Tag: John Sikura

GISP Loggins To Stand At Hill ‘n’ Dale At Xalapa

GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity runner up and 'TDN Rising Star' Loggins (Ghostzapper) will stand alongside his sire at Hill 'n' Dale it was announced Monday.

“Loggins was a brilliant two year old, breaking his maiden in hugely impressive fashion at Churchill and narrowly beaten by Champion Forte in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity in only his second start. It is too bad he got hurt as I am certain he was a Grade I talent. I love the influences in his pedigree and he is a stunner to look at. Ghostzapper continues to be a great sire and I think Loggins was his most precocious 2-year-old while only scratching the surface of his ability. This recipe has worked for us in the past with the likes of Maclean's Music. I think Loggins will become another important Hill n Dale stallion,” said John G. Sikura, President of Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa.

Liz Crow added, “Brad Cox and I were intent on purchasing the best colt at Saratoga regardless of price. Loggins, hands-down, was the most impressive physical at the entire sale. He was an absolute 'must-have' colt. He ended up selling as the highest-priced colt of the year for his sire.”

Trainer Brad Cox said: “He was my Derby horse. Loggins was an incredibly fast, precocious, beautiful horse with immense ability. A true Grade I talent.”

A stud fee has not yet been announced.

The post GISP Loggins To Stand At Hill ‘n’ Dale At Xalapa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Magic Formula for Curlin Succession

With barely a dozen race days to be eked out of its remaining two years, the Steve Pini Memorial S. of September 2017 formed part of a pretty low-key bookend to the history of Suffolk Downs. The Boston track's opening era, after all, had been propped up by Seabiscuit himself. But it turns out that this race, honoring the late track superintendent, deserves a rather lengthier footnote than anyone might have imagined at the time.

Over an extended mile of turf, a 5-year-old daughter of Big Brown overtook Queen Caroline (Blame) in the stretch before going clear by 1 3/4 lengths. On her 16th start, it was an overdue black-type success for Puca, who had in younger days started one of the favorites for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and also (after running second in the GII Gazelle S.) been deemed worth a crack at the GI Kentucky Oaks.

Having meanwhile added the fourth stakes prize of her own career, Queen Caroline followed Puca to a graded stakes at Belmont the following month. Against this stiffer competition, however, neither was able to land a blow. A few days later Puca was sold at Keeneland, to Thomas Clark for $275,000, and subsequently booked to the rookie Gun Runner; while Queen Caroline, a year her junior, persevered for one more campaign before being retired and sent to Violence.

Puca elevated her value pretty steeply when sold a second time, carrying her Gun Runner foal, to Grandview Equine for $475,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale of 2018. She was a beautiful, black-type mare and her page was decorated by half-brother Finnegans Wake (Powerscourt {GB}) as winner of the GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic.

Once she had safely delivered a filly, Puca's new owners utilized a share in Good Magic for her next cover, which encounter produced a colt on 18 April 2020. That September, they offered her Gun Runner filly at Keeneland, but she failed to meet her reserve and was retained at $70,000. Sent into training with Kenny McPeek and named Gunning, she has won three of seven starts and earned a second black-type podium just a few days ago.

Queen Caroline's date with Violence had meanwhile resulted in a 3 February colt, sold to Silver Hill Farm at Keeneland that November for $80,000. He proved a pretty marginal pinhook, realizing $110,000 from Repole Stable & St. Elias, deep in the following September Sale.

Puca's Good Magic colt had made $235,000 earlier in the same auction, sold through Runnymede Farm–where he had been foaled and raised–to New Team. He, too, was just a solid pinhook through the next cycle, getting to $290,000 when sold through Sequel Bloodstock to Ogma Investments at Timonium.

As you will doubtless have recognized by now, if you didn't already know, the 1-2 in the Steve Pini Memorial have meanwhile become celebrated as the respective dams of Mage (by Good Magic out of Puca) and Forte (by Violence out of Queen Caroline). The two sons reversed their mothers' Suffolk Downs form in the GI Florida Derby, but a rather wild move on the much less experienced Mage had convinced many that he could progress past the champion juvenile in the GI Kentucky Derby.

That subplot, of course, has been deferred after the 11th hour withdrawal of Forte. But even the first Saturday in May is only one leg of an epic journey. Mike Repole can comfort himself that Uncle Mo, another champion juvenile in his silks scratched late from the Derby, has amply redressed that disappointment in his stud career. And doubtless those associated with Good Magic feel rather less aggrieved about bumping into a Triple Crown winner in his own Derby, now that he has retrieved the top of their class in the sires' table–whether by cumulative earnings, or in the second-crop championship.

Both Good Magic and Justify contested a gripping freshman title last year, every cent counting for much of the campaign, but in the end Bolt d'Oro made his numerical advantage tell, with $2,815,623 banked by 80 starters, over Good Magic ($2,533,414 from 65) and Justify ($2,478,038 from 71). (It is only fair, at this point, to stress again the excellent yield-per-starter achieved from smaller books and fees by the likes of Army Mule, Girvin and Oscar Performance.)

Of the trio, however, it was Good Magic who was first to the Grade I breakthrough with Blazing Sevens in the Champagne S.; and now he has added the Derby itself. In the process, he becomes a poster boy for the commercial inundation of new stallions–albeit their collective books are such that elite success, somewhere among each intake, should really be considered not just imperative, but inevitable. Those that don't take their big chance soon find themselves swirling round the plug-hole, and even coming up with Always Dreaming from his debut crop couldn't prevent the export of Bodemeister to Turkey. As things stand, however, Good Magic appears to be laying down some patently sustainable foundations.

Just getting into contention for the freshman title, after all, had suggested that he is replicating an unusual precocity by the standards of his sire Curlin. Having run second in a Saratoga maiden and again when fast-tracked to the Champagne, Good Magic claimed a unique distinction in breaking his maiden in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He duly consolidated at three, winning the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and GI betfair.com Haskell S. besides seeing off all bar Justify at Churchill. Though he backpedalled off the stage in the GI Runhappy Travers S., he had banked just shy of $3 million across nine starts.

Coming under the inspired management of John Sikura and his team at Hill 'n' Dale, at an opening fee of $35,000, Good Magic faced the same challenge/opportunity as the likes of Vino Rosso, Connect, Global Campaign and Known Agenda: namely, to volunteer himself as the premier heir to their sire. Though Curlin has now had consecutive sons produce a Derby winner at the first attempt, that admirable creature Keen Ice has undeniably struggled for commercial recognition. So while Curlin remains lord of the manor at Hill 'n' Dale, he's approaching the evening of a great career at 19 and for now the succession appears wide open. The outlying speed of Cody's Wish will obviously make him an interesting pretender to the crown, as we saw again on the Derby undercard. But Good Magic is positioning himself pretty formidably, his fee having already turned round to $50,000 (from $30,000) after the endeavors of his debut crop.

Besides two elite scorers, that crop has included a second Derby runner in GIII Sham S. scorer Reincarnate; plus winners of the GII Sorrento S, GII Remsen S. and GIII Iroquois S. And while Bolt d'Oro was the only one of three freshman title protagonists actually to elevate the yearling average of his second crop, Good Magic again excelled relative to conception fee. The 94 processed from his first crop (110 offered) had averaged $151,708; while last year 74 yearlings sold (87 offered) at $130,250. If his third book suffered the customary slide, it remained more than respectable at 92 mares and he will now surely be back on the way up.

When retired to stud, Good Magic's racetrack credentials were backed up by a physique that had as a yearling secured a seven-figure Keeneland September docket from E5 Racing. His breeders at Stonestreet then struck a deal to stay aboard. His granddam, after all, had been one of the first building blocks in their program: Magical Flash, a daughter of distaff legend Miswaki purchased for $140,000 at the Keeneland November Sale of 2004. She was rising 15 at the time, but channelled speed, class and also precocity. Her half-sister Magical Maiden (Lord Avie) had won a Grade I at two, as did Magical Maiden's daughter Miss Houdini (Belong To Me). Since then, moreover, Miss Houdini had added fresh luster to the family by producing champion female sprinter Ce Ce (Elusive Quality).

Magical Flash (who ended up producing no fewer than 14 winners, including a graded stakes winner on turf by Chester House) similarly brought to the surface some of the genes that appear to have contributed to the sharpening of Good Magic. For instance, a daughter by Smarty Jones was group-placed in France over just five furlongs; while another, by the sturdy influence Prized, managed to produce an Exchange Rate colt fast enough at two to win the GIII Bashford Manor over six furlongs.

Magical Flash's daughter by Hard Spun, Glinda The Good, won two stakes and was also placed at two in the GIII Pocahontas S. And it was her mating with Stonestreet's dual Horse of the Year that produced Good Magic.

In fairness, Hard Spun has proved a vital late conduit (and remains an outstandingly well-priced one) to the breed-shaping Danzig. So who knows, maybe Good Magic's damsire–himself a Derby runner-up–contributed much to the thwarting of his own son, Two Phil's, last Saturday!

Danzig's presence behind Good Magic's damsire is one of the obvious pegs to the mating that produced Mage, in that he recurs on the bottom half of the pedigree through his grandson Big Brown, the sire of Puca. Danzig's replication in the fourth generation is matched by another ubiquitous modern influence, Mr. Prospector. His grandson Curlin sired Good Magic, while one of his rather less potent sons, Silver Ghost, is responsible for Puca's dam Boat's Ghost. (Mr. P. is further represented by his son Miswaki, don't forget, as sire of Magical Flash.)

The overall seeding of the maternal family is less familiar, admittedly, Big Brown and Silver Ghost being followed by Summer Squall and a forgotten son of Raise A Native, Native Royalty. It's an old American line that eventually takes in some Greentree royalty, notably a 10th dam who was half-sister to 1931 Derby and Belmont winner Twenty Grand.

By now all that stuff is obviously quite attenuated, and Puca's dam–stakes-placed in a light career and dam, as noted, of a Grade I winner on turf–was actually sold (in foal to Raging Bull {Fr}) at Keeneland only this January at the age of 19. I'm pleased, but unsurprised, to see that this indignity was relieved, at just $17,000, by that exemplary farm Nursery Place. If they can just get a filly out of the venerable lady, they'll have a half-sister to the dam of a Derby winner.

As for the people who have Puca herself, well, we visited Robert Clay to hear about Grandview Equine's program just before the Derby. The founder of Three Chimneys candidly acknowledges Mage as rather a windfall. Along with various partners, and with the counsel of Solis/Litt, he bought Puca to support a portfolio that included some Good Magic shares. The principal objective, however, had been to develop yearling colts with stallion potential. They achieved just that with Olympiad, but must now feel very relieved that Puca's date with that horse did not come off, meaning that she instead returned to Good Magic. Moreover the failure to meet her reserve of Mage's half-sister, Gunning, has now turned into another wonderful stroke of luck.

As and when Mage proceeds to stud, incidentally, I think he might repay European attention. We noted how Good Magic's granddam produced some pretty smart turf performers, while his grandsire Smart Strike and damsire Hard Spun have both proved flexible influences. More proximately, however, don't forget Puca's switch to become a stakes scorer on grass; nor that her sire Big Brown started his own career on that surface.

In the meantime, let's hope that Mage's delayed rematch with Forte will eventually put some sunshine back into the headlines. True, it's poignant that the “prequel” takes us to another depressing tale, in the closure of Suffolk Downs. But there are doubtless plenty who, in missing their sport in Massachusetts, in particular miss Stephen J. Pini after his premature loss in 2015. Pini, his father and grandfather had between them worked at Suffolk Downs every day since it opened in 1935. It's nice, then, that a race contested in his memory should now have been rendered so significant by the protagonists' sons.

But then this is a game full of concentric fortunes. Here was Rick Dutrow, for instance, saddling his first starter (and winner) in 10 years on the very day that his own Derby winner, Big Brown, became damsire of another one. (And if we think this was a tough Derby day, just scroll back to that one…)

Puca was co-bred by Paul Pompa, Jr. in support of Big Brown, the horse he had bought and then raced in partnership, as he tried to make his way at stud. Then she, in turn, was deployed by Clay and his partners on their stake in another young stallion. And now the daughter of a Derby winner who confounded nearly all precedent, having made just three starts beforehand, has produced another to do exactly the same.

There's no formula, no wand to be waved. But sometimes things just seem to work as if by “Magic.”

The post Magic Formula for Curlin Succession appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Hill ‘n’ Dale Stallions Sparkle at Eclipse Awards

Flightline was clearly the star among stars at the Eclipse Awards ceremonies held Jan. 26 in Palm Beach, Florida, but a trio of stallions that call the rustic environs of John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa home stole the show from a sires' perspective, accounting for half of the evening's 10 winners among the Flat divisions.

Success at the Eclipse Awards is obviously directly correlated with horse racing on its biggest stages, and the results from the first weekend of November, not far away from Xalapa at Keeneland Race Course, hinted that a night of this sort of magnitude was a distinct possibility. Breeders' Cup Friday featured a championship-clinching peformance from 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) in the GI Juvenile and the momentum carried over into the first of Saturday's nine races when Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) raced away with the GI Filly & Mare Sprint. Elite Power (Curlin) turned in a bit of a surprise in the GI Qatar Sprint–with Hill 'n' Dale sire Maclean's Music's reigning Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Jackie's Warrior third, and later in the program, the GI Longines Distaff provided the race of the meeting–if not the entire year–when 'Rising Star' Malathaat was up in the final jump in a pulsating finish, with another daughter of Curlin, Clairiere, narrowly beaten into third. Nest was fourth as the Distaff favorite, but had long since clinched the 3-year-old filly championship.

On that evidence, Thursday evening's results could hardly be deemed a total surprise, but Sikura is never one to take anything for granted and was duly humbled.

“It's very rewarding,” Sikura said. “It's hard to ask for more really. It was a magnificent evening, great recognition for the farm, the stallions and all of our supporters. It's a very competitive business and sometimes less is emphasized with regards to achievement as compared to sales ring performance and the like. It doesn't happen every year and hopefully it brings attention to the staff and the great work everyone does.”

In addition to his three winners–which took his total to 10 champions overall–dual Horse of the Year Curlin was also represented by two other finalists: the aforementioned Clairiere in the dirt female category and Cody's Wish, whose work over seven and eight furlongs landed him a spot on the sprint ballot.

“Curlin has really emerged and in my own opinion, he's the great classic sire of today,” said Sikura. “If you want to win the Breeders' Cup or any Classic race, you have a better chance of that with Curlin than any other sire. I think that's borne out in fact. There are a lot of really good [sires] out there, but I think he's unique.”

So what is it exactly that Curlin passes on to his progeny?

“He's one of those unique horses that imparts so much quality and talent into his offspring,” Sikura said. “He can sire a top-quality horse at any distance and I think that's the separating part between the good, very good and great sires. It's not easy to sire multiple Grade I winners and it seems like–maybe it's just nostalgia for me–but it seemed like it happened more in the day of A.P. Indy, Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer and Nijinsky II, Alydar, Seattle Slew. I think Curlin is certainly in that category.

He continued, “It's a tribute to Barbara Banke and her support and a tribute to all the breeders and a tribute to the horse himself. He was such a magnificent, tough racehorse and he's not only imparted his ability, but his durability and soundness. No matter how much talent you have, if you can't get to the races, it's kind of insignificant. They're tough, they're not fragile. Whatever is their best race at two, they get better and better and better as they go.”

More Than A 'Ghost' of a Chance…

Ghostzapper joined the Hill 'n' Dale stallion roster after being transferred by Frank Stronach from Adena Springs for the 2021 breeding season. Having just turned 23, the son of Awesome Again just keeps on keeping on, Sikura says.

“I'd heard many negative comments that he's too old, but I like to say you're only old if you can no longer do it,” he commented. “Some people get old at 30 and some at 80 are creative and inventive in pursuing life and moving forward, and I think it's that way with stallions. He has Moira who's going to be Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly in Canada. Her best distance was a mile and a quarter on the turf, but then he can get you a champion sprinter.

“He's such a good horse. I wish I would have had him earlier, but I thank Frank Stronach for doing a deal with me to stand Ghostzapper much the way Ken Ramsey did with Kitten's Joy. I think we've brought a lot to the table and commercialized the horses a little bit. I bred 12 of my own mares to him last year and we'll do the same this year. He can get a dirt horse or a turf horse and they're fast, but they can also get two turns and have great versatility at the highest levels of racing.”

Goodnight Olive is a seventh worldwide champion for Ghostzapper.

A First For Violence…

The progeny of Hill 'n' Dale's Violence have been increasingly sought after, both as commercial entities and also for their racetrack ability, but the 13-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro was recording a first when Forte took home the hardware for champion 2-year-old male Thursday evening.

“While Violence has always been popular in the sales ring and with breeders, to sire a champion 2-year-old, that's an accolade that he didn't have before,” said Sikura. “He's bred nice mares, but a champion seems to drive the quality to the next level. When buyers know a sire can get a champion, they're certainly more determined to have them. This adds to his resume, which was already impressive. Champions are champions, there is only one a year, and it's a great achievement for him.

The post Hill ‘n’ Dale Stallions Sparkle at Eclipse Awards appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Keeneland November Closes With Gains in Gross and Average

With the Breeders' Cup returning to Lexington for the third time, headlined by the mighty Flightline (Tapit), the buzz in Lexington was electric from late October all the way through the nearly two weeks of breeding stock sales that followed the World Championships. Combine that with a deep and diverse buying bench and high demand and the result was gains in both gross and average for the 10-day Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which ran from Nov. 7-16.

“With the close of the November Breeding Stock Sale, Keeneland is nearing the end of a remarkable fall season, and we send a sincere thank you to everyone who supported our September and November Sales, Fall Meet and Breeders' Cup,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “Since September, we have been hard at work to showcase the best in Thoroughbred racing and sales, and we are privileged to have had the opportunity to share Keeneland with a global audience. Our November Sale benefitted from the excitement of the Breeders' Cup, the sale of the Flightline interest and the fireworks of Book 1, creating positive experiences from start to finish.”

With the Horses of Racing Age Sale being separated into its own one-day auction, to be held Nov. 17, this year, 2,245 horses went through the ring over the last 10 days for gross receipts of $210,027,700. The 2022 November sale eclipsed the gross 2,470 horses achieved during 2021 of $203,585,500 on its eighth day. The cumulative average of $93,554 was up 13.5% from last year's average of $82,423, but the median was down a tick (5.41%) from $37,000 to $35,000. The RNA percentage also rose from 17.36% last year to 21.75% for 2022.

The November Sale was topped by champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), who summoned $5.5 million from Northern Farm's Katsumi Yoshida carrying her second foal by Tapit. She led a total of 12 seven-figure sellers, compared to seven in 2021, including three in Book 2, which previously had not seen a million-dollar horse since 2017.

“We really put an effort into building up the front end of the catalogue to make sure we have quality forward and the buyers were presented with the horses they expected to see and are here for,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “I think everybody responded to that. We appreciate our consignors and breeders for supporting us in that endeavor. I think the buyers really responded. It allows us more confidence to do the things we feel are important to do and develop. We are only getting started. Without making major changes at any point, we want to make sure the tweaks we do make work. I think overall we are on the right track. We have a responsibility to the industry.”

 

 

 

Flying Into the Future

Keeneland kicked off the November Sale with a first-of-its-kind offering, a 2.5% interest in unbeaten superstar Flightline, who scored a breathtaking victory in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic two days before the auction and was retired to the Lane's End stallion barn about 16 hours later. Keeneland and Lane's End employed virtual reality and the metaverse for this unique offering and buyers responded enthusiastically. Auctioned 30 minutes prior to the start of Book 1 in a jam-packed pavilion, the Flightline share summoned $4.6 million from Brookdale's Freddy Seitz, acting on behalf of “an undisclosed Seattle-based owner and client with interests in the coffee business,” Sid Fernando reported in his Taking Stock column Nov. 9. Coolmore was the immediate underbidder.

“We are trying to push boundaries all of the time,” Lacy said. “This is a situation where the stars aligned. Bill Farish mentioned that it might be a possibility and we were looking at virtual reality and the metaverse to bring a new customer base or at least a new fan base in. When Flightline won the Pacific Classic, things got real. Coming into the Breeders' Cup, the whole industry was absolutely in awe of what he was and what his future would be as a stallion. To be able to pull something together like that was a mammoth effort on the legal side, as well as the logistics side. It was exciting for us all to be involved in.”

Lane's End's Allaire Ryan expressed similar sentiments, “It was a really unique way to start out the sale and the energy that it brought to the pavilion that afternoon was really fantastic. It had a domino effect on the subsequent purchases made in the sale, when you factor in the number of mares that were purchased specifically to be bred to Flightline. There were a few out of our consignment alone, like Shamrock Rose, Edgeway, Bayerness. Even though he is retired from racing, he is already impacting the industry from a commercial breeder standpoint. That has been an exciting wave to ride for sure.”

As Ryan stated, the retirement of Flightline made quite the impact on the November market. The partners on the no-doubt Horse of the Year were busy scooping up mares to breed to their once-in-a-lifetime horse, as were several other breeders. For example, Flightline's breeder and part-owner Jane Lyon of Summer Wind Farm was third-leading buyer for the sale, acquiring four mares for her new stallion for $4.625 million with an average of $1,156,250. Her purchases were topped by the aforementioned MGSW and GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint runner-up Edgeway (Competitive Edge) for $1.7 million.

Flightline wasn't the only new stallion impacting the November market, however. The partners on MGISW 'Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who gave Flightline all he had through swift fractions for the first mile of the Classic, were also actively acquiring mares for WinStar's new addition. For instance, the China Horse Club bought five mares for a total of $1.75 million for an average of $350,000.

Lane's End Leads All Consignors

Even without the $4.6-million boost provided by Flightline, Lane's End took the title of leading consignor for this year's November Sale. The Farish family's operation sold a total of 129 head, including Flightline's fractional interest, for $23,460,400 with an average of $181,864. Even excepting the share, Lane's End was still the November Sale's top seller. Their top-selling mare was champion female sprinter Shamrock Rose (First Dude), who brought $3 million from Japan's KI Farm carrying a foal by Curlin and is set to meet Flightline next year.

 

 

“It is super gratifying for us to be leading consignor even without the big sale of the Flightline share, which was a really fun way to start out the sale,” Ryan said. “We had some really quality offerings in Book 1 and Book 2, which set us out on the right foot. Where there is quality, there is plenty of depth in the market. People that did bring good horses were rewarded for it, which was great to see. We had some nice broodmare prospects. We had some lovely in-foal mare and a couple of standout weanlings. It had a trickle down effect from there.”

Bisou On Top Again

An Eclipse winner in 2019 and Fasig-Tipton November topper in 2020, MGISW Midnight Bisou was at the head of the class again at this year's Keeneland November Sale. Purchased by Chuck and Lori Allen for $5 million at the aforementioned Fasig sale, she is headed to Japan after bringing $5.5 million from Katsumi Yoshida with a Tapit filly in utero. Midnight Bisou was offered by John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, which also sold the $7-million Fasig-Tipton November topper, champion Gamine (Into Mischief), who went to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier in foal to Quality Road.

“It was a great thrill,” said Sikura. “We topped both the Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland sales. All the credit to our team and the people who supplied us with a great draft of horses. It is all about quality and we were fortunate enough to have had a fantastic sale at both sales companies. This is the second consecutive year we topped Fasig-Tipton and it was nice to do it at Keeneland as well. Credit to the horses. We had a good strong market. People can't get enough of quality.”

He continued, “Everyone is very specific about what they like. There are different categories of mares, but if you are going to sell a $100,000 mare, you want it to be an early cover and in foal to the right horse. If you want to sell sale toppers, you need to have pedigree and good race records with those early covers and the right sire. I thought everybody who brought quality was well rewarded. This trend has continued for the last many years and it looks like it is here to stay. ”

Weanlings In High Demand

John Sikura | Keeneland

After a record-setting Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the weanling market was very strong and competitive at the November Sale, producing North America's top-priced weanling for the fourth consecutive year. That youngster was a Medaglia d'Oro filly out of SW Serena's Cat (Storm Cat), dam of champion Honor Code (A.P. Indy), who was purchased for $1.5 million by Magnier.

“In Book 1, we grossed 45% more for weanlings than we did last year,” said Keeneland's Directory of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach. “We really appreciate the support of the breeders and consignors. We depend on them heavily. Your sale is only as good as the catalogue. It's been a terrific collaboration. The market has been bullish. We are enjoying a good time in the industry.”

That trickled down into the later books, creating a stronger middle market for weanlings with varying pedigrees.

“It is quite hard to sell a mare that is 12-15 even if they had a stakes-placed horse and a few winners,” Sikura said. “If they are good foal, it doesn't matter who they are by, how old the mare is or what their up-close pedigree is. Obviously, the more you have of all of that criteria, the more they make of it. I've seen foals walk through and bring $180,000 and you look at the sire and think, who is this? The pendulum has swung now so much toward the physical horse. I think that is the determining factor at the yearling sales and also at the foal sales. They have to vet. They have to have the smooth physical and great walk. Those kinds, they chase them hard.”

“Where you have quality, you had plenty of people interested,” said Ryan. “If for some reason a mare or weanling didn't tick all the boxes, it felt thinner. It didn't take long for that feeling to set in. I think there was still plenty of good competition in the weanling market, especially for good physicals. People were rewarded at the yearling sales this year and they were looking to reinvest, but they weren't willing to take a lot of risk if it didn't have a top physical or had some vet issues.”

The leading sire of weanlings for the 10-day auction was MGISW 'TDN Rising Star' and new Gainesway sire McKinzie (Street Sense) with 23 members of his first crop bringing $3.162 million with an average of $137,478.

Tapit, Into Mischief Rule Keeneland

Buoyed by the sale of the 2.5% fractional interest in his star son Flightline, Tapit led all sires with a gross of $9,507,000 and average of $365,654. Taking the Flightline share out of the equation puts super sire Into Mischief on top with 31 head bringing $6,961,500 with an average of $224,565.

Hill 'n' Dale's new addition, MGISW 'Rising Star' Charlatan (Speightstown), was the sale's leading covering sire by gross with 27 mares carrying his first foals bringing $8.472 million and averaging $313,778. Lane's End stalwart Quality Road was second with 11 mares carrying his offspring summoning $7.675 million with an average of $697,727, easily tops among sires with five or more in-foal mares sold. Curlin and Tapit each averaged seven figures for their limited in-foal mares.

“Charlatan covered a great book of mares,” Sikura said. “The most elite mares did not go to public auction. I think the momentum is building and we are looking forward to his first foals. He bred outstanding mares.”

 

 

 

Foreign Buyers Boost November Market

A treasure trove of foreign buyers, led by Japan, gave the November market a significant boost, creating even more depth and diversity in the buying bench. Japan's Katsumi Yoshida led all buyers by gross at $9.7 million and average at $3,233,333. Each of the three mares purchased by his bloodstock agent Shingo Hashimoto fetched seven figures, highlighted by sale-topping Midnight Bisou.

“The international market was a critical part of the outcome of this sale,” Lacy said. “Japanese buyers were extremely active, especially at the top, despite the swing in the exchange rate, which is not in their favor. That was extremely gratifying to see. We had buyers from 29 countries participate at the sale. That is on the high end of what we would expect. With the dollar being so strong, it is great to get that international support. It's a global marketplace and we work on that very heavily. We've seen 60 or 70 Australians here, which we haven't seen in years. We've seen Europeans here that have not been in here in six or seven years and they were back and were active. They are energized by what they see. That is very encouraging for us.”

The top 20 horses, including the Flightline share, were purchased by 15 individual buyers, three of which were from Japan.

Domestic buyers also remained active at the November Sale. In addition to the aforementioned Coolmore and Summer Wind Farm, one of the most active American buyers was Pin Oak Stud, recently purchased by Jim and Dana Bernhard. They scooped up 15 mares for their new farm for a total of $4.354 million. Bloodstock agent Chad Schumer bought the most horses during the 10-day auction, taking home 51 head for $3,385,500 with an average of $66,382.

 

 

 

Final Session Stats

Wednesday's 10th and final session of the Keeneland November Sale, which was the third session of Book 5, was topped by a pair of $45,000 weanlings. Upper Mill Stable took home a filly from the first crop of Honor A.P. (Hip 3514) and J. T. Vill purchased a colt by Kantharos (Hip 3545).

A total of 154 horses sold Wednesday for $1,148,600 with an average of $7,458 and median of $3,600. Thirty-three horses failed to meet their reserves for an RNA rate of 17.65%.

Racehorses Moved To A Separate Sale

Horses of racing age have been a traditional part of the Keeneland November Sale, typically being sold in the middle of auction, except for last year when it they were offered during the final session. This year, Keeneland separated that popular section out and made it its own single-day sale to be held Thursday after the conclusion of Breeding Stock Sale.

“For the first year it is its own sale, for several reasons,” Breathnach said. “One is the later entry deadline. It is a more dynamic catalogue. We can give it a greater online presence with more Form, figures and data associated with each offering. That is something that is a little difficult to do when you have an Aug. 1 deadline like we do with the breeding stock sale. We are also confined by the number of horses in each session. Those horses were catalogued in the second half during Book 3 or Book 4, which took up spots breeders wanted their mares or foals to be in.”

He continued, “It is its own sale so it can have its own identity and own dynamic and build a stronger catalogue. It allows it to go forward. The horses in training market is very strong. Our position in the calendar year is when people are transitioning to new locations for the winter, so they got a chance to buy or sell stock that will fit where they are going or be better off elsewhere.”

The HORA sale, which begins at noon, has a catalogue of 356 racehorses of varying ages, including several promising juveniles and an array of black-type competitors. Last year's HORA portion, which was part of a mixed final of 10 sessions, was topped by the 2-year-old colt Strava (Into Mischief), who brought $825,000.

 

 

The post Keeneland November Closes With Gains in Gross and Average appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights