Also debuting here is Track Phantom (Quality Road), another alum from that same sale who went for $500,000 to L and N Racing, Clark Brewster, and Jerry Caroom, with breeder Breeze Easy retaining a share. Out of GII Lexus Raven Run S. heroine Miss Sunset (Into Mischief), the Steve Asmussen trainee's yearling half-sister by Curlin just sold at Keeneland September for $1.1 million to Lauren Carlisle. TJCIS PPS

4th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 2:13 p.m.
Another Sunday Churchill maiden race under the same conditions includes Catching Freedom (Constitution). The $575,000 Keeneland September purchase bred by WinStar Farm, bought by Albaugh Family Stables, and trained by Brad Cox is out of GISP Catch My Drift (Pioneerof the Nile), who also produced SP Strava (Into Mischief) and GIII Peter Pan S. runner-up Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo).

Making the post just to his outside, we find Tis Charming (Omaha Beach). The dark bay colt trained by Ken McPeek who sold for $250,000 during Keeneland September is out of Derby Eve (Tiznow), who is a full-sister to GI Travers S. victor Colonel John.  TJCIS PPS

9th-BAQ, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 4:15 p.m.
Finally, over at rain-soaked Aqueduct, Spendalot (More Than Ready) will debut for CHP Racing. The Chad Brown trainee initially went for $240,000 to Cavalier Bloodstock during Keeneland November before selling to agent Mike Ryan for $650,000 in the same ring as a yearling. The gray filly is a full-sister to GII Wonder Again S. winner Consumer Spending. TJCIS PPS

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Activity at the sales barns was brisk throughout the weekend and continued to be strong on a cloudless, sunny morning in Lexington Monday.

“We are into day three of showing,” said Kerry Cauthen outside of his Four Star Sales consignment barn. “The first two days were very strong. Early on Saturday, we were covered with all-lookers and yesterday it started to separate into, 'OK, these are the ones we like,' and still we had nothing but dead steady, all-day long, great traffic.”

Shoppers at the barns Monday included the major 2-year-old pinhookers–Paul Sharp, Eddie Woods, Dave Scanlon, Ciaran Dunne, Tom McCrocklin, Steve Venosa and Raul Reyes were seen making the rounds–interspersed with a mixture of end-users and agents such as trainer Ken McPeek–perenially very active at the summer auction–Steve Young, Marette Farrell, and Tom McGreevy.

“It's always been seen as a pinhookers sales, but we have had a lot of end-users–Kenny McPeek just came through here, Marette Farrell just came through here–so there are plenty of end users,” said Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall Sales.

The Fasig-Tipton July sale has developed a strong roster of graduates, with the likes of Grade I winners Chocolate Gelato (Pratical Joke) and Faiza (Girvin) gracing this year's cover. Both of those 2021 graduates rewarded their buyers when selling for nifty profits at the 2-year-old sales last year before finding top-level success on the racetrack. The 2022 July sale also produced the $2.2-million son of Good Magic who topped this year's OBS April sale.

“This is a sale of physicals,” Brogden said. “People have been complaining about the pedigrees, but this is supposed to be a sale of physicals. We just try to bring the type that the more you look at them, the more you like them.”

Consignors are expecting to see familiar trends in the marketplace as the yearling sales season opens.

“I think we are going to continue to see the general trend that we've seen the last couple of years,” said Conrad Bandoroff of Denali Stud. “The top-quality offerings are going to bring as much or more, as they always do. Whether there is going to be any correction in the middle market, my crystal ball is not that good, but all I can say is we are showing these yearlings a lot.  The feel and the appetite for horses seems good.”

Cauthen has similar expectations.

“As always, it will depend on the individuals that they are looking at,” he said. “I think for the good individuals, it will be a very good marketplace.”

Last year's July sale, topped by a $600,000 son of Curlin, saw 189 yearlings gross $21,763,500 for an average of $115,151 and a median of $90,000. It was the auction's co-highest median, second highest average, and its highest gross since 2008.

The yearling market only seemed to get hotter from there. But while bidding was fierce throughout the yearlings sales last summer and fall, consignors at the 2-year-old sales this spring found they were selling in what seemed to be a more cautious marketplace.

“When you talk about softness in the 2-year-old market, I think there are a whole lot of different variables that go into that–were they able to buy the same quality of product that they had in the past,” Cauthen said. “I think [a weaker 2-year-old market] is, of course, always a concern, but honestly I think, based on traffic, based on attitude, I think there is quite a bit of buyers' interest at this point.”

Brogden seemed to be thinking along the same lines when she reflected on the yearling market from a year ago and the resulting juvenile market this spring.

“My personal opinion as to why the 2-year-old sales were not as strong is because the yearling sales last year were insane,” Brogden said. “I felt like a lot of the 2-year-old consignors had to compromise or overpay for what they bought. In our own consignment, I felt like 2-year-old consignors, especially in the later books in [Keeneland] September, were buying horses that really weren't the type of physicals or vetting I would have thought that a 2-year-old consignor would take a risk on. But you have to have numbers. Just because the market is strong doesn't mean you don't need product. So people were buying.”

Brogden said she would encourage buyers to be ready to be quick out of the gates as the July sale opens Tuesday.

“Last year, I felt like as we rolled on through the sales that the yearling market got stronger and stronger,” she said. “I've tried to say to people for years, look hard and spend in July. People come to the July sale and say there are 4,000 more selling in the later sales. And I say, 'Yeah, but by the time you guys get to Book 3 September, you're going to be begging me to have horses that have these physicals that we are selling in the July sale.”

Despite any downturn in the 2-year-old market, pinhookers are always going to need yearlings this time of year, Bandoroff agreed.

“The nature of our business is, regardless of whether we had a good year or a bad year, we have to go back and reload and restock our inventory,” Bandoroff said. “The buyers may be being more careful, but when they see that horse that fits the mold of what they are looking for, I still think they are going to be trying to buy them.”

Looking out over a bevy of shoppers, Joe Seitz of Brookdale Sales said the yearling market was strong enough to survive a slight correction.

“A lot of those people [pinhookers] that you just mentioned are here, so that's a good sign,” Seitz said. “If people are being a little more conservative, that's OK. I still think it will be healthy. It's been really strong for a couple of years now, so even if it were to level a little bit, I think we will be fine.”

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“We're optimistic,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said of expectations for the sale. “We've seen a very solid 2-year-old marketplace throughout the spring. There is demand for quality horses, certainly plenty of interest. Racing is pretty good right now.”

On a balmy Monday morning in Lexington, buyers were out in force and consignors were busy showing yearlings to a strong mixture of pinhookers and end-users.

“Hopefully it will be the same as usual,” Paramount Sales' Gabriel Duignan said of expectations for the July market. “Racing is very good, purses are great. The traffic seems to be busy here. The pinhookers had a good year and this sale is driven by pinhookers. So I am very hopeful it will be a good sale.”

Brian Graves, overseeing the Gainesway consignment Monday morning, agreed activity has been brisk at the sales barns.

“It's been busy,” Graves said. “There are a lot of people here. It will be interesting to see how many are end-users, but the market is alive and well, that's for certain. Most of the horses in the barn have been vetted well before they sell tomorrow. Usually, in a different climate when it's not so busy, you are waiting right up to the end to see some action. It seems like people are here to participate. I would expect it to be a fair market, whether it's as good as it was last year or not remains to be seen, but it will be healthy.”

Canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, the July auction rebounded with a strong showing in 2021, setting its fourth highest average and second highest median. A filly by Into Mischief brought the auction's top price when selling for $800,000.

Following a spring of competitive results at the 2-year-old sales and with purses at record levels, a strong yearling market would seem a safe bet, but volatility in the stock market–and in the overall economy–looms in the background.

“[Economic conditions] are a little concerning, but our racing is so healthy at the moment and I think there is a shortage of horses,” Duignan said.

Graves said, “The thing about horse people is they can't just take up plumbing. They just can't take up a different profession. They make their living by buying, developing and selling horses. Whether the horse market trails the stock market and it's off 10 or 15%, it could happen. What is important to me is that there is healthy trade. That you can take a horse and turn it into cash. And that clearly looks like it will be the case here. I don't see any big red flags.”

The July sale comes just a week after the implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and the new authority is another positive for the industry, according to Machmer Hall Sales' Carrie Brogden.

“I think everyone has to be aware of what is happening in the world-wide economy and in Ukraine and food prices, etc., but I think there are a lot of things to be very excited about,” Brogden said. “Obviously, there are some big changes in our industry with HISA coming online, but I personally am very optimistic that, after the changes shake out, we are going to be better and stronger. For me, I hate that the foal crop keeps shrinking. That means less product, fewer horses to race, but I am hopeful that all the changes, even though in the short term it may be hard for people to get through, ultimately we are going to get through it a lot stronger and reverse the trend on the other side.”

A total of 302 yearlings have been catalogued for the July sale, with 39 withdrawn as of Monday late morning. The auction opens with an offering of 88 youngsters by first-crop sires. The group of new stallions includes: Audible, Catalina Cruiser, Catholic Boy, Copper Bullet, Demarchelier (GB), Enticed, Flameaway,  Maximus Mischief, Mitole, Omaha Beach, Preservationist, St Patrick's Day, Vino Rosso, World of Trouble, and Yoshida (Jpn).

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This August, the three-month program launched with a group of 12 mentees hailing from eight different states. While most mentor-mentee pairs were separated by distance and initially planned on holding their meetings virtually, several mentees expressed an interest in meeting their mentors in person and decided to make the trip to Lexington for their first visit to the Keeneland September Sale.

Matt Scull, age 23, lives in South Carolina and arrived in Lexington just in time for the start of Book 4 to shadow his mentor Shannon Castagnola, the Director of Marketing and Client Relations at Woodford Thoroughbreds. He was able to observe the Woodford consignment during both a day of showing and a day of selling. On his last day at Keeneland, he shadowed a bloodstock agent to inspect Book 5 yearlings.

“Shannon has introduced me to so many faces,” Scull said. “She taught me a bunch about the vetting process, the different bits the horses wear as well as the general basics of being a consignor at a sale. Before this internship, I didn't understand the number of different career paths there are in this industry. I was just thinking about a jockey, owner and trainer. I actually believe this is the greatest sport on earth and I think having people committed to it for their careers is huge.”

Scull developed an interest in racing through his family's annual trips to Monmouth Park.

“My great grandfather, who I met once when I was three before he passed away, loved racing from the gambling side,” Scull said. “So once a year at Monmouth Park my family would have 'Poppy Day' at the races. My freshman year of college I dug super deep in terms of the handicapping side of things. As my life has progressed, I've figured out that this is one of my passions and that I need to pursue it.”

Scull recently graduated from the University of Clemson with a degree in mechanical engineering. He said he was scrolling through Twitter one day during his lunch break at the gas and engine consulting firm he works for when he happened upon Amplify's mentorship application.

“I figured I probably wasn't going to get it, but I thought I would kill 30 minutes of my lunch break by typing it out,” he explained. “I was lucky enough to be selected and it has snowballed from there. It's been amazing. I've gone from not knowing what a pinhook is to potentially working on a farm later this year.”

Scull said he and Castagnola first met when he visited Saratoga this summer. They later conversed several times virtually and his mentor answered his many questions about the sales environment. After taking three vacation days from his full-time job to visit the Keeneland Sale, he said he's still unsure of which sector of the industry he would like to pursue a career in.

“I'm still figuring it out,” he admitted. “I'm a big fan of science and it's kind of crazy how many things are going on [at the sale] in terms of biomechanics and genetic testing. I got to see a video scope and that was really cool. I wish I had a better idea of which direction I want to go, but I think that's part of the beauty of it. There are so many different paths that you could go down and once you decide, it seems like everybody wears multiple hats which is awesome.”

Carol Hayes of Gainesville, Florida was paired with Bonne Chane Farm's Bloodstock and Office Manager Leah Alessandroni. When Hayes expressed an interest in the sales aspect of the sport, her mentor connected her with Carrie Brogden. One week before the Keeneland sale began, Hayes was hired on to work for the Machmer Hall consignment and she made the 12-hour drive up to Lexington to experience her first-ever horse sale.

“I really enjoy it,” the 22-year-old said between calling cards for Book 5. “It's high-paced and I like that. I think it's really interesting to see how the sale goes. I made sure to get here a day early so I could watch the sale before I started working. So I got to experience that side and now that I'm on the behind-the-scenes side, it's interesting to see how all this works.”

Growing up near Ocala, Hayes has been riding hunters and jumpers for most of her life. She said she has always had an interest in racing, but wasn't sure how to get involved.

“It's one sector of the horse industry that I never really got to dive into, so I've always wanted to check it off,” she said. “I found the Amplify mentorship program through the University of Florida. One of our advisors posted it on our undergraduate internship posting page.”

Carol Hayes takes a quick break for a photo op at the Machmer Hall consignment. | Katie Ritz

Hayes and her mentor first met over Zoom, but when Hayes was traveling to Lexington for a horse show a few weeks later, she met up with Alessandroni to shadow her for a day.

“We went to the track in the morning because one of their horses was training and then we went to her farm and I got to see what she does there,” Hayes recalled.

After her experience working the sales, Hayes said she is most interested in the management side of the industry.

“But I'm still figuring it out,” she added.

“It has been immensely gratifying to watch this group of mentees grow and progress,” said Amplify Horse Racing's President and Co-Founder Annise Montplaisir. “For most of them, the Thoroughbred industry was very new and felt daunting to be involved with on a more in-depth level than simply going to the races as a fan. Over these past couple of months, I have met and corresponded regularly with all 12, and have received nothing but positive feedback about all they have learned from their mentors and the respect they have for the time their mentors are sharing with them. Many mentees are already starting to make next-step plans about pursuing jobs in the industry and looking at other ways to gain more experience.”

Montplaisir, who in conjunction with her work through Amplify is also the equine education coordinator for the Kentucky Equine Education Project, explained that before the pilot program launched, potential mentees went through an application and interview process. The goal was to prioritize young adults who were interested in pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred industry, but had minimal exposure to the sport and didn't know how to get started.

Mentors and mentees were paired based on interests, commonalities and proximity. After an initial introduction to their mentors via Zoom by Amplify, mentees were tasked with organizing meetings with their mentors on their own. While they were required to have one meeting per month over the three-month program, Montplaisir said that many pairs met as often as once per week.

Mentors assisted their mentees by sharing their personal career experiences, answering questions and giving advice on the skill set their mentee might need in order to get involved in certain sectors of the industry.

“I love talking about the Thoroughbred industry and I'm really passionate about it, so it's easy for me to talk about,” Castagnola said when asked why she decided to join the mentorship program. “I think the stigma is that we've all spent 20 years learning this business, and so for somebody who is coming in knowing nothing, they're having to start from scratch. I was telling Matt yesterday, I spend every day learning something new even now and that's the best thing about this business: every day you learn something new.”

“For me, it's really simple,” Alessandroni said of why she become a mentor. “I didn't come from a family that was involved in racing and when I was coming through the ranks, there were so many people that mentored me and gave me opportunities, so I felt like it was an obligation for me to essentially pay it forward.”

“The experience has been really great so far,” she continued. “I've enjoyed chatting with Carol and it has kind of renewed my excitement in the industry. We do this as a daily grind and sometimes we get caught up in it, but to see it through the enthusiasm of someone like Carol, I honestly think it has been equally rewarding from both sides. Through this Amplify program, it's critical to stress the importance of what they're doing to educate young people about the opportunities that are here for them in the industry and to let them know that you don't have to have the secret handshake to get in the door, you just have to work hard.”

The first round of mentorships will concluded at the end of October. A virtual mentorship assembly will be held over Zoom to bring all the mentors and mentees together to widen each of the mentees' networks to industry professionals.

In the future, Amplify's goal is to have a rolling application where prospective mentees can apply any time from January through August to be paired with a mentor for that year. Mentees who apply beyond the middle of August will be considered for the program the following year.

Industry members interested in mentoring can apply now at amplifyhorseracing.org/mentorship. The mentee application will reopen on January 7, 2022.

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The one-day sale grossed $508,000 for 15 lots, for an average of $33,867 and a median of $11,000. Summary results of the sale are available by clicking here.

Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, Felicita is a 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready out of the Indian Charlie mare Gottahaveadream. She was offered in foal to Not This Time.

Four Bridges paid $55,000 for Warm Water, in foal to City of Light. The 5-year-old mare by English Channel is from the family of Horse of the Year A.P. Indy and Preakness Stakes winner Summer Squall. She was consigned by Machmer Hall Sales, agent.

Song of Melody, a winning 5-year-old mare by Flat Out, in foal to Not This Time, brought a final bid of $50,000 from Rose Hill Farm, agent. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, Song of Melody is from the family of Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Raven's Pass and multiple graded stakes winner E Dubai.

The post Felicita Brings $250,000 To Top Keeneland December Digital Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Among services available, the new organization will advise on matings, sale placements and pinhooking. The operation will offer 20 Thoroughbred yearlings at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Showcase, scheduled for Sept. 9-10 in addition to a larger consignment for the following Keeneland September. Yearlings by Into Mischief, American Pharoah, Constitution, Malibu Moon and Street Sense are among the initial offerings.

“I am glad that with Machmer Hall Sales, I can focus on my passion for selling yearlings,” Carrie Brogden said.

Added Amu Bunt, “I’m grateful for my continued relationship with Machmer Hall. Their outstanding broodmare band and well-prepared individuals makes my job easier and more pleasurable. Carrie and I have worked together for a long time and I look forward to giving our clients even more personalized service.”

For more information, visit www.machmerhallsales.com

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Machmer Hall owners, Sandy Fubini and Craig and Carrie Brogden, along with Amy Bunt and Mullikin Thoroughbreds are the principals of the new company, named Machmer Hall Sales. The group has enjoyed success pinhooking international star Mind Your Biscuits and ultra-talented Flat Out.

The new organization will focus on attention to detail and also concentrate on the yearling market and long-term relationships with established clients. Advice on matings, sale placements and pinhooking are among the full range of services available. They are scheduled to offer 20 Thoroughbred yearlings at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Yearling Showcase, scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10 as well as a larger consignment for the following Keeneland September Sale in Lexington, Ky. 

Yearlings by noted stallions Into Mischief, American Pharoah, Constitution, Malibu Moon and Street Sense are among the initial offerings.

“I am glad that with Machmer Hall Sales, I can focus on my passion for selling yearlings,” Carrie Brogden said.

“I'm grateful for my continued relationship with Machmer Hall,” Amy Bunt said. “Their outstanding broodmare band and well-prepared individuals makes my job easier and more pleasurable. Carrie and I have worked together for a long time and I look forward to giving our clients even more personalized service.”

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