Tag: taylor made sales agency

Authentic Filly Sets the Bar at Fasig-Tipton July

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings failed to live up to its lofty 2022 levels, but concluded Tuesday evening with solid numbers and a filly from the first crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic leading the way when selling for $475,000 to Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong.

“We had a very solid start to the 2023 yearling sales marketplace,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “I think we all recognized that we were coming off a euphoric 2022 yearling marketplace that saw pretty significant increases across the board from July all the way to October. I think we got a little bit of a reality adjustment here and I think we saw that coming in the 2-year-old marketplace this year. But it's still a very healthy marketplace.”

A total of 207 yearlings sold Tuesday for a gross of $20,507,000. The average of $99,068 declined 14% from last year's figure of $115,151–which was the second highest in sale's history; and the median fell 14.4% to $77,000–down from last year's record-tying figure of $90,000

“The average declined a little bit from last year and the median decreased from last year and the RNA rate was slightly up,” Browning said. “But the buyers were complaining they couldn't buy what they wanted to buy and they had to pay too much for the ones that they bought. The sellers were saying it was hard to get their horses sold and they wished they could have gotten more money. So that means it's a pretty fair and balanced marketplace.”

The buy-back rate, which was 23.8% last year, rose to 31.9% Tuesday.

“What has traditionally impacted our RNA rate over the last 10 years [at the July sale] is that sellers have another option,” Browning said. “We have a really strong marketplace in October, three months down the road, so they can be a little more bullish sometimes in setting their reserves in July. Which might create a little higher RNA rate, but all in all, I thought it was a fair market.”

While 32 yearlings sold for $200,000 or more at the 2022 July sale, only 21 hit that mark in 2023.

The Lieblongs made the highest purchase of the July sale, going to $475,000 to acquire a filly by Authentic from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. Taylor Made sold the filly on behalf of her breeder, Spendthrift Farm, which stands the 2020 GI Kentucky Derby winner.

Among the other first-crop sires near the top of the results sheets, a filly by Three Chimneys' Volatile sold for $285,000 to Ken McPeek. Gainesway's McKinzie and Spun to Run, as well as Spendthrift's Thousand Words and Vekoma all had yearlings sell for $200,000 or more.

Authentic Filly Sets Off July Fireworks

A filly from the first crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (hip 174) lit up the Fasig-Tipton sales ring Tuesday when selling for $475,000 to Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong. The bay filly is out of Scent of Summer (Rock Hard Ten), a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Paradise Woods (Union Rags). She was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency on behalf of her breeder, Spendthrift Farm.

“She just looked like a physical standout, she looked like a 2-year-old,” Lieblong said. “But evidently, everybody else thought so, too. She was from a good consignor and she carried herself well, but I also liked the family.”

Lieblong, who also paid $200,000 for a filly from the first crop of Spun to Run, admitted he liked buying yearlings by freshman sires.

“I like the first-crop sires,” he said. “I figure that's about the last shot you've got. You're not going to get a shot at Good Magic now, but you still have a shot with the first-crop sires.”

Spendthrift purchased Scent of Summer for $350,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January sale.

“That was a filly that we were very proud of,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said of the yearling. “We really debated on what sale to put her in, where she would make the most sense. And we thought, let's take her out to July and try to make a little bit of a splash. The thought was that she might be good enough for Saratoga, but let's bring her out here and see if we can't be a really big fish in a smaller pond. Since we've made that decision, she's done nothing but improve. It's always interesting on these yearlings, in these last six weeks, they can just come together beautifully for you or fall to pieces. But everything came together really nicely. She showed herself nicely out here and had plenty of interest. And Taylor Made did a great job presenting her out here.”

The mare's 2-year-old colt by Hard Spun sold to trainer Ron Ellis for $325,000 at this year's OBS March sale.

A son of Into Mischief, Authentic won the 2020 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic and stands at Spendthrift for $60,000. He was the leading first-crop sire of weanlings last season when his first foals averaged $242,692.

“If you are breeding to him, I think a lot of people are getting what you'd expect,” Toffey said. “They are a little bit lighter, racier and leggier version of Into Mischief. That's exactly how I would describe Authentic and I think that's what he seems to be throwing. They have good substance, plenty of leg, good scope. They are really well-balanced and very athletic.”

Good Magic Colt a Score for Three Counties

Aidan and Hannah Jennings continued to add to their pinhooking scores when partnering with Charles Hynes to sell a colt by Good Magic (hip 175) for $370,000 to Travis Boersma's Boardshorts Stables during Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July sale. The partners had purchased the chestnut colt under the name Three Counties Bloodstock for $49,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“[Hynes] is from Roscommon and myself, I'm from Galway,” Aidan Jennings explained of the name, before looking at his wife and adding, “And Hannah is from…”

Hannah Jennings added with a laugh, “San Diego.”

Aidan Jennings said, “It's just a bit of sport.”

The couple said they went into the weanling sales last year specifically looking to buy a foal by Good Magic.

“We were eager to get one last year, but we got outbid on most of them,” Aidan Jennings said. “He fit the bill.”

The yearling, who was consigned Tuesday by Padraig Campion's Blandford Stud, is out of Scolding (Carpe Diem), who was a $475,000 OBS April purchase in 2019 and was a first-out winner for trainer Steve Asmussen in 2020.

“The dam was very sharp and she was very fast as a breezer as well,” Aidan Jennings said. “She won first time out for Asmussen and was a 'TDN Rising Star.' She looked like anything. Unfortunately, she didn't fulfill that potential, but she had it. This horse kind of looked sharp and we were hoping the stallion would kick on. We were very lucky. We get plenty wrong, so it's good when it works out.”

Hannah Jennings gave her partners credit for picking the colt out last fall.

“I was 39 weeks pregnant, so it was all the boys who bought the horse,” she said. “So all of the credit to them. Padraig got everyone together and figured July would be the right spot for him. He was precocious and the stallion had done well, obviously with Mage winning the Derby.”

Just weeks before they were married in 2021, the Jennings enjoyed a career day in the pinhooking arena. At that year's Keeneland September sale, they sold a Violence colt, who had been purchased for $65,000 for $165,000; a Nyquist colt purchased for $40,000 for $200,000; a colt by Accelerate purchased for $110,000 for $200,000; and a Kantharos colt purchased for $125,000 for $250,000.

Now the couple has even more good mojo in their corner with their newborn daughter.

“She's a good luck charm actually,” Aidan Jennings said. “The first race we took her to, we had a winner and we took her to the first breeze-up and that was great.”

Later in Tuesday's auction, trainer Wesley Ward secured another colt by Good Magic, going to $330,000 to acquire hip 276 from the Cara Bloodstock consignment. Bred by Saintsbury Farms, the yearling is out of Bola de Cristal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Blame Colt, Volatile Filly Lead McPeek July Haul

Trainer Ken McPeek, perennially a major presence at the Fasig-Tipton July sale, acquired six yearlings Tuesday in Lexington. As agent for Chris Baccari and DWF, McPeek went to $310,000 to purchase a colt by Blame (hip 289) from the Gainesway consignment. Bred by Green Lantern Stables, the bay is out of Barbara Gordon (Commissioner).

McPeek also purchased the auction's second most expensive yearling by a first crop sire when going to $285,000 for a daughter of Three Chimneys' Volatile (hip 235). The gray filly was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. Out of Whisper to Me (Thunder Gulch), she is a half-sister to graded winner Overheard (Macho Uno). She was bred by Craig Singer, who purchased Whisper to Me carrying the foal for $65,000 at the 2021 dispersal of Pin Oak Stud

“I thought she was a real standout as an individual here,” McPeek said of the filly. “I love the stamp that Volatile put on her. She has a half-sister who is a nice stakes horse. And she physically looks like a stakes horse to me, too.”

Of the market at the first yearling sale of the year, McPeek said, “It's been very selective. We only had a dozen horses that we even considered bidding on today. We ended up with six and we have a couple left to bid on. It's been solid. We would have liked to see more horses on my final list, but it's all good. The better ones you had to pay a little bit more for, but that's typical. Overall, we are really pleased.”

First-Crop Sires Kick of July Sale

The Fasig-Tipton July sale, and the yearling sales season, kicked off in Lexington with an offering of some 100 youngsters by first-crop sires. And, while fillies by Authentic and Volatile attracted higher bids outside of the freshman sire showcase, it was Gainesway's McKinzie who was represented by the section's top-priced yearling when GS Inversiones Hipicas paid $260,000 for hip 71, a colt consigned by Denali Stud.

“We've been excited about McKinzie ever since the November sale started,” said Gainesway's Brian Graves. “His book was huge in the first year, the demand for him was huge. The second year, the demand was almost equal to the first year. And then, something that is very uncommon, in his third year, he had 170 mares. And that was based on how good-looking the first crop of foals were in November. He was the second leading freshman sire by average at the sale, just second to Authentic whose stud fee is over twice what his is. It's a good indication that people really liked what they saw. I think it's going to be the same case at the yearling sales, if not better because there are going to be more of them on offer. And what we've seen going around looking at all of them is very encouraging.”

A four-time Grade I winner, McKinzie stands at Gainesway for a fee of $30,000. The stallion had 36 weanlings sell last year for an average of $134,307.

Gainesway's Spun to Run also had a strong showing during the July sale's freshman showcase. The GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner, who stands for $10,000, had three six-figure yearlings Tuesday. Leading the group was hip 66, a filly consigned by Summerfield and purchased for $200,000 by Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong.

“I haven't honestly seen all of them yet, but I like the way the first ones started,” Graves said of Spun to Run's first crop of yearlings. “He's got all of the credentials. He was a fast horse by a proven horse in Hard Spun. We are hopeful he speaks for himself.”

Trainer Neil Pessin, bidding on behalf of Bob Lothenbach, went to $125,000 to acquire a colt by Spun to Run (hip 26) from the Elite consignment. Pessin also took home another son of a first-crop sire when going to $200,000 to purchase a dark bay colt by Vekoma (hip 174) from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.

“I look for athletic, well-balanced horses with a decent walk,” Pessin said, while admitting the first-crop sire angle was purely a coincidence. “The sires don't mean as much to me. I think it's 70% the dam, 30% the sire. I just look for a good athlete. This is the sale we bought [GISW] Bell's the One out of, so we come here and look quite a bit.”

Of the colt by Vekoma, Pessin said, “He is athletic and not real wide, but he's got a nice butt on him. And he has a good walk. That's what I look for when I come looking for yearlings. We can live with some conformational flaws if they walk through it. It was the same with the Spun to Run colt. He's a nice, good-looking athlete. That's what we go for.”

While some buyers may hope to find a bargain buying yearlings by first-crop sires, Pessin felt he paid plenty for the two colts.

“I feel we overpaid for both,” he said. “We went above what we were planning to spend on both of them. But if we didn't like them, we wouldn't be bidding on them. And so if we go a little over, it's ok. But we don't want to go a lot over.”

Pessin's $200,000 bid for hip 64 led a series of strong results for Spendthrift's Vekoma, who stands for $15,000, and appeared to catch the eye of a number of pinhookers. Ciaran Dunne's Waves Bloodstock partnership purchased hip 33, a colt by the stallion consigned by Taylor Made, for $175,000 and Luis Garcia and Gina Fennell went to $155,000 to acquire hip 98, a colt consigned by Shawhan Place.

“We love Vekoma, but mainly it was the colt's pedigree that we liked,” Garcia said of the yearling whose dam Happy Now (Mr. Greeley) is a half-sister to graded winner Ironicus, among others.

Of Vekoma, Garcia said, “He is by Candy Ride and that horse was great. He had a lot of speed and obviously we are trying to pinhook, so we love that. We loved Vekoma when he was running.”

Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey admitted Vekoma's early results in the sales ring were exceeding the operation's expectations.

“Vekoma, with that sire line, they aren't always the most spectacular physicals, so it was a little tricky to know what we were going to get,” Toffey said. “But as soon as those foals started to hit the ground last year, we have just been overwhelmed by the feedback from breeders. And that's carried right on through. I thought it was a very solid group that was out here and I keep hearing about more. So I expect him to have a very, very good sales season.”

The post Authentic Filly Sets the Bar at Fasig-Tipton July appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘This is a Beautiful Gift Box Colt’: Veinot Has High Hopes for One-Horse Fasig July Consignment

Trudy Veinot's Dreamcatcher consignment makes its second auction appearance in the Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings and, while a son of Gift Box (hip 107) is the veteran horsewoman's sole entry in the sale, she is excited about the colt's prospects in the ring Tuesday.

Veinot, a transplanted Canadian now living in Lexington, purchased the colt for $30,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“I liked his frame,” Veinot said of the weanling's appeal. “There wasn't a lot of meat on those bones, but there was a beautiful frame. I liked the way he moved. This horse has probably the biggest walk on anything I've ever prepped in 20 years. I am hoping the buyers will see that. I am pretty sure that they will.”

Of the colt's transformation since last fall, Veinot said, “You wouldn't even recognize him. It doesn't always go that way. You buy that frame in hopes that it will all fill out in the right places. And with him, it has.”

The gray colt is out of La Boheme (Giant's Causeway), a half-sister to graded winners Electrify (Delaware Township) and Rothko (Arch).

Veinot worked as a showman for Taylor Made Sales Agency for two decades before starting her Dreamcatcher consignment with two horses at the Keeneland January sale earlier this year. But her relatively late start in horse racing was anything but certain after growing up showing horses in Canada.

“I left Canada when I was 24, almost turning 25,” Veinot recalled. “I was in Nova Scotia, married and had five businesses, and I didn't like anything I did. I was small enough. I always wanted to be a jockey. I knew a friend of a friend down in Maryland and he got me a job with Jonathan Sheppard. I packed up everything I owned and I went down to Jonathan Sheppard's farm.”

Veinot rode her first race at 30, but after five years in the saddle turned to training. She found a niche buying yearlings and selling them at the track as 2-year-olds.

“I would buy yearlings with no pedigree and I would run them at Keeneland and sell them off of the track,” she explained. “I would gate break and gallop them all on my own.”

That hands-on approach translated when she decided it was time to step back from breaking babies and transitioned to pinhooking weanlings to yearlings.

“When I had to step back from getting on those 2-year-olds, I wasn't really happy about that,” Veinot said. “To me, that was a step backwards. But I absolutely love weanling to yearlings. I break all of the babies before I bring them to the sale. And people know that I do that. I just like the one-on-one time with them. Anybody who knows me knows that I put a lot of groundwork in. All of my horses have had saddles and bridles and branches and tarps and balloons–I tie helium balloons to their backs before I get up on them. My favorite part is the groundwork and building confidence in the horse because I think it transcends onto the racetrack.”

In addition to showing at the sales for Taylor Made, Veinot sold her horses through the farm's sales consignments.

“I've partnered and sold with the Taylor Made boys for over 20 years,” Veinot said. “Taylor Made always blessed me with the privilege of going into their consignment and coming with my horses. So I was always able to show my own horses with them because I showed for them for 20 years.”

Among her pinhooking successes is Three Technique (Mr Speaker), who she purchased for $50,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale and sold the following year with Taylor Made for $180,000 at the Fasig-Tipton July sale. The 6-year-old recently added the July 1 GII John A Nerud S. to his resume.

“Three Technique was the first horse by Mr Speaker to go through the ring,” Veinot said. “I didn't even know who Mr Speaker was, but I really liked him.”

She also pinhooked Kalik (Collected), who she acquired for $80,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton October sale and resold for $200,000 at Keeneland the following September. The colt, owned by Bob LaPenta, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Madaket Stables and trained by Chad Brown, won the June 3 GII Pennine Ridge S. and heads postward in Saturday's GI Belmont Derby.

“Chad Brown said he was his best 2-year-old last year, but he got slow going,” Veinot said of Kalik, who has now won three times from five starts. “He just won a stakes at Belmont that gave him an automatic entry into a $750,000 stakes. So I think he runs in New York before he heads to the Queen's [King's] Plate.”

The 58-year-old Veinot made the decision to go out on her own in January. In Dreamcatcher's first consignment, she sold a 2-year-old filly by Vino Rosso for $28,000 and RNA'd a daughter of Thousand Words.

“It was just time to take the leap,” Veinot said of the decision to start her own consignment. “By the time you give Keeneland 5% and [the consignor] 5%, it's $10,000 to sell your $100,000 horse. Financially this makes more sense. Truth be told, it made me a little nervous to step outside of the Taylor Made umbrella because they took care of the details, the paperwork, the entry forms. If I forgot something, they were on top of it. But, as long as I keep my ducks in a row as far as the paperwork goes, I am quite comfortable.”

While she purchased individuals with little pedigree when selling 2-year-olds off the track years ago, Veinot has found a new strategy with her weanling buys.

“That's the toughest part of the game that I've had to conform to,” she said. “I had the most beautiful Orb filly–just as one example–and nobody would buy an Orb. At that point they had all been burned by Orb and so I never got paid. So when I am looking at babies now, if I can afford the first-crop sires, I will. I can't afford the established sires, so what I will generally do is go in there and buy a first-crop sire with a smaller stud fee, like Mr Speaker and this Gift Box colt. But then I will try to buy something in that pedigree that might have a 2-year-old that could help me out next year. So I will look at all the yearlings turning two and the 2-year-olds turning three [in the weanling's pedigree] and hope to get a little lucky that way. That would be my niche, if you're buying on a budget.”

Veinot, who leases a farm off Huntertown Road, plans on keeping her operation small to continue her hands-on approach.

“I keep a really boutique bunch because I do all the work myself,” she said. “So a half-dozen is my magic number [to pinhook]. I did eight a couple of years ago and it was just too many.”

Veinot still has her trainer's license and has two horses in her stable.

“I kept a horse that I liked and had some talent and named him after my dad,” she said of You Make Me Happy (Firing Line). “He broke his maiden here at Keeneland in the fall, but I don't brag to be a trainer. I did that when I was pinhooking yearlings to 2-year-olds. I did that for 10 years and then I took a break and started doing the weanlings. When You Make Me Happy came along, I took my trainer's license back out for him. And I've kept another filly who went through that January sale, she's a filly by Thousand Words who I think has a ton of talent and I'm going to race her under my own name.”

Fasig-Tipton will host its July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale Monday at Newtown Paddocks with bidding beginning at 2 p.m. The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings will be held Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m.

The post ‘This is a Beautiful Gift Box Colt’: Veinot Has High Hopes for One-Horse Fasig July Consignment appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Keeneland January Strong and Steady to the Finish

LEXINGTON, KY – In the end, not even Mother Nature could slow down the steady progress of the Keeneland January Horses of Racing Age Sale, which concluded Thursday in Lexington on par with its 2022 renewal despite a short delay to the start of the final session due to tornado warnings in the area.

“We've got to be very happy with the way the sale turned out,” said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “It's been very busy in the barns.  A lot of sellers have been very pleased with how the hores have been received. I think everyone is coming out of this week feeling very positive. We feel like it's giving everyone a lot of confidence as we are heading into the breeding season. The demand for quality young mares and proven mares is as strong as ever.”

At the close of business Thursday, 962 horses had sold for $45,408,300. The average was $47,202–up 3.18% from a year ago, while the median was $19,000, down 5% from the record-equaling 2022 figure of $20,000.

“Last year was a record sale,” said Lacy. “So when you are on par with a record sale, it's incredibly healthy. I think that plateauing of certain parts of the market is absolutely very encouraging.”

Lacy continued, “Obviously, I think there is a little bit of an adjustment in the market, there is a little bit of a weaker spot in the middle to lower end, but I think that's not a bad thing. I think it shows a little bit of a stabilization. It's a mild correction or a little softening in spots. And I think that's very normal–that's to say, we're not seeing massive changes. With all of the economic headwinds globally, to see minor corrections, I think is actually in some ways a little comforting. When you look at the global markets, there is every reason why we should have a more challenging environment and we don't. I think there is a lot of positivity that we have to feed off and be encouraged by.”

Ancient Peace (War Front), a newly turned 3-year-old filly who broke her maiden in her second start in the final days of 2022, brought the auction's top price when selling Tuesday for $650,000 to Travis Boersma's Boardshorts Stables from the Indian Creek consignment. Boersma, the co-founder of the Oregon-based coffee chain Dutch Bros., made headlines at Keeneland in November when he purchased a share in Flightline for $4.6 million.

In addition to the sale topper, Boersma also purchased Empire Hope (Empire Maker) for $450,000, as well as a Mary of Bethany (Medaglia d'Oro) for $80,000 and Candy Jar (Candy Ride {Arg}) for $47,000.

“You see a lot of farms like Determined Stud and Boardshorts, Travis Boersma, these are all younger enterprises that are really starting to get established and firmed up,” Lacy said. “It's really good to see those newer operations load up.”

Matt Dorman's Determined Stud purchased a pair of mares at the January sale, going to $425,000 to acquire Dream Passage (Stormy Atlantic) and $290,000 to acquire Saucy Lady T (Tonalist).

Ancient Peace was supplemented to the January sale just days before the start of the auction. Also supplemented to the sale was Ack Naughty (Afleet Alex), whose son Practical Move (Practical Joke) won the GII Los Alamitos Futurity in December. That mare sold for $500,000 to Chester and Mary Broman, good for fifth highest price at the sale.

A colt by Vekoma, another supplement to the auction, was the top-priced short yearling of Wednesday's session when selling for $180,000 from the St George Sales consignment and Wentru (Tourist), at $200,000, was the top seller during Thursday's final session of the auction after being supplemented following a graded score at Woodbine in December.

“We try to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of our clients, I think that's paramount to our future vision of where we need to be,” Lacy said. “The supplementary aspect is really helpful to our clients, both buyers and sellers. So I think the more we can lean into that and find ways of working and making this more of a user-friendly environment, I think that's only going to help everybody.”

A filly by Quality Road was the January sale's top-priced short yearling, selling for $450,000 to bloodstock agent Jacob West, bidding on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low. The filly sold directly after her dam, Evocative (Pioneerof the Nile), who brought a final bid of $550,000–third-highest price at the sale–from bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe.

Through the four-day sale, 417 weanlings sold for $18,361,300 and an average of $44,032.

In 2022, 493 short yearlings sold at the January sale for a total of $18,140,800 and an average of $36,797. The top-priced yearling was a colt by Gun Runner who sold for $375,000.

“I think the quality short yearlings sold extremely well,” Lacy said. “The buyers were finding it difficult to buy. And I think when you hear that, it just means the quality is what they are looking for. You've only got to be pleased with that.”

Wentru Tops at Keeneland Finale

Wentru (Tourist) (hip 1571), a 5-year-old gelding coming off a win in the GIII Valedictory S. at Woodbine in December, will be joining the barn of trainer Will Walden after selling for a session-topping $200,000. Frank Taylor made the winning bid on the dark bay, who was supplemented to the auction as part of the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment, and signed the ticket as Will Walden Racing Stable.

“It's for a bunch of guys I talked into buying him,” said Taylor. “I was trying to get another good horse in Will's barn. So we put together a group and bought him. There is a $125,000 stakes up there [at Turfway] Feb. 18 and hopefully he will be ready for it. And then there is another one in March for $300,000.”

Wentru won his fourth straight race in the Valedictory, all at Woodbine, in the colors of Elliott Logan's TEC Racing and trainer Martin Drexler.

“He's a cool horse and he's on a roll. Hopefully we can keep him on a roll,” Taylor said.

Walden also trains Kate's Kingdom (Animal Kingdom), who Taylor and partners purchased for $400,000 out of the Fasig-Tipton Digital Flash sale. The 5-year-old mare won the Dec. 11 My Charmer S.

“We bought her for $400,000 and we've had luck with her so far,” Taylor said of the mare. “She won that $125,000 stakes a month ago and she's favored in another $125,000 stakes on Saturday.”

Repole, Taylor Made Team Up to Support Idol

When Mike Repole and Taylor Made Farm teamed up to acquire Grade I winner Idol (Curlin–Marion Ravenwood, by A.P. Indy) for stallion duties, the plan was always to support the 6-year-old with mares purchased in partnership. That plan was put into practice this week at the Keeneland January sale, with Repole/Taylor Made Idol Mare Partners signing for 10 mares for a total of $925,000.

“When we bought the horse with Mike Repole, one of the things that we talked about was, as a group, to get the best possible support to get Idol going early on with the right kind of mares,” said Taylor Made's stallion nomination manager Travis White. “We did a similar thing with the Albaugh family for Not This Time and some of those mares that we bought ended up being his best horses. We just thought we would use a similar play book.”

Leading the partnership's purchases was Lagoon Falls (Uncle Mo) (hip 66), who was acquired for $170,000. Showtime Sis (Euroears) (hip 637) was a $160,000 purchase and Euphoric (Frosted) (hip 417) cost the group $140,000.

“We were trying to buy the right kind of physicals that we thought would fit Idol,” White said. “Mares that looked early, fast and precocious, whether it was the mare herself or if she had produced something early. That was the game plan; to buy quality mares that we thought would fit and help him get off to a good start. So we could get some good foals on the grounds that we could place accordingly, next November, or to sell as yearlings, that would catalogue well enough to be in good books and get him off to a good start.”

Idol won the 2021 GI Santa Anita H. and was second in the 2020 GII San Antonio S. and third in the 2021 GII San Pasqual S., but perhaps more important to Repole, the stallion is a full-brother to Nest, the likely champion 3-year-old filly of 2022 who he co-owns with Michael House and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

“We all heard that Idol was available to be purchased to be a stallion,” Repole advisor Eddie Rosen said. “And obviously that appealed to Mike because of his success with Nest.”

Rosen continued, “We wanted to do our best to continue to support the stallion. So we agreed to partner on these 10 mares. With the Taylor Made team and, from our side, Jacob West and Alex Solis doing the physicals, we swapped notes with their team and these were the ones that we agreed upon. We bid on others, but these were the ones that we were able to acquire given the strategy that we were trying to implement.”

Partnering with major owners is a strategy that has worked for Taylor Made with the successful young stallion Not This Time. According to White, the partnerships just make sense.

“The way the stallion business is today, I think it's very important to have partners that will support the horses,” White said. “They will breed the right kind of mares to the stallion and they have advisors that give them good advice. Mike has Jacob West, Eddie Rosen and Alex Solis. Those guys can steer him towards the right kind of mares, physically and pedigree-wise, as well. We've had horses in the past that didn't have the ownership groups that might help support them. I think it's vital in this day and age.”

Idol will stand his first season at stud at Taylor Made this year at a fee of $10,000 fee. White has been happy with the response the stallion has already gotten from the market.

“He will breed a good-sized book,” he said. “And we did some breeding rights in the horse and we have people who will be on board to support the horse for the first three years. Mike is going to breed a lot of other mares on his own, as well.  And Calvin Nguyen, who owned Idol as a racehorse, stayed in for part as a stallion and he is breeding five or six mares to him himself that he bought back in November. Overall, it's been very good and we are very pleased with the way things are going.”

In addition to the 10 mares purchased at Keeneland January, the Taylor Made/Repole partnership could add a few more mares before the breeding season start.

“We might continue to look if there are any private acquisitions we could make or at the Fasig-Tipton February sale,” Rosen said.

White added, “It was a very good experience. All of the mares will come back here to Taylor Made. We might send one or two to New York to foal out possibly.”

The post Keeneland January Strong and Steady to the Finish appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

$550k Evocative on Top as Late Fireworks Propel Keeneland January to Strong Opener

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, which began sluggishly Monday morning, built up steam throughout the day and ended with a trio of firework offerings and figures largely in line with the auction's 2022 renewal.

“The beginning of the day was definitely slower than we probably expected,” said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “It was a little sluggish. But as the day went on, it became more promising.”

At the close of business Monday, 224 head had sold for $16,261,900. The average was $72,598 and the median was $40,000. During last year's opening session, 248 horses sold for $17,989,200. The average was $72,537 and the median was $39,500.

The session RNA rate was 31.29%. It was 25.75% a year ago.

“The RNA rate was a little higher than probably we would have been expecting at the beginning of the day,” said Lacy. “However, quality was selling and selling well. The major buyers were here. The domestic market was strong. It's a follow-on from November. You could see a trend that was continuing on. Overall, you have to be very content with how it went. And it ended up very even with last year in many metrics.”

While the RNA rate might have been high for horses walking out of the ring, there was still active trade back at the barns.

“Our yearlings have done well,” said Frank Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency, which sold a colt by Gun Runner for $400,000 midway through the day. “We've had a few RNAs, but we've sold several of them after the sale. The aftermarket is pretty good. If you've got a good one, they sell well.”

Bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, made the day's highest bid when going to $550,000 for Evocative (Pioneerof the Nile), while Jacob West secured that mare's first foal, a short yearling by Quality Road, for $450,000 on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low. Becky Thomas secured Ack Naughty (Afleet Alex), dam of recent GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Practical Move (Practical Joke), for $500,000 on behalf of Chester and Mary Broman.

The Keeneland January sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning each day at 10 a.m.

Evocative and Daughter Cause Late Fireworks at Keeneland

The first session of the Keeneland January sale produced its three biggest results late in the day and, just before the auction headed into its supplemental section, the main catalogue's fireworks were created when the 6-year-old mare Evocative (Pioneerof the Nile) (hip 399), a half-sister to Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union), sold for $550,000 and was followed immediately into the ring by her yearling daughter by Quality Road (hip 400) who brought a final bid of $450,000 from bloodstock agent Jacob West.

Bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe signed for Evocative, who sold in foal to Quality Road.

“She's been bought for a commercial breeder and she'll stay in America,” Radcliffe said. “She was beautiful. And look at that pedigree. Then you just saw the foal sell for $450,000–that was beautiful, too.”

Justlewhistledixie is the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner New Year's Day (Street Cry {Ire}), as well as multiple graded stakes winner Mohaymen (Tapit).

Evocative, who was bred by SF Bloodstock, RNA'd for $375,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale. She failed to hit the board in three starts in the SF colors in late 2019 and early 2020 before RNA'ing for $575,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale, for $725,000 while in foal to Tapit at the 2020 Keeneland November sale and again for $460,000 while in foal to Quality Road at the 2021 Keeneland November sale.

After slipping in 2021, her short yearling filly by Quality Road, also bred by SF Bloodstock, is the mare's first foal. West acquired the bay filly on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low.

“She's by Quality Road–he doesn't really need an introduction to anybody,” West said. “She was an outstanding physical and outstanding athlete. From a short yearling perspective, she had one of the best walks I'd seen around here. She's well-bred, but she's a first foal out of a young mare. You'd assume they will breed her to top stallions behind her, so the pipeline can be loaded for the foreseeable future.”

Both broodmare and daughter were consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock.

“We felt good about both of them coming in here,” said Bedouin's Neal Clarke. “We weren't expecting this much obviously. This was a great result. We've had a lot of Evocative sisters and Evocative we foaled ourselves. So it was kind of nice having both the mare and foal that came from the farm. It's a little bittersweet, a little sad to see them go, but they are going to great homes. So we couldn't be happier. It's a great day.”

Bromans Strike for Ack Naughty

Ack Naughty (Afleet Alex) (hip 420B), who was supplemented to the Keeneland January sale after her son Practical Move (Practical Joke) won the Dec. 17 GII Los Alamitos Futurity, will be joining the broodmare band of Chester and Mary Broman after bloodstock agent Becky Thomas signed the ticket at $500,000 to acquire the 11-year-old mare.

“We like that she was a Grade II producer,” Thomas said with a laugh when asked about the mare's appeal. “I bought her for Chester and Mary Broman, who are, of course, leading breeders in New York who I've been so delighted to train for for so many years.”

The mare, who was owned by trainer Chad Brown and Sol Kumin's Head of Plains Partners, was consigned by Elite. She sold in foal to Upstart.

While Thomas said no definite mating plans have been discussed, she added, “Mr. Broman has one of the original breeding rights in Into Mischief, so I have a feeling she might be going to Into Mischief.”

Longtime New York breeders, the Bromans, in what has been termed “estate planning” have been a major force selling from their families in recent years, notably selling the $3.55-million topper at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale.

“Mr. Broman has a phenomenal farm manager in Greg Falk and, in Mr. Broman's planning, as long as we can continue to operate the farm and can keep on going like we are going, he's good to go.”

However, Thomas admitted Ack Naughty did break some of the usual rules she's been given when shopping for broodmares.

“Normally, I'm not allowed to buy anything that old or in foal to only certain stallions,” she said. “[Ack Naughty] falls out of every criteria I've been given. I told him that this was a sidebar action.”

Gun Runner Colt Draws a Crowd

David Wade came out best at $400,000 to acquire a colt by Gun Runner (hip 270) from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment Monday. The short yearling, bred by the Gun Runner Syndicate and Sun Valley Farm, is the first foal out of Willa (Will Take Charge). The mare is a half-sister to stakes winner and graded-placed Abby's Angel (Touch Gold) and Group 1-placed Miss Jean Brodie (Maria's Mon).

“He seemed like he was the whole package,” Wade said after signing for the colt in the name of Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds. “He had a tremendous presence to him, a great walk. It doesn't get any better than Gun Runner and it's a really nice family. It seemed to us like a no-brainer to go after him.”

As for plans for the colt, Wade said, “It's up in the air. A horse like him, you could race him or pinhook. We tend to pinhook horses like this, but we will see what happens. We will digest it and go back and think about it.”

The final price tag was no surprise to Taylor Made's Frank Taylor.

“It's exactly where we thought he would be,” Taylor said. “He was just a beautiful colt. He's the kind of horse that looks like he could be a Derby horse; a two-turn horse. You can't beat the sire. He has a lot of class–a beautiful eye, good walk, a really good mind. He has it all. He was entered in the November sale and got a little virus that set him back. We just thought we'd give him time to catch back up.”

Williamses Building a Broodmare Band

Pete Williams and his daughter Martha, sitting alongside bloodstock agent Alistair Roden, got the Keeneland January sale off to a quick start Monday when adding Good Fairy (hip 19) to their fledgling broodmare band with a final bid of $330,000.

Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, the unraced mare who was bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, sold in foal to Maclean's Music. She is out of Glinda the Good (Hard Spun) and is a half-sister to champion Good Magic (Curlin).

“She's from an exceptionally good family and she's a very good-looking mare,” Roden said. “She is a young mare carrying her second foal. She has got a foal by Munnings, who is a proven sire, and is in foal to Maclean's Music on an early cover.”

Pete Williams, a real estate developer now based in Alys Beach, Florida began fulfilling a longtime dream when he started buying Thoroughbreds just last year.

“It was a passion,” Williams said. “I always knew I was going to get involved. I was just waiting on the right time to invest and enjoy this game.”

Good Fairy is the fifth broodmare purchased by the Williamses' MKW Racing and Breeding. They purchased Runnin Ruby (Tapit) (hip 149) for $450,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale, while at the Fasig-Tipon February sale, they acquired Ladhiyah (Kitten's Joy) (hip 348) for $85,000 and Minetta (Khozan) (hip 569) for $70,000.

Among a group of five yearling purchases last year, they acquired a filly by Street Sense (hip 80) for $275,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and a filly by Twirling Candy (hip 273) for $190,000 at the Fasig February sale.

MKW also purchased a 2-year-old last spring, going to $350,000 for a daughter of Uncle Mo (hip 118), now named Mo Town Mayhem, at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale.

“Our focus is on breeding,” Williams said. “We bought five yearlings and a 2-year-old in training. And this is the fifth broodmare. I have one colt. But we are certainly looking to get black-type on those young fillies when they run and breed them.”

Williams continued, “The broodmares stay at Nicky Drion's and the yearlings went down to Woodford Thoroughbreds. The now 3-year-old is with Mark Casse. She had a little upper suspensory problem and she was at Margaux for the last three or four months. She just got shipped down there, so she's starting to train again.”

Martha Williams, who lives in New York, said she was enjoying the experience of building a broodmare band.

“I love doing this,” she said. “It's been a lot of fun to learn–it's a lot to learn. It's still very new. But I feel like I learn so much every time I come to one of these sales and do more with my father. I'm excited about it.”

Pugh Strikes for McKinzie Filly

A filly from the first crop of McKinzie (hip 190) will be targeted for resale later in the year after selling for $220,000 to the bid of Peter Pugh on behalf of Cherry Knoll Farm during Monday's first session of the Keeneland January sale. The short yearling is out of Sisterhood (Kitten's Joy), whose 3-year-old filly Be My Sunshine (Frosted) won first time out at Gulfstream Sunday.

“She had a big update, which helped with the purchase,” Pugh said. “She will be pinhooked to a yearling sale later this year, but it's too early to say which one.”

Also Monday, Pugh purchased a filly by Bolt d'Oro (hip 228) for $65,000.

Pugh had pinhooking success buying out of last year's January sale. He purchased a colt by Gun Runner for $275,000 at the auction and resold the yearling for $450,000 at the Keeneland September sale.

Hip 190 was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm and was bred by Hunter Valley and Pat Barrett.

“She's a beautiful, athletic filly,” said Hunter Valley's Adrian Regan. “McKenzie has done well here and the catalog update helped us a lot. The Frosted filly won very impressively and it proves the family can get a real runner. It's kind of the perfect storm. We weren't going to give her away, but the price did exceed our expectations.”

Hunter Valley purchased Sisterhood, with this filly in utero, for $75,000 at the 2021 Fasig-TIpton November sale, but it was almost a near-miss for the operation which sold Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) for $5 million just four hips before Sisterhood went through the ring.

“We bought the mare at Fasig-Tipton two years ago,” Regan said. “We had just sold Shedaresthedevil and we nearly missed this mare in the ring.”

The 14-year-old Sisterhood, who is also the dam of stakes winner and graded placed In the Mood (Eskendereya), was bred to War of Will in 2022.

The post $550k Evocative on Top as Late Fireworks Propel Keeneland January to Strong Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights