But it's for precisely that reason that European breeze-up consignors have increasingly been able to repair a dismal separation between the gene pools either side of the Atlantic. It doesn't matter if European buyers haven't even heard of a stallion, so long as they can piggyback the expertise of these exceptional judges who sieve the American market for a horse with the right mechanics.

Of course, it does no harm if the page has some green streaks, whether in Europe or on turf in the U.S. But maybe the spectacular impact of Justify, following that made by his own sire, may help a few people remember how the European breed was once energized by Northern Dancer and his sons.

Even if that is only an incipient awakening, then the sheer volume of American stock in the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale—48 individual entries from 34 different American-based sires–will guarantee plenty of competition even among those who will be coming to Deauville (May 9 breeze show, May 11 auction) in the hope of repatriating Kentucky horses broken in by European horsemen.

That was the case six years ago when Norman Williamson of Oak Tree Farm sold a War Front colt, a $175,000 RNA at Keeneland the previous September, to Justin Casse for €250,000. Taken back to his native land, he became GI Preakness winner War Of Will—and now brings thing full circle with a member of his first crop featuring as Hip 177.

Little wonder, then, if the Arqana management is so eager to encourage American participation in this most cosmopolitan of catalogues. As Arqana's Executive Director Freddy Powell notes, this relatively boutique sale has drawn no fewer than seven members of Justify's third crop—compared with eight in the imminent OBS Sale that encompasses four times as many lots.

There are seven sons and daughters of Justify catalogued at Arqana | Sarah Andrew photo

“I wouldn't say we deliberately target American sires,” says Powell, “but I would say that our vendors who are used to buying in America quite like the Deauville track. We go left-handed, it's a flat track, and I think it's something that naturally makes sense for an American horse. We're a little bit later in the year, but the chance is there is going to be better ground. I think more than anything, it just makes sense. As we know, pinhookers like things that make sense.”

Last year's repatriated graduates already include West Point Thoroughbreds' Stretch Ride (Street Sense), third in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club last fall.

But while some pretty flashy pages will inevitably be struck out the moment the time sheets come through, from their catalogue pages alone, here is an early look at 12 offerings that will have obvious resonance for American visitors.

Lot 7, c, Uncle Mo—Tocco d'Amore (Ire), MC Thoroughbreds

MC Thoroughbreds offers Europeans a familiar page through a colt bought for just $30,000 at Keeneland. That's a startling sum on paper for a son of Uncle Mo out of Tocco d'Amore (Raven's Pass), who had cost Moyglare Stud €2 million as a yearling and won her only two starts including a 12f Listed race at Naas. She represents a famous Kilcarn Stud family as half-sister to five-time Group winner Echo Of Light (GB) (Dubai Millennium {GB}) out of champion Salsabil (GB)'s Group 2-placed sister Spirit Of Tara (Ire) (Sadler's Wells).

Lot 13, c, Maclean's Music—Unreachable, Powerstown Stud

Powerstown Stud's draft has an especially strong Bluegrass tint and features a very bold KeeSep pinhook in a $310,000 Maclean's Music half-brother [13] to Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid), a dual Group 1 winner in Japan. It all makes sense, though, when you look at his dam, a once-raced daughter of Giant's Causeway out of Harpia (Danzig), a graded stakes-winning sister to Danehill himself. He's a May foal but bred to be anything.

Lot 14, c, Justify—Unrivaled Princess, Leamore Horses

That colt is followed into the ring by another with an aristocratic page: the first Justify on parade, presented by Leamore Horses after being recruited by Chad Schumer for $105,000 at Fasig-Tipton last October. He's out of an unraced sister to triple Grade I-winning millionaire Unique Bella (Tapit), their dam of course being GI Ladies' Classic winner Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song). This family continues to thrive, with the latter's half-sister having produced a leading sophomore last year in Raise Cain (Violence). The mare's first foal, a filly by Medaglia d'Oro, was retained by breeders Whisper Hill Farm and recently broke her maiden by 9 ½ lengths.

Lot 40, c, McKinzie—Belle's Finale, Malcolm Bastard

A real standout on paper is the McKinzie half-brother to none other than Up to the Mark (Not This Time) offered by Malcolm Bastard. This fellow contributed $200,000 to his sire's impressive debut at the yearling sales when exported from Fasig-Tipton last October.

Lot 55, c, Not This Time—Cloudy Dancer (GB), Gaybrook Lodge

Not This Time—now looking the principal heir to Giant's Causeway—has a suitably versatile prospect in a colt out of an unraced Invincible Spirit (Ire) half-sister to Royal Ascot winner/Classic runner-up Gale Force Ten (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) from Gaybrook Lodge. This colt was alertly exported for $62,000 at Keeneland, in that he represents a coveted family in Europe: the next dam is a Listed winner out of a half-sister to fillies that respectively ran first and second in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. before subsequently delivering Group 1 winners and/or producers.

Lot 61, c, Tiz The Law—Cozze Up Lady, Powerstown Stud

There will be much curiosity about the breeze of Hip 61, a colt from the debut crop of Tiz The Law who appears well found by Powerstown Stud at Fasig last fall for $60,000. That's because his half-sister Kimari (Munnings) has made headlines on both sides of the ocean: she won a Keeneland maiden on debut by 15 lengths, and was then thwarted only in a photo for the G2 Queen Mary S. She again finished second at Royal Ascot the following year, this time at Group 1 level, before returning home to win the GI Madison S. back on dirt. On retirement she was bought by Coolmore for $2.7 million, and her half-brother by Constitution made $1.3 million as a yearling, so any sign of athletic ability in this colt will make him hot property.

Lot 62, Justify—Curlylocks (Ire), Lynn Lodge Stud

But there probably isn't a page in the catalogue to surpass the next into the ring: a February 2 colt by Justify out of a lightly-raced sister to Churchill (Ire) and Clemmie (Ire). The latter was the first Group 1 winner by Galileo (Ire) over six furlongs, tapping into the speed of her stakes-winning dam Meow (Ire) (Storm Cat) and granddam Airwave (GB) (Air Express {Ire}), a special conduit of indigenous British speed. If he can run at all, this lad will prove a characteristically inspired Mags O'Toole punt at Keeneland for $135,000.

Lot 63, c, Omaha Beach—Dad's Princess, Oak Tree Farm

Her colleague Norman Williamson of Oak Tree Farm presents another fascinating Keeneland import immediately afterwards. This Omaha Beach colt has already landed one knockout pinhook, Williamson having given $150,000 for him nine months after he made just $6,000 as a short yearling in the same ring.

Lot 64, f, Justify—Damson (Ire), Kilminfoyle House Stud

The Americans are obviously intended to stick around, as next into the ring is another that could cause a transatlantic tug-of-war: a January filly by Justify out of elite runner and producer Damson (Ire) (Entrepreneur {GB}), subject of a $155,000 docket at Keeneland and presented here by Kilminfoyle House Stud.  Damson, who beat colts in the G1 Phoenix S. at two, produced another flying juvenile in Requinto (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) but there's also Aga Khan depth to the further family.

Lot 136, c, Quality Road—Love Child, Longways Stables

Longways Stables went to $150,000 at Keeneland for a Quality Road colt. The mare's first foal by the same sire is a winner, but the key here is that she's out of a lightly raced sister to none other than Serena's Song (Rahy), who has demonstrated due genetic prowess in delivering not only a multiple graded stakes winner on turf in Doubles Partner (Rock Hard Ten), but also the fertile producer Princess Serena (Unbridled's Song), dam of three Group 1 and/or Group 2 winners and second dam of two others.

Lot 147, c, Bernardini—Morilles (GB), Gaybrook Lodge

Gaybrook Lodge offers a colt from the final crop of Bernardini pinhooked for $62,000 at Fasig October. He's out of a Montjeu (Ire) half-sister to graded stakes winner Indy Groove (A.P. Indy), their own dam a sibling to GI Super Derby winner Home At Last (Quadratic).

Lot 177, c, War Of Will—Promenade Review, C. F. Bloodstock

War Of Will, poster boy for this sale, should definitely interest European breeders with the genes he's now recycling at Claiborne. But meanwhile C.F. Bloodstock has brought over a colt from his first crop, unearthed at Fasig last October for $50,000. He's the second foal of a lightly raced half-sister to Promenade Girl (Carson City), winner of the GII Molly Pitcher and dam of triple Grade I winner Cavorting (Bernardini)—herself meanwhile celebrated as mother of Clariere (Curlin).

But Powell said he felt that there was much more on offer for Americans than American blood.

Of the 207 catalogued, he said, “There are 65 fillies in total, some very well-bred ones by typical European sires that could do well in the U.S. A Frankel (GB) filly (lot 60), two fillies by Kameko (164 and 178), a young, multiple graded-stakes winning son of Kitten's Joy; and fillies by Lope De Vega, No Nay Never, and similar stallions who could appeal to American trainers or owners or people who want to add a bit of European blood to their broodmare band.”

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Liz Crow: “I really liked the Improbables at the OBS March breeze show. It's very sad that he passed away. I thought he had, overall, the most impressive breeze show. That doesn't always indicate who's going to be the leading freshman sire, but I have found in the past that it's a good model that tells you the horse is going in the right direction and that they have some 2-year-old speed. Overall, I was very impressed with his horses. Volatile is my sleeper pick. He had, overall, a good breeze show as well. And he bred a lot of mares, something around 180. I landed on quite a few of them that had nice works and he was speedy himself and, being by Violence, comes from a good line of 2 year olds. With the number of mares he had and with the solid breeze show he had I rank him high on the list.”

Phil Hager: “In terms of the quality that I've seen so far it's a toss-up between Authentic and McKinzie. A lot of the Authentics I have seen look really nice. Some look like they could be early, but a lot of them look like horses that can go on and go two turns. The McKinzies look like they might develop a little later in the year, but they seem to have a lot of quality. Both were well supported and will go to a lot of good trainers. My sleeper is Caracaro. That horse could run. I used to work at Crestwood, so I knew the horse's story. He had quite a few that worked really well at the March sale. I don't know if that was a surprise, but they were consistent.”

Mike McMahon: “McKinzie is my pick. I've owned three or four already. Not only were they in demand at the sales but they were all good looking horses. I haven't had a bad one yet. The one we bought to go racing with, if all is right, he will be pretty exceptional. I feel like I have a good group of McKinzies and have a good feel for them. His 2 year olds breezed just as well as they were supposed to.  My sleeper is Vekoma. It's a tough choice because I like several stallions that stand for $10,000 or less and are real bargains. Vekoma has the speed to be a sire, the sire line and the pedigree. I've loved the ones we have been around.”

Jon Green: “I was most impressed with the Improbables. His passing is unfortunate. He had a couple of horses who were on our short list for the 2-year-old sale and last year we saw 10 to 12 of his yearlings that we liked at the yearling sales. I think he will be an outstanding freshman sire. The sleeper is Tom's d'Etat. We bought two of his yearlings and I got outbid on one at the March sale. He won't be a juvenile stallion that throws precocious 2 year olds. Just like him, as they get older. I think you'll see them hitting the winner's circle in graded stakes.They will get better with age.”

Connor Foley: Based on what I saw at the OBS sale, my pick for leading freshman sire would be Tiz the Law.  They breezed well enough as a group and I thought they all had a lot of race-horse characteristics to them. Horses can breeze fast, but you still have to ask yourself the question, are they going to go on to be good race horses? They had that look to me. For my sleeper pick, I was impressed by the horses by Thousand Words.”

Zoe Cadman: “Volatile is my pick for leading freshman sire. Like last year's freshman sire Mitole, Volatile was also brilliantly fast and trained by one of the masters of the game in Steve Asmussen. How he ever paid $20 to win on debut is just beyond me. He was brilliantly fast and being out of an Unbridled's Song mare I see no reason why his babies won't go two turns . They made a great showing at the recently concluded OBS 2-year-old sales showing not only class, which is so important, but also some stretch and athleticism. Marette Farrell, who I work closely with at the sales, scooped one up out of the Lothenbach dispersal who we absolutely love. My under-the-radar pick was going to be Vekoma. But his 2-year-olds are no longer a secret. The were incredibly well received at both the yearling sales and at OBS March. The Farrell team bid on and secured several. So, I'm going with Complexity who stands for $12,500 at Airdrie stud, as my sleeper. He has it all. He was a Grade I winner at two and also the Kelso winner at four. His 2 year olds looked great skipping over the OBS surface and I am looking forward to seeing them hit the racetrack soon.”

Mark Casse: “I have to go with War of Will, who I trained. I have something like 20 of his offspring and they're training very well.  They're going to be very versatile. He was a versatile horse who could run on dirt or grass. My sleeper is Win Win Win. The horses by him have been very impressive on the track.”

David Ingordo: “I have to go with Game Winner. He was 2-year-old champion and he got a good book of mares. They look the part. We got a bunch of them that we bought to race that act precocious, but also high class, not cheap. He's my No. 1 pick. My sleeper is Honor A.P. I don't think they'll win going 4 ½ furlongs by any means, but you have the A.P. Indy line that is not Tapit. He was precocious enough, but I think he'll be a source of Classic type blood. I can see him getting a horse in the Breeders' Cup Classic or, earlier on, him getting a 2-year old in races like the American Pharoah and the Breeders' Futurity.”

Terry Finley: We have a couple of Game Winners we like and I know people liked him in Ocala. The McKinzies look like they have a lot of quality to them. I was very impressed with him at the yearling sales and at Ocala, where they sold well. He's got a good shot to come up with a big one and a horse who is going to slant those stats. I like them both but I'll go with Game Winner as my top pick and McKinzie as my sleeper.

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He got off to a fast start doing just that last year as his young son Volatile made headlines with his first crop of yearlings. From just a $17,500 initial stud fee, the Grade I-winning Three Chimneys sire saw sales of $1.15 million, $700,000 and $600,000. This year Volatile stands for $15,000 as his first crop takes to the starting gate.

Forte, Violence's leading earner to date, will launch his stud career this year at Spendthrift Farm. The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile champ and four-time Grade I winner stands for $50,000.

A third son of Violence joins the stallion ranks this year and offers a welcomed bit of value for breeders. Dr. Schivel (Violence – Lil Nugget, by Mining for Money), a Grade I winner at two and three who was just a nose short of claiming the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, represents the Taylor Made stallion roster as he launches his stud career at $12,500.

“From what I've been told by numerous breeders and from what we think as well is that it's just tremendous value for a horse at $12,500,” said Taylor Made's Travis White. “He's a son of Violence, a good-looking horse, a multiple Grade I winner and he was precocious. It's everything the commercial breeders and buyers are looking for. The Violence line is known for throwing good-looking, good-sized commercial horses and I think Dr. Schivel could be the next in line to follow suit.”

White explained that the Taylor Made scouting team has had their eye on Dr. Schivel nearly since the start of his career.

After breaking his maiden by nearly six lengths, Dr. Schivel got his first Grade I score in the 2020 Del Mar Futurity. He returned at three to face older horses and win the GI Bing Crosby S., defeating GISW Eight Rings (Empire Maker), and then got a fifth straight win in the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. The Mark Glatt trainee's only loss as a 3-year-old came in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, where he just missed in a photo finish with Aloha West (Hard Spun).

Dr. Schivel gets up to win the 2021 GI Bing Crosby S. | Benoit

As an older horse, Dr. Schivel was third after a trip abroad for the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, placed again this year in the GI Bing Crosby S., and added another win in the GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. In his 15 career starts, he placed in all but three.

“For him to remain consistent and sound and be competitive and have that drive to win for four years, I think that says a lot for the horse,” said White. “If he can throw that, I think that's something that will pay dividends in the long run.”

Breeders seem to agree, as White said the horse is nearly booked full for his debut season.

“He's been very well received so far,” explained White. “We've put together a very good group of shareholders to support the horse and people who have been out to the farm to see him have really liked what they've seen. To me, you can look at Dr. Schivel and see why he was a racehorse. He's got great angles. He's got a very good neck, good shoulder and a good length of body. He's also got this really long, sleek walk to him that we all like to see when we're buying horses. He's a very good-looking horse and I think he fits our customer base really well.”

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Plenty of horses in this bracket have recently relinquished their brief window of commercial opportunity, and are now hanging around to discover whether they might join the very small group whose first runners generate a fresh vogue. Even with the newcomers out of the equation–we gave them a separate assessment, to open the series–we're left with three groups still untested on the track: those expecting their first foals; those who have just sold their first weanlings; and those actually about to dip a toe in the water with their first runners.

Pending that crossroads, many find themselves somewhat adrift against a bunch of older sires who have survived that test. These fit this tier either because they are losing stature or, more cheerfully, because they have carved out a viable niche as an affordable source of winners.

First the young guns. Of those who sent their first yearlings to auction this year, the ones who really nailed it, unsurprisingly, vaunted the kind of speed that pinhookers crave.

VOLATILE burned brightly in a light career, not seen again after confirming his Grade I caliber against a small but select field in the Vanderbilt. His 112 Beyer in the Aristides S. (1:07.57) was the highest of 2020 and duly secured 181 mares the following spring. Himself an $850,000 yearling, with a GI Test/GI Ballerina winner as granddam, his $125,431 average was boosted by a spectacular $1.15 million docket for a Book 1 filly at Keeneland in September. Nudged back up to $15,000 (from $12,500), Volatile has three hefty books behind him and will be the horse to beat for the freshman title next year.

But not even his median yield of 4.3 on his opening fee ($75,000/ $17,500) could match that of COMPLEXITY, whose $65,000 median (never mind his average $90,400!) multiplied his $12,500 fee by 5.2. Complexity started with some serious volume by the restrained standards of his farm, and then followed through with another three-figure book in his second season. He was clearly in the same vicinity as Volatile as a mature horse (110 Beyer in the GII Kelso) but was the more accomplished juvenile, wiring a Saratoga maiden (90 Beyer) before a decisive success in the GI Champagne S. on his second start. His half-sister ran second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, so their unraced dam is obviously channelling the good stuff.

VEKOMA is meanwhile working the Spendthrift system with remarkable efficiency, having started out (at $20,000) with staggering volume, entertaining at least 200 mares in each of his first three seasons. This year he processed 102 of his first yearlings at $98,432, albeit was unsurprisingly stretched somewhat thinner by a median of $60,000. Though confined to eight starts across three seasons, he was class from beginning to end, posting big numbers for his Grade I double in the Carter and Met Mile. From a stallion-producing family, he's a horse I've liked all the way through and everything is in place for him to look after many (albeit probably not all!) of his (very many!) clients at $15,000.

Knicks Go | Sarah Andrew

Among those in this intake offering rather more stretch, one or two suffered horrible yearling medians relative to conception fee. But one who made a solid start off $12,500 was Bolt d'Oro's half-brother GLOBAL CAMPAIGN: 74 yearlings sold at $63,195 (median $43,500). This was a more talented animal than generally appreciated and I can see him proving himself a bargain gateway to Curlin. A closer look at his family shows that it tends to produce faster types than are associated with the seeding sires, and Global Campaign's first crop of 126 live foals may surprise a few people with their dash.

Of those who sold their first weanlings this fall, meanwhile, the one that will sort out the sheep and the goats is KNICKS GO. No questioning his talent, it was just never quite obvious where it all came from–albeit his dam maintained stakes speed through four seasons. Those who didn't require a more familiar pedigree were delighted to see a Horse of the Year introduced at just $30,000. Well, now they can get him for half that, even though he's still nearly 18 months away from the opportunity to demonstrate whether or not he can replicate his brilliance! At this money, some people will surely want to roll the dice.

Even as it is, his weanlings sold a little better than those of SILVER STATE. But it's very early days for the latter, whose pedigree in contrast elucidates all the class he manifested as a runner. A friendly clip to $15,000 should hopefully keep him in the game because this horse equipped to prove a really wholesome influence.

The subsequent intake features some truly frightening books, but I will resist dwelling on that here. Suffice to say that those playing a longer game might quite like a filly by either SPEAKER'S CORNER or MYSTIC GUIDE. Both have taken an early trim at Darley, respectively to $17,500 and $12,500, and their pedigrees shout distaff influence.

We'll have to see how many of the youngsters will endure even in this relatively modest tier, a few years from now. Nor does a flying start bring any guarantees, as UNION RAGS could caution them. The halving of his fee to $15,000 acknowledges the way he has faltered, having stood at $60,000 between 2018 and 2020. Trade for his latest yearlings made this further cut imperative, but he's still the same horse that so quickly came up with five Grade I winners. Hopefully he will find a little oxygen now that he has descended to more accessible altitudes.

Studmate DAREDEVIL has taken his second cut since returning to the U.S., now down to $15,000, but of course it's only in 2024 that we'll get to assess the first juveniles conceived after Swiss Skydiver prompted his urgent repatriation. Their sales performance demanded a mild trim in fee, but he could easily be poised for fresh momentum.

MENDELSSOHN has also taken consecutive cuts, similarly now available at $15,000. He has so far been more about quantity than quality but his supporters will hope that he can still emulate four others, standing at the same fee, who have all done admirably to create a lasting foothold in this most slippery of markets.

The first of these, DIALED IN, is something of a blue-collar hero. He maintains such high volume–corralled 175 mares last spring, his 10th at stud–that it will always be hard, with the raw materials available at this level, to make his ratios “sing”. But Defunded has once again shown the caliber within his competence as his third elite scorer. Dialed In gets his work done at a fair tariff, and will keep plugging away to leave behind many of those now starting at multiples of his fee.

Cairo Prince | Sarah Andrew

CAIRO PRINCE has also created a sustainable brand for himself through six crops, as attested by a solid book of 129 mares last spring. A set-your-clock black-type producer throughout, he's now entering the territory where he can legitimately prove a mare–and of course he gets such a nice type, the average ($54,194) and median ($40,000) of his latest yearlings duly best among this proven quartet.

MIDSHIPMAN is a true yeoman and it's typical of this business that he should have had a quieter year (by his very special standards) both on the track and in the sales ring after finally doubling his fee to $20,000 last year–due recognition for having punched above weight for so long. His lifetime stats remain ridiculous for a stallion who has largely been a four-figure cover: 47 stakes winners at 6.4 percent of named foals, nine at graded stakes level; and 101 black-type performers overall, at 13.7 percent. The trim back to $15,000 brings him back towards the reach of breeders who most appreciate just what he can do for their mares.

KANTHAROS, who has really pulled himself up by his bootstraps, had another very solid year on the track. He has made the same slip in fee, reflecting a tepid book of mares last spring and a challenging yield on yearlings conceived at $30,000. But that was an experience shared by many sires exposed to a porous middle market, and the fact is that Kantharos lurks only just outside the top 10 in the 2023 general sires' list with a dozen stakes winners, including a couple at graded level. His lifetime ratio of stakes runners–11 percent of named foals–remains outstanding for a horse whose first five books were compiled in Florida at just $5,000.

He sired two Grade I winners at that fee, and now has another millionaire in Grade II winner Bay Storm. The first of his two $30,000 books were juveniles this year, and we know how they will keep thriving. That guarantees Kantharos imminently entry into the top 20 active sires on lifetime earnings. All he needs to do is supplant… Lookin At Lucky!

VALUE PODIUM

Bronze Medal: CONNECT
Curlin–Bullville Belle (Holy Bull)
Lane's End $15,000

Connect | Sarah Andrew

Amid all this talk about stud fees being too high, credit is overdue to Lane's End for anticipating the mood in the room. From Flightline down, the farm made 11 cuts across their 2024 roster. All were meaningful, and some nearly brutal, effectively conceding that one or two stallions were drifting into trouble and needed some decisive help. Bravo! The very opposite of burying your head in the sand, and in the present environment I hope it works out both for the farm and its clients.

One stallion who can certainly benefit is Connect, restored from $25,000 to his 2021 fee of $15,000 after the crop conceived that year returned a tepid median (albeit a perfectly acceptable $45,774 average) at the yearling sales. He'd also suffered a real slump in his book last spring, down to 45 from 172 in 2022! But we're accustomed to seeing horses treated like this, once they have served their commercial purpose, and should sooner marvel at the impression he must have made with his first crop to get such a big book (up from 93 in 2021) in his fifth year at stud.

Sure enough, only Gun Runner and Practical Joke banked more prizemoney as freshmen in 2021, and only Gun Runner had more winners. Unfortunately Connect did not then consolidate especially well, but he has made a timely return to form this year with eight stakes winners, three at graded level, plus a GI Kentucky Oaks third in The Alys Look. Moreover, his first-crop flagship, the juvenile Grade I winner Rattle N Roll, failed by just half a length to add another elite score in the GI Stephen Foster S. That horse was a $55,000 weanling but has now banked $1.7 million across three seasons.

Connect's pedigree is not without its challenges but he's another to bring Curlin within range and had real prowess as a racehorse, a blip in the Travers his only defeat in seven starts (four triple-digit Beyers) up the grades after debut. He outkicked none other than Gun Runner in the GII Pennsylvania Derby and, while he won't be doing that again any time soon, he's actually siring winners at a higher percentage of named foals.

With that bumper crop of weanlings in the pipeline, and now a lenient fee, this looks a good time to re-Connect.

Silver Medal: KARAKONTIE (Jpn)
Bernstein–Sun Is Up (Jpn) (Sunday Silence)
Gainesway $15,000

Karakontie | Sarah Andrew

How pleasing to see this undervalued stallion moving his book back up last year, up to 86 from 48. Perhaps his hour has come at last, now that the minority prepared to breed to a quality turf sire in the Bluegrass have been deprived of English Channel and Kitten's Joy.

If you're enlightened enough to see the growing need for turf quality in the U.S., then you might also recognize that you don't always have to fly first class to Tattersalls. With a fifth crop on the track, Karakontie has still only had 174 starters, but seven have won graded stakes. For the second year running, moreover, he had an elite scorer in She Feels Pretty, winner of the GI Natalma S. before failing by barely half a length to overcome a wide trip in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Karakontie's premier earner Princess Grace meanwhile continued to thrive in Australia, missing Group 1 scores by a neck and half a length.

Even after a hike from $10,000, Karakontie is an awful lot of horse for this fee. He converted some of the most regal blood in the book–his third dam is Miesque herself–into a turn of foot that won him a Group 1 at two and then a mile Classic, before doing all he could to endear the American market in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. Don't forget that he restores Sunday Silence to the Bluegrass through his dam, herself out of a half-sister to Kingmambo. His international pedigree and participation alike are a measure of our debt to the program that produced him.

The American market has not really grasped its privilege, with this horse, but the elevation in his fee tells you everything you need to know: he's being used by people who want to breed a runner, whether in their own silks or to boost a mare. Actually, Karakontie is perfectly capable of a home run at the sales, including the $525,000 filly at Keeneland in September whose buyers will have been delighted to see her full-sister (who herself made $280,000 the previous year) win the Tepin S. last month. His lesser specimens may struggle commercially, until the environment improves, but that won't trouble those eccentrics who calculate value according to the odds of ending up with a runner.

Gold Medal: MITOLE
Eskendereya–Indian Miss (Indian Charlie)
Spendthrift $15,000

How naïve of me to imagine that all those commercial breeders who flocked to the new sires in 2020 wanted nothing more than to land on the champion freshman of 2023. Because Mitole, as he closes in on those laurels, finds himself the only one of the four Spendthrift sires dominating this table to remain on the same fee in 2024.

Mitole | Louise Reinagel

Now, clearly this farm needs no help in how to make their remarkable machine run smoothly. The Spendthrift team know that Mitole was the one who took the biggest slide of the quartet, in the inevitable slackening of demand for their second crop of yearlings. But they had already ensured that these were conceived more affordably, trimming him from $25,000 in his debut season to $15,000. That was partly a concession to the Covid market, but it also offered such obvious value about a champion sprinter that he maintained the enthusiastic support of 184 mares even last spring, after topping 200 in each of his three previous seasons.

In other words, the system is functioning smoothly and Mitole has played his part so well that he approaches the winning post with a narrow advantage over Maximus Mischief (my serial “gold” pick, I might add, after starting at $7,500!) by prizemoney and also a wafer-thin one by individual winners (32 from 79 starters).

Whether or not he holds out, Mitole is the only one of the four to have a graded stakes scorer–and so joins Flameaway and Solomini in what has been a weirdly unproductive group, by that measure-in GIII Pocahontas S. winner/GI Alcibiades runner-up V V's Dream.

The precocious Maximus Mischief has shown a lot more of his hand (77 starters from 122 named foals) and remember that Mitole (79 from 145) himself only squeezed in a single start at two, in late November. It was as a 4-year-old that he racked up his four Grade Is–including that resonant Met Mile/Breeders' Cup Sprint double, and a stakes record at the intermediate distance in the Forego. So it seems fair to suggest that he has only just got started.

By now Mitole has surely stifled misgivings about his sire, himself after all a brilliant performer and a conduit of corresponding genes. Eskendereya's fifth dam is Cosmah, and doubles up her half-sister's son Northern Dancer top and bottom. It was presumably his unfashionable sire that confined Mitole to $20,000 as a yearling–but then along came kid brother Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), himself a $17,000 short yearling, to reiterate the merit of a family cultivated by the late Edward A. Cox Jr.

Hot Rod Charlie has now followed Eskendereya to Japan, where they have made a habit of exposing crass commercial trends in Kentucky. But here's a horse making the family assets work even in this less imaginative environment, and his debut at the 2-year-old sales–behind only Omaha Beach in the key freshman medians–suggest that Mitole will be taking out a long lease on the attention of pinhookers.

Sires In The Teens: Breeder Selections

Aidan O'Meara, Stonehaven Steadings

Aidan O'Meara | Keeneland

Gold Medal: Volatile
One of the best angles for success in the commercial breeding field is identifying a future leading stallion in the early stages and this sometimes requires taking a leap of faith breeding when their first runners are about to run. Volatile has been the breakout star at the yearling sales this year, mirroring his sire's first crop results a few years back. He's a beautifully built horse himself and passed his physique on with remarkable consistency. He's been very well supported by breeders and will have plenty of ammo in his first few crops to give him every opportunity. If his offspring have legitimate ability, he will skyrocket up the stallion ranks and $15,000 will look like the deal of the decade.

Silver Medal: Connect
The crop of 2021 has all been overshadowed by Gun Runner's incredible achievements, but Connect has been quietly developing a very solid career for himself. He has shown consistency with three graded stakes winners again this year and a strong supporting cast of stakes horses. He has also shown the ability to get the all-important high-class horse with Rattle N Roll. He measures well in all statistical categories and looks to be a stallion that can establish himself long term in the mold of a Midshipman/First Samurai/Blame type.

Bronze Medal: Audible
The Spendthrift quartet has garnered most of the attention from this year's freshmen and rightly so but one horse is simmering just below these and that horse is Audible. His 14% stakes horses with his first 2-year-olds cannot be ignored and his own racing career suggests there is more improvement to be had as they mature. He's a beautiful horse that can throw the right kind as witnessed by his first crop of yearlings. $15,000 is very intriguing for a horse with some potential future upswing and worst-case scenario has shown plenty of ability for longer term success at this price point.

Peter O'Callaghan, Woods Edge Farm

Peter O'Callaghan | Fasig-Tipton

Gold Medal: Midshipman
This stallion has been very good to us both on the track and in the sales ring. We recently bred first-time-out 2-year-old winner Midshipman's Dance; pinhooked Grade II winner Special Reserve; bred Leucothea and co-bred Amidst Waves, both of whom are multiple stakes winning 2-year-olds. He is a very consistent and well-respected sire, standing for an affordable $15,000. You can sell one well at the sales and he produces winners every weekend at the track.

Silver Medal: Mitole
Obviously a brilliant racehorse and looks to be turning out some good 2-year-old winners this second half of the year. Must be a horse worth a punt at $15,000. We are breeding to him again this year.

Bronze Medal: Vekoma
A brilliant racehorse, a high class 2-year-old who trained on, winning some high-profile races in the GII Bluegrass S. going two turns at three. Then winning the GI Carter H. and GI Met Mile at four in impressive fashion. Furthermore, he is a very well-bred son of Candy Ride (Arg), out of the GISW Speightstown mare Mona De Momma from the family of Mr. Greeley.

He is a good-looking horse who seems to sire plenty of good-looking stock. We have bred to him each year and have bought foals by him in each crop, he has not let us down so far.

I think he is a horse with a legitimate shot to be a sire standing at an affordable fee of $15,000.

The post Value Sires For 2024, Part 4: Into The Teens appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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First or second in nine of 14 lifetime starts, the earner of $1,327,100 was campaigned by Red Baron's Barn, Rancho Temescal, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, and William A. Branch, and trained by Mark Glatt.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to stand Dr. Schivel in partnership with Tim Cohen, Dean Reeves, and Bill Branch,” said Taylor Made's Travis White. “It's very special to have a horse that was talented and precocious enough to win a Grade I at two and then come back to win another Grade I as a 3-year-old, beating older horses. Dr. Schivel, who has defeated 13 Grade I winners in his career, has been a sound, extremely consistent horse and his Breeders' Cup Sprint as a 3-year-old was a remarkable performance.”

Winner of the GI Del Mar Futurity at two, he returned at three to add a win in the GI Bing Crosby S. and GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship before rounding out the season with a close-up second in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. This year, he was third in the Bing Crosby and won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in his latest start Sept. 30.

White added, “He has remained in Grade I form throughout his racing career, and Mark Glatt said Dr. Schivel has been all class from day one. He is a big, good-looking son of Violence and breeders will really like what they see.”

Bred in Kentucky by William A. Branch and Arnold R. Hill, the 5-year-old is out of Lil Nugget, a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner and millionaire Ultra Blend. Dr. Schivel's first two dams are both Grade I producers.

Dr. Schivel is the second-highest earner for his sire Violence, a Top 10 General Sire in 2023. In addition to Dr. Schivel, Violence is also represented by the reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Male Forte, a four-time Grade I winner. Violence is also the sire of GISW Volatile, who had yearlings sell for $1,150,000 and $700,000 at the Keeneland September Sale. With a current yearling average of $134,973, Volatile has the third-highest yearling of all first-crop sires.

The post MGISW Dr. Schivel to Stand at Taylor Made After BC Sprint Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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He is the first sire in history to have sired nine individual millionaires with just two full crops. He currently ranks second on the TDN's General Sire list, behind only Into Mischief, with over $14 million in progeny earnings. Counted among his 13 stakes winners and 31 stakes performers in 2023 are Grade I winners Gunite and 'TDN Rising Stars' Echo Zulu and Locked, the latter winner of last weekend's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland. They are three of 11 Grade I performers for Gun Runner this year. Recent GII Chandelier S. winner Chatalas is one of his seven possible starters in the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup NetJets Juvenile Fillies.

Volatile had a strong season with his first yearlings in the sales ring, seeing 75 yearlings average $135,000. He was the leading first-crop sire by average at Fasig-Tipton July and was the sire of the Three Chimneys' homebred yearling out of Love and Pride who sold for $1,150,000 at Keeneland September. His stud fee is set at $15,000 LFSN, up from $12,500 in 2023.

Palace Malice, whose 2024 stud fee remains at $7,500 LFSN, will be represented with Breeders' Cup starter Brocknardini.

The complete 2024 fees are as follows:
Gun Runner – $250,000 LFSN
Volatile – $15,000 LFSN
Sky Mesa – $10,000 LFSN
Palace Malice – $7,500 LFSN
Funtastic – $5,000 LFSN

The post At Three Chimneys, Gun Runner Becomes Third Stallion to Stand for $250,000 in 2024 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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LEXINGTON, KY – With the very first horse through the ring bringing $1.3 million, the second session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale was off to the races Tuesday and the action didn't slow down throughout the day as the second-to-last offering brought $1.25 million. In between, 13 other yearlings sold for seven figures, including a colt by Into Mischief who brought top price of $3 million from the partnership of Chuck Sonson, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford.

With eight million-dollar yearlings Monday, the two-session Book 1 section concluded with 23 yearlings bringing $1 million or more.

“It was a great day with lots and lots of different buyers, the partnerships were active, it was active from the domestic side as well as the international side,” said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. “The 15 top prices were bought by 13 different buyers. And there was also a real diversity among the consignors, which was really nice to see. There were a lot of consignors who had a lot of success today.”

Figures for the marathon auction continue to track very closely with its record-setting 2022 renewal. In all, 221 yearlings sold during Book 1 this year for a total of $116,925,000. During last year's Book 1 section, 220 yearlings grossed $113,660,000 as the auction was well on its way to recording its first-ever gross over $400,000,000.

“Going in, I didn't think it would be fair for us to expect that we could replicate last year,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “But I think when you look at the numbers–obviously the median is down a little, the average is up a little bit–but overall the fact that the gross is up over $3.5 million from last year is incredible. When you look at the numbers through the ring that got sold, it's very, very comparable.”

The Book 1 average of $529,072 is up 2.41% from a year ago, while the median dipped 11.11% to $400,000.

From a catalogue of 392 yearlings, 302 went through the ring with 81 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 26.82%. It was 21.99% a year ago.

“A lot of people don't have to sell,” Lacy said. “When you have a purse structure and people are enjoying it so much, they are happy to race.”

Gainesway was the book's leading consignor with 29 horses sold for $20,920,000. The farm sold eight of the book's 23 million-dollar yearlings, with five coming from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm broodmare band.

“We had high expectations coming in,” Gainesway's Brian Graves said. “I wasn't sure we had as many million-dollar horses to sell as we actually did. The market proved to be really strong. But we knew we had a really good group of horses for our clients. The market is alive and well.”

Mike Repole continued to lead all buyers at the auction. On his own, the New Yorker purchased 21 yearlings for $8,135,000, while in partnership with Spendthrift Partners, he acquired an additional two yearlings for $1.2 million.

In addition to his activity buying, Repole also bred and sold the section's $3-million topper through the Lane's End consignment.

Into Mischief continued to dominate the top of the market. The Spendthrift stallion had 11 seven-figure yearlings and a total of 31 head grossing $27,910,000. Coolmore's Uncle Mo, with four seven-figure yearlings, had 17 Book 1 horses sell for $12,495,000. The duo were represented by nine of the book's top 10 yearlings.

The Keeneland September sale continues with Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. Following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 23 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

$3M Into Mischief Colt Heads Day 2

Continuing to underscore the sheer sire power of Into Mischief on this year's yearling market, Hip 261, a colt by the Spendthrift sire out GISP Nonna Mia (Empire Maker) landed a $3-million final bid from the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing and Chuck Sonson.

“This is a beautiful colt. This is a young family [and] with Into Mischief, you don't have to say much. He was always in the hands of Lane's End, so we knew a little about his upbringing,” said Terry Finley, who handled the signing duties from inside the pavilion. “We are really excited and have a new group of partners who are in on him. We will try to get to the Derby in 2025.”

Terry Finley & Chuck Sonson | Keeneland

Of the session-topping yearling, Finley added, “I thought he'd bring a significant amount of money. You never know. After they bring $1.5-$2 million, you never really know where you're going to stop. I was just glad that we got to a point where I thought it was a 'reasonable' amount of money, if you can in fact call $3 million reasonable for a racehorse that has never had a saddle on his back.”

The buying partnership also combined to purchase Hip 220 and Hip 225, a pair of $800,000 colts by Candy Ride (Arg) and Quality Road.

The Feb. 11 foal was consigned by agent, Lane's End.

“When you bring an individual like him to this sale, you hope to be rewarded and that's what happened today,” said Lane's End's Allaire Ryan. “Over the past decade, of the horses we've raised at the farm, he is right up there. He's always been a forward individual from Day 1. He's been a special horse for us.”

She continued, “All the top players you think would be interested in a future stallion prospect like him. I'm just thrilled for everybody on the farm. To be entrusted to a mare like this for Mr. Repole means a lot in and of itself but to be able to raise a horse and bring him to an auction is rewarding for everybody.”

While showing moderate ability on the track, Nonna Mia has already proved her mettle in the breeding shed, producing GI Wood Memorial winner Outwork (Uncle Mo), in addition to SP Nonna's Boy (Distorted Humor).

Commanding the spotlight at $3 million!

Hip 261, an Into Mischief colt out of Nonna Mia and a half to Outwork, sells for $3 million to Sonson, Woodford, West Point, LEB, Agent. He was consigned by @LanesEndFarms. #KeeSept pic.twitter.com/ZCCmg0AP2a

— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) September 12, 2023

Day 1 Leading Buyer Repole Returns Tuesday with Breeding Score

Mike Repole was busy spending through Book 1, purchasing 11 yearlings, alone or in partnership, for just a tick under $3.945 million. Recouping some of that cash during Tuesday's session, Repole sat front and center with his team when a homebred colt out of a horse he campaigned, Nonna Mia, lit up the board.

“She was named after my grandmother,” he said. “I named the horse in 2009. My grandmother passed away in 2020. So she's very special to me.”

A half-sister to MGSW Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile), Nonna Mia was a $200,000 purchase by Repole from the Mill Ridge consignment at the 2008 renewal of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

According to Repole, the 16-year-old mare currently resides at Lane's End.

“Nonna Mia is getting up in age, maybe she has one more in her, maybe not,” he said.

The pedigree received a significant bump at Saratoga when Repole homebred Fierceness (City of Light), a son out of Nonna Mia's daughter Nonna Bella (Stay Thirsty), blew the doors off to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status Aug. 25.

“She also gave me Outwork and a horse I think is the best 2-year-old, Fierceness, who is going to the GI Champagne S.,” he confirmed. “So, we're lucky to have her.”

Underscoring the importance of the recent update to the colt's catalog page, Finley added, “I was up at Saratoga when Fierceness ran. I was awestruck by that performance.”

During Tuesday's session, Repole was also an active buyer, securing an additional 12 yearlings, 11 alone and one in partnership, for a gross of $5,390,000.

“I want to be the leading buyer and leading seller one day,” he quipped. “But I am passionate about all aspects of this game. Stallions, stallion shares, broodmares, buying, selling, weanlings, yearlings, even claiming horses for $12,500.

“I just enjoy the game. I like to play it at every single level I can and try to as well as we can do. I enjoy winning.”

Asked whether he will be back for Book 2 and 3, Repole laughed, “We'll be buying today, tomorrow, and the next day. Don't forget, we bought [juvenile champion] Forte in [Keeneland's] Book 4. Winners can come from anywhere.”–@CbossTDN

Stewart Strikes for Uncle Mo Filly

John Stewart, who made a big splash during Monday's first session of the Keeneland September sale, took his biggest swing of the week when going to $2.5 million to acquire a filly by Uncle Mo (hip 337). While Stewart was at the sale in person during the first session, he left bidding Tuesday to agent Gavin O'Connor and farm manager Chelsey Stone.

“She's an unbelievable filly,” O'Connor said after signing the ticket on the yearling who was consigned by Denali Stud as agent for breeder, WinStar Farm. “Uncle Mo is the sire of incredible fillies.”

The yearling is out of Starship Warpspeed (Congrats) and is a half-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil).

“I know the family personally,” O'Connor said. “I used to work for WinStar. I spent five years under Dave [Hanley] and Elliott [Walden]. So I have had babies out of the mare. They have a full-brother in training and he looks very promising as well.”

O'Connor, who was on the phone with Stewart during the bidding, admitted they had to stretch to get the filly.

“It was a little bit more than we wanted to go, but like we've said, John is a buyer,” he said. “I thought we were going to have her at $2.2 there, and then it went 3, 4, 5, and I thought, 'How far can we go here?'”

He added, “She's just an unbelievable broodmare prospect. She's an incredible filly. And the residual value is there. We just feel we have a safe asset at that price.”

Stewart purchased 10 yearlings during Book 1 for a total of $7,750,000. In addition to his $2.5-million acquisition, the Lexington financier also paid $1 million for a colt by Into Mischief (hip 147), a colt by Constitution (hip 135) for $850,000 and another son of Into Mischief (hip 83) for $800,000.

“We are done now,” O'Connor said. “We've got a really exciting stable of horses to go on with.” @JessMartiniTDN

All eyes on hip 337 as the Shedaresthedevil half sister by Uncle Mo sells for $2.5 million! Consigned by @denalistud for @winstarfarm, purchased by Gavin O'Connor for John Stewart. #KeeSept pic.twitter.com/L6AHvoVGUD

— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) September 12, 2023

Into Mischief Colt Rewards St George Team

Archie and Michelle St George, along with pinhooking partners Tony and Roger O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud, hit a home run Tuesday at Keeneland when selling a colt by Into Mischief (hip 283) for $1.8 million to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. The team had acquired the dark bay for $550,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“I'm kind of speechless at the moment,” Archie St George admitted as Magnier signed the ticket on the yearling. “We're just very fortunate to have a horse as good as him. It's a huge team effort, with everyone at home, Roger and his dad and my wife Michelle and all the lads. A lot of work has gone into the horse and this is a huge thrill.”

Arthur St George | Keeneland

The yearling is out of Princess Haya (Street Cry {Ire}) and is a half-brother to stakes winner and Grade I placed Lady Kate (Bernardini).

Asked about the nerves associated with buying a pinhook prospect for $550,000, St George said, “It's nerve-wracking, but it's high risk-high reward. It's the quality of the horse. It's a huge team effort. I'd like to thank Coolmore and their partners and wish them the best of luck.”

Magnier, who purchased a son of Uncle Mo for $1.35 million Monday, was making his second purchase of the Keeneland sale. Magnier later added a $1.25-million Gun Runner colt late in the session.

“He is a very good mover and Into Mischief is a very good sire and [his son] Practical Joke is doing really well [as a sire] at the moment,” Magnier said of hip 283. @JessMartiniTDN

$1.35M Not This Time Colt Gives Airdrie Sentimental Score

Offering a small but select group of yearlings in this year's Book 1, Airdrie Stud once again showed quality over quantity often wins the day when it comes to the sales. Underscoring that point this week, Hip 344, a colt by Not This Time, drew a tidy $1.35 million final bid from Jacob West, who was bidding on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low. Over the course of two days, Airdrie sold all three of the yearlings it offered, amassing $2,475,000 in gross receipts while averaging $825,000. Airdrie also sold a Nyquist filly (Hip 31) for $750,000 on Day 1 and a $375,000 colt (Hip 356) by Complexity Tuesday.

After selling its priciest yearling so far this season, Airdrie's Bret Jones, who also bred the colt, said, “Special is the right word. A little overwhelming. I'm feeling a little sentimental right now, thinking about dad [Brereton C. Jones] and thinking how many memories we get from these great horses, these horse sales, horse races.”

Bret Jones | Keeneland

The Mar. 8 foal is out of Street Mate (Street Cry {Ire}), dam of Grade I winner Bell's The One (Majesticperfection) and GSW King Cause (Creative Cause). The 15-year-old mare, who was a $35,000 purchase at Keeneland November in 2012, is a half-sister to GSW and GISP Tap Day (Pleasant Tap)

Jones continued, “The colt has always been beautiful. He is by the right stallion. And the mare has been incredible to us. It's a really special family. He has always lived up to that family. He is just so good looking and makes you think he can be a special horse on the racetrack. The horse vetted perfectly clean which is always nice.”

When asked about the reserve, Jones didn't miss a beat.

“[The bidding] went past his reserve as fast as I hope he passes horses in a Grade I.”–@CbossTDN

Best Packs $1.3M Punch to Land Constitution Colt

The name Into Mischief seemed to be on nearly everyone's lips following a buying blitz of the sire's offspring during the first two days of selling. And while not generating the same headlines, at least not by sheer volume, WinStar's Constitution paved a slightly more subtle road while still packing a punch with five yearlings realizing $2,980,000, yielding a robust $596,000 average on Day 2. Leading the fray Tuesday was Hip 324, a bay colt who realized a $1.3 million final bid from Larry Best's OXO Equine. The purchase was Best's sole purchase on the afternoon.

“I thought he was one of the best colts in the sale,” said Best. “I paid more than I would want to. This particular auction I've never seen one quite this strong. I knew he was going be around $1 million to get him. But he's a beautiful specimen of a Constitution. He looks very racey, very athletic.”

Bred by Kindred Stables, the Mar. 26 foal was consigned by Indian Creek. The bay is out of the unraced Solo Uno (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to MGSW and GISP Tom's Ready (More Than Ready).

“When you buy colts it's a high risk game,” Best said. “And when you saw some of the other colts that I liked in the sale they went for $2-million plus. There is only so much money I want to invest in a colt. This was a good shot. We'll see how it works out.”

@CbossTDN

Serengeti Empress's First Foal in Demand

The first foal out of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress (Alternation), a son of the omnipresent Into Mischief, was scooped up by the partnership of WinStar Farm's Maverick Racing, Siena Farm and CHC, Inc. for $1.2 million Tuesday at Keeneland.

“If he didn't break his ribs as a foal, he might have topped the sale,” said WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden. “We saw him on the farm and David [Hanley] and I both loved him. He's out of an Oaks winner on a Distorted Humor cross. Hopefully he can do some great things on the racetrack.”

Serengeti Empress was one of the first yearlings Joel Politi purchased when he decided to purchase young fillies with the goal of raising his own broodmare band from scratch. Politi and trainer Todd Amoss purchased the future Oaks winner for $70,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale.

After watching the mare's first foal go through the ring Tuesday, Politi admitted, “It was emotional watching him go through the ring. I had a lot of second thoughts in the back ring. I was thinking, 'My goodness, he is so good-looking.' But we set a price that we would be ok with him moving on. I am being practical about the whole thing. So you can't argue with it really. He's going to a great place. WinStar is a first-class operation. They will take good care of him and they will have him here in Kentucky and we can come visit him, so it's a win-win.” @JessMartiniTDN

A Racing Prospect for Hartley/DeRenzo

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo are typically active in the pinhooking sphere, but with new partner Rich Mendez expanding his footprint in the industry, the Ocala horsemen acquired a racing prospect in a $1.2-million daughter of Into Mischief (hip 316). Also partnering on the yearling is John Bellinger and Brian Coelho's BC Stables.

Bred and consigned by Gainesway, the gray filly is out of Silver Colors (Mr. Greeley) and is a half to GI Alabama S. winner Eskimo Kisses (To Honor and Serve) and a granddaughter of GI Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors.

Hip 316 Into Mischief–Silver Colors filly | ThoroStride

“For us, she was the pick filly of this book,” Hartley said. “It's just such a great female family and we just felt like if we put enough guys together, we could get her. To have a half-sister to a Grade I Alabama winner and the grandmother a Kentucky Derby winner, you just don't get those pedigrees that often. So she was a filly we thought we really needed to have in the barn.”

A Miami music titan, Mendez has been on both sides of seven-figure transactions this year. He purchased an Into Mischief colt for $1.3 million at the OBS April Sale. Now named Urban Legend, the juvenile is in training out west with Bob Baffert. Mendez was also involved in seven-figure pinhooks with Hartley/DeRenzo at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale and at last month's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

Asked if the purchase of this well-bred filly indicated Mendez would consider getting into the breeding side of the business, Hartley said, “We are thinking about it for sure. This would obviously be one you'd want in your barn. My favorite saying is black cats have black kittens and she's a beautiful filly, so I think she would definitely have beautiful babies. It was just a pedigree that you very rarely get and we felt like we really had to stretch to get her. But we were taking her home.” @JessMartiniTDN

All Into Mischief, All The Time

Continuing the feeding frenzy for colts, specifically those by Into Mischief, a son of the Spendthrift sire joined the millionaire's club when reeling in a $1.2-million final bid from Team Coolmore at Keeneland Tuesday. Led by M.V. Magnier, the group held their customary spot out back, picking up their fourth purchase, also the fourth seven-figure buy, of Book 1. Offered as Hip 331, the flashy grey was consigned by Machmer Hall, who also bred the colt.

“I'm overwhelmed,” said Carrie Brogden, standing alongside her mother, Sandy Fubini. “I had no idea he was going to bring that much money. Personally, that is our most expensive yearling. We've sold 2-year-olds for more, but that is our most expensive yearling. We are overjoyed.”

Commenting on the price, she admitted, “Our reserve was well below $500,000. We're sellers and breeders. We're here to sell our horses.”

Sandy Fubini & Carrie Brogden | Keeneland

The Feb. 26 foal is out of Special Me (Unbridled's Song), who failed to distinguish herself on the racetrack, allowing Craig and Carrie Brogden to swoop in to secure the mare for a mere $6,000 at Keeneland January in 2009. Subsequent to that most fortuitous purchase, the mare produced GI Santa Anita H. winner Gift Box (Twirling Candy), MGSW and GISP Stonetastic and MGSW Special Forces. She is also responsible for GI QEII Challenge Cup S. heroine Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), herself a $1.025 million purchase at Keeneland September in 2020.

“We're never going to get another mare like her,” Brogden said. “We have a Twirling Candy filly for 2023 and it'll be a hard decision whether she comes up here or not because we can buy a lot of new broodmares for a million dollars. She is tough as nails. She is in foal to Flightline right now, but we might have to send her back to Into Mischief after this.”

Armed with both top-class runners on both the dirt and turf, Brogden admitted she doesn't see any limitations to what this colt will be able to do.

“I wouldn't be surprised if he is a great dirt horse or if he is a great turf horse,” she said.

Seeming to have the knack for coming up with pricey sales prospects out of inexpensive mares, Brogden explained Machmer Hall's overall breeding philosophy.

“We just try to go with the families we like and understand what we can afford,” she explained. “For example, I bought Stonetastic's daughter for $400,000 because I can afford that. I can't afford Stonetastic even though we bred her. You have to know the families you are dealing with.”

“And I have to thank Unbridled's Song once again. [Monday] we sold six yearlings, three of them out of Unbridled's Song mares.”

While the Machmer Hall team can credit hard work, commitment and diligence to much of their success, Brogden is quick to point out that sometimes the intangibles can also come into play.

“We had two yearlings struck and killed this year and [the Into Mischief colt] was in the same field with them,” she said. “And there were only 14 of them. We got lucky it wasn't him.”–@CbossTDN

Volatile Filly Sparks Three Chimneys' Day 

Three Chimneys Farm, which hit it out of the park with the fast-starting stallion career of Gun Runner, could have another stallion success in the making after a first-crop daughter of Volatile (hip 215) sold for $1.15 million to the bid of Mike Rutherford Tuesday at Keeneland.

“I don't think you could write it out any better than to have a $1.15-million filly in the first crop, but those are the kind of mares that we bred to him,” said Three Chimneys' Chris Baker. “That's the kind of confidence that we have in him.”

The filly, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, was bred by Three Chimneys and is out of multiple Grade I winner Love and Pride (A.P. Indy).

“She was a spectacular filly,” Baker said of the yearling. “She deserved that kind of recognition. She is that special. We wish Mr. Rutherford all the luck in the world with her.”

Three Chimneys purchased Volatile (Violence) in partnership for $850,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. The gray won the 2020 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and stood this season at Three Chimneys for $12,500.

“Volatile has consistently produced great physicals, horses with scope and substance that look fast,” Baker said. “And he was fast. It's really been pleasant to see how consistently he has race horse physical types. So we are as excited as we can be right now.”

Of the stallion's first seven-figure yearling, Baker said, “With a horse that started at his initial stud fee, it is a pleasant surprise–it's not shocking, but it's a pleasant surprise.”

Three Chimneys came right back with another seven-figure yearling when a colt by Into Mischief (hip 218), co-bred with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, sold for $1.1 million to the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership.

Consigned by Gainesway, the yearling is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor) and is a half-brother to multiple Grade I winner Guarana (Ghostzapper). Guarana's Into Mischief colt sold for $1.4 million during Monday's first session of the September sale.

“Nothing would have surprised me with him,” Baker said. “I think he is an exceptional colt. He's a great-moving colt with a great pedigree–by a top sire out of a top mare. So I think he is well sold and I expect to hear more about him in the future.”

Also Tuesday, Three Chimneys sold a filly by Munnings (hip 280) for $700,000 to Shadwell. The yearling is out of Princesa Carolina (Tapit). @JessMartiniTDN

Gun Runner Filly to Speedway

Marette Farrell, bidding on behalf of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stable, went to $1.2 million to acquire a filly by Gun Runner (hip 222) from Jody and Michelle Huckabay's Elm Tree Farm consignment. The Huckabays were selling the youngster on behalf of Dell Ennis, who purchased the filly for $625,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“She is so athletic and so light on her feet and has an amazing demeanor,” Farrell said. “I believe she is a runner and I hope Peter and K.C. are lucky with her.”

The bay is out of Mama Yay (Mineshaft), an unraced full-sister to Dialed In and a half to Broadway Gold (Seeking the Gold). The yearling is a half-sister to stakes winner Empire House (Empire Maker).

“It is a pedigree that Peter Fluor himself loved,” Farrell said. “We now have three stallions–Collected, Roadster and Corniche–so we are trying to do things with a view towards buying fillies [to breed to them]. We were the underbidder on this filly when she sold as a weanling. So we followed her and saw her here.”

Ennis said the filly's pedigree was what attracted him to her at Fasig-Tipton last November.

“I loved her,” Ennis said. “I loved the pedigree. I love Miss Doolittle and I love Mama Yay.”

The filly was Ennis's lone pinhook of the year and the Virginian admitted to some pre-sale jitters.

“I woke up at 2:22 this morning and couldn't sleep,” he said. “She is so classy and confident in herself. You are going to be writing about her again.”

Tuesday's seven-figure transaction was an emotional one for veteran horseman Jody Huckabay.

“I've been doing this for 35 years and this was my first million-dollar horse,” a visibly moved Huckabay said after watching the filly sell. “We thought she was a very, very good filly and obviously a lot of people thought she was nice. But you never know.”

Huckabay and Ennis were enjoying their first collaboration at the Keeneland sale.

“Dell bought this filly and called me and said, 'I hear you raise a good horse,' and he sent her to me. I met him yesterday [for the first time]. So I didn't know him. But things worked out. It's a very exciting day.”

Of the decision to send the weanling to Elm Tree last November, Ennis said, “I interviewed several farms and at the time, [Huckabay] checked the boxes for us. He could take the filly right from the sale, so he checked the boxes. I have a very good rapport with several other farms in Kentucky and I love them as well. Jody and Michelle are very hands on and they pay attention to detail. And that's what it takes to get a horse in that ring from a weanling.”

This is not the first time the bay filly has rewarded her connections in the sales ring. She was bred by Mark Erlandson, who purchased Mama Yay for $20,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Erlandson sent the Gun Runner filly through the sales ring at Fasig-Tipton last year through the New Hill Farm consignment. @JessMartiniTDN

Into Mischief Continues Powerful Run Into Day 2

Picking up where he left off Monday, Into Mischief was represented by his first seven-figure yearling of the session when Hip 218 reeled in $1.1 million from agent Donato Lanni. Tom Ryan signed the ticket on behalf of prolific partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight and Madaket.

“There is no mystery about the stallion,” Ryan said. “It's a very unique pedigree. Just a fantastic piece of paper. And it's rare you have the opportunity to buy into that sort of bloodline. So we're glad to be involved.”

According to Ryan, the colt will go to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

“Donato loved him and so did Bob. Our own team, John Moynihan was involved too. We're excited to have him.”

Whisper Hill Farm and Three Chimneys Farm bred the colt in partnership. The Apr. 20 foal is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor), most notably the dam of GI Acorn S. winner Guarana (Ghostzapper). The colt is also half to SW Beatbox (Pioneerof the Nile) and SW and GSP Magic Dance (More Than Ready). The family includes GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold).

Following a lucrative streak, Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill, in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm, extended to $5.2 million to secure Magic World while carrying this foal at Fasig-Tipton November in 2021. Last term, the partnership dipped into the family again to purchase Magical World's colt by Quality Road for $1.1 million. Guarana herself was a $4.4-million purchase at Fasig-Tipton November in 2021.

The family had its desirability in full display Monday when a son of Guarana, also by Into Mischief, brought $1.4 million.

During Tuesday's session, Lanni also secured Hip 207, a colt by Into Mischief out of Late Night Pow Wow (Fiber Sonde) for $900,000 and Hip 243, a colt by Justify ($625,000) for the same partnership. —@CbossTDN

Seven-Figure Book 1 Parade for Pope

Mandy Pope, who has steadily been building a high-octane broodmare band, reaped the benefits of her investments during Book 1, selling five seven-figure yearlings over the two sessions. Leading the way was a $1.7-million son of Into Mischief (hip 162) who sold Monday. Pope got Tuesday's second session of the auction off to a quick start when the first horse through the ring, a daughter of Tapit (hip 202), sold for $1.3 million to the internet bid of Sinandigan Stable. Also Tuesday, Pope, in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm, sold a colt by Into Mischief (hip 218) for $1.1 million to the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership; and a colt by Curlin out of champion Songbird (hip 325) for $1 million to Grandview Equine.

Mandy Pope | Keeneland

“It's been a lot of hard working buying the right mares,” Pope said. “We worked hard buying excellent race mares and trying to reproduce them. This has been an awesome day for us.”

Asked how the results in the sales ring matched up to her expectations, Pope said, “We thought a couple of them would sell that well. A couple of them were surprises for the better and one or two were not. The usual thing.”

Pope's Book 1 yearlings were at the forefront of a big two days for the Gainesway consignment.

“Mandy has invested a lot of time and a lot of money and it's starting to yield dividends,” said Gainesway's Brian Graves. @JessMartiniTDN

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“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.”

ICYMI: Watch Hip 174 f. AUTHENTIC o/o Scent of Summer sell for $475,000 at The July Sale! Congratulations to all the connections. #FasigJuly pic.twitter.com/HdOLomci9B

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 11, 2023

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).

Watch Hip 289 c. BLAME o/o Barbara Gordon sell for $310,000 at The July Sale! #FasigJULY @KennyMcPeek @Gainesway @claibornefarm pic.twitter.com/xhWePBpe9m

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 11, 2023

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.”

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LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale moved into the first of two Book 3 sesssions Thursday with continued competitive bidding and figures through four days of the auction still tracking ahead of 2021 statistics.

For the session, 248 head grossed $20,988,500. The average of $84,631 was up 6.7% from the opening session of the 2021 Book 3 section, while the median remained constant at $65,000. The session's buy-back rate was 26.63%. It was 23.64% a year ago.

Jody Huckabay, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, made the session's highest bid when going to $450,000 to acquire the broodmare Brockovich (Honor Code) from the Lane's End consignment.

“It's been good on both ends,” said Huckabay, who was also busy selling from his Elm Tree Farm consignment. “If you bring quality up here, it takes care of itself on both ends, selling and buying. But when you are buying, you have to get ready. Everybody has money for the good ones, it seems like.”

A colt by Twirling Candy was the session's top-priced weanling when selling for $380,000 to Bay Shore Stable. The foal was consigned by Nursery Place, another operation active on both sides of the ledger this week.

“We've been trying to buy mares all week and it's been impossible,” said Nursery Place's Griffin Mayer. “It's so strong right now. It's always a fun business to be in when it's like this.”

The competitive market has been fueled by a number of high-profile buyers who have been steadily acquiring mares for recently retired stallion prospects like Flightline and Life Is Good.

“The market is strong for what people perceive to be the good ones,” said Doug Cauthen. “The mares have been extraordinarily strong. I think we have had the perfect storm of a lot of people looking to buy nice mares for their stallion prospects. There is a high percentage of quality horses at stud and new ones going to stud.”

Still some consignors were recognizing a familiar polarization in the marketplace.

“I think it is the same as always,” said John Mulholland. “If you have what they want, you are going to get paid really well. If you have everything they want, you will get paid more than you should, but if you missed it slightly, there is no safety net.”

The Keeneland November sale continues through next Wednesday and is followed by a horses of racing age sale Thursday. Bidding begins daily at 10 a.m.

Brockovich on The Case

Jody Huckabay, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, purchased the unraced 3-year-old Brockovich (Honor Code) (hip 1050) for $450,000 from the Lane's End consignment early in Thursday's fourth session of the Keeneland November sale.

“We bought her for a new client and a good friend of ours that I grew up with,” Huckabay said. “It's pretty special. They've stepped up and bought two very special mares at this sale. They are getting into it in a big way. He is buying some very, very nice mares.”

Brockovich is out of Miss Squeal (Smart Strike) and is a half-sister to GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Spielberg (Union Rags) and from the family of Clear Mandate. She was bred by G. Watts Humphrey, Jr. and was purchased by Shadwell Estate for $150,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale.

“Obviously she's a half-sister to a nice horse, but also it's broodmare sires all the way down the page,” Huckabay said. “And that's what attracts me to them.”

Huckabay agreed the mare's covering sire, first-year stallion Charlatan, who has been popular all week, was another attraction.

“We've been trying to buy mares all week in foal to Charlatan and we could have, but we were kind of waiting around on this mare,” he said.

Of his clients, Huckabay, who will board the mares at his Elm Tree Farm, said, “We are planning to sell [the foals], but then we may race also. When you are into this deal, you have to be prepared to race.”

Also this week, Huckabay purchased Scarlett Lace (Medaglia d'Oro) (hip 523) for $475,000 and Pilot Episode (Speightstown) (hip 484) for $110,000. @JessMartiniTDN

Hip 1050 – BROCKOVICH, selling with @lanes_endfarm next week @keenelandsales November Sale. A half-sister to G2wG1p SPEILBERG from the family of G1 winners STRONG MANDATE, CRÈME FRAÎCHE, ROMANTIC VISION, CLEAR MANDATE, etc. In foal to @hillndalefarms Charlatan. pic.twitter.com/3OsLCcCI6O

— Amy Lanigan Photos (@amylanigan1) November 3, 2022

Twirling Candy Colt Proves Popular

A colt by Twirling Candy (hip 1270) provided a tribute to his late breeder Mary K. Grum when selling for $380,000 Thursday at Keeneland. He was consigned by Nursery Place and John Moynihan signed the ticket as Boy Shore Stable on behalf of Richard Rigney.

The weanling is out of Ours to Run (Half Ours), who was bred by Grum's husband Clifford. Racing for Colonel Thoroughbreds and trainer Larry Jones, the mare was a seven-time stakes winner and graded-placed, while earning $524,488 on the track between 2016 and 2019. The Mayer family's Nursery Place purchased the mare back on behalf of Grum for $140,000 at the 2020 Keeneland January sale.

“This foal belongs to Mary K. Grum, who passed away in July,” said Nursery Place's Griffin Mayer. “She bred Ours to Run, the mare, and we bought Ours to Run here at the sale for her. So it was fantastic that we could do that for her family.”

Of the foal, Mayer said, “We breed three or four mares a year to Twirling Candy and he's one of my favorite Twirling Candys that we've had. Twirling Candy is a great sire.”

Mayer added, “[Keeneland's] Chip [McGaughey] just told me that Moynihan bought him for Rigney Racing, so no one is going to pinhook him on me. He's going to get a real chance.”

The weanling was proceeded into the ring by his 8-year-old dam, who sold for $145,000 to the bid of Rockridge Stud. She was offered in foal to Upstart. Her first foal, a colt by Kantharos, sold for $25,000 at this year's Keeneland September sale. @JessMartiniTDN

Mulhollands Get In On the Action

After being shut out earlier in the week, Mulholland Springs secured one of their top picks early in Thursday's session, going to $375,000 for Bicameral (Constitution) (Hip 1042). The racing or broodmare prospect was consigned by Mill Ridge Sales.

Bicameral was a $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase purchase by Calvin Nguyen, who raced her in partnership with Joey Tran. Third to Grace Adler (Curlin) as a maiden in last year's GI Del Mar Debutante, she graduated by 10 1/2 lengths going a mile at Santa Anita this past April and added a turf allowance at Del Mar Sept. 4. Produced by a half-sister to Grade III-winning turf sprinter Around The Cape (Carson City), Bicameral has earned $146,586 to date.

“I think she is absolutely beautiful and you can never take away the fact that she was third in a Grade I,” John Mulholland said. “We have been shut out left and right. We have probably been shut out on 20 mares. Every time we come up here, there are 30 people following us to bid on the same horse. We decided to stretch a little bit and will put a few partners on her. I think she is lovely and one of the best I've seen in the sale so far physically.”

As for the future plans for the mare, Muholland said, “We will figure out someone nice for her or maybe we will send her back to the track. We will think about it. We are happy to get something of so much quality.”

Mulholland Springs has had a banner year on the racetrack with horses they either bred, raised or sold. Cave Rock (Arrogate), a graduate of their sales program, won a pair of Grade Is in California and was second as the favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Mulholland-sold And Tell Me Nolies (Arrogate) won a Grade I and Grade II on the West Coast, but was off the board in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Mulholland-bred Manny Wah captured the GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. this fall and was fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Mulholland-sold Awake At Midnyte (Midnight Lute) placed in several graded events this year and ran in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

“I can't think of a better year as far as our horses on the track,” Mulholland said. “We had four runners in the Breeders' Cup that we either bred, sold or raised. I doubt we will every see anything like that again, but we enjoyed it a lot. Hopefully they will all be back again next year.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

We finally struck ⁦@keeneland⁩ . Hip 1042, Bicameral. Lovely grade 1 placed filly by ⁦@WinStarFarm⁩ Constitution. pic.twitter.com/3IYrSrAQOx

— John Henry Mulholland (@Ruffian1981) November 10, 2022

Speightstown Colt Sparks Late Fireworks

A son of WinStar stalwart Speightstown (Hip 1370) sparked fireworks late in Thursday's session, bringing $360,000 from Mike Golden of Sycamore Hall Farm.

“He was very correct, very proportional,” said Golden, just before rushing off to catch a plane home. “I didn't really find any holes in him. He is by a great stallion and is the first foal out of a good racemare. He fit everything that we wanted in a weanling.”

When asked whether the weanling was a pinhook or would be retained to race, Golden said, “We are not sure at this point. We will see how he develops and go from there.”

Consigned by Taylor Made, the bay colt was bred by Mark Stanley. The breeder raced the colt's Grade II-place dam Tempers Rising (Bayern), who is a half-sister to SW Mac The Man (El Corredor). This colt is her first foal.

Volatile Colt Proves Popular at Keeneland

A weanling colt (Hip 1223) from the first crop of Grade I winner Volatile was in demand Thursday at Lexington, summoning $325,000 from XXY Stud.

Consigned by Taylor Made, the chestnut was bred by Three Chimneys Farm, which stands his young sire. The colt is out of the unraced Light of the Nile (Eskendereya), who is a half-sister to late MGISW Pioneerof the Nile, sire of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah. Her 2021 Uncle Mo filly brought $400,000 at this venue's September Yearling Sale just two months ago.

“He's just an athlete,” Three Chimneys Farm's Doug Cauthen said. “He has a great pedigree. It has Pioneerof the Nile right there. The mare threw a $400,000 Uncle Mo filly who was very athletic. Being a May foal, you can see there is a lot of potential.”

An $850,000 KEESEP buy, Volatile won five of his six starts, topped by the 2020 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt S. at Saratoga. He has had 10 members of his first crop sell this week at Keeneland for $1.38 million with an average of $138,000.

“The Volatiles have been very athletic and a lot of people are coming up and saying how excited they are about them,” Cauthen said. “They look like racehorses. He was a heck of a racehorse himself. We have nine or 10 of them at Three Chimneys and every single one of them looks like a racehorse. The farm is excited about his potential. We think he will have another full book this year and that is always good in the third year for any stallion.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

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