by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis
LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale moved into the first of two Book 3 sesssions Thursday with continued competitive bidding and figures through four days of the auction still tracking ahead of 2021 statistics.
For the session, 248 head grossed $20,988,500. The average of $84,631 was up 6.7% from the opening session of the 2021 Book 3 section, while the median remained constant at $65,000. The session's buy-back rate was 26.63%. It was 23.64% a year ago.
Jody Huckabay, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, made the session's highest bid when going to $450,000 to acquire the broodmare Brockovich (Honor Code) from the Lane's End consignment.
“It's been good on both ends,” said Huckabay, who was also busy selling from his Elm Tree Farm consignment. “If you bring quality up here, it takes care of itself on both ends, selling and buying. But when you are buying, you have to get ready. Everybody has money for the good ones, it seems like.”
A colt by Twirling Candy was the session's top-priced weanling when selling for $380,000 to Bay Shore Stable. The foal was consigned by Nursery Place, another operation active on both sides of the ledger this week.
“We've been trying to buy mares all week and it's been impossible,” said Nursery Place's Griffin Mayer. “It's so strong right now. It's always a fun business to be in when it's like this.”
The competitive market has been fueled by a number of high-profile buyers who have been steadily acquiring mares for recently retired stallion prospects like Flightline and Life Is Good.
“The market is strong for what people perceive to be the good ones,” said Doug Cauthen. “The mares have been extraordinarily strong. I think we have had the perfect storm of a lot of people looking to buy nice mares for their stallion prospects. There is a high percentage of quality horses at stud and new ones going to stud.”
Still some consignors were recognizing a familiar polarization in the marketplace.
“I think it is the same as always,” said John Mulholland. “If you have what they want, you are going to get paid really well. If you have everything they want, you will get paid more than you should, but if you missed it slightly, there is no safety net.”
The Keeneland November sale continues through next Wednesday and is followed by a horses of racing age sale Thursday. Bidding begins daily at 10 a.m.
Brockovich on The Case
Jody Huckabay, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, purchased the unraced 3-year-old Brockovich (Honor Code) (hip 1050) for $450,000 from the Lane's End consignment early in Thursday's fourth session of the Keeneland November sale.
“We bought her for a new client and a good friend of ours that I grew up with,” Huckabay said. “It's pretty special. They've stepped up and bought two very special mares at this sale. They are getting into it in a big way. He is buying some very, very nice mares.”
Brockovich is out of Miss Squeal (Smart Strike) and is a half-sister to GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Spielberg (Union Rags) and from the family of Clear Mandate. She was bred by G. Watts Humphrey, Jr. and was purchased by Shadwell Estate for $150,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale.
“Obviously she's a half-sister to a nice horse, but also it's broodmare sires all the way down the page,” Huckabay said. “And that's what attracts me to them.”
Huckabay agreed the mare's covering sire, first-year stallion Charlatan, who has been popular all week, was another attraction.
“We've been trying to buy mares all week in foal to Charlatan and we could have, but we were kind of waiting around on this mare,” he said.
Of his clients, Huckabay, who will board the mares at his Elm Tree Farm, said, “We are planning to sell [the foals], but then we may race also. When you are into this deal, you have to be prepared to race.”
Also this week, Huckabay purchased Scarlett Lace (Medaglia d'Oro) (hip 523) for $475,000 and Pilot Episode (Speightstown) (hip 484) for $110,000. @JessMartiniTDN
A colt by Twirling Candy (hip 1270) provided a tribute to his late breeder Mary K. Grum when selling for $380,000 Thursday at Keeneland. He was consigned by Nursery Place and John Moynihan signed the ticket as Boy Shore Stable on behalf of Richard Rigney.
The weanling is out of Ours to Run (Half Ours), who was bred by Grum's husband Clifford. Racing for Colonel Thoroughbreds and trainer Larry Jones, the mare was a seven-time stakes winner and graded-placed, while earning $524,488 on the track between 2016 and 2019. The Mayer family's Nursery Place purchased the mare back on behalf of Grum for $140,000 at the 2020 Keeneland January sale.
“This foal belongs to Mary K. Grum, who passed away in July,” said Nursery Place's Griffin Mayer. “She bred Ours to Run, the mare, and we bought Ours to Run here at the sale for her. So it was fantastic that we could do that for her family.”
Of the foal, Mayer said, “We breed three or four mares a year to Twirling Candy and he's one of my favorite Twirling Candys that we've had. Twirling Candy is a great sire.”
Mayer added, “[Keeneland's] Chip [McGaughey] just told me that Moynihan bought him for Rigney Racing, so no one is going to pinhook him on me. He's going to get a real chance.”
The weanling was proceeded into the ring by his 8-year-old dam, who sold for $145,000 to the bid of Rockridge Stud. She was offered in foal to Upstart. Her first foal, a colt by Kantharos, sold for $25,000 at this year's Keeneland September sale. @JessMartiniTDN
Mulhollands Get In On the Action
After being shut out earlier in the week, Mulholland Springs secured one of their top picks early in Thursday's session, going to $375,000 for Bicameral (Constitution) (Hip 1042). The racing or broodmare prospect was consigned by Mill Ridge Sales.
Bicameral was a $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase purchase by Calvin Nguyen, who raced her in partnership with Joey Tran. Third to Grace Adler (Curlin) as a maiden in last year's GI Del Mar Debutante, she graduated by 10 1/2 lengths going a mile at Santa Anita this past April and added a turf allowance at Del Mar Sept. 4. Produced by a half-sister to Grade III-winning turf sprinter Around The Cape (Carson City), Bicameral has earned $146,586 to date.
“I think she is absolutely beautiful and you can never take away the fact that she was third in a Grade I,” John Mulholland said. “We have been shut out left and right. We have probably been shut out on 20 mares. Every time we come up here, there are 30 people following us to bid on the same horse. We decided to stretch a little bit and will put a few partners on her. I think she is lovely and one of the best I've seen in the sale so far physically.”
As for the future plans for the mare, Muholland said, “We will figure out someone nice for her or maybe we will send her back to the track. We will think about it. We are happy to get something of so much quality.”
Mulholland Springs has had a banner year on the racetrack with horses they either bred, raised or sold. Cave Rock (Arrogate), a graduate of their sales program, won a pair of Grade Is in California and was second as the favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Mulholland-sold And Tell Me Nolies (Arrogate) won a Grade I and Grade II on the West Coast, but was off the board in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Mulholland-bred Manny Wah captured the GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. this fall and was fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Mulholland-sold Awake At Midnyte (Midnight Lute) placed in several graded events this year and ran in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.
“I can't think of a better year as far as our horses on the track,” Mulholland said. “We had four runners in the Breeders' Cup that we either bred, sold or raised. I doubt we will every see anything like that again, but we enjoyed it a lot. Hopefully they will all be back again next year.” —@CDeBernardisTDN
Speightstown Colt Sparks Late Fireworks
A son of WinStar stalwart Speightstown (Hip 1370) sparked fireworks late in Thursday's session, bringing $360,000 from Mike Golden of Sycamore Hall Farm.
“He was very correct, very proportional,” said Golden, just before rushing off to catch a plane home. “I didn't really find any holes in him. He is by a great stallion and is the first foal out of a good racemare. He fit everything that we wanted in a weanling.”
When asked whether the weanling was a pinhook or would be retained to race, Golden said, “We are not sure at this point. We will see how he develops and go from there.”
Consigned by Taylor Made, the bay colt was bred by Mark Stanley. The breeder raced the colt's Grade II-place dam Tempers Rising (Bayern), who is a half-sister to SW Mac The Man (El Corredor). This colt is her first foal.
Volatile Colt Proves Popular at Keeneland
A weanling colt (Hip 1223) from the first crop of Grade I winner Volatile was in demand Thursday at Lexington, summoning $325,000 from XXY Stud.
Consigned by Taylor Made, the chestnut was bred by Three Chimneys Farm, which stands his young sire. The colt is out of the unraced Light of the Nile (Eskendereya), who is a half-sister to late MGISW Pioneerof the Nile, sire of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah. Her 2021 Uncle Mo filly brought $400,000 at this venue's September Yearling Sale just two months ago.
“He's just an athlete,” Three Chimneys Farm's Doug Cauthen said. “He has a great pedigree. It has Pioneerof the Nile right there. The mare threw a $400,000 Uncle Mo filly who was very athletic. Being a May foal, you can see there is a lot of potential.”
An $850,000 KEESEP buy, Volatile won five of his six starts, topped by the 2020 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt S. at Saratoga. He has had 10 members of his first crop sell this week at Keeneland for $1.38 million with an average of $138,000.
“The Volatiles have been very athletic and a lot of people are coming up and saying how excited they are about them,” Cauthen said. “They look like racehorses. He was a heck of a racehorse himself. We have nine or 10 of them at Three Chimneys and every single one of them looks like a racehorse. The farm is excited about his potential. We think he will have another full book this year and that is always good in the third year for any stallion.” —@CDeBernardisTDN
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