keeneland september yearling sale | Horse Racing Free Tips

Justify Stands Out In Debut Keeneland September Book 1 Outing

With the number of horses he had cataloged, and the quality of pages under them, Triple Crown winner Justify was expected to have a big showing with his first crop at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, and he lived up to that lofty goal in Book 1.

The resident of Ashford Stud was nipped in the final hour of the sale for the title of highest Book 1 gross by a sire, moving 25 horses over the auction's first two days for $12,522,000. He trailed leader Into Mischief by just $278,000.

Justify also finished fifth among Book 1 sires by average sale price among those with more than one horse sold, at $500,880. It was the biggest number by a rookie stallion, with the next closest being Lane's End resident City of Light, whose seven yearlings averaged $360,714.

“We are absolutely delighted with how the first crop of yearlings have been received so far at the Keeneland September sale,” said Robyn Murray of Ashford Stud. “They were a great bunch physically with top pedigrees to match, very indicative of the quality of mares he has bred in each of his three years at stud so far. The best validation of any horses first crop is to see who buys them, there was an international audience for them, befitting his stature and ability.”

The most expensive Justify yearling of Book 1 was Hip 161, a colt out of the stakes-placed Rockport Harbor mare Stayclassysandiego who sold to Japan-based Hideyuki Mori for $950,000. The half-brother to Grade 2 winner Pretty N Cool was consigned by Baccari Bloodstock, agent.

Bloodstock agent Barry Berkelhammer signed for a pair of Justify yearlings during Tuesday's session on behalf of Albaugh Family Stables.

He struck first on Hip 243, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Lord Nelson, for $500,000. Shortly after that, he went to $600,000 to land Hip 261, a colt whose second dam is Horse of the Year Azeri.

Even though he landed more Justify yearlings than most, Berkelhammer said he missed more times than he connected.

“These were the two that we could get bought,” he said. “We kept finding ourselves falling on them. I don't go to the sale saying I was going to buy some Justifys, but I find the horses I believe in, and let the chips fall where they may. Obviously, you'd be attracted to them. He was a beautiful horse himself and a great racehorse.”

Justify has 90 yearlings cataloged in the Keeneland September sale, which is the second most by a first-crop sire, trailing only fellow Ashford Stud resident Mendelssohn at 93.

With so many in the catalog, Berkelhammer said he has had plenty of opportunities to form an impression of what a typical Justify yearling looks like.

“They're athletic, they're big, and they've got some range to them,” he said. “They look like they're going to have turn of foot, and they're just beautifully balanced, with great toplines and good hips. He was that way, so it's just indicative that he's stamping himself.

“We were fortunate enough to buy two of them, and hopefully, they're the right two,” Berkelhammer continued. “Hopefully next year, we look smart.”

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Return To The Ring: Keeneland September’s RNA Re-Offer Sparks Trade In Different Ways

The catalog order was out of sorts at the end of Tuesday's session at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky.

Hip 399 was followed by Hip 399A and 399C, as one would expect when the main catalog turns into the supplemental catalog. Then, Hip 6 entered the ring, followed by Hips 72, 111 and 179.

The four horses causing the catalog detour were the inaugural class of Keeneland's RNA Re-offer program, which allowed sellers of horses that finished under their reserve during the auction's first session the opportunity to run them the ring a second time at the end of Tuesday's second day of trade.

Though each of the RNA Re-offer horses had a common touching point, each one took a unique path to and from it.

The quartet that went through the ring on Tuesday evening was narrowed down from an original group of seven yearlings that were announced by Keeneland at the end of Monday's session. Consignors had to notify Keeneland Sales officials of their intentions to run their horses through again within 30 minutes of the close of Monday's session. Buyers were then made aware of the horses to be offered through Keeneland's social media channels and advertising.

For a few of the horses, that little extra boost of promotion was all they needed to make a sale happen. Mill Ridge Sales had two horses entered in the RNA Re-offer, but neither made it to the ring.

“The one that was early, Hip 70, was for a partnership, and we thought we had action, but didn't have enough,” said Price Bell of Mill Ridge. “We RNA'd it for $125,000 and we wanted to support new ideas. Keeneland promoted it last night, and they promoted it today, and it probably let people know we wanted to sell these horses, that they weren't RNAs to race. This morning, we had three people ask us about her, and we got it done.

Hip 70, a First Samurai filly, sold privately to Madras Bloodstock on Tuesday morning for $90,000.

Bell said the other Mill Ridge horse set to go through again, Hip 195, an Uncle Mo filly who was a $140,000 buyback, was offered late on Monday, and was entered for the second chance mostly to hold the spot until the consignor could talk it over with the breeder, who elected to keep the filly to race. Still, Bell said the filly had an inquiry from a potential buyer on Tuesday morning after the initial list was revealed.

“It was effective to get more eyes on them, and positions them to be buyable,” he said. “It's not Plan A, but this late in the yearling season, sometimes you don't have a Plan B. For this to be a Plan B for that draw and that day, is great.”

Ramsey Farm also had a potential re-offer turn into a private sale, with Hip 197, a Nyquist colt, go to Daniel Pita for $70,000 after hammering for $80,000 in the ring.

For the remaining four horses, it was a slightly different pre-sale experience than their first go-around. Book 1 of Keeneland September is often filled with all-shows and extensive vetting, as high-level buyers attempt to leave no stone unturned. By Tuesday, however, most shoppers have moved on with their inspections to the horses in Book 2.

It was largely business as usual for Taylor Made Sales Agency, which had two horses entered in the re-offer: Hip 72 by Justify (RNA at $200,000), and Hip 179 by American Pharoah (RNA at $140,000). The consignment regularly keeps its buybacks from the first session of Book 1 on the property for an extra day in an attempt to woo a private sale before taking them home. Taylor Made's Mark Taylor said the discussion with the sellers to re-offer was not much different than it would be for any other RNA situation.

“It's the same conversation you would have if this re-offer wasn't in existence,” he said. “We always sit back and say, 'Okay, we've got the horse back. Have you reevaluated what you would take for the horse, and if so, where do you think that is?' Then, we go and start calling people that were interested. A lot of times, those people seek you out, too. In this case, I would say there's no downside for putting them in. If someone calls you at noon and gives you the hammer price, and you want to go ahead and sell it, Keeneland's going to allow you to do that.”

For both horses, Taylor said he expected them to bring more the first time around. He theorized that buyers might have thought that as well, which might have made them think the horses were out of their budget and look elsewhere. Multiple potential buyers made private offers in about the same price range, but all of them were slightly lower than the what seller was looking for, prompting the decision to let the hammer sort it out.

Catalog placement came into play for Hip 6, an Into Mischief colt who was bought back on Monday with a final bid of $340,000. It can take a while for a buyer's bench to build up momentum, and the colt was re-entered with the hopes of catching the market once it's warmed up.

“It's been busy enough,” consignor Pat Costello of Paramount Sales said about an hour before the colt's second trip through the ring. “He's been out five or six times today. Hopefully, we'll get something done.”

Though the shoppers had largely moved on to horses later in the sale, Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales said he worked on getting the minds of potential customers back to day one for a moment. Cauthen had Hip 111, a More Than Ready colt who was bought back at $145,000 after his first trip through the ring on Monday.

“People have obviously moved on to the next spot,” Cauthen said. “We mentioned it to everyone at Barn 42 (Four Star's Book 2 barn), letting them know the horse was going to be offered again. A lot of people would have seen him, and it gets back in their head, and we had three or four people say, 'I'm gonna watch him.' I don't know if it'll work or won't work, but there's no harm in letting them have a look.”

Cauthen's strategy was successful. Of the four horses that went through the ring for a second time on Tuesday, the More Than Ready colt was the only one to change hands at the fall of the hammer, improving his price from $145,000 on Monday to $150,000 on Tuesday.

The remaining three horses hammered for less the second time around, with Paramount's Hip 6 getting the closest at $335,000 after initially bringing $340,000.

One of the caveats of the re-offered section was that reserves had to be set with 15 percent above or below the initial reserve on Monday, which could have affected the sale status of some of the horses that hammered for less. As horses clearly marked to sell, it is likely they will find buyers privately before the sale is through.

Tony Lacy, Keeneland's vice president of sales, said he was pleased with what he saw with the re-offer program, between the private and public sales.

“I think there was a little bit of uncertainty over what it really was, but now that we're at the stage of the day where you had a few people that felt the market didn't treat them the way they expected, they can come back, and hopefully there will be better reception,” he said.

“There was anxiety amongst a group of sellers about being early in the sale, and as a former consignor, it definitely felt there was a lack of safety net in certain parts if you had a horse that may be perceived as having less marketability, or less appeal,” he continued. “Quite frankly, I think it really helped, and it helped solidify people's confidence that if they didn't get one sold early, that they had options.”

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Grade 1 Winner Echo Zulu’s $1.4 Million Half Sister Tops Keeneland September Sale’s Opening Session

A daughter of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah whose undefeated half-sister Echo Zulu captured Saratoga's Spinaway (G1) eight days ago, sold for $1.4 million to Northshore Bloodstock, agent, to top Monday's opening session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky.

During the first of two sessions of the prestigious Book 1 catalog, Keeneland sold 95 yearlings for a total of $38,172,000, for an average of $401,811 and a median of $325,000. Totals include six horses sold via online bidding for $2,605,000. Three horses brought seven figures.

In addition to the 95 sold, 61 yearlings failed to exceed their reserve price, 39.1% of the 156 through the ring (compared to 36.3% RNA's from the opening session in 2020). Combined with the 45 lots withdrawn, there were 106 yearlings from the 201 catalogued (52.7%) that did not sell.

Keeneland amped up the atmosphere in the Sales Pavilion to kick off the September Sale to create excitement and showcase the best of what the Bluegrass has to offer.

“The sale should be a fun environment,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “It is exciting that we are here, that we are all back together and that we have these phenomenal horses on offer in Book 1. We had complimentary cocktails being passed and brunch being served, a Bluegrass band playing 'My Old Kentucky Home' on the auction stage right before the sale started. We worked hard to create that environment, and we got a lot of positive feedback. Book 1 at Keeneland's September Sale is special, and it deserves to feel that way.”

“Trade was really strong today,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “There was confidence, and the money was spread out over more horses. The energy on the grounds was very strong. I have not seen the Sales Pavilion this full in a long time.”

Betz Thoroughbreds, agent, consigned Monday's top-priced yearling, who also is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Echo Town and Grade 3 winner J Boys Echo. They are out of Grade 2 winner Letgomyecho, by Menifee.

Alan Quartucci of Northshore purchased the filly for owner Joe Allen and said she most likely will go to trainer Shug McGaughey.

“She looks like a real runner,” Quartucci said. “She has a fantastic pedigree that's still going forward every day. The filly who won in Saratoga (Echo Zulu) was amazing. (The yearling) was the whole package.”

Consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm, a colt by Into Mischief from the family of North American champion and English and Irish highweight Islington (IRE) sold to Ron Winchell's Winchell Thoroughbreds for $1.35 million. He will be trained by Steve Asmussen.

“He's probably an Into Mischief who doesn't look like an Into Mischief,” Winchell said, “and I've had Into Mischiefs that look like Into Mischiefs and I can't seem to find the winner's circle with them, so I figured I would go a different direction. I knew he might be expensive.”

“He has always been outstanding,” said Mt. Brilliant owner Greg Goodman, who purchased the colt's dam, the Hard Spun mare Superioritycomplex (IRE), as a 3-year-old in England. “He's always done everything right. A calm horse, smart; we're really happy with him and we're really happy Mr. Winchell got him and that he's going to a good home.”

A filly by Uncle Mo out of the winning Forestry mare Nikki's Choice sold for $1.1 million to Don Adam's Courtlandt Farm.

Paramount Sales, agent, consigned the filly, who is from the family of Canadian champion Charlie Barley, Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Success Express and Grade 1 winner Greenwood Lake.

“She's an April foal, but you can see that she's still a little high behind and see she's gonna develop still,” Courtlandt's Ernie Retamoza said. “A real athletic, type-y filly, young mare, fits our program to a T. Not sure where we'll send her, but we'll get her home and break her. She acts like she's gonna be the right type of filly that we're looking for. Had to stretch, obviously, to get her, but Mr. Adam looked at her this morning and loved her – we all loved her – and we felt like she was a filly worth stretching for.”

“She was a beauty,” Pat Costello of Paramount said. “She didn't put a foot wrong from the day she was here, and we could see with the way the vetting was going, everybody was on her. She deserved to bring the kind of money she brought because she's just stunning. She came from a client of ours and she was always nice, very much so. We were delighted with the price. It was a little bit more than we thought she would bring.”

During the session, Courtlandt acquired five yearlings for $2.6 million to lead buyers.

Three yearlings on Monday sold for $950,000 apiece.

M.V. Magnier paid the amount for a colt by Quality Road whose dam is a half-sister to champion Rushing Fall. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for WinStar Bred & Raised, consigned the colt, who is out of stakes winner Milam, by Street Sense.

“He is a lovely colt and he has done well his whole life,” Elliott Walden, WinStar's President, CEO and Racing Manager, said. “We are very proud of him and that Coolmore got him and wish him nothing but the best.”

Walden said he is confident in the market at this point of the yearling sales season.

“There are six race tracks with maiden races for over $100,000,” he said. “When I trained 15 years ago, we were running for $30,000. It is amazing. Purses have caught up and gives a person a chance to make money on the race track. I think that will translate all the way through. I don't know about you, but I have never seen so many people on Day 1 in there sitting down (in the Sales Pavilion).”

Taylor Made Sales Agency sold 14 yearlings for $5,782,000 to lead consignors during the session.

Donato Lanni, agent, spent $950,000 for a Medaglia d'Oro filly consigned by Claiborne Farm, agent. She is the first foal of the Distorted Humor mare Naples Princess, a full sister to stakes winner Banker's Buy, and from the family of champion Mitole and 2021 Grade 2 winner and Belmont (G1) runner-up Hot Rod Charlie.

Lanni bought the filly as agent for Michael Lund Petersen and Willow Grace Farm, owners of recent TVG Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner Grace Adler.

“She wasn't a hard one to find – she had everything,” Lanni said. “He's (Medaglia d'Oro) just a proven sire over and over. He's got good fillies, colts. (She has a) great female family. She's an athlete, she's classy and she's got pedigree. I hate to say it: She just checked all the boxes.”

Lanni said the market has “really been strong all year. There's a big appetite for really good horses out there and it's nice to see us get back to some kind of normalcy.”

A colt from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify who is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2 winner Pretty N Cool sold for $950,000 to Hideyuki Mori of Japan. Consigned by Baccari Bloodstock, agent, he is out of the Rockport Harbor mare Stayclassysandiego and from the family of Grade 1 winner Sean Avery.

Seven horses in Tuesday's RNA Reoffer
Seven horses who did not meet their reserves during Monday's session have been entered in the RNA Reoffer, a new program at this year's September Sale that will begin immediately following the final hip of Tuesday's second session. They are:

Hip 6 – Into Mischief-Indian Rush colt consigned by Paramount Sales, agent;
Hip 70 – First Samurai-Miss Singhsix (IRE) filly consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent;
Hip 72 – Justify-Mo Chuisle filly consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent;
Hip 111 – More Than Ready-Polish a Diamond colt consigned by Four Star Sales, agent for Westbury Stables;
Hip 179 – American Pharoah-Sweater Weather colt consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent;
Hip 195 – Uncle Mo-Terrific Treasure filly consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent; and
Hip 197 – Nyquist-Thank You Marylou colt consigned by Ramsey Farm, agent.

“The RNA Reoffer is a mechanism for free trade,” Lacy said. “It has been well received. We have some people who feel that the market didn't treat them the way they expected. This program allows them to come back (with the horse) and maybe have a better reception tomorrow. This gives people a safeguard.”

To participate in the RNA Reoffer, sellers were required to inform the Sales office in writing no later than 30 minutes following the sale of the final hip of today's session.

A reserve must be placed and approved on reoffered horses, and must be within 15 percent above or below the initial hammer price. (Click here for information about the RNA Reoffer.)

The second session of the September Sale starts tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. TVG2 will have live coverage of the session from 1-7:30 p.m. The entire sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.

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Modest-Priced Broodmare Pantanal Rewards Haymarket Farm At Keeneland September

Chip Montgomery didn't have visions of the bright lights of Book 1 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale with his Nyquist colt. In fact, he'd have probably preferred to avoid it altogether.

The colt was out of an unplaced, $70,000 broodmare with a produce record that would have a hard time standing out in one of the most top-heavy and unforgiving marketplaces in the world, and he knew it. But, he also knew this was the best horse on the farm, and that bargain-priced mare has done little else but reward the Haymarket Farm operation, so far.

When Hip 102, out of the Congrats mare Pantanal, sold to AMO Racing USA for $330,000 during Monday's opening session, it brought the mare's total progeny sales from the breeder to $725,000 from four foals sold, making for an incredible return on investment.

Pantanal was a long way from Book 1 when she was offered as a first-time broodmare at the 2015 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Montgomery and farm manager Kelly Jackson were on a tightly-budgeted mission at that year's auction, but they'd made it to the end of Book 3 without any success. They finally hit the mark with Pantanal near the end of the sixth session.

“We were looking for a mare in foal to Uncle Mo, thinking he was going to be an emerging sire, and we put our heads together, and Kelly pushed me along to go on and spend that kind of money,” Montgomery said. “Back in those days, that was a couple more shekels than I wanted to spend.”

Pantanal was pregnant for the first time to Uncle Mo, and the ensuing colt sold as a weanling to Preston Madden for $100,000. Later named Borracho, the colt finished third in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes in 2019, just a few months after Pantanal visited Nyquist for the mating that generated the yearling that sold on Monday.

Haymarket Farm has done well finding modest-priced mares and finding their potential with foals in the sale ring and the racetrack. The operation bred New York stakes winner and $170,000 yearling Miss Brazil out of a $40,000 broodmare purchase. In 2016, Haymarket Farm bought Queen's Wood, the dam of True Timber, for $47,000 while pregnant to Quality Road, and sold the ensuing foal for $250,000. Vinery Sales consigns Haymarket Farm's auction horses.

“We do like to buy a mare that maybe has had a couple foals, in foal to the right stallion,” Montgomery said. “I think the market tends to give up a little early on a mare. Sometimes, that's been good for us, and sometimes it's been bad for us.”

Given Pantanal's relatively modest auction history up to this point, Montgomery admitted that putting the Nyquist colt in Book 1 was against form, and carried a bit of risk, but the colt's physical and Nyquist's rapid ascent in the stallion ranks ultimately steered the yearling's placement.

“We actually feel more comfortable in Book 2 or 3 for a colt like this,” he said. “He does have the looks. Nyquist has done enough, and certainly, that was a factor in Keeneland wanting him in Book 1. We typically try to lobby to get into Book 2. That's just a strategy that Kelly has, and I support him 100 percent.”

Montgomery, a longtime auto dealership owner in Louisville, Ky., is quick to heap the praise for his success on his staff, particularly Jackson. He bought the 150-acre Haymarket Farm in Simpsonville, Ky., in 2008, about a decade after buying his first Thoroughbreds with partners. About 18 mares reside on the property.

“I'm not a hands-on guy, so as I've done my whole life, I've relied on people,” Montgomery said. “I've delegated to get something done. The successes we've had, we'll give it to them, and the failures, I guess I've got to pick up myself.”

Book 1 is all about the fantasy of splashy prices at the top of the market, but the transactions below that upper crust help sustain the day-to-day reality for smaller breeders.

When Pantanal's Nyquist colt brought $330,000 on Monday, Montgomery knew it was a high point for his mare, and for the Haymarket Farm's 2020 crop of foals, but it was still just a piece of the overall puzzle to keep the operation going.

“My view here today is, we might have eight or 10 to sell,” he said. “We sold a couple of weanlings, and we might race one or two, or vet issues are keeping them out and we'll have to go to the 2-year-old sale. We've got to get to that magic overhead number, so this fills up the pitcher only so far, but you would expect the Book 1 horse to fill that pitcher up pretty darn far, because the rest of them are just kind of filling a few drops here and a couple glasses of water there.

“If you look at the numbers, for that particular horse, it is very successful, but when you've got a dozen and a half of them, this is the best horse on the farm, so he's got to carry the load, and the mare's got to carry the load,” he continued. “Maybe next year, it's another mare and yearling that's carrying the load.”

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