Mark Taylor | Horse Racing Free Tips

Another Chapter in Taylor Made’s Breeders’ Cup Story

Celebrating 40 Years of the Breeders' Cup

Can you imagine being a horse racing-crazy kid with a ringside seat to the creation of the Breeders' Cup? Mark Taylor can, because he was.

Fast forward more than four decades and now he is president and CEO of the Central Kentucky farm that is believed to have raised and/or sold more Breeders' Cup winners than any other. There's also the matter of having stood the Breeders' Cup winner who currently holds the record for siring the most Breeders' Cup winners in turn. And, oh yes, there's also Knicks Go, another Breeders' Cup winner, in the farm's stud barn right now, as well as a few in the fields. Yes, surely Taylor can be excused if his reverence for the Breeders' Cup might be even greater than usual.

“Listen, the [Kentucky] Derby is amazing, but if you're in this industry, the Breeders' Cup is the real deal,” said Taylor. “Every division: turf, dirt, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, older horses, all coming together and laying it all on the line.”

Taylor's father was the legendary farm manager Joe Taylor, whose fortunes coincided with that of Gainesway. Many will remember Gainesway under John Gaines and the elder Taylor together. At one point the farm on Paris Pike stood 40 stallions and bred over 2,000 mares a year. This was all the more remarkable considering it was in the days when stallion books were much smaller and reproductive work wasn't quite so advanced, often necessitating multiple covers per mare.

In addition to owning one of the most successful stallion stations in our sport's history, Gaines is also credited with the conception of the Breeders' Cup. Joe Taylor was at his side for all of it. Although they were farm owner and employee, the two men were far closer than that, said Mark Taylor.

“Mr. Gaines and my dad were like brothers in a lot of ways,” he said. “Mr. Gaines was a brilliant business guy and the visionary. My dad was the diplomat and the horseman. My dad was really gratified for Mr. Gaines when he got it all together and got the Breeders' Cup done. What an amazing thing.”

Knicks Go at Taylor Made | Sarah Andrew

Taylor said he was the youngest of eight kids and a young teenager when Gaines hatched the idea behind the Breeders' Cup.

“I feel like I got a front-row seat,” said Taylor. “I was the last kid still in the house in those years where the Breeders' Cup was really coming to fruition. I could hear my dad in there on the phone with Mr. Gaines and the two of them brainstorming.

“It was like political warfare, getting everyone on board. For Mr. Gaines to try to bring this concept to fruition he deserves some sort of Nobel Peace Prize. I don't know how he got it done.”

All these years later, Taylor still marvels at the unobstructed view he received.

“It's really amazing. I feel like of all the thousands and thousands of people in this industry, I got to see this and I was just a 13- or 14-year-old kid. I had a really unique view of this thing coming together. I was really into horse racing. I'd be waiting for the Blood-Horse or Thoroughbred Record every week, and the race results in the Herald-Leader every day. The TDN wasn't around yet.

“It was kind of cool watching it all come together. I love the Breeders' Cup. It's one of my favorite days of the year. Watching what it's become is really special.

“I'll never forget that first Breeders' Cup Classic. That wild stretch drive. I think it was more than Mr. Gaines could have dreamt up the way it came together.

“What a privilege to see it all come together.”

Sarah Andrew

After witnessing something so special, no wonder Taylor–along with his older brothers–would later found Taylor Made Farm, today a diverse operation which has conquered the worlds of boarding, selling, stallions, and more. No fewer than 20 individual Breeders' Cup winners have been raised or sold by Taylor Made. Lest one think those eventual winners simply passed through sales barns, a full 11 of those 20 spent their formative years cavorting through Taylor Made pastures. Among those raised on Taylor Made's land were Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and leading sire Unbridled's Song. The latter also spent his entire stud career at Taylor Made and would sire six individual Breeders' Cup winners. Long before he sired a foal, Unbridled's Song was tied to Taylor Made.

“It's a long story,” said Taylor. “We had Unbridled's Song here on the farm when he was a weanling owned by Mandysland Farm. They were dispersing; ultimately he was bought by someone else and they took him to Saratoga where he sold as a yearling, but was sent back to Taylor Made for some R&R. Ernie Pargallo's Paraneck Stable and Buzz Chace bought him.

“Back then, Taylor Made sold 2-year-olds in training. We obviously didn't have a training center, so we were the marketing arm. I never will forget when Unbridled's Song breezed, he was just this big, gray monster. He breezed so effortlessly. As he crossed the line, the announcer said, 'He went so fast the infield trees swayed.'”

Sarah Andrew

Unbridled's Song brought $1.4 million in 1995 at the Barretts March sale. At the time, it was a world record for a 2-year-old in training. However, there was a hitch. A chip was found in the colt's hind ankle and the buyer, according to Taylor, tried to negotiate a reduced price.

“We had an anxiety attack,” said Taylor. “Here we'd spent all this money going to California–we'd flown all the way to Barretts to sell him–and our big horse was being turned back. Ernie Paragallo said, 'Don't worry about it. We're going to win the Breeders' Cup with him.' The rest is history.”

Sure enough, Unbridled's Song did just that. About seven months later, he captured the GI Juvenile in a spectacular stretch duel with Hennessy.

“That was amazing. Of course, he came here [after his racing career], led the general sires list, and was a tremendous sire for us,” said Taylor. “He really put our stallion operation on the map. He had so much speed for a big horse and could carry it two turns. He also had such a sweet disposition, not a mean bone in his body.

“And he died with that chip in his hind ankle!”

Knicks Go with Ernesto Martinez | Sarah Andrew

Unbridled's Song passed away in 2013 at the age of 20. Another Breeders' Cup winner, 2021 Classic winner and 2020 Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go, is currently in the stallion barn.

“Several farms were after him, so the fact that we were able to get the horse was very exciting,” said Travis White, director of sales at Taylor Made. “It's not often you get a horse like that. For us he checked a lot of boxes. We feel so fortunate and excited to have him.

“The Breeders' Cup is the Super Bowl of our sport. Anytime you can get a horse of that caliber, the best of the best, proven on the world's biggest stage, it's a great addition to a stallion roster. You're going to attract the top breeders in the world.”

Knicks Go was just history's sixth horse to find the winner's circle in two different Breeders' Cup races, but there was almost a third Breeders' Cup win on his CV. It's often lost among the Eclipse championships and two championship day wins, but Knicks Go also finished runner-up as a 2-year-old in the 2018 Juvenile behind eventual champion Game Winner.

“I think a lot of people forget he was a Grade I winner at two and that he won or placed in three different Breeders' Cup races,” said White. “It is extremely rare for a horse to be as precocious as he was and then come back and win two different Breeders' Cup races as an older horse. Most horses have a niche–they can't go two turns, can't come from off the pace, have to have things go their own way–but he was able to do it all. Hats off to Brad Cox and his crew for doing such a great job with him.”

White said it's an honor to have Knicks Go in the stallion barn at Taylor Made. “Anytime you have a horse with his accomplishments and accolades, it means the world.”

Knicks Go isn't the only Breeders' Cup winner currently on the farm. The most high-profile Breeders' Cup-winning mare at Taylor Made at the moment is undoubtedly Blue Prize (Arg), winner of the 2019 Distaff and a $5-million purchase out of Fasig-Tipton by OXO Equine. However, it is Miss Macy Sue who holds pride of place.

Miss Macy Sue at Taylor Made last month | Sarah Andrew

Miss Macy Sue, a graded winner who was third in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, had five foals to race. Four were stakes winners, including GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam's Map (who is by Taylor Made's Unbridled's Song) and Not This Time, who was runner-up by a neck in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and is now king of the stallion barn at Taylor Made.

“She is pensioned and still lives here,” said Taylor. “She is the grand dame of Taylor Made. Almost two Breeders' Cup winners. What an achievement. Stallions get to produce hundreds and hundreds of foals every year, but mares get one chance a year for maybe 10 or 15 years. For her to have that kind of strike rate in the Breeders' Cup is just incredible.”

Taylor Made has had a lot of significant moments in the Breeders' Cup, but there was one that might have been a little extra special. In the 2004 edition at Lone Star Park, two mares grazing in Taylor Made paddocks both had Breeders' Cup winners. Silken Cat and Goulash produced Sprint winner Speightstown and Distaff winner Ashado, respectively. Now the mares are buried next to each other at Taylor Made.

Silken Cat's grave at Taylor Made | Sarah Andrew

“Both were bred by Aaron and Marie Jones, long-time customers. That day was incredible,” remembered Taylor. “We raised them both here and they were on opposite ends of the spectrum price-wise. Speightstown was a $2-million Keeneland July yearling and Ashado brought $170,000 at Keeneland September. And yet they both turned into champions. Later we resold Ashado for a then world-record $9 million.”

It's probably safe to say Taylor Made's story in the Breeders' Cup is far from over. Whether future chapters will be written from the mare side or the sales division or even by horses standing in the stallion barn remains to be seen, but the touch of Taylor Made will likely continue to be felt alongside the Breeders' Cup. What could be more fitting for a kid with a front-row seat to the birth of racing's championship days?

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Wonder Wheel, Who Took the Greens on the Ride of a Lifetime, To Sell at Fasig November

When Lois Green was a young girl, her family would take her once a year to Coney Island, where she thought the most exhilarating ride was the Wonder Wheel. So when the family bought a yearling by Into Mischief out of the multiple stakes winner and multiple Grade I stakes-placed Wonder Gal at auction, the name was a natural for the DJ Stable matriarch.

Wonder Wheel would go on to become Into Mischief's first juvenile champion, winning two Grade Is including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, and four of five starts at 2, taking the family on the kind of exhilarating ride Lois remembered. Lois Green passed away May 31, not long after seeing her juvenile champion compete in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks, and when the family sells Wonder Wheel Tuesday night, Nov. 7 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, her son, Jon, the General Manager of DJ Stable, admits it will be “bittersweet.”

“Normally, we like to say we're very businesslike, but in this case, we're not,” said Green. “In this case, she really added so much happiness to us as a family and to watch her go to the ring, even though I know she's going to sell really well, is going to be difficult for my dad and for me–to watch her go through the sales ring and ultimately be out of our family at that point.”

Jon and his father Len are offering Wonder Wheel as a broodmare prospect, selling as hip 200, where she is expected to be one of the most sought-after offerings on the night.

“You can really summarize her potential very simply,” said Fasig-Tipton's president and CEO Boyd Browning. “She's by Into Mischief. She's a two-year-old champion with good looks and a brilliant pedigree. It's a complete package.”

Wonder Wheel will sell with Taylor Made Sales, adding another chapter to a long relationship between the Taylors and the Greens. Taylor Made's President and CEO Mark Taylor said that she was a rare filly who looked like she could be a Classic winner, but who was also an early, exceptional two-year-old.

“I think her two-year-old speed, precocity, and professionalism show a combination of physical and mental ability,” said Taylor. “And pedigree comes in to that precocity, too. Into Mischief is a very good two-year-old sire. Her broodmare sire, Tiz Wonderful, was a good two-year-old himself, but she physically looks like a two-turn Oaks filly. So this filly did all these great things at two. But really, if I would have looked at her as a yearling, I would have said she's going to be a three-year-old. So that just shows her talent, that she was able to have this big classic kind of frame, but yet be quick enough, early enough, and mentally good enough to handle a brilliant two-year-old campaign.”

Wonder Wheel surprised her connections by progressing forwardly enough to make her first start at two June 3 at Churchill, winning a maiden special weight by 2 1/4-lengths. One month later, she took the Debutante at Churchill by 6 3/4-lengths, before shipping to Saratoga to finish second in the Grade I Spinaway.

“When I got her up to Saratoga, I told the Greens this may be the best two-year-old I'd had since Classic Empire,” said Mark Casse, Wonder Wheel's trainer. “They said, `what does that mean?' I said, `I think she can win the Breeders' Cup.'”

“She got beat in the Spinaway,” said Casse. “But I really wasn't overly concerned with that because I had given her a little bit of a break. She came back and then she won the (GI Darley) Alcibiades and I thought she ran well, but I knew she was going to have to come with a better game in the Breeders' Cup. And oh boy, she did. Her win in the Breeders' Cup was amazing because she got away a little slow, got shuffled back, and the move she made from the half-mile pole to the wire? I've been doing this for 40 some years, and it was one of the more impressive victories that I've ever had.”

Wonder Wheel at Taylor Made | Sara Gordon photo

But before the race, Casse's prediction of a Breeders' Cup win caused him more than a little stress, as he had more or less guaranteed it.

“I was very attached to Lois, and she was there at the Breeders' Cup,” said “I had told them early on that we were going to win the Breeders' Cup, so it was a little nerve-wracking. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have done it. But to have Lois there and to be part of it was very special. We all miss her.”

Like the Greens, Casse said he would also miss Wonder Wheel.

“She has a wonderful personality couldn't give a hoot about anything,” said Casse. “She would go into the paddock and look around and say, `So this is my competition?' She was just a pleasure to train and never missed a beat. She loved what she's doing and she's one of the best horses I've ever trained. She has a lot more leg than most Into Mischiefs. She's got some stretch to her, and I've had great luck with that type of Into Mischief. It's what I look for.”

Casse said he expected a smooth transition into her next career.

“She's going to be a wonderful broodmare for a lot of reasons,” he said. “One, she's very sound. Even though she's big and tall, she was fast. Good broodmares, in my opinion, need some speed.

She had that. But she was able to carry it. And she had just a wonderful personality. If she passes her personality her traits on to her foals, there will be a lot of good ones. I'm sure she's going to make a super broodmare for someone.”

“She offers a ton of options for top breeders from around the world to match her up with the best stallions here, in Japan or Europe or anywhere else,” Taylor agreed, pointing out the appeal of a multiple-Grade I winning champion daughter of Into Mischief with an impressive female family, but who is still only three. “Wonder Wheel's Dam is Wonder Gal and she herself was a brilliant two-year-old. She was a stakes winner. She was second in the Frizette and then she was third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. So, you know, by any other filly standards, that would be a really good benchmark to set. But then she produces this daughter in Wonder Wheel who just goes one better. These type of opportunities are really what I love most about my job. All the possibilities down the line and what she could produce, it's really energizing.”

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CEOF Equine Fund Gains Momentum in Central Kentucky

English may be his second language, but it certainly would have been difficult to guess when 2^nd grader Markus won his school's spelling bee and went on to compete against kids several years his elder in a district-wide spelling tournament.

Markus moved with his family to the U.S. several years ago when his parents started jobs working on a horse farm in Paris, Kentucky. His family valued education and after receiving a partial scholarship, Markus was able to attend St. Mary School in his new hometown, where his principal Miranda Chaplin said he and his preschool-aged younger brother are model students.

“They are bright, respectful and incredibly hardworking,” she shared. “They are thriving at our school.”

Markus is one of the first young students to benefit from a newly formed fund dedicated to providing tuition assistance for children in Kindergarten through eighth grade whose parents or legal guardian work in the equine industry in Central Kentucky.

The Catholic Education Opportunities Foundation (CEOF)'s Equine Fund began as an idea years ago from Father Chris Clay and the Clay family of Runnymede Farm. The fund officially launched this year and in its inaugural academic season, 10 children applied for funding and each one received tuition assistance of some kind.

CEOF is a non-profit that has been in existence since 2018, serving the 12 Catholic schools based in Lexington and the surrounding areas of Woodford and Bourbon counties, Frankfort, Richmond, Georgetown, Winchester and on into Eastern Kentucky, but the fund dedicated specifically for equine industry participants and their elementary-aged children is the first and only one of its kind.

Taylor Made Farm's Mark Taylor and his wife Julia have been members of CEOF's leadership council from the very beginning. Julia later became a member of its official Board and also now serves on its financial committee.

Taylor spoke of the impact she has witnessed over the years with families receiving tuition assistance.

“The families and the kids are so grateful,” she said. “We've seen firsthand the difference that it makes. There are a lot of hardworking, great people that would like to send their kids to Catholic schools but can't quite afford it. We want to help these families bridge their financial gap and attend our wonderful schools.”

CEOF's Executive Director Kim Thompson said that scholarships provided by their organization are partially-funded–aimed to make Catholic education more affordable for families–and that the amount given to each family is determined by a third-party agency called FACTS.

She also explained that the funding is for children of any faith background and that the advantages of Catholic education can impact a child spiritually, but in other ways as well.

“We feel that this type of education gives children a leg up academically and offers families different opportunities,” she said. “There's a focus on values and service in their communities, so it's more than just the tradition of strong academics.”

St. Mary School is in the heart of horse country in Paris and Chaplin confirmed that the students reflect its agrarian setting. The principal noted that a quarter of their attendees have parents connected to the equine industry in some way, including a range of socioeconomic representation from farm owners and farm managers to farm workers.

Chaplin said the equine fund has the potential to benefit a large number of families in their community.

“The goal of the equine fund is to create more accessibility so that families have the opportunity to provide their children with the best education choice for their family,” she explained. “For some of our families–thinking specifically about folks who are farm labor–they might not otherwise have access to a Catholic education if it was not for the help of scholarships and financial assistance.”

In recent years, Chaplin said, their numbers have increased thanks in part to the funding provided by the CEOF that has made education options more affordable.

“Since the start of the pandemic, our school has doubled in enrollment,” she said. “Because families are looking for more education opportunities for their families, the need for financial assistance has also grown.”

Godolphin's Gerry Duffy is a member of the CEOF's leadership council and is also on the Equine Fund's committee. He said that funding from this project could have a lasting impact on the industry and its participants.

“If you want to change your environment or change your community, give people an education,” he said. “I think a lot of people realize that and are happy to give those opportunities to kids within the horse industry. It's another way to add value to our employees. Helping their kids with their education is one of the best things you can do for someone. If we can make a difference and help out some of those families and give some of those kids an opportunity, we should.”

CEOF is now working to get the word out on their fledgling fund for the next academic year–both to families that may apply for funding and industry members that might be interested in getting involved. In addition to Runnymede, Taylor Made and Godolphin, the project has already gained early support from the likes of Hallway Feeds, Fasig-Tipton and Old Colony Insurance.

“We're still in the infancy stage of the CEOF Equine Fund and we're really focusing on getting the word out to people in the horse industry,” Taylor said. “The ultimate goal is to build this fund up so that it will produce income every year that we will then distribute to families for tuition assistance to keep it going. We're still in the building phase and we have big hopes for the future.”

Thompson shared that they have big goals for the coming years. They hope to double the number of children granted funding for the 2024-2025 school year and then continue to double that number for the next five years.

As the program's notoriety continues to grow within the industry, they could be well on their way to achieving just that.

“It's an exciting time for us,” Thompson said. “We really feel that this not only benefits the area's parochial schools with additional enrollment, but it also gives opportunities to families that otherwise may not be afforded them. Central Kentucky is the hub of the equine industry, so creating the CEOF Equine Fund just makes sense and now we're rapidly gaining momentum within the industry.”

To learn more about the Catholic Education Opportunities Foundation, click here.

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‘Energy and Enthusiasm’ Fuels Strong Keeneland September Sale

Even the most optimistic observer would have been hard-pressed to predict that the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale would live up to its blockbuster 2022 renewal, but when the dust had settled Saturday afternoon, the auction's 12-day run produced numbers largely in line with last year's record setter.

“Coming into this year, we had to have a little bit of caution just because of the economic climate and some negativity in the sport,” admitted Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “I think we have to be extremely happy with the way the sale has gone. I know we go on about the energy and the enthusiasm, but I think it was actually amplified this year. It was great to see the pavilion packed, especially on the first day. The biggest issue we had was a lack of seating, which I don't think we've had in the past very often. I think the sellers felt very encouraged by the traffic, by the amount of vetting that they had before the sale. So overall, I think the table was set. The numbers were very similar to last year–which was a record year–so we've got to be very pleased.”

At the close of business Saturday, 2,754 yearlings had grossed $394,127,900, third highest in sale history. The average of $143,111 just ticked up from last year's record-setting figure of $142,429, while the median of $67,000 was down 4.29% from last year's record of $70,000. The buy-back rate was 20.22%. It was 18.24% last year.

Additionally, 130 horses that did not meet their reserve price in the ring were sold privately for a total of $13,927,000 to push total gross sales to $408,054,900 as of the close of the Sept. 23 session.

The September gross topped $400 million for the first time in 2022 when 2,847 horses sold for $405,495,700.

Thirty horses topped $1 million this year, including the $3-million sale-topping son of Into Mischief purchased by the partnership of Chuck Sonson, Woodford and West Point Thoroughbreds. That matches the number to hit that threshold from 2022 and doubled the number from the 2021 auction. There were 168 horses who sold for $500,000 or more this year, compared to 162 in 2022.

“The 30 seven-figure horses in Books 1 and 2 was the same as last year and we've actually exceeded the number of $500,000 sales compared to last year,” said Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach. “It's been a very healthy market with a lot of participation from many countries and many domestic buyers.”

Depth in the Buying Bench

The Keeneland September sale attracted another deep and diverse buying bench with strong domestic participation bolstered by a wide array of international buyers.

“One day, the top 15 horses were from 13 different entities and most of those were domestic,” Lacy said of the buying bench. “There were some international buyers that were participating at the high level as well and they were critically important and always have been in the market.”

The stallion-making partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables was the auction's leading buyer, acquiring 20 yearlings for $12,590,000. A year ago, the partnership was the second leading buyer with 21 purchased for $12,825,000.

Mike Repole's Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables partnered up to be last year's leading buyer, with 31 purchased for $12,840,000. While the two operations did not purchase together this year, Repole was the auction's second leading buyer with 35 yearlings purchased for $11,835,000. He purchased a further eight horses in partnership with Spendthrift for $4.185 million.

Alone or in various partnership, St. Elias bought 12 head for $4.645 million.

“You see an emphasis on partnerships and syndicates,” Lacy said. “I think with the purse structure right now and the possibility to have a lot of fun and a return on your investment, it makes a lot of sense for people spending considerable amounts of money. Mike Repole has been a critical part of that and with one or two horses, he has paid for the whole package. So this makes sense. It's playing at the big table, but again it pays off in the long run.”

The domestic buying bench at the top end also included Jim and Dana Bernhard, who purchased the historic Pin Oak Stud last year and recently added land from the former Adena Springs. The Bernhards acquired 19 yearlings for $8,835,000. Newcomer John Stewart also made a splash at the auction, purchasing 13 head–including a $2.5-million filly by Uncle Mo–for $8,425,000, while Robert Clay's Grandview Equine purchased nine yearlings for $3,530,000.

“I think purse structure is really what's promoting, or permitting, the domestic buyers to be so strong,” Breathnach said. “We had tremendous international participation at this sale, but they were evident on the grounds at some points more than on the results sheets because the American buyer base is very powerful right now. The vast majority of the top 20, 30, 40 yearlings sold in this sale are staying in the U.S., even the ones purchased by Sheikha Hissa.”

The Shadwell stable of the late Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum was largely absent from the September sales results in recent years, but made a big return this year with his daughter, Sheikha Hissa on the grounds at Keeneland. The operation purchased the session topper on the sale's first day, going to $2.3 million for a filly by Into Mischief. It also acquired a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro for $1.1 million. In all, Shadwell purchased four yearlings for $4,850,000.

“It was great to see Sheikha Hissa return to the market here at Keeneland,” Breathnach said. “That was really rewarding for us that she was here and she had a great time. That's important to us in terms of the future of the game here and the international market as well.”

Strength Follows Strength

While Keeneland's elite Books 1 and 2 attracted plenty of competitive bidding, there was concern demand might drop off in the auction's later books, but the results remained strong.

“We were more concerned about the last book or two,” Lacy said. “The conversations we had with a lot of potential buyers during the summer on our travels, whether it was domestic or international, they were very much engaged with coming to Keeneland. So I think we felt pretty confident that [demand] would go to Book 4, but we are incredibly happy with the way Book 5 started off and the clearance rate. [Friday] we had a clearance rate of almost 90%, which I think has got to be very positive from the perspective of breeders who are able to get their horses moved on into the system and they can reinvest in the next crop.”

Phil Hager signed for 18 yearlings for $2,507,000 in the name of his Taproot Bloodstock and he was involved in the purchase of several other head during the 12-day auction.

“Going into the sale, I was expecting the first week was going to be really tough to buy and then it would drop of pretty significantly shortly after that,” Hager said. “And I felt like it was definitely tough that first week, but there was pretty spirited bidding all the way through, really. Those first few days were really tough, but after that, I felt like we started to get a few more bought. It seemed like the transition to the second week, there was one day that felt like it was light and then it picked right back up again and got pretty active. It was a little stronger at the end than I thought it would be.”

Still, Hager said Keeneland's emphasis on putting strong physicals up front in the sale may have led to some bargains early on.

“I thought Book 1 was really strong in terms of physicals,” Hager said. “You could tell that Keeneland was trying to put some of the better physicals into Book 1 and there were maybe some horses in Book 1 that could have brought more if they were in Book 2 or 3. And I felt like there were some good opportunities there, but sometimes it's hard to talk owners into looking into Book 1 because you get used to vetting them and then getting blown out of the water. But just looking back on it, it seems like maybe there were a few opportunities–and I'm not talking under $100,000, it was the $200,000 to $400,000–but maybe horses that were decently bought in those first two days.”

He continued, “If you wanted a really good physical and some pedigree, then, yes, it did cost a lot. At times probably more than you would have thought going in. Luckily, a few of my clients were willing to pay a little more to get that horse. There were a few that we bought that I thought could have brought more. But overall, I thought it was pretty fair.”

Finding Value in Fillies

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners was active in the September market, purchasing–alone or in partnership–18 yearlings for $5,385,000.

“It's a very healthy market,” said Eclipse's Aron Wellman. “It has been for several years, especially in the upper echelon of the market, which is where we try to play. There has been no clearly defined middle market for quite some time, but we do our best to try to seek out value and carve out a middle market of our own, so to speak.”

With the current proliferation of colt-buying partnerships, Eclipse Thoroughbreds has sought to find value in buying fillies–just five of its September yearlings were colts.

“It's a strategy that has proven fortuitous for our program and our partners,” Wellman said. “There is just such an insatiable appetite for what buyers perceive to be stallion prospects and the premium being paid for those individuals that sometimes when we are able to place more of an emphasis on fillies, we feel as though we get a little bit better value for our money.”

Eclipse did purchase a colt by Into Mischief for $850,000 and a son of Good Magic for $725,000.

“Those were two our swinging for the fences type plays and then after that we were back in our sweet spot, back in the $150,000-$250,000 range,” Wellman said.

Wellman sees the buying power of the colt partnerships expanding into even later sessions.

“The conglomerates that have been put together to purchase high-profile colts with stallion physique and pedigree have made that a very competitive niche market that is expanding,” he said. “You are seeing guys in sessions six and seven paying high six figures for colts right now. So it's not confined to Book 1 or even Books 2 or 3. When there is that perception that there is a potential stallion prospect, with those traits and characteristics, there is no ceiling as to what those horses might bring.”

Wellman, sounding like a man just coming out of war, said the competition ran straight through the sale.

“We shopped all of the way through Book 5,” he said. “There is an incredible buying bench headed up by great bloodstock agents right now and I think they are supported by fantastic capital–just when you think the money is going to run dry, there is no such as thing as sneaking one past anyone anymore. There is such an incredible desire for owners to have horses that they envision being capable of competing at the highest level. So they are willing to pay premiums if they believe those horses possess those tools. And you've got to go into the pavilion every time thinking you are going to war. There is no letting down at any point in this sale. It's a war, it's a marathon, it's a battle of attrition. And you've got to be equally mentally and physically focused because it is challenging on every front. You go into battle mode for a couple of weeks and you hope to come out with as many healthy soldiers as you can find.”

Format Formally a Success

For the third year in a row, the Keeneland September sale was presented with two-session Books 1 and 2, followed by a dark day. Sales officials continued to be pleased with the results of the format.

“When we start breaking the $400-million mark two years in a row, I think that illustrates stability,” Lacy said. “The one thing our buyers and our clients want is consistency. They want familiarity. We put our necks on the line with this format, but it was something that needed to happen. I think the consignors and the breeders are starting to understand what we are trying to do and what we are achieving. So we have a huge amount of buy-in right now. I think we are seeing that stability in the numbers. Even in some challenging economic times, we are still able to maintain some really, really good numbers.”

Demand at the top of the market during week one fueled gross sales of $234 million, on par with last year's $236 million for the corresponding period. The average price of $367,818 rose 3.8% while the median climbed 9% to $300,000.

“With a consistent format and with the focus on getting good physicals into the early books, we feel like we have a formula that works with the buyer base and that's an important part of the equation,” Breathnach said. “If we have approximately 400 in Book 1 and 700 in Book 2, that format allows us to have a critical mass of horses on the grounds at effectively the same time. So we can start at 1 p.m. with 200 horses a session in Book 1 and we can start at 11 a.m. in Book 2 and those are critical extra hours in the morning for the buyers to get their vet work done and get second looks and to stay ahead in looking at horses in the upcoming sessions. When we have the dark day, it gives people that opportunity to keep pace with the sale.”

The push of quality to the front of the auction has produced the desired results, according to Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency.

“Keeneland has done a good job in Book 1 of getting better physical horses pushed forward, and the market responded to that,” said Taylor. “We sold horses in Book 1 for a lot of money by freshman sires and by non-traditional Book 1 sires. Keeneland's ongoing push to get breeders and consignors to support Book 1 with really good physicals by a diverse group of stallions is paying dividends.”

Plenty of Mischief at Keeneland September

Of the 30 horses to bring seven figures during the September sale, 12 were by Into Mischief and five were by Uncle Mo. The two stallions were responsible for nine of the auction's top 10 prices. Gun Runner had three million-dollar sales, Not This Time, Curlin and Tapit had two each and Constitution, Medaglia d'Oro, McKinzie and Volatile one.

Into Mischief was the sale's leading sire by average with 53 yearlings averaging $698,019.

While first-crop sires McKinzie and Volatile produced million-dollar yearlings at Keeneland, it was Authentic who led all sires in that category by average. The GI Kentucky Derby winner had 67 yearlings sell for an average of $270,358.

Gainesway Leads All Consignors

Gainesway ended Taylor Made Sales Agency's eight-year reign as the September sale's leading consignor. Antony Beck's operation sold 137 yearlings for a gross of $43,573,000. Gainesway got the auction off with a bang, selling nine million-dollar yearlings, and didn't slow down throughout, leading the consignor's list at every session in which they sold horses.

“I would describe it as a lifetime achievement,” Gainesway General Manager Brian Graves said of the title. “I'm just so grateful to our clients for giving us such a quality product to put us in a position to be the leading consignor. We knew we had a really nice physical draft of horses, especially with the addition of Mandy [Pope]'s horses and top pedigrees, and the feedback from Keeneland was very positive. They had asked us to put more horses into Book 1 and move more horses from Book 3 to Book 2, so that was a good sign we had a strong and really deep group of horses. Then the results turned out good.”

Taylor Made was the auction's second-leading consignor with 268 head grossing $39,387,000.

Silent Name Colt Tops Keeneland Finale

A colt by Silent Name (Jpn) (hip 4037) topped the final day of the Keeneland September sale when selling for $185,000 from the partnership of X-Men Racing, Madaket Stable and SF Racing. Consigned by Grovendale Sales, the yearling is out of Holy Cargo (Holy Bull), a half-sister to GI Preakness S. winner Red Bullet (Unbridled). He was bred in Ontario by BHMFR, LLC, which purchased the mare with the colt in utero for $10,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November sale.

Alone or in partnership, X-Men Racing, the Canadian partnership assembled by bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, purchased 13 yearlings for $1.366 million during the 12-day auction.

The post ‘Energy and Enthusiasm’ Fuels Strong Keeneland September Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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