“The traffic has been incredibly positive,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “There are quite a few buyers here. It's probably as positive as I've seen it since pre-COVID. The feedback that we are getting is that it's a very good group of horses. The buyers are very satisfied. The sellers are very positive about the feedback they are getting on the stock they have here overall. So, in general, I am cautiously optimistic.”

Standing outside his Candy Meadows Sales consignment at Barn 11, Matt Lyons smiled when asked about his expectations for the week.

“I suppose we are eternally hopeful as consignors, aren't we?” Lyons said. “Traffic has been pretty good so far. And we are seeing all of the main players and the main syndicates that people are expecting to see. There are quite a few groups from Japan, it looks like, on the grounds and they are looking hard. So we are hopeful.”

The 2023 Keeneland September sale has a tough act to follow. Last year's auction surpassed $400-million in gross sales for the first time in its history, while also setting records for average and median for the second year in a row. A year ago 2,847 yearlings grossed $405,495,700–to better the previous record set in 2006–for an average of $142,429 and a median of $70,000.

“The market has been good, we've had a bull run for the last 15 years, so I don't expect any dramatic changes,” said Brad Weisbord, whose Elite Sales makes its Keeneland September debut this week. “The colts groups seems to have their money together, so they will probably be the high end. The middle market has struggled for a couple of years. The pinhookers have been strong. They made money the last couple of years–which is nice to see–so I don't expect many changes. But we will know at the end of the sale. This sale determines what the yearling market is throughout the whole year, so at the end of this marathon we will really understand how the market is.”

While Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin and his late brother Sheikh Hamdan dominated the top of the Keeneland September market for many years, the decreased participation of those two Dubai-based entities in the last three years has been largely filled by American-based partnerships focused mainly on purchasing colts with Classic potential.

Leading the way in the last two years was the team of Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, who purchased 31 yearlings for $12,840,000 in 2022. Repole is expected once again to be on site during the first four days of the Keeneland sale as his agent Jacob West and advisor Eddie Rosen were on the grounds Sunday. Chasing them for the leading buyer title last year was the stallion-making partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables, as well as BSW/Crow Colts Group.

The Keeneland September sale annually attracts buyers from around the world and the buying bench's international flavor should be strong in the coming week, according to Lacy.

“We have been very pleased with the support we have been getting from the international market and especially Japan,” Lacy said. “We have had more Japanese visitors this week and they are staying longer. I think they are finding that we have certain sire lines and pedigrees that have worked internationally for them. We are becoming more affordable and very relevant for their program.”

Among the Japanese shoppers on the sales grounds Sunday was Hideyuki Mori, whose five yearling purchases a year ago were led by a $1.2-million son of Curlin.

The international buying bench is also strengthened by new overseas opportunities like the Goffs Dubai Breeze-Up Sale, which was topped this past March by a son of Gun Runner who sold for $583,520 after bringing $160,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“The Dubai sale that Goffs run in the spring every year has proven to be a very profitable endeavor for a lot of the pinhookers from Europe coming over here to source stock,” Lacy said. “That has really been a great addition to the diversity of what people are looking for.”

Lacy continued, “We have Australians here, I think we will have a lot of South Americans here and people from all over the world. From the Middle East, we have buyers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai. We've put a lot of work travelling around the world over the last couple of years to reach out to our clients at every stage and provide a level of customer service that they would expect anywhere else. Those efforts have started to pay off as we start to look at the diversity through the sales grounds and the excitement about the quality of stock that the U.S. is producing, which is really encouraging.”

Shadwell Farm, which had long been one of the leading buyers at the Keeneland September sale before the death of its founder Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum in 2021, made four purchases last year and could be a resurgent presence at this year's auction. Sheikha Hissa, now at the helm of her late father's operation, was at the Keeneland sales grounds Sunday.

“Sheikha Hissa came for Malathaat's race in the Doubledogdare S. last year,” Lacy said. “So she got the experience of coming here. She very much wants to have the same experience that her dad did, so we've been working diligently so that we have the same people working with her as worked with her dad.”

Keeneland has settled into a format for its September sale, which for the third year features Book 1 sessions Monday and Tuesday with 383 yearlings, followed by Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday with 728 yearlings a before a dark day Friday.

“[This format] allows the higher-end buyers to be able to look at these horses in a relaxed manner without being rushed and also have the opportunity to go and look at Book 2 horses before the first horse walks through the ring,” Lacy explained. “So there is good idea of what the quality is out there. We put a lot of effort into making sure we have good physicals up front that have pedigree, that have commercial appeal, knowing what the marketplace is looking for.”

He continued, “I see this year people are in a more relaxed mode and they are able to give these horses the consideration that they deserve and I think they feel comfortable with that.”

Following its Book 1 and 2 sections, Keeneland will hope for demand to continue into what has seemed to be a weakening middle market.

“I think, looking at the yearling sales that have already happened this year, you have to be positive that [demand] will carry through to at least the middle of the sale,” Lacy said. “I think it could carry through right to the end.”

After buying in a bullish yearling sale a year ago, pinhookers faced a tougher market to sell in this spring, but Weisbord expects they will still be a strong presence at Keeneland.

“Listen, that's their business,” Weisbord said. “They buy yearlings to sell 2-year-olds. So I expect them to be strong from $75,000 to $275,000. After that, it becomes a very difficult pinhook, but I think that market for them will still be strong.”

The Keeneland September Book 1 sessions Monday and Tuesday will begin at 1 p.m. Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11 a.m. Following Friday's dark day, the auction continues through Sept. 23 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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“There's so much promise when you win a race like this,” said co-owner and NYRA Board member Steven Duncker. “This was a war out there today. Everybody liked their horses and they ran pretty fast. You want to live in the moment, but it's hard not to think of the future.”

In the eight-horse field, seven of the horses had sold at auction and the collective sales price was $2,925,000. That includes the $950,000 paid for Chaperone ($950,000) and the $525,000 paid for 6-5 favorite Eliminate (Curlin).

As the field broke from the gate in the seven-furlong test, things didn't look good for Deterministic. The Christophe Clement trainee, ridden by Joel Rosario, was seventh up the backstretch. Approaching the turn, Deterministic was in threatening position, but he was six-wide and would have to catch Hurricane Nelson, who grabbed a clear lead after putting away Informed Patriot (Hard Spun), the full-brother to GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Spun to Run (Hard Spun).

Deterministic is owned by the partnership of Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Duncker and Vicarage Stable. Duncker said that Deterministic is among the first group of horses he has owned with Viola.

“We've been friends with Vinnie for a long time and we all know of his success,” Duncker said. “He was nice enough to come to us and say let's get a group together and split them up between Christophe and Todd (Pletcher). It's been a great process. With owning horses, the consumption comes before the race. We've had a lot of fun with this for six, eight months. You bond a little more when that's the case. I've got to give a lot of credit to Vinnie for being such a great partner. He's an incredible guy and his team has made this special for us.”

Owned and trained by Gustavo Delgado, the trainer of GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic), the lone homebred in the race, turned in a strong performance to finish second. Eliminate, who is owned by the partnership of Spendthrift Farm and Repole Stable, was third, beaten four lengths.

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“I am all about family and friends,” Repole said. “Over the last couple of years they've been helping me out with some yearlings and colts and they have a great opinion. I am a 'dream-bigger' type of guy. I won eight Grade Is in 2022, so this year I want to win nine. The next year I want to win 10. Bringing Alex and Jason on board is part of that vision.”

As part of the transition, Solis has stepped down from his full-time role as Gainesway Farm's Director of Bloodstock but will continue his relationship with the farm. Solis and Litt's agency will also continue to work with existing clients.

As Repole has doubled the number of horses in his stable over the last two years he has assembled a deep group of advisors who assist him in a number of areas, including yearling purchases and the overwhelming daily task of running such a large stable. The team includes Ed Rosen, Jim Martin, Danielle Bricker, Jacob West and Todd Pletcher. Solis and Litt will advise the growing stable and assist in acquisitions and management, but will be called upon to contribute in other areas.

“When you double the number of horses you own, yes, you need more people,” Repole said. “I am trying to build a bigger vision and a bigger strategy. I want to get more involved in racing as a sport, not just with Repole Stables. I want people with the experience Alex and Jason have. They have tremendous vision for the sport and share the same excitement I have for the sport and the same frustrations.

“Part of the evolution of growing your brand comes from hiring a bunch of smart people who have a ton of passion and are coachable and have the same vision you have. Who knows; maybe Jason will become the VP of global and I'll buy two racetracks and Alex will run them. I have no idea.”

Solis and Litt have been together since the early 2000s and have worked for many of the top names in the sport, including LNJ Foxwoods, which campaigned top older male dirt horse Olympiad (Speightstown). Other horses they have been involved with include Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg}), Mizdirection (Mizzen Mast), Country House (Lookin At Lucky) and Covfefe (Into Mischief). Their team also includes Madison Scott.

“Mike has gone from 150 to 300 horses and wanted to take advantage of Solis/Litt's experience managing large portfolios,” Solis said. “We've helped Mike for the last couple of years at yearling sales, and it's exciting to start in a more prominent role. It's been a seamless transition working with his existing team…Mike is big on relationships and family, and so are we. Jason and I have been

working together for 17 years and the majority of our clients have been with us since the beginning. Maintaining those ties is of utmost importance, which Mike fully embraces. It was great to be able to partner with him and our major client, LNJ Foxwoods, on two yearlings in September.”

Repole Stable enjoyed a banner year in 2022, campaigning Grade I winners Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke), Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), Forte (Violence) and Nest (Curlin). Forte and Nest are expected to be named Eclipse Award winners. With most any other stable, 2022 would have been a year that cannot be topped. But Repole has never hid his ambitions and won't set a ceiling when it comes to his stable's success.

“I'm not always content,” Repole said. “I talk to somebody like Tom Brady and ask him what his favorite Super Bowl was and he says it's the next one. I am ecstatic and feel blessed about where we are but I have goals. What's wrong with trying to get better?”

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The 2021 October sale was a barnburner, setting new records for gross, average and median, and consignors are hoping this year's edition continues a string of strong results this season.

“The market has been very strong throughout the year,” said Zach Madden, who will be presenting 28 yearlings in his first October consignment as sole proprietor of Buckland Sales. “[Keeneland] September was insane. And we had one in Saratoga that went over really well. I think, with the foal crop being down a tick and the purse structure up, it seems like people are just really going after it this year. I came into the business when it was really tough, so I do remember those times, but I think it's going to keep clicking along and hopefully it spills over into the breeding stock sales and the foal market. It's been good timing for a first year being out on my own, too. I definitely don't take that for granted. Hopefully it keeps humming along.”

Hunter Simms of Warrendale Sales agreed with Madden's assessment of the 2022 yearling market.

“I think it will be a good sale based off of what we had in September,” Simms said. “That was a strong market. There was a lot of demand for horses throughout, all the way from the beginning of the sale to the end. Fasig-Tipton had their New York sale last Monday and all indications coming out of that were positive with people still wanting horses. So I do think at the end, it should be a good sale overall.”

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, which was held in the midst of a multi-day rain storm at the beginning of the month, suffered slight declines following a strong renewal in 2021.

“I think September was incredibly strong at Keeneland with a record-breaking sale,” said Carl McEntee of Ballysax Bloodstock. “I think the wind came out of the sails a little bit–I thought the Timonium sale was an average horse sale, to be quite frank, with the median and average down. People maybe didn't travel out of town because they knew they had 1600 yearlings right here in Lexington. Maybe they liked one or two up there and didn't want to get rained on for four days and then probably get outbid on the one you liked because you valued it at $75,000 and it brought $125,000, it just didn't make sense to people. I think they just said, 'Listen the weather is bad, we will stay in Kentucky.' But the New York sale they just had looked very strong again and the median was up. I know everyone is coming into town [for the October sale] and I think it's going to be a very spirited market.”

During last year's October sale, 1,153 yearlings sold for $52,607,500. The average of $45,672 was up 33.9% from 2020 and bettered the sales previous record figure of $37,955 set in 2019. The median of $25,000 was up 66.7% from 2020 and bettered the previous record of $18,500 set in 2014. With just 205 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was a sparkling 15.1%–the lowest since 2013.

The days of October yearlings coming into the sales ring with a disadvantage are over, Simms agreed.

“I think Fasig has worked very hard to change that stigma,” Simms said. “It used to be this was your last-stop shop. It still is, but it was kind of like re-tread horses that didn't get sold or horses that people deemed weren't commercially valuable, they'd just put them in October. Now you are seeing horses bring high six figures over the years, and that's kind of gotten this sale to take off.”

Recent graduates of the October sale include 2022 Grade I winners Taiba, Goodnight Olive, and Jack Christopher. Results like those are another reason buyers have added the October sale to their calendars, according to Madden.

“I can remember a time where October was kind of the red-headed stepchild to September,” Madden said. “I think they've done a great job in compiling enough horses to make it a must-stop for the majority of buyers. It started with [Fasig president] Boyd [Browning] and the guys over there being flexible and taking later entries. That I think has really sparked the sale being so big.

“And then their results [on the racetrack] have been crazy. We were fortunate enough to sell Taiba over there two years ago. That horse just needed a little time. For a consignor, if you don't have a super precocious horse or if there is an issue that needs time to resolve, it's an awesome sale. And people work this sale hard. They have circled it on the map and the results keep coming out. Year after year, there is just horse after horse where you say, 'Man that horse came out of there, too.'”

Bloodstock agent Jacob West, bidding on behalf of the power-partnership of Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, made the highest bid at last year's October sale, going to $925,000 to acquire a colt by Street Sense. Donato Lanni was also in action at the top of the market for the stallion-making partnership of SF/Starlight/Madaket. Those high-end buyers are joined by pinhookers and end-users to make up the traditional October buying bench.

“You are getting pinhookers and end-users,” Simms said of the buying bench. “I know [trainer] Kenny McPeek is a big fan of this sale, Jacob West was over there shopping a lot, St. Elias was shopping and Donato was shopping. You get a lot of these guys who are continually at the top of the sheets still shopping for horses. With the purses being good and the foal crop decreasing, the demand is still there, so there aren't that many opportunities coming. Supply and demand is going to make those prices jump. And those guys still need horses to finish out their buying for the year.”

In addition to the high-end buyers, October also attracts a strong middle market, according to McEntee.

“It's been a vibrant sale these last two or three years, big horses in there bringing $700,000 or $800,000, so I think it's a very reputable sale,” McEntee said. “We always used to say Timonium was a trainer's sale because there are so many racetracks around there. The reality is, so is the October sale. Trainers are in town, especially with the Breeders' Cup, everyone is in town. You have trainers that come in from regional markets–Canada or West Coast, East Coast or Ohio, Indiana and Illinois–all of these guys are coming in. So I do think it's a trainer's sale and I do think horses that perhaps weren't quite the Book 4 Keeneland horse, but were still a nice horse, I think there is a real strong market for them at October. Obviously, there are some top-class horses there, too, but those solid Book 4 horses who are true racehorses, with good X-rays, good scopes, good substance and size, that sort of fit pinhookers and racehorse buyers, I think those horses really have a good home in this sale.”

There are 1,594 yearlings catalogued for the four-day October sale. Hips 1-398 will go through the ring during Monday's first session of the auction and will be followed by hips 399-796 Tuesday; hips 797-1194 Wednesday; and hips 1195-1594 Thursday.

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It would have been perfectly legitimate for one of the Keeneland auctioneers to respond in similar vein to the torrent of bidding that elevated the September Sale to unprecedented highwater marks. Somehow, the kind of factors that traditionally send markets into nauseous free fall have failed to stem a breathless bull run in international bloodstock. Don't these people have televisions, or newspapers?

The market's resilience through Covid was startling enough. Many of us sought to explain that by a pent-up thirst to make the most of life, after being so bleakly confined. There was also the sense that the most affluent tier of society, on which our industry so candidly depends, had been insulated from the kind of financial stress being experienced lower down the pyramid.

After all, the wealthy had benefited through the previous decade from the liquidity deployed (via cash-doping instruments such as quantitative easing) to put out the fires of the banking crisis; and those taps had never really been turned off, even after the flames abated. But now we have runaway inflation, we have the horrifying return of territorial invasion in Europe, we have ubiquitous forecasts of recession. And still the value of Thoroughbreds continues to soar.

The table below shows that the average cost of a North American yearling, in 2022, has breached $150,000 in a market that has passed another historic barrier, for this stage of the calendar, at $500 million. This is calculated from aggregate business at Fasig-Tipton's three summer auctions-the July Sale in Lexington, plus the elite and New York catalogues at Saratoga-combined with turnover at Keeneland over the past two weeks, where transactions spanned $2,000 to $2.5 million. Together, as such, these comprise a comprehensive snapshot of the marketplace at all levels.

Turnover at the September Sale advanced 14.9% on last year to exceed $400 million for the first time (missed by a few cents in 2006); while the Fasig-Tipton summer calendar advanced in step by 14.2% to achieve a record aggregate of its own at nearly $109 million. Collectively, an additional $66,236,200 has been spent on North American yearlings so far this year, an increase of 14.8% to $514,389,200. That represents an 86.6% gain on the equivalent stage in 2012!

These numbers translated to record averages of $209,411 for Fasig-Tipton, up a staggering 20% on 2021; and $142,429 for Keeneland, an increase of just under eight%. Blended, the average yearling is costing you $152,774 in 2022, up $13,510 or 9.7% on this time last year.

Now a lot of this has a very edifying impetus. A number of regions, not least Kentucky itself, have been developing a purse structure that threatens to introduce something resembling coherence-even, whisper it, viability-to investment in Thoroughbreds. Nor should we forget our collective debt to those who have heroically restored the sport in California from an existential brink, renewing geographical balance to opportunity. And of course the circuit there has meanwhile produced a racehorse that has made even a seven-figure tag look cheap.

But perennial growth, in a market like this, is impossible. Capitalism has always depended on cycles, requiring troughs to generate the conditions for the next peak. Just conceivably, globalization may have so skewed the system that the elite can remain blithely immune to street-level difficulties. But if recession does end up penetrating the entire economic organ, the way it always has in the past, then we must give Cassandra her say. Because the bloodstock market has tended to absorb trends from the wider economy slowly, whether in recession or recovery.

The Dow Jones, having plunged 33.8% in 2008, recovered 18.8% as soon as the following year and maintained solid gains annually until 2015. The overall North American bloodstock market, in contrast, lost 21.2% in 2008; 32.2% in 2009; and another 6.5%, even on those compound losses, in 2010. It was not until 2011 (up 18.2%) and especially 2013 (up 27.9%, in tandem with the biggest spike in the Dow Jones) that its own recession leveled out.

For the time being, however, we must acknowledge a wholesome depth to the current market. Vendors always complain about polarization, about a soft center and all-or-nothing engagement (often contingent on vetting). But this feels different. Among the many records set at Keeneland, perhaps the most significant was one of 82% clearance.

While 30 seven-figure sales headlined the feel-good stories at that auction, the fact is that they only narrowly surpassed the 27 recorded in 2018. In each case, moreover, their collective cost represented a very similar portion of overall turnover: nine% this year, against 9.7 per cent in 2018. (The spike to 11.4% in 2019, by the way, was largely the work of the ill-fated $8.2 million daughter of Leslie's Lady and American Pharoah). As the table below demonstrates, however, the median across the two weeks was wildly higher this year, at a record $70,000 against $50,000 in 2018.

This depth is reciprocated by the sheer breadth of investment, with no fewer than 88 different signatories to dockets together worth $1 million or more.

For years, people asked queasily what would happen to the market if deprived of support from a family that had, globally, done so much to assist the evolution of a commercial breeding industry. As recently as 2019, Godolphin and Shadwell topped the September action with an outlay of $16 million and $11.07 million respectively for a total of 28 yearlings. Since then, we have mourned the passing of Shadwell's founder Sheikh Hamdan, albeit that firm did acquire four yearlings for a total $2.5 million this year. And Sheikh Mohammed, meanwhile, has become conspicuous by his absence at this sale.

In the event, however, the defection of spenders apparently able to bid indefinitely has only cleared the field for competition. The best prospects have not become more affordable, in themselves. But they have become more accessible. As a result, competition has been intensified, not diluted, even as powerful domestic interests have increasingly collaborated in pursuit of common targets.

This September it was only by a single nod to the rostrum that the charismatic duo behind Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables edged out another powerful partnership to finish the auction once again as leading buyer: their $12,840,000 outlay (for 31 yearlings) shading Donato Lanni's $12,825,000 on behalf of SF/Starlight/Madaket. But that was barely half the story, as West Bloodstock signed as agent for Repole Stable for 27 additional head at $7,940,000; while Michael Wallace corralled 15 at $4,475,000 for St. Elias Stables. These extra investments weighed in respectively as the fourth and eighth highest of the sale; and that's besides a series of individual plays with other partners.

The latter included M.V. Magnier, whose $1.1-million Curlin colt with Repole Stable was one of a handful such investments made with partners. Magnier, representing the Maktoums' traditional antagonists at Coolmore, actually signed for only a couple of colts outright. With the strength of the dollar steepening the gradient against overseas currency, Hideyuki Mori had to settle for five head at $2,545,000, compared with a dozen at $4,415,000 in 2021. That left agent Richard Knight's dazing spree in the second session as the only really striking external contribution to the top end of the market, his total spend (#7 for the sale) comprising $4,875,000 across half a dozen hips.

So much for the joys of being able to travel freely again! In the longer view, however, what we saw is consistent with ongoing European mistrust of Kentucky sires, and the lamentable transatlantic schism between perceived dirt and turf bloodlines.

As for the corresponding local neglect of grass stallions, there was at least some belated respect for two outstanding turf stallions recently lost to the Bluegrass: English Channel tipped six figures for the second year running, after averaging no more than $33,167 only in 2020, while Kitten's Joy averaged $138,632 for 19 yearlings (up from $103,457 last year).

As anticipated from the conspicuous distribution of his stock towards the front of the catalogue, this sale proved another major landmark in the career of Quality Road. With several proven titans approaching the evening of their careers, the 16-year-old Lane's End stallion sealed his accession to that level by again keeping even champion Into Mischief (58 sold at $525,776) from the top of the averages, processing 37 at $533,514. That was a further advance on the $472,794 by which Quality Road shaded Curlin and Into Mischief in 2021, having the previous year slipstreamed Medaglia d'Oro, Into Mischief, Tapit and Curlin at $339,939.

The much younger Gun Runner meanwhile maintained his stratospheric rise, processing 40 hips at $461,875, good enough for third with yearlings still conceived off his $70,000 opening fee. (And remember that his current weanlings came into the world at $50,000! What kind of fee, you wonder, will register the upgrade in his mares guaranteed in 2023?)

As always, however, most curiosity was reserved for those newcomers who nowadays comprise the bedrock of the commercial market. Their window of opportunity is so fleeting as to make it seem almost cruel to examine their performance too closely, when really they should not be judged at all until their stock reaches the racetrack. But if that's how the market will insist on behaving, then that's how we must assess their debuts to this point.

Obviously there are several auctions still to come, but the pyramid of business to date plainly provides a valid sampling. The table below charts those sires whose debut crops have so far mustered at least 10 sales.

Now some people feel it's a little strange that sires are given a pass on stock they can't sell. The difficulty is that a yearling that fails to reach its reserve will sometimes be among the very best of a sire's crop, its vendor only receptive to the kind of offer that can't be refused. Equally, however, an RNA can often reflect a simple failure of traction. Arguably data should give some credit to the sire who processes a high percentage of his stock. For the little it may be worth, then, our table also includes average revenue per hip into the ring, as an extra snapshot of how he might be working out, overall, an investment vehicle.

Because while the table is sorted according to average sales, we do know that the market tends to be pretty obedient in that respect. Year after year, first crops tend to end up being valued more or less in line with the pecking order invited by opening stud fees.

Just as well, then, that Omaha Beach has done exactly what he was priced to do, averaging five times his opening fee at $222,548. He has looked value throughout, to be fair, and has certainly been kept in the game with consecutive fee cuts since siring these yearlings. Having retained his opening fee, equally, Audible has arguably done no less than required in averaging a whopping 6.5 yield.

If these two haven't put a foot wrong, others who have not done quite so well-in what remain, after all, extremely early skirmishes-have tended to have their fees trimmed as an incentive to keep the faith. But I think one or two sires deserve a little extra attention, at this stage, if we put on the pinhooker's hat.

Again, this is an inexact exercise. Different horses are different projects. But let's take a look at the advances made by these stallions between their weanling and yearling averages, as a possible gauge of the kind of physical progress their stock can make.

Omaha Beach has excelled in this respect, certainly, essentially doubling his weanling average. But let's shine a torch at the other end of the spectrum. While cheaper stallions are obviously obliged to make pretty brisk gains just to cover keep, smaller breeders are grateful even for modest margins.

Flameaway owes his vivid climb on these indices partly to a single $425,000 colt at Saratoga, but his weanling median of $17,500 has also been hoisted at a comparable rate, to $50,000. Overall, his revenues, for sales achieved and per hip into the ring, respectively represent almost nine and seven times his fee. Darby Dan knows how to put numbers behind a cheap young stallion and perhaps Flameaway, who beat Catholic Boy and Vino Rosso on the Derby trail, will take his chance after the fashion of Dialed In. Apart from anything else, his third dam is a turf matriarch and, with his flexible sire-line, the son of Scat Daddy merits close attention from European breeze-up pinhookers seeking an export bargain.

Another who started with a very big book on the same basement fee, Maximus Mischief, achieves the highest ratio of all per hip into the ring (7.5 times his fee; also nearly nine times his fee on sales completed) after finding homes for 57 of 66 yearlings offered to date. He has added 53% to his weanling average and, with his profile, looks a blatant vehicle for the next pinhooking cycle, too.

Preservationist was unfortunate that the colt he got into Book I-a rare achievement for a $10,000 sire-had to be scratched from the September Sale. Even without his star turn, however, he achieved some outstanding dividends, including colts at $280,000, $260,000 and $250,000 deeper in the catalogue. Overall he has put two-thirds onto the average value of his weanlings, and his yearling sales are averaging 5.5 his fee. This guy offers exemplary genetic depth, remember, and don't be deceived by the hold-ups that delayed his bloom on the racetrack. He got a 31/2 Ragozin breaking his maiden over six furlongs, and the platform he has already built for himself suggests that there will be precocity to match that speed.

All these are just straws in the wind, of course, and far-sighted supporters of some that have failed to achieve gaudy overnight dividends will be wisely content to wait until actually able to test the water on the racetrack. Because there's one big problem with a market like this one: it fosters the perilous fallacy that a Thoroughbred foal is brought into the world to stand on a dais for a minute or two. For the good of the breed, ultimately we must reinforce the connection between commercial value and racetrack performance.

In the meantime, however, let's toast those hard-working and skilful people who have celebrated a bumper harvest. While the factory operations naturally headed the consignors' table by gross, the averages were again dominated by smaller outfits. All of us, scrolling down that list, will recognize names that warm the heart: friends, maybe kinsmen, lots of small farms that we admire.

Hats off to them, and also to those energetic and ambitious rivals, Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, who have provided a trading environment equal to the current boom. Even if the cold winds out there soon come blasting through their pavilions, perhaps the next Flightline will meanwhile be getting to know the feel of a saddle on some dreamer's farm. Because we started with a person named Hope-and really that's every single one of us.

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Keeneland sold a total of 2,847 yearlings through the ring for $405,495,700 during the 12-day auction, surpassing the previous record of $399,791,800 set during the 2006 September sale. The cumulative average and median prices surpassed September sale records set last year, with the average price of $142,429 up 7.83% from 2021 and the median up 7.69% from $65,000 to $70,000.

“This sale went beyond our expectations and reflects the energy and excitement in racing right now,” said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. “We are grateful to our consignors, sellers and buyers for their support of Keeneland and the September sale. And a special thanks to the breeders. We appreciate how much hard work goes into breeding and raising quality horses, and we are very happy they were rewarded for their efforts through the ring.”

The Keeneland sales team was focused on starting off the September sale with a power-packed Book 1 and the elite section delivered right from the first hip through the ring.

“The very first hip bringing $850,000 set the tone,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “That first day was incredible. We really leaned into getting Book 1 solidified by listening to our buyers and our clients. This was something we needed to reestablish to make sure we had the quality forward. It really worked. The buyers appreciated it. There was almost a sense of euphoria around the grounds for a number of days and it carried all the way through the sale.”

The two-day Book 1 section produced gross sales of $113,660,000–a 25.42% increase over 2021–and included 96 horses who sold for $500,000 or more, up from 43 last year. The two-day Book 1 clearance rate jumped from 65% in 2021 to 78% this year.

Keeneland Director of Sales Operations' Cormac Breathnach credited the sales strong results to a quality group of horses and a diverse buying bench.

“The catalogue is only as good as the support the breeders give you,” Breathnach said. “And there was a very good crop of yearlings that has been bred here and nationally and that's a credit to the breeders and to the sellers who have presented them so well. We were really well supported. And also by the buying base, domestically and internationally, all the way through the book. If you look at the activity of the likes of St. Elias and several of our leading trainers in the last few days, it just shows the hunger for racehorses is there and we are proud of what we were able to present and very pleased with the results and happy for all of our clients.”

The 12-day September sale attracted a deep buying bench dominated largely by domestic buyers and, by the close of business Saturday, 88 different buyers had spent $1 million or more. The 30 million-dollar yearlings were purchased by nineteen different buying entities.

“If you look at the number of people who bought at that [million-dollar] level, the numbers are spread across quite a large number of buyers,” said Lacy. “In the past, we were very reliant on some of the bigger entities to support those million-dollar plus purchases. I think what you saw this year, and somewhat last year, was a broad buyer base that supported that level of the market. For us, that was extremely encouraging. There were some newer players, some very established people. But the diversity of the market was very encouraging.”

For the second year in a row, the partnership of Talla Racing, Woodford Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds made the biggest purchase of the September sale. The group, which purchased a $1.7-million son of City of Light to top the 2021 auction, was forced to $2.5 million to acquire a colt by that stallion's sire, Quality Road, to top the 2022 sale.

The sale-topper was consigned by Stonehaven Steadings, which sold 19 horses for $8,283,000.

“It's been a tremendous market,” Stonehaven Steading's Aidan O'Meara said. “We had a phenomenal run ourselves, but everybody across the board has had some seriously nice trading. It's a huge turnaround from a couple of years ago at the height of COVID and we were all fretting about what was going to unfold in that scenario. To see the turnaround in such a short period of time has been phenomenal.”

Repole, Viola Repeat as Leading Buyers

The partnership of Mike Repole's Repole Stable and Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stable repeated as the September sale's leading buyer, with 31 yearlings purchased for $12,840,000, while Repole, who was seated in the pavilion for much of the first half of the sale, was, individually, the auction's fourth highest buyer, acquiring 27 yearlings for $7,940,000.

“With Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, we bought a lot of horses and that was their game plan coming in,” said bloodstock agent Jacob West, who was active for the leading partnership as well as several other clients. “The plan was to really go after what we deemed quality and give ourselves a chance to win the big Saturday races. All in all, you sound like a broken record, but good horses always sell well. And that's what I saw in the market.”

Won't You Be My Partner?

Partnerships continued to play a major part in the marketplace, with the stallion-making team of SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables purchasing 21 yearlings for $12,825,000 to be the second leading buyers for the second straight year. Also in the market for potential future stallions, the BSW/Crow Colts Group teamed with Spendthrift and Gandharvi to buy 10 colts for $4,290,000.

“It's massive,” Lacy said of the impact partnerships have had on the market. “It's obviously a huge investment for anybody and any individual, so to spread that investment over a  number of horses increases your opportunity to gain and be part of a good individual or a good program. We all enjoy sharing success and I think that's where people are starting to realize this is something that is actually fun. I think coming out of the pandemic, you see a lot more people who have an appreciation of the sport and want to be involved in it. It's a great way to let people in without the high-risk investment if they were doing it alone or in a small partnership. I think this is here to stay for quite a while. I am excited about what it can do for our industry in general over the next 10-20 years.”

Other major players to team up for the top 30 lots included Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys; Whisper Hill Farm and Three Chimneys; John Oxley, M.V. Magnier and Breeze Easy; Repole, St. Elias and West Point; and M.V. Magnier and Mike Repole.

“When you can diversify your portfolio and invest your money into multiple horses, you just give yourself a better chance to buy more quality products,” West said. “You give yourself a better chance of hitting a home run. People have realized the inherent risk that goes along with this game is very high. It's high risk, high reward, so if you can get involved in a partnership and diversify and lower your exposure, it makes all the more sense for people.”

Japanese Buyers Fight Exchange Rate

While facing a less favorable exchange rate than in previous years, Japanese buyers were still active at the Keeneland sale.

“There were 10 groups from Japan here for the sale,” Lacy said. “That's the busiest they've been at a September Sale in a long, long time.”

Hideyuki Mori led the way among Japanese buyers, joining the seven-figure parade with the $1.2-million purchase of a half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify. Mori purchased five yearlings for a total of $2,545,000.

“We are very aware of the factors that are at play, with the currency exchanges being a major part of that,” Lacy said. “That was what was so encouraging that, even with the yen at a 35-year low against the dollar, Japanese buyers were very active. They probably couldn't swing as hard as they could have in a more favorable market for them, but they did see the value in what they were buying. And I think that's incredibly important. Our breeders here breed a high-quality horse that is very appealing to the international market. It just goes to show, when the currency exchanges start swinging back in their favor, I think the international markets will be even more prevalent.”

West Buying And Selling

West, along with Jill Gordon, had the first September consignment of his Highgate this year, allowing the prolific buyer to appreciate the other side of the auction ledger

“With Highgate now, I can see both sides of it,” West said. “And if I am being honest, there were some surprises, both good and bad. Some horses exceeded our expectations and then some horses didn't meet our expectations, but it seemed like the ones that exceeded our expectations really over-exceeded our expectations. So it seemed like, if you were deemed by the public as having a quality product, you got rewarded. Which is always good for the breeders.”

West said the September results reflect an overall positive attitude in the industry.

“I think, quite frankly, there is confidence in our business and in our industry,” West said. “Whether you want to say that's from the purse structures that we have or even what some of these stallion prospects have been selling for once they retire, or the money some of the top horses are making, or a little bit of it may be that people have some belief that we are playing on a more level playing field with HISA coming into play.”

West continued, “The other thing, too, that I don't think a lot of people give credit for, whether FOX Sports or TVG, I think we've done an incredible job of promoting our business. During COVID, we were the only show in town and I thought a lot of people were very interested. Every year it seems the handle keeps growing. There are still some bumps in the road, but overall, I think we have a quality product that appeals to a lot of people. There are new partnerships forming–it seems like whether it's West Point or Eclipse Thoroughbred or whatever syndicate group–they always seem stronger buying at the top end because they have more people investing with them. And I think a lot of that has to do with the marketing that TVG, and especially FOX Sports, have done with NYRA and Churchill and those type of tracks that they are covering.”

Demand Continues into Week Two

Demand continued into the second week of the 12-day auction, with leading buyers like St. Elias Stable, which purchased the top lots during the sale's 10th and 11th sessions, joined by international buyers from Argentina, Azerbaijan, Chile, China, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mexico, Panama and Saudi Arabia.

“It's an incredible market. The rate of sales is amazing,” said Pat Costello of Paramount Sales, which sold 136 horses for $20,448,500. “There is depth to the market. The top-end guys kept buying back into other books [beyond Books 1 and 2] and that has driven people back into these books [5 and 6]. One of the things driving the market is the shortage of horses.”

In Books 4-6, the clearance rate never fell below 82%. During the ninth session Wednesday, a Keeneland record 329 horses sold through the ring in a single session.

“It's been a strong sale across the board, and it's amazing it has held up so well and above last year,” said Marc McLean of Crestwood Farm, which sold seven-figure horses for the first time, a Gun Runner colt and a Quality Road colt, each for $1.05 million. “There has been a good floor, which is nice for the horses that aren't the stars. It had great depth. That's a healthy market to me. We had quite a few standouts in each session. It's nice to have horses that are the more elite of the day. It's such a great feeling for us and the owners and breeders and the whole farm staff to have something that you feel will stand out. We're in Book 6, and we're busier than we ever dreamed we'd be.”

Taylor Made on Top Again

Taylor Made Sales Agency led all consignors at the September sale for the eighth consecutive year and the 24th year since 1988. Taylor Made sold 273 yearlings for $38,969,000, including three seven-figure colts by Constitution ($1.8 million), Quality Road ($1.15 million) and Into Mischief ($1 million).

Gainesway was second in total sales, followed by Paramount Sales, Lane's End Farm, Denali Stud, Eaton Sales, Woods Edge Farm, Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency and Machmer Hall Thoroughbreds.

Lane's End Farm's Quality Road was responsible for seven of the 30 seven-figure yearlings and he was bettered in that category only by Spendthrift Farm's Into Mischief, who had eight. Three Chimneys' Gun Runner had five million-dollar yearlings, while Curlin had three. Justify, Constitution and City of Light each had two, while Tapit had one.

For the third straight year, Into Mischief was the leading sire by gross, with 58 yearlings selling for $30,495,000. Omaha Beach was the leading first-crop sire with 59 yearlings grossing $12,667,000 for an average of $214,695. He was followed in that category by Audible, who had 66 yearlings sell for $10,609,000 for an average of $160,742.

English Channel Filly Tops Keeneland Finale

A filly by English Channel (hip 4108) brought a final bid of $115,000 from Tracy Farmer to top the final session of the September sale Saturday. Bred by Calumet Farm and consigned by Buckland Sales, the yearling is out of In Dy Ritz (A.P. Indy) and is a full-sister to stakes winner and multiple graded placed Ritzy A. P.

In all, 184 yearlings sold Saturday for a gross of $2,518,000. The session average was $13,685 and the median was $8,000.

There was no corresponding session a year ago.

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“I rode as a child and teenager and showed hunters that belonged to other people,” Moore said of her first introduction to horses while growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The people I was with got into racehorses and I helped them at a few sales. Then I galloped horses one summer at the track for Del Carroll, Sr.”

Eventually, Moore had to take a step back from her interest in racing.

“I had to earn a living, so for 30 years I worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “But when I retired, I bought a farm and bought a couple of horses.”

Moore bought South Gate Farm in 2015 and moved to the 126-acre property in January of 2016.

A year before purchasing the farm, she made her first equine purchases at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Her very first purchase was Queen Caroline (Blame), who she acquired for $170,000. Trained by Michael Matz, the dark bay went on to win four stakes races in Moore's colors in 2016 and 2017 and earned over $400,000 before helping to kick start the South Gate broodmare band.

Forte, Queen Caroline's first foal, sold for $80,000 as a weanling at the 2020 Keeneland November sale and was purchased by Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola for $110,000 at Keeneland September the following year.

“I thought he was a gorgeous foal,” Moore recalled. “I was really happy with him. I had had weanlings by Violence that I had pinhooked–I bought weanlings and sold yearlings–and I liked them, but they didn't really resemble the sire at all. So I was pleased to get a foal in Forte that looks a lot like Violence. He's a good blend of his sire and his dam.”

The prohibitive 1-5 favorite, Forte romped to a 7 3/4-length debut victory (video) May 27 at Belmont Park.

“When he won big in his first race, of course, that was a joy to see,” Moore said. “That was what I was trying to achieve when I bred the mare to Violence. I hoped to get a foal that had a little more speed and was a little more precocious than she was, but had her athleticism and racing temperament. It worked out just as I had hoped. Another case, I am sure, where it won't always work out like that. But Queen Caroline has been very good to me, both as a racehorse and as a broodmare. If they were all like her, it would be easy.”

Forte comes into the Hopeful off a fourth-place effort in the six-furlong GIII Sanford S. July 16 and will get an extra furlong to work with Monday at Saratoga.

“I would be ecstatic if that happened,” Moore said of a possible Hopeful win. “But I think, win or lose the Hopeful, he looks like he's going to be a good racehorse. So I am looking down the road, as I am sure his connections are, and hoping for good things for him. I think he will do better as the races get longer. So I think the extra furlong in the Hopeful will help and I hope he goes on from there.”

Queen Caroline next visited Uncle Mo and produced a colt by the Coolmore stallion last spring.

“It is a cross that I really liked, both physically and in the pedigree,” Moore said. “The mare is a nice, big athletic mare and Uncle Mo is obviously a nice, big athletic stallion with a similar build. But it also has some intriguing pedigree aspects to it. Nyquist (Uncle Mo) is out of a Forestry mare and Queen Caroline is out of a Forestry  mare. And the good filly by Uncle Mo, Bast, is out of an Arch mare and Queen Caroline is by Blame who is by Arch. So you have a lot of good pedigree connections to some very successful runners, as well as having a good physical match.”

The yearling will be Moore's first homebred Book 1 offering at Keeneland September when he goes through the ring as part of the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services consignment next Monday.

“He is a lovely colt,” she said of the yearling. “I am prejudiced, of course, but he is a really, really nice colt. He has his dam's mind, which is good, he has a good racing temperament. He is tall and big-bodied and strong and athletic. I think he is what everyone wants–he's what I want.”

Well. The colt wasn't exactly what Moore wanted.

“I was, to be honest, hoping to get a filly,” she said with a laugh. “I would have kept and raced her and hoped to retire her to the broodmare band one day. But I got a very nice colt.”

The colt conundrum is nothing new to Moore, who currently has four broodmares housed at her Virginia farm.

“I have bought nothing but fillies,” she said. “I sell the colts that I breed. I would keep fillies, if I ever had a filly. I am 0-for-7, seven colts and no fillies.”

Moore takes stock of market conditions when determining when to sell her foals.

“I just sort of fly by the seat of pants,” Moore explained. “If the stallion is doing very well, as Violence was when I sold Forte–I think Violence had three Grade I winners that year–I might sell the foal as a weanling. But if it's a nice physical that I think would be one to send to the Saratoga select sale or one of the first two books at Keeneland, then I would keep it and sell it as a yearling. It just depends on how the stallion is doing and how the foal develops. And what the finances are like.”

As for Queen Caroline, after not producing a foal in 2022, she is now in foal to Not This Time.

“She was in foal to Authentic, and lost that one, which was very disappointing, but I am really excited that she is in foal to Not This Time,” Moore said. “I think that's going to be a great match and who knows, I might get a filly this time. She is an easy mare to mate because she is doesn't have any faults you want to breed away from. She is a very nice well-conformed mare that had a lot of success on the track. So you are trying to add a little speed and a little precociousness to the offspring, but you don't really have faults that you want to breed away from. Which is helpful.”

Queen Caroline's first two foals are both Kentucky-breds, but future foals are expected to be born at South Gate Farm.

“In the case of Forte and his brother, those I sent the mare back to Kentucky to foal,” Moore said. “I am now starting to foal in Virginia, so that I will have Virginia-bred foals.”

In addition to her four-horse broodmare band, Moore also has borders at South Gate taking advantage of the Virginia-certified program which allows horses conceived and foaled outside of the state to become eligible for incentives at Mid-Atlantic racetracks if they maintain residency in Virginia for at least a six-month consecutive period prior to Dec. 31 of their 2-year-old year.

“I have lot of yearlings, a lot of boarders, that are here for the Virginia-certified program,” Moore said. “And I do some sales preparation for the boarders.”

Reflecting on her seven years as a farm owner, Moore said, “I enjoy living on a farm. It's very nice to have a reason to have a farm–you can't have 126 acres and not have any animals. So that's been a lot of fun. The racing has been highs and lows, as it is for everybody. When it's good, it's spectacular. When it's bad, it's pretty depressing. But you get through the bad and hope for more of the good. And on balance, I have enjoyed it quite a bit.”

The Keeneland September sale opens with two Book 1 sessions next Monday and Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11 a.m. and, following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 24 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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In 1976 and 1977, they saw the mighty Forego win the race. In 1982, the 3-year-old Conquistador Cielo won by 7 1/4 lengths, five days before he would return to win the GI Belmont S. In 1990, Criminal Type beat Easy Goer and Housebuster. In 1994, Holy Bull won the Met, rebounding from his lackluster performance in the GI Kentucky Derby. Ghostzapper won in 2005. The winner in 2010 was Quality Road.

Fast forward to Memorial Day 2022 and the Belmont card not only won't include the Met Mile, but there are no graded stakes on the program. The highlight on this afternoon will be five stakes races for New York-breds. There were supposed to be six, but one, the Commentator H., did not fill. It will be just another day at the track.

During the three-day holiday weekend, Belmont offered just one graded stakes, Saturday's GIII Soaring Softly S. The weekend was crying out for a big race, and there is no better way to fill the void than returning the Met Mile to its traditional place on the calendar.

The Met Mile was last run on Memorial Day in 2013. The following year, it was moved to Belmont Day and it has remained there ever since. The idea was to create a blockbuster card that went beyond just the Belmont Stakes. This year, there will be nine graded stakes on the card, eight of them Grade I's. It's working. With the exception of the Saturday Breeders' Cup program, the Belmont Stakes card might be the best in the sport. Last year's handle for the card was $112 million, a record for a non-Triple Crown year.

But there's been a price to pay. The weekend racing leading up to and following the Belmont has absolutely no sizzle. That might be fine for some of the weeks, but it shouldn't be ok for Memorial Day.

You can make a case that the Met is the third most important, most prestigious race run each year in New York, behind only the GI Travers S. and the Belmont. Put it along side eight claiming races if you have to and it can carry a day. But on Belmont Day it tends to get lost.

The solution is to go back to Memorial Day. To do so wouldn't affect Belmont Day one bit. A Met Mile-less card that still had eight stakes, seven of them Grade I's, and a Triple Crown event would get by just fine without the Met. And moving the Met back to Memorial Day would instantly make the Monday holiday program the special type of occasion that it was for 42 years but is no longer.

Repole-Viola Partnership Off To Good Start

It comes as no surprise that the first two-year-old to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status this year in New York is owned by the partnership of Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola. The feat was accomplished Friday at Belmont when Forte (Violence) romped by 7 3/4 lengths, paying $2.40 to win. Forte was purchased for $110,000 last year at Keeneland September.

On the same day, Repole and Viola finished third in a 2-year-old maiden at Churchill Downs with Summonyourcourage (Practical Joke). Summonyourcourage and Forte were their first two 2-year-old starters on the year.

Viola and Repole have assembled a stable of 2-year-olds that is so large and so potent that it is unlike anything ever seen in racing before. They bought 43 yearlings last year at Keeneland September, paying a combined $16.045 million. They also bought three yearlings at Fasig-Tipton sales for an aggregate cost of $1.725 million. The vast majority of the horses are colts.

“Vinnie and I have at least 50 2-year-olds together,” Repole said via text. “Plus, we probably have at least 25 each alone. I'm extremely excited about these 2-year-olds. Forte looked great in his debut, winning by almost eight lengths and getting an 81 Beyer. Vinnie and I are excited about unleashing some potential future stars at Saratoga. Building this stable has been 15 years in the making for me and the great team I have managing the stable.”

While awaiting the debut of more 2-year-olds, Repole can turn his attention to the GI Belmont S. He has a confirmed starter in Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and says that he is “leaning heavily” toward running the filly Nest (Curlin) in the race.

“If we run her, it will be because she deserves to be in this race,” Repole said. “She is just as fast as the 3-year-old colts. She is a daughter of Curlin and will relish the distance.”

Piggott in the North America

Equibase stats on Lestor Piggott's rides in North America go back only to 1976. Starting with that time, Piggott, who passed away Sunday at age 86, had seven winners in North America from 68 mounts. That includes two stakes wins, with Royal Academy in the 1990 GI Breeders' Cup Mile, and with Argument (Fr) in the 1980 GI Washington D.C. International.

Piggott's last-ever mount in the U.S. was one he probably would have liked to forget. He rode Mr. Brooks (GB) in the 1992 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, where the horse broke down and had to be euthanized.

In 1979, the Meadowlands brought him over to take part in an international jockey challenge pitting U.S. versus European riders. Steve Cauthen captained the victorious U.S. team. Piggott did not win a race that night.

Before the advent of the Breeders' Cup, the Washington D.C. International at Laurel led the way when it came to attracting star horses and riders from Europe. With three wins in the International, Piggott is tied with Manny Ycaza for most wins in the race by a jockey. Piggott also won the International in 1968 with Sir Ivor and in 1969 with Karabas. He also won the 1974 Canadian International aboard Dahlia.

After riding in the 1967 D.C. International, Piggott stayed in the U.S and tried to break in at Aqueduct during a time of year when flat racing is shutdown in the U.K. According to a New York Times report, he was 2-for-his-first-18 over the course of seven days. He said his intention was to finish the Aqueduct meet, which ended Dec. 15. When asked why he had made a detour at Aqueduct before returning to the U.K., Piggott said: “because I enjoy riding. Why not ride here?” He admitted he wasn't getting on the best mounts. “I wouldn't be riding these bad ones in England,” he said. “But I guess there's nothing else I can do here.”

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In what amounts to a historic buying spree, Repole and Viola's St. Elias Stable bought 43 yearlings at Keeneland September, paying a combined $16.045 million. That's after they spent $1.375 million on two yearlings at Fasig-Tipton October and one at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga for $350,000.

Represented by bloodstock agent Jacob West, the Repole-Viola partnership bought 40 colts at Keeneland and three fillies, paying anywhere from $40,000 for a colt by Always Dreaming to $1.05 million for a City of Light colt. They went after a number of sires, including four by Curlin and three by City of Light. The average price they paid was $373,000.

“There really is a good formula,” Repole said. “We know what we are doing. We have incredible lists. We have incredible advisors, an incredible team. We expect to do the same next year, the year after. We do it because we really enjoy this game.”

It's all about putting yourself in a position to win at the highest levels of the sport, something both have achieved. They teamed up to win the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Classic with Vino Rosso (Curlin), a horse they bought at the 2016 Keeneland September sale for $410,000. Viola owned 2021 GI Florida Derby winner Known Agenda (Curlin) and was a co-owner of 2017 GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister), while Repole campaigned, among others, GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) and GI Travers S. winner Stay Thirsty (Bernardini).

At the end of the day, it's not necessarily about the bottom line, but a thirst to win in a sport neither can get out of their systems.

“We've developed a passion,” said Viola, who owns the NHL's Florida Panthers. “It's less market driven. It makes sense on a sportsman's level. Every sports person wants to compete at the highest level at whatever activity or sport they participate in.”

Viola is from Brooklyn and Repole is from Queens. Both used Pletcher as their primary trainer and have similar goals and philosophies when it comes to the sport. It made their teaming up natural. As a partnership, their first big splash at the sales came at the 2020 Keeneland September Sale, where they bought 23 horses for a total of $9.295 million.

They are not just spending a lot of money, they are trying to spend a lot of money wisely. It starts with a team of advisors that includes West, Pletcher, Ed Rosen, Jim Martin, Rory Babich and Monique Delk. Each one has their strengths. Their information is passed on to Viola and Repole, who continue the hunt to find the next Vino Rosso.

“This is not an easy task” Viola said. “This is part art, part science, part team discipline. Mike and I are constantly communicating about those three challenges. It is very, very easy when you have a partner like Mike. He is an ultra-talented individual. We work really well together.”

“In business, it's 80% plan and 20% luck” Repole said. “In horse racing, it's 20% plan and 80% luck. Not too many people have that 20% plan. They are all over the place. Vinnie and I are hyper focused right now.”

Buying mainly colts is part of that plan. For Viola, it comes down to trying to win another Kentucky Derby.

“We are primarily buyers of colts,” Viola said. “The sole purpose is to win what we think is the Super Bowl of horse racing , the Kentucky Derby. You will see us buying 90% plus colts.”

Repole wants to win his first Derby, but he also wants to develop stallions, another reason why the two buy very few fillies.

“It's driven by having colts and driven by having stallions,” he said. “The one thing that Vinnie and I figured out pretty quickly is that the ability to make money in this game is with stallions. I still own a big percentage of Uncle Mo. His stud fee is $175,000 and he's bred every year to 200 mares. Anyone can do the math.”

Repole said he's reluctant to go over $1 million for any horse and prefers to stay in the range of $300,000 to $600,000.

“It's a numbers game” he said. “What Vinnie and I are trying to get is quality and quantity. That's what we are looking for. If somebody wants to go up to $2.7 million, God bless and good luck. Vinnie and I will never buy the sales topper because there's always going to be one horse that goes for $4 million and everyone says, 'Wow, look at that horse.' A couple of years later tell me what that horse did.”

The relationship has grown over the years. In 2016, the year they bought Vino Rosso at Keeneland, Repole and Viola went in on only two horses together. Repole said the success they had with Vino Rosso cemented the partnership, which has come to be more than just a business relationship. It has become a close friendship.

“Vinnie and I have gone from partners to great friends to family over the last 12 years,” Repole said. “There's no doubt I'd rather own 50% of a great horses with Vinnie than own 100% of as great horse by myself. It feels more special that way.”

Buying yearlings is never easy and there are no guarantees, but there is something to be said about having such a deep group of horses. So they hope to make some memories in the years ahead, starting next year when the 2021 yearling class hits the track and continuing in the 2023 Kentucky Derby. From the 2021 yearling buys, they'll have 46 chances to find a star. The odds are in their favor.

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“Day four was another outstanding day for the October sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “It was a fitting conclusion to a great horse sale. It's been a great week. The numbers have been tremendous all four days across the board. There were dramatic increases in gross, dramatic increases in average and dramatic increases in median and a pretty meaningful reduction in the RNA rate also. It was a very vibrant marketplace with tremendous depth in the bidding activity. There was a very diverse group of buyers to the bitter end. The sale exceeded our most optimistic expectations.”

By the close of business Thursday, 1,153 yearlings had sold for $52,607,500. The average of $45,672 was up 33.9% from 2020 and bettered the sales previous record figure of $37,955 set in 2019. The median of $25,000 was up 66.7% from 2020 and bettered the previous record of $18,500 set in 2014.

With just 205 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was a sparkling 15.1%.

Jacob West, bidding on behalf of Vinnie Viola's St. Elias purchased four of the auction's top five lots. West signed on behalf of the partnership of Viola and Mike Repole at a record-equaling $925,000 to secure a colt by Street Sense Wednesday. He made the highest bid of Thursday's final session of the auction when going to $500,000 to secure a colt by Nyquist (hip 1281).

Thursday's session topper was consigned by St. George Sales.

“It's been a really good sale, top to bottom,” confirmed Archie St. George. “We have sold nearly everything through the ring. There is money here, obviously, for good horses, but the middle and bottom market is good. I'd say it's carried on from September. Everything is positive. Long may it last. It's a fun time to sell horses.”

Patience Pays With Nyquist Colt

Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stable added a colt by Nyquist (hip 1281) to its October haul when Jacob West, bidding over the internet, went to $500,000 to acquire the yearling from the St. George Sales consignment Thursday. The dark bay is out of Froyo Star (Rockport Harbor), a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Sweet Reason (Street Sense) and graded winner Don't Forget Gil (Kafwain).

“He's a beautiful colt,” said Archie St. George. “He's got a lot of quality and presence. I'd like to thank Vinnie Viola and St. Elias for purchasing him and wish them the best of luck with him. We loved him and hopefully Vinnie will love him down the road.”

St. George and partners purchased the colt for $270,000 as a weanling at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale. The yearling was making his second trip through the sales ring this year after RNA'ing for $295,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale in August.

“He was probably in a bit of a growthy spurt then,” St. George said of the yearling's trip to Saratoga. “He did really well when he came home. The extra month to October helped. He just matured and filled out. To me, he's the whole package and I hope he runs now. We bought him here last November. We gave him a lot of money for him, so it's nice when it turns out.”

St. George has had success selling into a competitive yearling market. Asked if he was concerned about buying weanlings in that market when the calendar shifts to bloodstock sales in two weeks, he said, “It will be tough, but it always is. It's always very competitive to buy foals. There are a lot of good judges out there, people who do well year in and year out. And you have to work the sale hard. We are lucky between my wife, Michelle, and Roger O'Callaghan, we have a great team and we've had a lot of luck together. So we just have to work hard and hope we get lucky.”

Glen Hill Gets Its Gun Runner

After getting outbid on yearlings from Saratoga to Kentucky, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni finally signed a ticket on behalf of Glen Hill Farm when going to $335,000 to acquire a filly by Gun Runner (hip 1584) just two hips before the end of the Fasig-Tipton October sale Thursday night.

“If there is a good horse here, people will wait around for her,” Lanni said. “We've been trying to buy a horse for Glen Hill all year and we've been outbid all year. This is the first horse I bought for [Glen Hill's Craig Bernick] all year. We waited for the last sale of the year and one of the last horses through the ring. He said he wanted to buy something. We stretched a little bit for her, but we had been outbid at Saratoga, September and here. So we feel fortunate we were able to get her.”

The bay filly is the first foal out of stakes-placed Lunar Gaze (Malibu Moon). She was bred by Waymore LLC of the late Tom Conway and Charles Moore and was consigned by Taylor Made. Waymore purchased Lunar Gaze, in foal to Pioneerof the Nile, for $450,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale. The mare sold in foal to Vino Rosso for $90,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale.

“Gun Runner is off to a great start,” Lanni said. “And this filly was very nice. She had a lot of tone to her and a lot of strength to her.”

Zacney Strikes for Two Thursday

Chuck Zacney had been outbid on a couple of horses earlier in the October sale, but came back strong to take home two yearlings in the name of his Cash is King Thursday. First up, bloodstock agent Michael Hernon signed the ticket for the operation at $230,000 on a colt by Bolt d'Oro (hip 1332) and, as the sale was winding down Zacney, bidding on the phone, went to $290,000 to acquire a colt by Street Sense (hip 1580) from the Burleson Farms consignment.

Hip 1580 is the first foal out of Lucky Cover (Medaglia d'Oro), a daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Teammate (A.P. Indy).
“He was a big, strong, athletic colt with a great page,” Zacney said of the colt. “With Medaglia d'Oro on the bottom and I'm a big fan of Street Sense. When I saw him, I loved everything about him.”

The yearling was bred by Nice Guys Stable, which purchased Lucky Cover for $195,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale.
Hip 1332 is out of the unraced Gwithian (Street Sense), a half-sister to multiple Grade I placed Solomini (Curlin). He was bred by Clark Brewster and was consigned by Fort Christopher's Thoroughbreds.

“We are hearing a lot of good things about Bolt d'Oro, so we decided to jump in and get one,” Zacney explained. “We thought he was one of the better ones.”

Of his October shopping, Zacney said, “I actually came in last night and bid on one or two earlier in the sale and didn't get them. They were fillies, so I had to step up my game a little bit and jump a little higher for the colts, and I did.”
Zacney said both yearlings will likely be trained by Butch Reid.

Legion Bloodstock Takes Off

A group of four friends, each with sales and racing interests, decided to pool their resources and their talents under one umbrella and Legion Bloodstock was formed. Travis Durr, Evan Ciannello, Kristian Villante and Kyle Zorn debuted the new agency at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and came away with 17 yearlings for a total of $2,110,000. The group continued to be active at this week's Fasig-Tipton October sale, signing for five yearlings for a total of $373,000. Leading the Fasig purchases was a $250,000 filly by Good Magic.

“Travis Durr is a good friend of ours and he breaks all of our yearlings for us,” Ciannello said. “He approached us and said, 'What if we combine forces? We can work on marketing and getting our name out there.'”

Ciannello continued, “We have another syndicate, and we have other clients that we've bought for in the past, we had never bought under a banner. We've used different agents, but we mostly use different trainers and then the trainer would get the horse. So it just made sense to pool our talents.”

Also joining the new venture was Kristian Villante and Kyle Zorn.

“Kristian Villante is a bloodstock agent, he's been doing this and he has his own clients,” Ciannello said. “Kyle works for Hagyard Pharmacy. He worked for [trainer] Pat Byrne for years and now he manages Chuck and Maribeth Sandford's racing operation. So he brings that background with the horsemanship and the racing side of it.”

Pooling their talents and resources, the group works as a committee.

“At the sale, we will look at everything and everyone will say, 'OK, here are the horses I like.' We will all go off of different short lists and everybody splits up and then we compare notes. Then we do a second look and, if everybody signs off, we go after that horse.”

Joining forces has also allowed the agency to have coverage at, not just all the major sales, but also regional auctions. In additional to Keeneland September and Fasig October, Legion Bloodstock was on the results sheets at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Sale, the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, and the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's October Yearling Sale.

“We buy at every level, from the bottom, the top and everywhere in between,” Ciannello said. “We do some pinhooking. We have a partnership where we bought four yearlings this year all for $30,000 or less and the goal is to sell them. Hopefully they will be precocious, maybe get a start at Keeneland in April and have a good showing and get sold privately. If not, the July Horses of Racing Age Sale here [at Fasig-Tipton] will be the end of the road.”

Have a broad base of clients to draw from also gives Legion Bloodstock the flexibility to put together various partnerships to better compete in a competitive market.

“We will get creative,” Ciannello said. “We will put together partnerships. We aren't afraid to partner with partners. We bought a filly Tuesday for $250,000, a Good Magic filly, and we had to stretch, but we got her. For the perceived good ones, they are hard to buy. So we go back to the drawing board at the end and talk to everybody and say this is what we got and who wants what percentage. It's very flexible and everybody is like-minded. We can say these people will gel well with these people, so we can put together a group. Let's face it, the partnerships are the future. Even the billionaires out there are partnering, so if we want to compete, we have to do the same thing.”

Legion Bloodstock has already gained a toe-hold in the sales arena.

“So far, it's been very encouraging,” Ciannello said of the agency's early reception. “I didn't think it would grow so far this fast, but already we have our hats and people saying, 'Hey, Legion Bloodstock!' So it's been pretty cool so far. Hopefully, some horses from this first group hit. That would be great for us and we can keep it growing.”

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