot of demand for horses throughout, all the way from the beginning of the sale to the end. Fasig-Tipton had their New York sale last Monday and all indications coming out of that were positive with people still wanting horses. So I do think at the end, it should be a good sale overall.”

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, which was held in the midst of a multi-day rain storm at the beginning of the month, suffered slight declines following a strong renewal in 2021.

“I think September was incredibly strong at Keeneland with a record-breaking sale,” said Carl McEntee of Ballysax Bloodstock. “I think the wind came out of the sails a little bit–I thought the Timonium sale was an average horse sale, to be quite frank, with the median and average down. People maybe didn't travel out of town because they knew they had 1600 yearlings right here in Lexington. Maybe they liked one or two up there and didn't want to get rained on for four days and then probably get outbid on the one you liked because you valued it at $75,000 and it brought $125,000, it just didn't make sense to people. I think they just said, 'Listen the weather is bad, we will stay in Kentucky.' But the New York sale they just had looked very strong again and the median was up. I know everyone is coming into town [for the October sale] and I think it's going to be a very spirited market.”

During last year's October sale, 1,153 yearlings sold for $52,607,500. The average of $45,672 was up 33.9% from 2020 and bettered the sales previous record figure of $37,955 set in 2019. The median of $25,000 was up 66.7% from 2020 and bettered the previous record of $18,500 set in 2014. With just 205 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was a sparkling 15.1%–the lowest since 2013.

The days of October yearlings coming into the sales ring with a disadvantage are over, Simms agreed.

“I think Fasig has worked very hard to change that stigma,” Simms said. “It used to be this was your last-stop shop. It still is, but it was kind of like re-tread horses that didn't get sold or horses that people deemed weren't commercially valuable, they'd just put them in October. Now you are seeing horses bring high six figures over the years, and that's kind of gotten this sale to take off.”

Recent graduates of the October sale include 2022 Grade I winners Taiba, Goodnight Olive, and Jack Christopher. Results like those are another reason buyers have added the October sale to their calendars, according to Madden.

“I can remember a time where October was kind of the red-headed stepchild to September,” Madden said. “I think they've done a great job in compiling enough horses to make it a must-stop for the majority of buyers. It started with [Fasig president] Boyd [Browning] and the guys over there being flexible and taking later entries. That I think has really sparked the sale being so big.

“And then their results [on the racetrack] have been crazy. We were fortunate enough to sell Taiba over there two years ago. That horse just needed a little time. For a consignor, if you don't have a super precocious horse or if there is an issue that needs time to resolve, it's an awesome sale. And people work this sale hard. They have circled it on the map and the results keep coming out. Year after year, there is just horse after horse where you say, 'Man that horse came out of there, too.'”

Bloodstock agent Jacob West, bidding on behalf of the power-partnership of Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, made the highest bid at last year's October sale, going to $925,000 to acquire a colt by Street Sense. Donato Lanni was also in action at the top of the market for the stallion-making partnership of SF/Starlight/Madaket. Those high-end buyers are joined by pinhookers and end-users to make up the traditional October buying bench.

“You are getting pinhookers and end-users,” Simms said of the buying bench. “I know [trainer] Kenny McPeek is a big fan of this sale, Jacob West was over there shopping a lot, St. Elias was shopping and Donato was shopping. You get a lot of these guys who are continually at the top of the sheets still shopping for horses. With the purses being good and the foal crop decreasing, the demand is still there, so there aren't that many opportunities coming. Supply and demand is going to make those prices jump. And those guys still need horses to finish out their buying for the year.”

In addition to the high-end buyers, October also attracts a strong middle market, according to McEntee.

“It's been a vibrant sale these last two or three years, big horses in there bringing $700,000 or $800,000, so I think it's a very reputable sale,” McEntee said. “We always used to say Timonium was a trainer's sale because there are so many racetracks around there. The reality is, so is the October sale. Trainers are in town, especially with the Breeders' Cup, everyone is in town. You have trainers that come in from regional markets–Canada or West Coast, East Coast or Ohio, Indiana and Illinois–all of these guys are coming in. So I do think it's a trainer's sale and I do think horses that perhaps weren't quite the Book 4 Keeneland horse, but were still a nice horse, I think there is a real strong market for them at October. Obviously, there are some top-class horses there, too, but those solid Book 4 horses who are true racehorses, with good X-rays, good scopes, good substance and size, that sort of fit pinhookers and racehorse buyers, I think those horses really have a good home in this sale.”

There are 1,594 yearlings catalogued for the four-day October sale. Hips 1-398 will go through the ring during Monday's first session of the auction and will be followed by hips 399-796 Tuesday; hips 797-1194 Wednesday; and hips 1195-1594 Thursday.

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Messier First to Spread Sam-Son Legacy

Here we are, then, in what Oliver Hardy could only call “another nice mess.” But let's disentangle this flourishing sapling Messier (Empire Maker) from the tentacles that may restrain him from a timely bloom on the first Saturday in May, and take a moment to celebrate not only the storied nursery that cultivated his family but also the alert grafting that now involves another farm in his future success.

For this horticultural analogy permits only one classification of the spectacular GIII Robert S. Lewis S. winner–as a young maple. Messier represents a fifth generation of breeding by Sam-Son, the iconic Canadian farm that began a poignant process of disbandment last winter, nearly half a century after its foundation by Ernie Samuel. With 84 Sovereign Awards, 14 Grade I winners and four Eclipse Awards, Samuel and his heirs–latterly with the skilled assistance of long-serving farm manager David Whitford–had by then created an indelible legacy in the North American Thoroughbred. This had been freshly condensed by the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby winner Country House (Lookin At Lucky), whose grandsire Smart Strike was out of a daughter of Samuel's foundation mare No Class (Nodouble); and whose second dam was by her son Sky Classic (Nijinsky).

Among the 21 Sam-Son mares that realized $6.75 million at the 2021 Keeneland January Sale–supplementing the $3.45 million banked by four headline acts at Fasig-Tipton a few weeks previously–was an 11-year-old daughter of Smart Strike, Checkered Past, a dual winner of the listed Trillium S. at Woodbine and offered in foal to Candy Ride (Arg). Her catalog page listed two unraced daughters, plus a colt from what had meanwhile proved to be the penultimate crop of Empire Maker. He had been sold as a yearling, at Fasig-Tipton the previous September, to a syndicate of Bob Baffert's patrons for $470,000.

That price caught the eye of Hunter Simms and Kitty Day of Warrendale, who were scouting the dispersal on behalf of Silesia Farm. They noted that the mare's first foal, a filly by Uncle Mo, had made only $22,000; her second daughter, also by Empire Maker, had made $200,000.

“So to see that colt sitting there on $470,000, that piqued our interest,” Simms recalls. “We really liked this mare: a daughter of Smart Strike, and going down the page you saw Catch the Thrill (A.P. Indy), Diamond Fever (Seeking the Gold), Seeking the Ring (Seeking the Gold). I mean, all very nice horses; and she had all the attributes Kitty and I like to see when we're purchasing mares for people. But a lot of the draw was that Empire Maker, and the connections that he sold to. Donato [Lanni, agent] has a very good eye, and we knew where the horse was going to be trained. And then you had who she was in foal to, and the fact that she was still a younger mare. We just felt there was a lot of upside, if things went a certain way.”

Checkered Past prior to the Sam-Son dispersal | Sam-Son Farm

How much upside, however, nobody could have guessed when Silesia Farm landed Checkered Past for $290,000. Setting aside a failed experiment with blinkers in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity, failing to settle, Messier has made seamless progress toward the top of the crop–which is arguably where he finds himself, at this point, after Sunday's 15-length rout. Don't forget that the horse he had beaten in what seemed a thin field for the GIII Bob Hope S., Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah), has meanwhile put away three of Messier's barnmates in the GII San Vicente S. Wherever you stand regarding his trainer's difficulties, you have to admire the way Messier has developed from goofy kid in his first sprint to this machine gliding clear along the rail, and there can only be more to come at the Derby trip.

The Silesia Farm team are duly delighted to have introduced his dam to their program with such opportune timing. They are headed by Dr. Hartmut Malluche, a professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky and a distinguished achiever in the fields of nephrology, osteology and metabolism. (His German origins, incidentally, are proudly apparent in his racing silks, combining the black, red and gold of the national flag.)

“Dr. Malluche has been a client of ours for seven or eight years now,” Simms explains. “It's a boutique operation, over on the corner of Military and Shannon Run, and this year we've booked 10 mares for him. He really focuses on quality. He's a numbers guy: he looks at the sales results, he analyses values, and we add that data to the mix when we match his mares up with pedigrees, nicking and physicals. 'Okay, so we're putting in a $100,000 stud fee: what's the potential return if we get an average to above-average foal? And if we get a really nice foal, then what could it be?'

Sam-Son's dispersal at the 2021 Keeneland January sale | Keeneland

“So he really looks at it from a quality standpoint. And in this day and age, that's what's selling; that's what's bringing the big numbers. In order to have a shot at doing that, you have to put in the capital, to buy these nice mares and pay those stud fees. Obviously a nice horse can come from anywhere, at any level. But from a commercial standpoint, the horses you see most frequently at the top level, if they're not homebred, have been priced well. So that's how Dr. Malluche operates. This year he has two mares booked to Quality Road, he's breeding to Essential Quality, Nyquist, Curlin: really at the top end of the market.”

The pair visiting Quality Road attest to that emphasis on quality. One is Impeccable Style (Uncle Mo), runner-up in the GIII Indiana Oaks and recently acquired, in foal to Authentic, at the Keeneland November Sale for $500,000. The other is none other than Checkered Past, who sadly lost an Authentic foal of her own during the fall. But she does have the Candy Ride yearling she was carrying at auction, evidently delivered as a most attractive filly and to be prepared for sale either at Saratoga in August or Keeneland the following month.

“Checkered Past is a typical Smart Strike mare, and there's a lot of A.P. Indy in there, too,” Simms says. “She's not a real big mare, so breeding her to Authentic and Quality Road we were trying to get a little more leg up underneath her. But she's correct, and her race record spoke for a lot. She's the only black-type under her dam, but she earned $335,000 on the track and did some very nice running. And those families are just so deep. When you have an operation like that getting out of the business, I think it's like we saw when Ned Evans dispersed his stock. People want to get into those families because they have never had the opportunity to do so in the past.”

Sure enough, Checkered Past is out of an unraced sister to Catch the Thrill, champion 2-year-old filly in Canada and herself daughter of a domestic champion in Catch the Ring (Seeking the Gold), near-millionaire winner of the GIII Maple Leaf S. and Canadian Oaks. The next dam Radiant Ring (Halo) won the GII Matchmaker S. and, as 2003 Canadian Broodmare of the Year, was responsible overall for eight stakes performers and/or producers. (We should note here that Checkered Past's arrival at Silesia Farm actually represents a Bluegrass repatriation for this family, as Radiant Ring's dam was bred by that estimable outfit, Nuckols Bros.)

The late Empire Maker at Gainesway | EquiSport Photos

The upshot, for Messier, is a copper-bottomed Classic pedigree. Obviously the legacy of his late sire feels pretty secure, Pioneerof the Nile having made all due arrangements despite his own premature passing; and along the bottom line the seeding reads Smart Strike, A.P. Indy, Seeking the Gold and Halo.

In a way, his rise reminds all parties to the Baffert impasse that the stakes are bigger than their own reputations or interests. How apt it would be, for those who created the Sam-Son brand, for their legacy to be gilded so soon after the dispersal by a Kentucky Derby winner! And how disappointing, if Messier remains excluded, for those who–though newer to the game–have recognized the value of that genetic heritage and invested in its conservation.

Dr. Malluche plainly has a wholesome sense that the interests of his program can coincide with those of the breed overall; that there should be nothing more commercial than prioritizing the running power of a family. If you do that, the selling power will follow naturally. Hence the stipulation that mares recruited to Silesia Farm should themselves have demonstrated black-type quality.

Warrendale's Hunter Simms | Keeneland

“That's the whole thing, when you're putting matings together, and trying to develop families,” Simms says. “A mare can have four foals that all bring half a million dollars. But if they then don't race, if they don't do well, at the end of the day you're losing value in your product. So you have to do it from the standpoint of: 'Yeah, potentially I can get X, commercially; but this way I can also give my horse the best odds of success on the track.'”

That strategy also emboldens Dr. Malluche to retain such horses as happen to miss their cue at the sales. A couple of years ago, for instance, Rodolphe Brisset saddled stakes-placed Lantiz (Tizway) to run fourth in the GI Flower Bowl S.

Of course, you can make all the right calls and still be at the mercy of luck. You could hardly ask for a more compressed sample of the sport's ups and downs, in fact, than the checkered winter of Checkered Past: first the loss of her Authentic foal, and now this thrilling elevation in her value.

“Oh, they're ecstatic, jumping for joy,” affirms Simms of his clients. “You have a down like that, with the mare losing her pregnancy, and then you turn around and something so positive happens just a few weeks later. They understand that the lows of this business are really low, but the highs are really high. What happened is still rather fresh: they love their horses, they love the foals running around them in the paddock. But it all kind of comes full circle, and obviously this mare now looks pretty good value.”

And her new custodians could have no better model for their whole program than the one that produced their most exciting mare.

“They're very enthusiastic about the business,” says Simms. “It's a very good operation to represent, and we really enjoy working with them. They haven't been in it that long, but they're raising good horses, and they're doing it the right way.”

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Strong Results Continue at Keeneland November

By Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continued with strong demand during a lively session of bidding Thursday in Lexington. The auction's first of two Book 2 sessions concluded with both average and median up and the buy-back rate down from the corresponding session in 2020.

“Incredible,” Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said of Thursday's action. “It was a really vibrant market again today. I think people were a little frustrated in buying, but we had a lot of happy sellers. I think it is a really encouraging market as we move forward.”

During Thursday's first Book 2 session, 344 head sold for $88,500,000. The session average was $167,549–up 19.2% from the corresponding 2020 figure–while the median of $130,000 was up 30%. The buy-back rate was 24.56%, down from 29.04% a year ago.

“The RNA rate was really healthy,” Lacy said. “The median and average were well up. We are extremely happy and it bodes well for the rest of the sale as we move into the middle market.”

A weanling colt by Justify (Hip 305) brought the top price of Thursday's session when selling to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier for $625,000. Streak of Luck (Old Fashioned) was the day's top-priced mare, selling for $620,000 to Aaron and Marie Jones, LLC.

There were five offerings to sell for $500,000 or over during the session, matching the figure from the auction's first Book 2 section a year ago.

“Foals were incredibly strong,” Lacy said. “There were a lot of frustrated pinhookers out there trying to buy. There were a lot of end users participating in the market today for foals. Young mares bred on an early cover to a popular sire were extremely popular.”

The competitive November results can be traced back to the strong yearling market, according to Hunter Simms of Warrendale Sales.

“It's strong, selling and buying,” Simms said of the November market. “You lead one up here and think you know what it is going to bring, but you are paying a premium no matter what. It happened across town, it's happening here. I think September led into it a little bit. Breeders need to spend that money before the end of the year for tax purposes.”

The September sale also gave breeders the confidence to reinvest in mares, Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said.

“The September market was so strong that it really validated commercial breeders and gave them, in a lot of cases, the ability to reinvest,” Breathnach said. “You know sometimes there were large amounts of money spent on yearlings out of older mares or mares that had not been the A-list type. We saw the strength of the yearling market all the way through the last day. Even Book 4 mares were profitable in some cases this year. [Breeders] can buy with a bit more confidence.”

Tom Ryan of SF Bloodstock was seeing strength at all levels of the November market.

“It is wonderful to see,” Ryan said. “There is vibrance from top to bottom. There is no soft spot in this market. It is tremendous. It started out incredibly strong at Fasig-Tipton and it has continued into Keeneland.”

The Keeneland November sale continues through Nov. 19 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Coolmore Strikes For Regally Bred Justify Colt

When Hip 305 stepped into the ring, it was like looking at a miniature version of his sire, undefeated Triple Crown hero Justify. Those good looks combined with his equally stunning pedigree inspired a fast and furious round of bidding and when the hammer fell, it was no surprise to find Coolmore's M.V. Magnier left holding the $625,000 ticket. Consigned by Lane's End, the weanling colt was bred by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm.

“He is a really nice horse,” Magnier said. “In fairness to Jane Lyon and everyone at Summer Wind, they are very good breeders. We have had a lot of luck with the family before. I think we have about 11 or 12 Justifys going into Ballydoyle next year. They look like they are a very special group of horses. Everybody seems to be very high on them from Paul Shanahan to Dermot Ryan to Aidan O'Brien. They are just a very exciting bunch of horses to look forward to next year. The pedigrees they have, the physiques they have, just everything about them.”

The flashy chestnut colt was the most expensive horse sold during Thursday's session and the most expensive weanling colt of the sale thus far, following Wednesday's $800,000 Frankel (GB) filly.

“He is by one of the best horses we have seen in America for a very long time and then has Moonshine Memories and everything [on the bottom side],” Magnier said when asked if the final price was what he expected. “A horse bred like that and with the physique he has deserved to make [that money].”

Hip 305, who was given the name Just Before Dawn by his breeder, is from the second crop of Justify, whose progeny has been well received at auctions over the past two years. The Coolmore stallion was represented by a $1.55 million colt at the Keeneland September Sale and has had four weanlings sell thus far at November for $1.33 million.

“Justify was such a good racehorse,” said Magnier. “We have a huge amount of faith in him. He is making super strong horses and they all seem to be good movers. The lads at home are just breaking them in now and they all seem to be easy to deal with, so it is going to be a very exciting year next year.”

Lyon privately purchased the colt's second dam, SW Evil Elaine (Medieval Man) the day before her son Favorite Trick (Phone Trick) won the 1997 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, clinching an Eclipse Award and Horse of the Year honors in the process. Hip 305's dam Unenchantedevening (Unbridled's Song) was the final foal out of Evil Elaine and joined Lyon's broodmare band after making seven starts, which included a maiden win.

Unenchantedevening's first foal was SW & GSP Indian Evening (Indian Charlie) and a few foals later she produced SP Mo for the Money (Uncle Mo). She followed that colt with her most significant produce to date, 'TDN Rising Star' Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon). Acquired by Coolmore and Bridlewood Farm for $650,000 at FTSAUG, Moonshine Memories became the first Grade I winner bred by Summer Wind with a victory in the GI Del Mar Debtutante S. and followed that with a win in the GI Chandelier S. The bay summoned $3.4 million from West Bloodstock carrying a foal by Into Mischief at Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Lyon retained Moonshine Memories' now-3-year-old full-sister More Moonshine, who was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' after an impressive debut at Saratoga in July. Their dam is expecting a Tapit foal in 2022.

“Jane has owned that family for quite some time and she is very partial to it,” said Bobby Spalding, manager of Summer Wind Farm. “This colt has been pretty special since day one. In fact, we had him entered in the sale, but we weren't even going to bring him up here. But, a couple days before the sale, we decided to bring him and the horse hadn't even been prepped for the sale. What you saw was all natural. He was a nice horse by the right sire and out of a nice family. It is very special to Jane.”

Summer Wind is known for selling well-bred and often expensive yearlings, such as $1-million FTSAUG buy and now undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit), but it is very unusual for Lyon's operation to offer a weanling at auction.

When asked about this deviation, Spalding said, “That was all Jane's idea. She had said back in early August that she thought he would be a nice weanling to sell. She made a comment that it wasn't something she normally did, but she really liked him and thought he would sell well. I was the one trying to convince her to keep him out of the sale, so all credit goes to Jane.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Taylor Secures Streak of Luck For Joneses

Streak of Luck (Old Fashioned) (Hip 265) sparked the day's first fireworks, bringing $620,000 from Taylor Made's Frank Taylor, who was acting on behalf of Aaron and Marie Jones. Consigned by James Keogh, the 6-year-old is carrying her first foal by Horse of the Year Authentic.

“She checked all the boxes for us,” Taylor said. “She had a great physical. She looks like Unbridled's Song and we love Unbridled's Song. We raised Old Fashioned on the farm, so that was kind of a plus to me. She was a good racemare and is in foal to a Derby winner, having a January foal. That is what we are looking for.”

As for the price, Taylor said, “I saw one [Wednesday] that was comparable to her and she brought $700,000. That was a bid or two past where we wanted to go, but we wanted to get her.”

Carrie Brogden, Keogh and the mare's breeder Roncelli Family Trust raced Streak of Luck in partnership. She won six of her 30 starts and placed in multiple graded stakes.–@CDeBernardisTDN

Silesia Farm Snags 'Impeccable' Mare

GSP Impeccable Style (Uncle Mo) (Hip 486) proved popular at Keeneland Thursday, bringing $500,000 from Warrendale's Kitty Taylor and Hunter Simms, who were acting on behalf of Silesia Farm.

“They are actually the same group we bought the dam of ['TDN Rising Star”] Messier (Empire Maker) for last year, Checkered Past, and he is running in the [GIII] Bob Hope this weekend,” Simms said after signing the ticket beside Taylor. “They are very loyal clients of ours. We sold a bunch for them in September this year. They had a very good sales season and wanted to reinvest into the market and upgrade their broodmare band.”

A $155,000 purchase at this auction back in 2017, Impeccable Style was third in last year's Bourbonette Oaks and was second in the GIII Indiana Oaks. Pete Bradley picked her up for $275,000 just days later at the Fasig July Sale and she made just two starts for her new connections before being retired and bred to Horse of the Year Authentic.

“She is a beautiful physical and good physicals are selling right now, whether its mares, yearlings, foals,” Simms said. “The Authentic is very attractive to us and her race record. It was the whole package we are looking for.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Freedman Goes to Kentucky for Stay Inside

Michael Freedman, who along with his brother Richard trains Group 1 winner Stay Inside (Aus) (Extreme Choice {Aus}), made a first visit to the Kentucky November sales this week in search of mares to eventually support the 2021 G1 Longines Golden Slipper hero at stud. After purchasing a pair of mares at Fasig-Tipton Tuesday, Freedman acquired an additional two mares at Keeneland Thursday. He made his biggest purchase when going to $400,000 to acquire Alnaseem (GB) (Shamardal) (hip 338) from the Timber Town consignment. The 5-year-old stakes-winning mare sold as a racing or broodmare prospect and Freedman said the plan will be to race her next year.

“She obviously has a bit of racing upside, that was of interest, and I just thought she looked like a lovely physical type,” Freedman explained. “She was a big, impressive mare. And the idea would be to take her back to Australia early in the new year and put her back into training there back there before eventually making her way to the breeding farm to be mated to Stay Inside, a horse that we won the Golden Slipper with earlier this year, when he goes to stud.”

Also Thursday, Freedman purchased the stakes-winning She's So Special (Hard Spun) (hip 244) for $250,000 from the Bluewater Sales consignment.

“That was the same sort of deal,” Freedman said. “She's just a nice outcross with a bit of speed there, which is what we were wanting to come over to find. Again to race if possible, if not the plan is to breed to Stay Inside as well.”

At Fasig-Tipton Tuesday, Freedman purchased I'llhandlethecash (Point of Entry) (hip 191) for $220,000 and No Mo' Spending (Uncle Mo) (hip 217) for $165,000.

Australia opened its borders a week before the November sales and buyers from the country have been very active in Kentucky this week.

“We got beaten on a few and quite often by other Australian buyers,” Freedman said of the market. “It's certainly been competitive, but I am very happy with the ones we've selected and happy with the ones we were able to buy. We might try to get one or two more before the end of the sale if possible.”

Of his first trip to Keeneland, Freedman added, “It's been a great experience and I would certainly like to come back again at some stage, for the yearlings sale or for this sale next year. It's good to get out and travel again.” @JessMartiniTDN

 

Alnaseem Rewards Vaughan Again

Ed Vaughan closed out his English stable last winter, and on his way to America, the trainer picked up the 4-year-old filly Alnaseem (GB) (Shamardal) (hip 338) for 88,000gns ($123,210). Now five, the chestnut gave Vaughan his first stateside win and stakes win before selling for $400,000 to Australian trainers Richard and Michael Freedman Thursday at Keeneland.

“She went on fast ground and the stallion works here–from the Giant's Causeway line,” Vaughan said of the mare's appeal last December as he prepared to open a U.S. stable. “And I just liked her races more than anything probably. She always traveled great through her races and that was it really.”

Alnaseem opened her U.S. campaign with a fourth-place effort in a Churchill allowance in April before winning a May allowance in Louisville.

“Her work was always very good,” Vaughan said. “She ran at Churchill and she was just away a bit slowly and then she was much better next time. She improved from there on.”

Alnaseem was second in the Indiana General Assembly Distaff S. in June before trying graded company with a sixth-place effort in the GII Dance Smartly S. in August. She concluded her time with Vaughan with a win in the H.B.P.A. S. at Presque Isle Oct. 18.

“There are always emotions–you're with them seven days a week,” Vaughan admitted of Thursday's sale. “She was our first winner over here. And she was our first stakes win, so we owe her a debt of gratitude. She's going to Australia and she'll go to a very good home. I'm delighted with that result.”

Vaughan currently has a dozen horses in training in the U.S., including recently arrived Waliyak (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), who was fourth in the Oct. 17 GI E.P. Taylor S. He expects to add to that number when he goes shopping again at the Tattersalls December sale next month.

“We will restock at the December sale and there will be some more to come,” he said. “That's how I did it back in Europe. You've got to get them to perform and hopefully tee them up for whatever jurisdiction they'll be best suited to, whether it's Hong Kong, America or Australia.” @JessMartiniTDN

March X Press Proves Even More Popular This Time Around

Stakes winner March X Press (Shanghai Bobby) made her first appearance at Keeneland November in 2018, bringing $275,000 from Jackpot Farm, and summoned $330,000 from SF Bloodstock and Newgate Farm the following year carrying her first foal by Tapit. Sent through the KEENOV ring yet again Thursday in foal to Quality Road, the 6-year-old mare (Hip 540) realized $560,000 from David Ingordo, acting on behalf of Parks Investment Group.

“I was the underbidder on her yearling and I thought her yearling was one of the best yearlings I did not get,” Ingordo said. “I know he is going into training with the SF group. When I saw the mare in foal to Quality Road, I figured that would work for me. We are going to breed her to Honor A.P.”

The SF Bloodstock team liked March X Press's yearling colt by Tapit so much that the SF-led stallion-making group known as the Avengers purchased him for $700,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale.

“He is a beautiful Tapit colt with a lot of class,” SF's Tom Ryan said. “We were so excited about him that he has become part of our SF racing partnership. He is in training with Eddie Woods right now and will go to Bob Baffert.”

As for March X Press, Ryan said, “She was very well set up to trade. She had produced what everyone knew was a stunning Tapit yearling and was in foal to an elite stallion in Quality Road. All the parts were there. She had a good yearlings, was a young stakes mare, she was beautiful and was in foal to the right stallion. The timing was right.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Impressive Early Results for Authentic

The first mares in foal to Authentic have made an immediate impact in the sales ring this week in Kentucky. Three mares sold in foal to the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner at the Fasig-Tipton November sale Tuesday, with Super Girlie (Closing Argument) (hip 243) leading the way when selling for $725,000. The results continued to roll in Wednesday at Keeneland, with Achalaya (Bellamy Road) (hip 175) fetching a final bid of $725,000; New and Improved (Cairo Prince) (hip 199) selling for $700,000; and Quality Response (Quality Road) (hip 212) selling for $510,000.

Three mares in foal to the Spendthrift stallion led the way through much of Thursday's session of the Keeneland sale, with Streak of Luck (Old Fashioned) (hip 265) bringing $620,000; Jennifer's Dream (Medaglia d'Oro) (hip 499) selling for $525,000 and Impeccable Style (Uncle Mo) (hip 486) attracting a final bid of $500,000.

“He had a wonderful book of mares, so this is certainly what we would have hoped for at the sales,” said Spendthrift's Ned Toffey. “I know when the dust settled after booking all his mares–which happened relatively quickly because of the popularity level–we felt really really good about the quality of his book last year. And obviously the market feels the same way and is clearly looking forward to Authentic's first foals. We couldn't be happier with the results so far.”

Through two sessions of the Keeneland November sale, 13 mares have sold in foal to Authentic at an average of $438,077. The sales results this week should set the stallion up for another strong book of mares in 2022, when he will stand for $70,000.

“The in-foal average is always important,” Toffey said. “Breeders are always looking at that. And if you don't have that average, it may be a little tougher to sell seasons in year two. So this should certainly help breeders feel confident about breeding to him in year two because the market clearly seems to be receptive.” @JessMartiniTDN

 

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Late Action As Book 2 Concludes

By Brian DiDonato & Jessica Martini

LEXINGTON, KY–While Thursday’s second and final Book 2 session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale included some lulls without big-money sellers, it finished strong, with the day’s top two lots coming in the final 20 or so hips.

A colt by the in-demand Into Mischief (hip 1203) was the lone Book 2 offering to reach the seven-figure threshold, selling for an even $1-million to Peter Leidel, who did his bidding on the phone. The son of Grade II winner Teen Pauline (Tapit) was consigned to the sale by Warrendale Sales, agent for Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Bred & Raised. Stonestreet was also responsible for Book 1’s $2-million Tapit topper.

“It was a very exciting finish today–to have three individuals bidding all the way to the million-dollar mark,” said Keeneland’s Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. “There was a lot of depth to the market, I thought, today. Again, the comment we’ve made before is that it is very selective. The ones that they align on are bringing great money; the ones that just miss the mark are having a hard time to get sold. It is a very selective market.”

A total of $34,507,000 in trade was done on Thursday from 182 head sold. The average was $176,959 and median was $135,000.

Over the course of four days of selling thus far, $165,853,000 has changed hands on 622 transactions, including 33 post sale. The cumulative average is $266,645 and median is $200,000.

The session RNA rate was 40.18% and overall buy-back rate sits at 38.35%. While year-to-year comparisons remain somewhat difficult due to a difference in format compared to last year (three Book 1 sessions in 2019), the RNA rate remains significantly elevated compared to 2019, when 28.18% of horses were bought back by the end of Book 2.

“A couple of people told me they were happy to take their horses home–they had a Plan B when they came here,” Russell said. “They knew the market was going to be a little off, and they had already planned on Plan B. They brought horses to market hoping to be sold, but if they didn’t, they had other plans in their mind.”

Consignor John Mulholland noted, like many, the particular selectivity of the market: “Chickens or feathers; feast or famine. Everybody’s landing on the same horse, and you’re going to get paid a ton [on those]. If you bring 10 horses, three or four are going to have to carry the load for the rest. That’s the unfortunate state of the market right now. I can think of horses years ago that we brought up here that had one issue after another–whether it be on the X-rays, on the vetting, or some sort of conformational fault; but we’d still get them sold for something decent. That is just kind of gone. If you don’t jump through every hoop, and check every box, forget it. Where we’re at, it’s sad, and I hope we can recover in time. But for me, that’s the reality of it.”

Russell said hopes and expects new money to show up as the sale moves into its final four books.

“The pinhookers haven’t started really playing yet, so we hope that we’ll see them,” he said. “We usually see that in Book 3, when that part of the market starts to develop.”

Russell ended his Thursday evening press briefing with a remembrance of longtime Keeneland auctioneer Cris Caldwell, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in May.

“This is the first sale we’ve had without Cris Caldwell, and the amount of consignors and buyers who have come by and commented about it and acknowledged it,” he said. “One guy said to me that he was a great ‘bouncer’–he’d go and bounce ideas off of him and get a value… A lot of people have come up and said that they miss him and wish he was here. It’s quite humbling.”

Leidel Strikes Late for Into Mischief Colt

Peter Leidel, bidding over the phone, made the highest bid of the two-day Book 2 section of the September sale when going to an even $1 million to secure a son of Into Mischief at Keeneland Thursday. The bay colt–the fifth yearling by the Spendthrift stallion to sell for seven figures this week at Keeneland–is out of graded stakes winner Teen Pauline (Tapit). He was consigned by Warrendale Sales as agent for Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings.

“He is a lovely horse, ticked all the boxes as they say,” said Warrendale’s Hunter Simms of hip 1203. “He has a great walk. The Into Mischiefs have been on fire at this sale and on the racetrack. The mare was a new track record holder. Stonestreet did a nice job prepping him and he showed himself well at the barn. He is a classy animal.”

Thursday’s session opened with a Stonestreet-bred colt by Into Mischief, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, selling for $675,000 to Shadwell Estate Company Ltd.

“Stonestreet has been very supportive of us over the years and we greatly appreciate it. We have had good success for them,” Simms said.

Through four sessions of the September sale, 45 yearlings by Into Mischief have sold for $23,280,000 and an average of $517,333. Larry Best’s OXO Equine purchased the most expensive offering by the stallion when bidding $1.9 million to acquire a filly from the Taylor Made consignment (hip 438).

Stonestreet purchased Effectual (Carson City), with Teen Pauline in utero, for $475,000 at the 2009 Keeneland November sale. Racing in the Stonestreet colors, the dark bay won the 2014 GII Top Flight H. and was third in the 2012 GI Spinaway S. She is the dam of 3-year-old Cambria (Speightstown), who beat the boys in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2019.

In partnership with Stonestreet, Leidel campaigned 2017 G1 King’s Stand S. and G1 Darley Prix Morny winner Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy). Banke purchased the filly for $7.5 million at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November sale to dissolve the partnership. @JessMartiniTDN

Avengers Step in For ‘Quality’ Colt Late

The stallion-making partnership of SF Racing, Starlight, Madaket, et al, more commonly referred to as “The Avengers” these days after their trainer Bob Baffert coined the nickname, woke up a somewhat sleepy sales pavilion late in Thursday’s session to add another 2022 Classic prospect to their formidable roster.

The Quality Road colt was bred and consigned by Everett Dobson’s Candy Meadows as hip 1197. He cost $775,000.

“He’s a Quality Road–a great stallion,” said SF’s Tom Ryan. “We’re just starting to see the cream rising to the top now with him. Just think of what he’s accomplished already; the future’s so bright for him.”

Quality Road, whose crop of yearlings was bred on a $70,000 fee but who commanded $200,000 for the 2020 breeding season, has had seven KEEESEP sellers bring $500,000 or more. The Avengers bought two other colts in Book 1 (hip 97, $620,000; hip 187, $600,000), and their and Baffert’s agent bought the Lane’s End resident’s priciest seller, a $1-million filly (hip 67).

“A good horse comes in there, and there’s plenty of competition,” Ryan added. “We really felt like we were going to have to reach for this horse, but Bob, Donato, everybody loved him.”

The Avengers, who purchased recent GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) for $350,000 here two years ago, have racked up a tab of $9,825,000 on 22 head so far this September sale.

“It’s been a busy sale for us,” Ryan said. “Keeneland assembled a great group of horses here, and good horses are hard to buy.”

Dobson purchased hip 1197’s dam Sustainable (Forestry) for $200,000 at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton July sale, and raced her under his Cheyenne Stables banner to a couple of stakes placings and nearly $260,000 in earnings. Her 2017 Pioneerof the Nile colt sold for $400,000 here two terms ago and has been working in California towards a debut.

“We’re delighted,” said Candy Meadows’s Matt Lyons after he and Dobson thanked the buyers. “He’s a lovely horse and a homebred for the farm. We raised him all along and he grew up well. We didn’t have any horses in Book 1, so this is our first group here. We’ve waited all day for him, and there were some very good judges of horse flesh on him… The price was comfortably above the reserve. We liked him, but we set a reasonable reserve and let the market take care of it. There are a lot of good judges that vetted the horse. When we walked up here and saw the people bidding on the horse, it was very comforting.”

Lyons echoed the sentiments of many regarding the market: for the lots of perceived highest quality, there’s plenty of money.

“For the special horses like him, I don’t think there is any trouble at all,” Lyons said. “You have groups looking to buy two-turn Derby-type horses and there are a lot of people looking for that type of horse. When they all land on the same one, they can bring an exceptional price. The group that bought him obviously know how to win the big races, so that’s great for us having the mare at home and having siblings coming. Of course he’ll be trained by Mr. Baffert and he knows how to win the big races too, so it’s great.” —@BDiDonatoTDN

Constitution Filly Sells for a ‘Fortune‘

A filly by Constitution sat atop the leaderboard for much of the day Thursday after selling online for $725,000 to agents Alex Solis II and Jason Litt on behalf of the Roth family’s LNJ Foxwoods. The half-sister to last year’s GI Woody Stephens S. winner Hog Creek Hustle (Overanalyze) was consigned to the sale by Kitty Taylor’s Warrendale Sales on behalf of Sandra Sexton and Steven and Brandi Nicholson’s Silver Fern Farm as hip 904.

“She was just beautiful,” Taylor said. “She was vetted a tremendous amount. I sold her for some long-standing clients of mine who are very dear friends, Sandra Sexton and Silver Fern Farm. We sold Hog Creek Hustle and [MSW & GSP] Majestic Dunhill (Majesticperfection). She was vetted so much and handled it so well. She went to a great place with LNJ Foxwoods.”

Sexton and her late husband Hargus and Silver Fern acquired SW and MGSP Ready for Fortune (More Than Ready) while she was carrying a Candy Ride (Arg) filly at the 2010 Keeneland November sale. That filly never made the races, but Majestic Dunhill ($47,000 KEESEP ’16) was her first foal and Hog Creek Hustle ($150,000 KEESEP ’17) was her second foal. Her third foal by Gemologist was just a $4,000 FTKOCT yearling but won on debut as a juvenile in maiden special weight company and took a Churchill allowance.

Thursday’s sale was the first time the ownership group had really been able to cash in on Candy Fortune’s foals’ success, but Taylor said they won’t be selling the factory any time soon.

“They won’t sell the mare; they keep all their mares,” she said. “I had the mare Caroni (Rubiano) for them, [2018 GII Black-Eyed Susan S. winner] Red Ruby (Tiznow) was out of her, but they didn’t sell her, they kept her to race. They just like to build a big, solid broodmare band. Most people that buy to race know them well and they’re very comfortable buying from them.”

Candy Fortune lost her Flatter foal this year and was bred back to Frosted.

Hip 904, meanwhile, is the highest-priced yearling to sell so far this season by leading sophomore Tiz the Law’s red-hot sire Constitution–Solis/Litt also bought his second-most-expensive seller, a $375,000 colt at last week’s Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. This crop of yearlings was produced before Constitution’s first runners took his status to another level.

“[Hip 904] stood out [among the Constitutions] and that’s what I heard from everybody,” Taylor said. “She vetted and the physical matched. She was one of the better-pedigreed Constitutions. But [the sire] is on his way.” —@BDiDonatoTDN

Shadwell Goes Back for More Mischief

Shadwell Estate Company’s Rick Nichols, who was forced to $700,000 to acquire a colt by Into Mischief Wednesday at Keeneland, was able to get another son of the leading sire for $675,000 early during Thursday’s session of the Keeneland September sale.

“I thought we might have to go a little bit more than that,” Nichols admitted after signing the ticket on hip 880.

Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency as agent for his breeder Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, the yearling (hip 880) is out of Bella Jolie (Broken Vow) and is a half-brother to sprint champion Runhappy (Super Saver).

“He’s a very nice colt,” Nichols said. “He’s a half-brother to a good sprinter with good conformation and he looks like he has a really good head on his shoulders. Nice horse.”

Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell operation finished third in the Sept. 7 GI Runhappy Hopeful S. with Mutasaabeq, a son of Into Mischie, and Nichols said it was no surprise the stallion’s yearlings have been in demand at the September sales.

“He’s the leading sire in the country,” Nichols said. “We have a really good 2-year-old by him. We really like him.”

Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet operation purchased Bella Jolie, in foal to Cairo Prince, for $1.6 million at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. Her first Stonestreet-bred yearling to sell at auction was an Uncle Mo colt who sold for $500,000 at last year’s September sale.

“We met with the Stonestreet team and they decided to put this horse in Book 2,” explained Taylor Made’s Mark Taylor. “They thought he might stand out a little more here and I think he did. He was head and shoulders above a lot of the other horses we had in this book and the big buyers found him. That was significantly above our reserve. It was a good solid highlight to the day. We may have a couple of more that get there too.”

Nichols came back a few hips later to acquire a colt by Curlin (hip 911), again consigned by Taylor Made on behalf of Stonestreet for $500,000. During Wednesday’s session of the September sale, Nichols paid $800,000 for a colt by Speightstown (hip 559) consigned for Stonestreet by Elm Tree Farm. @JessMartiniTDN

Another Moon for the Lows

Robert and Lawana Low, who had graded success with Magnum Moon, added another son of Malibu Moon to their racing operation when bloodstock agent Jacob West made a final bid of $610,000 for hip 977 in the back show barn. Bred and consigned by Larry Doyle’s KatieRich Farms, the yearling is out of multiple graded placed Fantasy of Flight (Tiznow).

“He was kind of representative of what they look for,” West said of the yearling. “He looks like a big two-turn horse out of a mare who could run by a stallion they love. He vetted clean and was a beautiful specimen.”

West said demand for the top offerings remained strong as the September sale’s Book 2 concluded Thursday.

“It’s been strong for the right ones,” West said. “But we’re inching towards that spot in the sale where I think you are going to see a dramatic drop off. I think it’s slowed down just a little bit. And I think we are inching towards that–I don’t know when it’s coming. I hope not for a long time for the breeders’ sakes, but I think it’s coming.”

KatieRich acquired Fantasy of Flight privately in the midst of a racing career which saw her hit the board in five graded races. She had a Malibu Moon filly sell for $425,000 at the 2018 September sale and a Ghostzapper colt bring $500,000 at the auction last year. @JessMartiniTDN

Cayala Rewards Kingswood Again

Roderick Wachman’s Kingswood Farm and David Egan enjoyed their second consecutive year with high-dollar sale of a son of Into Mischief out of Cayala (Cherokee Run) at Keeneland September. Last year’s colt brought $550,000, and this year’s (hip 912) one-upped his brother at $600,000, selling to GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) co-owners Spendthrift Farm and MyRacehorse.com.

To be fair, though, the 2-year-old likely helped the yearling. Campaigned by Breeze Easy LLC, trained by Wesley Ward and named Roderick, he was a dominant debut winner at Belmont in June before finishing off the board in the GII Best Pal S. at Del Mar. Both colts are full-siblings to GSW One Liner, a $150,000 KEEJAN ’15 seller.

“It was a fantastic price; the [reserve] was way before that,” Wachman said. “He was a nice horse, so happy days. I hope they are very lucky with him. The mare and the stallion [together] have been very good to me. We bred all the foals. We bought the mare as a maiden [at Tattersalls December 2011 for $27,559].”

Cayala, who hails from the family of Grade I winners and sires Albertus Maximus and Daredevil, was bought back for just $52,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November sale while carrying One Liner.

“As you would expect, a lot of people have not traveled so, while we have lots of agents, the principals are not here,” Wachman said of the market. “When principals are not here, agents are a little more risk-averse because the person isn’t giving them a push.” —@BDiDonatoTDN

New High Water Mark for Lord Nelson

Spendthrift Farm freshman Lord Nelson (Pulpit) achieved his highest auction price to date Thursday when a half-brother to 2018 GII Remsen S. hero Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief)–now a Spendthrift resident himself–brought $460,000 from Frank Fletcher Racing and Ten Strike Racing. The strapping Apr. 3 foal was consigned to the sale as hip 1136 by his breeders, Mulholland Springs.

“I really felt like he was something fantastic,” John Mulholland said. “Like with most nice horses, you know they’re nice as soon as they’re foaled. He reminded me a lot of Maximus Mischief, and that’s because the mare throws a lot of herself into her foals. This one reminded me a lot of Max himself, and obviously it was a huge [for the pedigree] with him winning the graded stake and all of that. [Hip 1136] is exactly what you’re hoping for when you raise something. He’s  beautiful, he’s strong; a lot of body to him. He’s everything you hope for as a breeder.”

Lord Nelson, knocked out of the 2016 GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint in which he would have been a heavy favorite due to a leg infection, then had to overcome a battle with laminitis that forced him to miss the entire 2017 breeding season. While he may have lost a bit of momentum before covering his first mares last term, Mulholland is bullish on Lord Nelson’s future.

“I have supported him; I’ve liked him from day one,” he said. “Obviously, it was a tough start with him getting hurt and then his feet and all, but I’ve bred to him and I’m very hopeful. We need another son of Pulpit, and he’s a beautiful horse. I’ve liked everything he’s thrown for us, so I hope he makes it.”

Hip 1136 is out of a Songandaprayer half-sister to GISW Secret Compass (Discreet Cat) who made 28 starts in Puerto Rico. Maximus Mischief was a $165,000 KEENOV weanling and eventual $340,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile. Dam Reina Maria produced a full-brother to Maximus Mischief earlier this year before being bred back to Into Mischief once again.  —@BDiDonatoTDN

Scherer Dares Again

Bloodstock agent Clay Scherer, bidding on behalf of Staton Flurry, was able to acquire Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) as a graded stakes placed 2-year-old for $280,000 from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment at last year’s Keeneland November sale. The purchase paid off in spades when the filly captured the GI Kentucky Oaks 13 days ago for trainer Brad Cox. Scherer was back in action for Flurry Thursday at Keeneland, securing the Oaks winner’s half-sister by Speightster for $350,000 from the Woodford Thoroughbreds consignment.

“Staton loved her, Brad liked her a lot, too,” Scherer said after signing the ticket on hip 1182. “It’s worked out so far for them. She’ll get broke, go to Brad and see what happens. Hopefully we can make some magic happen again.”

Asked if he saw similarities between the two siblings, Scherer said, “Very much so. They look like carbon copies.”

Scherer said he has seen an exaggeration of the polarized market this September.

“It’s been challenging, it’s been very challenging as a buyer,” he said. “We’ve all landed on the same horses on numerous occasions. It’s much more polarized right now.” @JessMartiniTDN

Munnings Filly Pays for McCauley

If you follow him on Twitter, you know Nate McCauley loves Munnings, so it was no surprise to learn that, when he bought the young mare Show Me (Lemon Drop Kid) for $24,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton February sale, his plan was to send her to the Coolmore stallion. The move paid dividends at Keeneland Thursday when the resulting yearling (hip 1164) sold for $240,000 to Quarter Pole Enterprises.

“That’s just what you hope when you breed one, that they go on and do that,” McCauley said after watching the filly sell. “Eddie Woods bought her, so you can be hopeful that she’ll go on to bigger and better things.”

Show Me is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Aegean (Northern Afleet) and stakes winner Light Bringer (Norther Afleet).

“She is a Lemon Drop Kid mare and I’m a big fan of Lemon Drop Kid,” McCauley said of Show Me’s appeal. “It’s a really precocious pedigree, she’s a half-sister to a 2-year-old graded stakes winner that Wesley Ward had and Mark Casse bought her as a 2-year-old and paid a lot of money for her. She won first out and she’s just a beautiful mare. And of course, I’m the biggest Munnings fan. So I picked her out for Munnings. Munnings has a graded stakes winner out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare already, so I knew the cross would work.”

In order to give the yearling the best chance of success, McCauley took some partners in on the foal, who was consigned Thursday by Pat Costello and Gabriel Duignan’s Paramount Sales.

“A group of the lads came and saw the foal and they didn’t let me get her to the ring as a weanling,” McCauley said. “I loved the filly so much and I have such appreciation and respect for those guys that I wanted to get her in their hands and they let me stay in. So I got her in their hands because I thought they could do what they did with her.”

As for Show Me, McCauley said, “She is back in foal to Karakontie (Jpn), who I think is a sleeper. And of course, I’ll breed her back to Munnings.”@JessMartiniTDN

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