“Keeneland is honored to host the Horse Racing Women's Summit, which promises to be a great day of discussion, reflection, valuable connections and fun. We look forward to celebrating the indispensable role women play in shaping our sport,” said Christa Marrillia, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Keeneland.

The morning's panel discussions include speakers: Allaire Ryan, Director of Sales at Lane's End Farm; Caroline Wilson, member of the SF Bloodstock team; Jill Gordon, owner of Highgate Sales; Dr. Kathleen Paasch, a veterinarian at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Kitty Day, owner of Warrendale Sales; Cherie DeVaux, a Kentucky-based trainer; and Meg Levy, owner of Bluewater Sales.

“How great is it that we get the opportunity to network and listen to all of the amazing women that comprise our industry?” said Gaudet. “I'm looking forward to discussing some key issues and also listening to how these women leaders were challenged and supported on their paths to their respective roles.”

Limited tickets to the event are available. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

The post Horse Racing Women’s Summit to Host Event at Keeneland Apr. 18 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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LEXINGTON, KY – During a session dominated for much of the day by the short yearlings, the supplemented broodmare Sebago Lake (Tapit) jumped to the lead in the final hips when selling for $700,000 to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. Overall, through two days of the four-day auction, 430 head have grossed $31,596,700 for an average of $73,481 and a median of $30,500. With continued strength at the top of the market, the Book 1 average dipped just 3.39% from a year ago, but the median is down 23.75%.

“It started off very healthy,” Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said of Tuesday's session. “Through the day, there were some spots where it got a little slower, but it ended up really strong. Again, quality was to the fore. You saw some of those young mares, bred to some exciting new stallions were selling extremely well. Farms are reloading again. We saw the same pattern that we saw yesterday.”

The two-day buy-back rate is 27.97%. It was 26.92% a year ago.

Three short yearlings sold for $400,000 or over during Tuesday's session, with a colt by Not This Time and a filly by Candy Ride (Arg) sharing the day's top price of $430,000.

“Foals that were by the right stallions, had the right physicals, vetted, there was a very strong, competitive environment for them,” Lacy said. “There is a lot of confidence out there. Speaking to the sellers, they felt like it was a really good market. The buyers found it to be very competitive to try to buy the stock they were interested in. I don't think it's inflated at all, I don't think it's depressed in any way. I think it feels like a very healthy, fair environment. If you bring the right stock to market, you are going to get rewarded for it. Today was just a continuation of the momentum we saw yesterday.”

With 424 head catalogued for Tuesday's session, only 275 went through the ring.

“It's sort of a factor of the time of year we are in,” Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said of the large number of outs. “It's a time of year when weanlings-into-yearlings are changing a lot. They don't always vet the way people intend them to vet and they are happy to wait until September in some cases. We did have more outs than we were expecting. They kind of came in early, though, so going into yesterday, we already had a lot of outs, and more than we would have had last year, and we had a couple dozen more during the session.”

With close to 130 outs coming Monday evening, and not during Tuesday's session, Lacy said the scratches might not reflect a lack of interest from would-be buyers.

“A lot of people don't have to sell,” Lacy said. “If they have something they think is in sort of an awkward stage or if they are sitting on an update, if there is something active in the family potentially, they hit pause. That's the time of year we are in. People weren't scratching, necessarily, for lack of action. They were scratching a little earlier for various reasons. It didn't feel in any way that there was concern from sellers.”

“We ended very, very strongly here this evening. Young mares coming off the track or in foal to some exciting young stallions were very much in demand.” @ScottFDTV discusses the results of day two at @keenelandsales January with Tony Lacy and Cormac Breathnach. pic.twitter.com/X6pR53JRdu

— TVG (@TVG) January 9, 2024

Breathnach admitted the decrease in median during the January sale's two-session Book 1 could be a reflection of the polarization of the market.

“The average is fairly close [to the 2023 figure],” Breathnach said. “The median is down 20+% and that's what we watch. That maybe reflects some of the polarization in the market. The top of it is doing well, keeping the average up, but there is some selectivity in the middle to lower levels. It might reflect what brings a premium and what is tougher to sell.”

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

Sebago Lake a Late Highlight at Keeneland

Sebago Lake (Tapit) (hip 831), in foal to Justify, sparked a bidding battle late in Tuesday's second session of the Keeneland January sale when selling for $700,000 to the phone bid of Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm.

Hip 831 in the ring | Keeneland

The 5-year-old mare, a half-sister to graded winner Family Way (Uncle Mo) and from the family of Caravaggio, was well beaten in a pair of racetrack appearances in September of 2021 for her co-breeder, Adam Bowden's Diamond Creek Farm.

Eaton Sales consigned the gray mare to the sale on behalf of Diamond Creek.

“She was probably one of the best mares in the sale, in my opinion,” said Eaton's Reiley McDonald. “She's a beautiful mare in foal to the right horse. She's by Tapit and looks like a Tapit. And I also think it helped that there is limited supply at the upper level.”

Sebago Lake, whose first foal is now a short yearling colt by Uncle Mo, was a supplemental entry to the auction.

“I think it was a late decision just to put her in,” McDonald said. “She was the real thing and that's why she sold well. They didn't pay too much and everybody came out of it with a win.” @JessMartiniTDN

Pugh Strikes for Not This Time Colt

Peter Pugh went to $430,000 to acquire a short yearling by Not This Time (hip 685) from the Warrendale Sales consignment Tuesday at Keeneland.

“All of the top people were on the horse coming up here,” said Warrendale's Hunter Simms. “He was very well received. We are honored to sell a horse like that and wish the connections the best of luck.”

Simms continued, “The horse was very straightforward. Good bone on him, very correct, walked well. He was a very nice horse.”

Bred by Petaluma Bloodstock, the bay colt is out of Dalsaros (Unbridled's Song), a daughter of Grade I winner Ask the Moon (Malibu Moon).

Bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe signed the ticket at $325,000 to acquire Dalsaros, in foal to City of Light, at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. The in utero City of Light colt went on to sell for $300,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The mare's Tiz the Law filly sold for $300,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Of the colt's placement in the January sale, Simms explained, “There were a lot of foals in November and we figured he would stand out here. He is probably the second-highest priced foal that is going to sell at this sale, so we always try to concentrate on placement with horses and finding the right sale and finding the right book to put them in. Whether it's November, January, February, wherever, we try to find the right spot where they will stand out.”

Peter Pugh | Keeneland

After initial confusion about who had actually purchased the colt, who had already been led out of the ring, bidding was opened again and ended at $430,000 with Pugh, signing under the Cherry Knoll Farm banner, as the winning bidder.

“It's always confusing,” Simms said. “There are a lot of people in every doorway and every nook and cranny and trying to be secretive. And it happens. They opened it back up and we were able to get $430,000, which is a nice price for that horse. It all worked out in the end.” @JessMartiniTDN

Candy Ride Filly to Stewart

John Stewart, active at the top level at the auctions last fall, got back into action at Keeneland Tuesday, purchasing a short yearling by Candy Ride (Arg) (hip 497) for $430,000 under his operation's new name, Resolute Bloodstock. The filly was consigned by Stone Farm.

“She was absolutely stunning,” said Stewart's advisor Gavin O'Connor. “She had great size. She just ticked all the boxes for a Candy Ride, especially being a May foal. She was balanced with great conformation and she was squeaky clean. Just a high quality, classy filly. We will probably keep her and play the long game with her. She screams race horse. She is just a fabulous filly.”

The chestnut filly is out of Rags Pauline (Union Rags), a half-sister to graded winner Keen Pauline (Pulpit).

“She came up here and showed great,” said Stone Farm's Lynn Hancock. “She didn't turn a hair and was very popular. She has a great walk and moved well and showed well. I think she got all the right people on her.”

Rags Pauline, with the filly in utero, sold for $80,000 to Jack Hirsch at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton December Digital sale. The yearling was bred by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Spearmaco.

“A client of ours bought her,” Hancock said of Rags Pauline. “I haven't spoken to them yet, but I assume they are happy. It's hard not to be happy with that result.”

Lynn Hancock | Keeneland

The 8-year-old broodmare was bred back to Army Mule last year.

Through two sessions of the four-day auction, Resolute Bloodstock has purchased seven horses for $905,000. In addition to hip 497, the operation acquired stakes-placed 4-year-old filly Smokie Eyes (Nyquist) (hip 134) for $140,000 and Indian Mound (Medaglia d'Oro) (hip 768) for $250,000.

O'Connor said the move of horses into Stewart's new farm in Midway was well under way.

“So far, so good,” he said. “We are over there now. Some of the big girls are over there–[newly acquired broodmares] Puca, Pizza Bianca, and Lenni Girl–and we have a few more coming there this week. We have eight babies over there as well. So we are slowly transitioning the stock from where they are at the moment and getting established.” @JessMartiniTDN

O'Callaghan Goes to $400,000 for Justify Colt

A strong opening bid of $275,000 from the back wasn't enough to scare off P B Bloodstock and Jenny O'Callaghan, who went to $400,000 to purchase Hip 594, the only yearling son of Justify in the sale.

“He's a beautiful horse from the first time we saw him at the barn,” said O'Callaghan. “We knew we had to have him–he was our star horse for the day.”

Hip 594 | Keeneland

The colt, bred in Kentucky by Justice Stables, is a half to GSP Conquest Babayaga (Uncle Mo) and to SP Sorrentina Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid) and out of a half-sister to Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Neligee (Northern Afleet).

“He's by Justify who is an exceptional stallion on turf, dirt, with colts and fillies. We're hoping there will be a big market for him next year. That's the most expensive horse that we bought but we have full confidence in the stallion and he's just a natural horse that possesses so much natural athletic ability. We'll bring him back [to Keeneland] again as a yearling next year.” @SGrimmTDN

Music Street Brings $210,000 Off Falls City Second

Music Street (Street Sense) (hip 449) brought a final bid of $210,000 from Blanco Bloodstock early in the session Tuesday at the Keeneland January Horses of all Ages Sale, capping a racing career for Kim Valerio who initially bought the mare as a yearling at Keeneland in 2020. Campaigned for Valerio along with partners Prakash Sham Masand and Grandview Equine, Music Street finished her career with a second to Xigera (Nyquist) in the GIII Falls City S. at Churchill Downs Nov. 23.

“I love Street Sense and I love [second dam] Xtra Heat,” said Valerio on buying the filly as a yearling. “And she's so pretty. She's such a sweetheart. It's bittersweet really, I didn't want to sell her but I had partners and she's turning five. But I just love her and I'm super happy with where she's going. They take great care of their mares.”

After earning over $295,000 on the track, Music Street sold as a broodmare prospect only to Blanco Bloodstock Tuesday. @SGrimmTDN

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“If you take a nice physical over there–the same as in November–it will stand out and should bring plenty of money,” said Hunter Simms of Warrendale Sales. “I think last year was a good year overall and I don't see any reason why that shouldn't lead to good demand in January.”

Reflecting on the November market, Simms said, “Judging from what we had and looking at the prices of what sold, the higher quality stuff brought very, very good money. The horses that people could fault, whether it was in produce records or older mares with a late cover date, maybe she has had four or five foals and there was no black-type, or if you had a foal and there were maybe some conformational faults or the sire didn't hit with 2-year-olds right off the bat necessarily, those were more of an uphill battle to get sold. It seemed like buyers were a little bit more reluctant to spend big money on those kinds of horses.”

Simms continued, “All of last year, the upper end of the market was very strong, but it was that middle to lower end where it was tough to get a lot of movement on horses, to get multiple buyers. I think that trend will continue. We've seen that trend for a few years now. It all reverts back to, if you have the physical, the right sire, and all of the pieces, your outcome should be good.”

The overall economy may offer a bright spot heading into the four-day January sale, according to Simms.

“I know interest rates are starting to creep down off that seven or eight percent,” he said. “Hopefully that will get some new people into the game that might want to start buying.”

Zach Madden of Buckland Sales agreed the January sale will continue the trend of polarized strength at the top and a weakening in lower strata of the market.

“I think it's going to be the same song and dance,” Madden said. “The stuff that is of quality is going to be very well received and I think foals that vet and walk well and have the pedigree and all of that will be hopefully strong. I think that we are just going to continue to see the same polarization of stuff that people really, really want and they go after and they pay top dollar for and then the sort older or “exposed” mares that just don't have much going for them or are in foal to a stallion that isn't making a lot of noise right now–man, that was really tough there in November and, candidly, I expect that to be worse next week. But I still think the top quality is going to bring a bunch of money and the stuff that is perceived to not be that will be a little softer.”

The 2023 November sale ended with figures down from the auction's strong 2022 renewal causing some jitters from consignors, but Madden saw reasons for optimism, particularly in the foal market.

“I know a lot of people were kind of doom and gloom over the market in general, but stepping out of the middle to top-end type of foal, they were bringing really good money,” Madden said. “I think there was an over saturation of buyers and not enough quality offerings. Why that is? I have no idea. But as people got their sea legs into books three and four, buyers who were looking at that $100,000 and down foal, I felt like that was really competitive. And I think a lot of people didn't fill their orders, so I do think that will be strong.”

Madden continued, “I sort of think that 'sky is falling' mentality overshadowed the, 'Hey, the foal market is pretty good.' It's obviously one sector of the whole market, but everybody wants to talk about how bad stuff is, and at the end of the day, I still feel like that quality and the foal market are going to be two strong things, hopefully, leading into next week.”

In all, 962 head grossed $45,408,300 through the ring last year for an average of $47,202 and a median of $19,000.

Ancient Peace (War Front), a supplement after breaking her maiden just weeks before, brought the 2023 January auction's top price when selling for $650,000.

The most recent supplements to this year's January catalogue include Sophia Mia (Pioneerof the Nile), whose first foal Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) captured the Dec. 26 GI Malibu S., and who sells in foal to Not This Time; and the 5-year-old mare Angel Nadeshiko (Carpe Diem), who won the Dec. 30 GIII Robert J Frankel S.

The final 10 supplements announced last week bring the total January catalogue to 1,477 horses.

The post Bidding Back in 2024: Keeneland January Sale Starts Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bellabel (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}), to be offered by Taylor Made, is cataloged as hip 251. A maiden winner in five Irish appearances at two, the dark bay relocated to the U.S. last year and was off to a quick start, with victories in the Blue Norther S. and–following a six-month absence–the GII San Clemente S. as the betting favorite. Bellabel was runner-up to the classy Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}) in the GI Del Mar Oaks and was last seen at the races in Keeneland's GI QE II Challenge Cup, staying on gamely for a third-place effort behind Gina Romantica. She is cataloged as a racing/broodmare prospect, but has been in steady work at Los Alamitos, where she has recorded no fewer than seven breezes since Sept. 3 and most recently drilled five furlongs Oct. 20.

Warrendale Sales consigns Lemon Belle (Lemon Drop Kid) to Keeneland November as hip 249. The 13-year-old is a daughter of MGSW Queenie Belle (Bertrando), making her a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic winner Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), in turn the dam of multiple Eclipse Award winner Unique Bella (Tapit). Lemon Belle's sixth produce is Raise Cain (Violence), winner of this year's GIII Gotham S. and recent hero of the Listed Perryville S. at Keeneland. Lemon Belle sells in foal to boom stallion Justify.

Troublesome (Into Mischief) (hip 250) is part of the Woods Edge Farm draft and sells pregnant to Yaupon. The 9-year-old is the dam of Amidst Waves (Midshipman), winner of the Bolton Landing S. at Saratoga and the near-miss runner-up in the local Indian Summer S. Amidst Waves has been pre-entered for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and sits first on the 'not-selected' list, but seems likely to gain a run given others' first preferences.

Keeneland has also announced the addition of 15 horses to the November Horse of Racing Age Sale, including MGSW millionaire 'TDN Rising Star' Smile Happy (Runhappy) from Gainesway, agent; and fellow 'Rising Star' Strobe (Into Mischief), multiple graded-placed this season and selling through Taylor Made. Both are being offered as racing/stallion prospects.

Keeneland will continue to accept entries up to the start of the sale.

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Hanley was asked why this particular group was getting early buzz as a top group.

“In general, we keep trying to increase the quality of our mares that we buy and we try to cull some every year and try and bring in new blood,” he said. “Also, in the last few years, we have bred to more to outside stallions as well as our own. Obviously, we have some of our stallions here, but we have spread it a bit more, whereas in the last number of years, sometimes we've bred a lot of mares to young stallions to try and get them started. And if one of them hits, great. But if he doesn't, it can hurt you in the sales ring. So, we're increasing the quality of our mares, which means you breed them to a higher-quality stallion.”

Six of the 80 expected to draw some attention at the sale demonstrate just that, with three of them by WinStar stalwarts Distorted Humor, Speightstown, and Constitution; the other three, by top outside stallions.

As an example, he points out hip 87, by Curlin and the third foal out of the GIII Delaware Oaks winner Dark Nile (Pioneerof the Nile), who died giving birth to this colt. He is consigned by Warrandale Sales.

“We raced Dark Nile,” he said. “She was a Grade III winner trained by Arnaud Delacour, and this is just a lovely horse. He's a typical Curlin, very powerful, very good mover.”

Hip 337, a filly by Uncle Mo-Starship Warpspeed, is “one of the best we've had on the farm in several years,” says David Hanley | Thorostride photo

Hip 337 is a filly by Uncle Mo out of Starship Warpspeed, responsible for producing the multiple Grade I winner Shedaresthedevil. She will be offered through Denali.

“She's a beautiful filly,” said Hanley. “She's been a standout foal from the moment she was a week old and she's continued to grow and develop like we hoped she would. She's a good-sized filly with plenty of leg and stretch to her, but she's full of quality and a very light, easy-moving filly who seems to be all class. She's absolutely beautiful when you see her standing up there. She's got such a beautiful neck, shoulder, head, and beautiful hip on her and she's got the class and presence to go with it. I think she's a really special filly, one of the best fillies we've had on the farm in several years.”

Hip 125 is by Justify, and is the second foal from the WinStar-raced First Hour (Speightstown). Her very deep page features the multiple graded stakes winner Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union), GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner New Year's Day (Street Cry {Ire}), and GII Remsen and Fountain of Youth winner Mohaymen (Tapit), among others.

“This is the first foal out of a Speightstown mare,” said Hanley. “We bought her mother as a foal and we raced her. She had some issues as a yearling and didn't really get to show her potential on the racetrack. She was not a very big filly, but a beautifully balanced quality filly. It's an incredible family, with some very talented horses on the page. And when we saw her as a foal, we decided to buy her and race her, mostly for her broodmare potential. his first foal is a big, strapping, powerful Justify filly. She's gorgeous standing there, with a great neck, beautiful shoulder, and great attitude as well. She carries herself with great poise and great class. A really exciting filly by Justify.”

Hanley also points out three top prospects by WinStar stallions.

Justify | Thorostride photo" width="1024" height="768" />Hip 282 is a filly by Distorted Humor out of Princess Ash (Indian Charlie), and is a full-sister to Quip, the GII Oaklawn H. and Tampa Bay Derby winner who was second in the GI Arkansas Derby. She sells with Denali Stud.

“For a Distorted Humor, she's got a lot of size, and being out of an Indian Charlie mare she's got leg and stretch to her,” he said. “She's a very, very good physical for a Distorted Humor. She's a really easy mover, hits the ground very lightly, and has great limbs on her. She has a beautiful neck and head and is full of quality. It's the last available crop of Distorted Humor yearlings and being as good a broodmare sire as he is and her being a half to a Group I-level horse, I think she's a unique package.”

Hip 442 is a filly by Speightstown, selling with Machmer Hall, out of Ballykiss (Street Boss), who produced the fast multiple stakes winner Miss J McKay (Hangover Kid).

“She's a beautiful physical and she's got a lot of leg under her for Speightstown. She's got a lot of stretch, but yet she's got that body of the Speightstowns, with muscle structure and scope, but yet looks like she could be fast. She's a beautiful mover. Very correct and very classy. We're very excited about her. We expect her to sell well.”

Hip 779, consigned by Elite, is a colt by Constitution out of the young mare America's Tale (Gio Ponti), and is her second foal.

“This is a horse that we loved all along,” said Hanley. “He's a medium-sized horse, not overly heavy, very athletic. He's out of a Gio Ponti mare and obviously, the Storm Cat on Tapit is attractive. But the best thing about him is he moves like a cat, very balanced, lovely level top line, great neck set and head carriage. He's a real athlete when you see him move.”

Hanley's prediction for the overall market is one we've heard a lot in recent years.

“For the people buying top-end bloodstock, I think they're going to be strong as ever. The colt market that we play in a lot is strong. There are a number of groups that are buying colts to try and make stallions over the last number of years, and I think they're all going to be doing it again, which makes it a very strong market for a selective group of horses that have the pedigree and the physical conformation.”

WinStar-breds are spread about with 10 different consignors throughout the sale, a diversity WinStar finds beneficial.

“There are several advantages to it,” he said. “First, your horses are not competing against each other. We will have several yearlings by, say, Constitution, and we don't put them all standing against each other in one consignment where it's human nature to come in and pick the one you like. And we're buying horses so it's difficult for us to try to run a consignment and buy horses. And, we like to support our breeders and I think giving horses to consignors who breed mares with us is nice a nice way to give them back something.”

Hanley gave a shout-out to the team back at the farm for this year's crop.

“Our team here on the farm, our yearling crew led by Donnie Preston, I think they do an exceptional job in raising these horses. We try to raise them naturally. They're out in big pastures that are never overused. They come up in the morning, get fed and checked, and go back out. We try to raise racehorses and I'd like to compliment our team on the job they've done at presenting these horses because I think they all look spectacular.”

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“I didn't know it was going to happen,” Ocampo said. “The yearling catalogue came out earlier and we saw Chocolate Gelato was on the cover. That was very exciting. But then the Horses of Racing Age came out and all of a sudden we were like, 'Wow, look, Stilleto Boy is on there.' It's very rewarding because we aren't a large farm with a huge budget, but I am surrounded by great clients and great staff. I've been at it for a long, long time and it's nice to see two of your graduates be on those catalogues.”

Chocolate Gelato was bred by longtime Rose Hill client Vincent Colbert. She sold for $165,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton July sale and was acquired by Repole Stable for $475,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale before winning the GI Frizette S.

“She was always a very nice filly, very athletic and we loved the sire,” Ocampo said of the future Grade I winner. “We were happy with what she brought in July.”

At that same July sale, Rose Hill sold a filly by Mendelssohn, who the operation bred in partnership with John Trumbulovic, for $185,000. Named Opus Forty Two, she was second in the July 1 GIII Delaware Oaks.

“Those are the two fillies that we took to that sale,” Ocampo said. “So we are happy to see that, too.”

Stilleto Boy won the Iowa Derby for his breeders, the late John Kerber and his wife Iveta, and partners just days before selling for $420,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale. The chestnut gelding was second in the GI Awesome Again S. and third in the GI Malibu S., GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational and GI Santa Anita H. for the new connections before earning his first graded victory in the GII Californian S. He added a top-level victory this March with a win in the GI Santa Anita H.

The Kerbers added another graded winner from there breeding operation when Mr. Wireless (Dialed In) captured the 2021 GIII West Virginia Derby and GIII Indiana Derby.

“Stilleto was born, foaled and raised and then we also broke him, so that was pretty neat,” Ocampo said. “And that was special because John Kerber had been with me since the early '90s and he just recently passed away last year. It was bittersweet, but he put so much into this business and he was so passionate about it. Towards the end, he was very sick and lo and behold, he gets two of his yearlings that he kept become graded stakes winners. All of a sudden, he had two graded stakes winners out of his crops, so that was great.”

Rose Hill will be represented by three graduates at the July yearling sale next Tuesday. Bred by Colbert, hip 170 is a filly by Maclean's Music out of Salad Mood (Malibu Moon), a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Pacific Ocean (Ghostzapper) and to the dams of graded winners Blamed (Blame) and Litigate (Blame).

“She is a nice, big filly,” Ocampo said of the yearling, who sells with the Paramount Sales consignment.

Also consigned by Paramount Sales, hip 320 is a Rose Hill homebred colt from the first crop of Grade I winner Promises Fulfilled.

“We just got back his X-rays and they are clean and he's got a good throat, so we are very excited,” Ocampo said. “He is peaking at the right time. He is very athletic, good sized. He's by a sire who is a little bit of a question mark because he's by Shackleford. But I think he's going to be a useful horse. I think people will like him and I think he'll do well.”

Warrendale Sales consigns hip 322, a filly by Gift Box out of Flatter Me First (Flatter) who is bred by Beth Miller's ThoroughBred by Design.

“She is a really nice filly,” Ocampo said. “Also foaled and raised at Rose Hill for one of our good clients. [Miller] is a doctor at UK. We are excited about her, too.”

Miller is an allergy and immunology specialist and director of asthma, allergy and sinus clinics at University of Kentucky.

While Rose Hill will not be represented by any graduates in the July Horses of Racing Age Sale, the operation does have a connection through trainer John Ennis, who breaks the Rose Hill stock.

Ennis, who topped the 2020 auction with the $475,000 County Final (Oxbow), will offer five maiden-winning 2-year-olds at Monday's sale: Gewurztraminer (Collected) (hip 402); Intermittent Fast (Tapwrit) (hip 419); Laugh Now (Vino Rosso) (hip 431); Let's Go Mark (American Freedom) (hip 434); and Woodcourt (Ransom the Moon) (hip 528).

“We don't have any graduates in the racing age sale this year,” Ocampo said. “John Ennis has a few horses that he is selling, 2-year-olds, in that sale. The only connection is, he purchased them, but he broke them here at Rose Hill.”

The way Ocampo rattles off pedigrees and race records, it is clear graduates of Rose Hill never really leave the farm.

“We have them all on our stable mail and the owners are very involved–they tweet every time there is a work,” Ocampo said of keeping track of the farm's graduates. “So we are very involved. They are like your kids growing up. We do follow them and it's incredible when they start being so successful.”

Ocampo served as farm manager at Gleneagles Farm for nine years before he and his wife Lisa bought the operation and renamed it Rose Hill Farm in 1999. The main base of operations for the farm is 400 acres on Rice Road just behind Keeneland and it also includes 275 acres on Parkers Mill Road.

“This year, we foaled 45 mares and then we had about 20 maidens and barrens,” Ocampo said of the farm's resident broodmares. “So we have 70 or 75 total.”

While it's primary focus is on working for clients, Rose Hill does have a small number of its own broodmares.

“We probably have five or six mares that are owned by Rose Hill 100% and then we probably have another 10 mares that we have in different partnerships,” Ocampo said. “Our goal is to breed to sell. Every year we end up, for one reason or another, having to keep something. If it's a horse that we really like, but it has an issue and needs more time, or something that we didn't get what we wanted at the sale and we end up keeping. Usually those are horses that are out of a young mare and we want to help the mare, so maybe it will be a partnership with a trainer or between us we will keep it and race. But really our goal is to sell them all.”

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

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“We are thrilled to welcome Elizabeth onto the team at Denali Stud. She brings a large skillset that will benefit us, as well as our clients,” said Conrad Bandoroff. “Elizabeth has always felt like

part of the Denali family, so we're happy and very excited to make that official.”

Snellings has held positions at American Association of Equine Practitioners, Keeneland, Warrendale Sales and Mill Ridge Farm.

“When this opportunity presented itself, it was a very clear next step for me,” said Snellings. “I really appreciate Shack Parrish, Sarah Sutherland, and the entire team at Indian Creek and the time I spent there. I'm looking forward to working for Denali and its world-class farm and sales operation.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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For this horticultural analogy permits only one classification of the spectacular GIII Robert S. Lewis S. winner–as a young maple. Messier represents a fifth generation of breeding by Sam-Son, the iconic Canadian farm that began a poignant process of disbandment last winter, nearly half a century after its foundation by Ernie Samuel. With 84 Sovereign Awards, 14 Grade I winners and four Eclipse Awards, Samuel and his heirs–latterly with the skilled assistance of long-serving farm manager David Whitford–had by then created an indelible legacy in the North American Thoroughbred. This had been freshly condensed by the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby winner Country House (Lookin At Lucky), whose grandsire Smart Strike was out of a daughter of Samuel's foundation mare No Class (Nodouble); and whose second dam was by her son Sky Classic (Nijinsky).

Among the 21 Sam-Son mares that realized $6.75 million at the 2021 Keeneland January Sale–supplementing the $3.45 million banked by four headline acts at Fasig-Tipton a few weeks previously–was an 11-year-old daughter of Smart Strike, Checkered Past, a dual winner of the listed Trillium S. at Woodbine and offered in foal to Candy Ride (Arg). Her catalog page listed two unraced daughters, plus a colt from what had meanwhile proved to be the penultimate crop of Empire Maker. He had been sold as a yearling, at Fasig-Tipton the previous September, to a syndicate of Bob Baffert's patrons for $470,000.

That price caught the eye of Hunter Simms and Kitty Day of Warrendale, who were scouting the dispersal on behalf of Silesia Farm. They noted that the mare's first foal, a filly by Uncle Mo, had made only $22,000; her second daughter, also by Empire Maker, had made $200,000.

“So to see that colt sitting there on $470,000, that piqued our interest,” Simms recalls. “We really liked this mare: a daughter of Smart Strike, and going down the page you saw Catch the Thrill (A.P. Indy), Diamond Fever (Seeking the Gold), Seeking the Ring (Seeking the Gold). I mean, all very nice horses; and she had all the attributes Kitty and I like to see when we're purchasing mares for people. But a lot of the draw was that Empire Maker, and the connections that he sold to. Donato [Lanni, agent] has a very good eye, and we knew where the horse was going to be trained. And then you had who she was in foal to, and the fact that she was still a younger mare. We just felt there was a lot of upside, if things went a certain way.”

Checkered Past prior to the Sam-Son dispersal | Sam-Son Farm

How much upside, however, nobody could have guessed when Silesia Farm landed Checkered Past for $290,000. Setting aside a failed experiment with blinkers in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity, failing to settle, Messier has made seamless progress toward the top of the crop–which is arguably where he finds himself, at this point, after Sunday's 15-length rout. Don't forget that the horse he had beaten in what seemed a thin field for the GIII Bob Hope S., Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah), has meanwhile put away three of Messier's barnmates in the GII San Vicente S. Wherever you stand regarding his trainer's difficulties, you have to admire the way Messier has developed from goofy kid in his first sprint to this machine gliding clear along the rail, and there can only be more to come at the Derby trip.

The Silesia Farm team are duly delighted to have introduced his dam to their program with such opportune timing. They are headed by Dr. Hartmut Malluche, a professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky and a distinguished achiever in the fields of nephrology, osteology and metabolism. (His German origins, incidentally, are proudly apparent in his racing silks, combining the black, red and gold of the national flag.)

“Dr. Malluche has been a client of ours for seven or eight years now,” Simms explains. “It's a boutique operation, over on the corner of Military and Shannon Run, and this year we've booked 10 mares for him. He really focuses on quality. He's a numbers guy: he looks at the sales results, he analyses values, and we add that data to the mix when we match his mares up with pedigrees, nicking and physicals. 'Okay, so we're putting in a $100,000 stud fee: what's the potential return if we get an average to above-average foal? And if we get a really nice foal, then what could it be?'

Sam-Son's dispersal at the 2021 Keeneland January sale | Keeneland

“So he really looks at it from a quality standpoint. And in this day and age, that's what's selling; that's what's bringing the big numbers. In order to have a shot at doing that, you have to put in the capital, to buy these nice mares and pay those stud fees. Obviously a nice horse can come from anywhere, at any level. But from a commercial standpoint, the horses you see most frequently at the top level, if they're not homebred, have been priced well. So that's how Dr. Malluche operates. This year he has two mares booked to Quality Road, he's breeding to Essential Quality, Nyquist, Curlin: really at the top end of the market.”

The pair visiting Quality Road attest to that emphasis on quality. One is Impeccable Style (Uncle Mo), runner-up in the GIII Indiana Oaks and recently acquired, in foal to Authentic, at the Keeneland November Sale for $500,000. The other is none other than Checkered Past, who sadly lost an Authentic foal of her own during the fall. But she does have the Candy Ride yearling she was carrying at auction, evidently delivered as a most attractive filly and to be prepared for sale either at Saratoga in August or Keeneland the following month.

“Checkered Past is a typical Smart Strike mare, and there's a lot of A.P. Indy in there, too,” Simms says. “She's not a real big mare, so breeding her to Authentic and Quality Road we were trying to get a little more leg up underneath her. But she's correct, and her race record spoke for a lot. She's the only black-type under her dam, but she earned $335,000 on the track and did some very nice running. And those families are just so deep. When you have an operation like that getting out of the business, I think it's like we saw when Ned Evans dispersed his stock. People want to get into those families because they have never had the opportunity to do so in the past.”

Sure enough, Checkered Past is out of an unraced sister to Catch the Thrill, champion 2-year-old filly in Canada and herself daughter of a domestic champion in Catch the Ring (Seeking the Gold), near-millionaire winner of the GIII Maple Leaf S. and Canadian Oaks. The next dam Radiant Ring (Halo) won the GII Matchmaker S. and, as 2003 Canadian Broodmare of the Year, was responsible overall for eight stakes performers and/or producers. (We should note here that Checkered Past's arrival at Silesia Farm actually represents a Bluegrass repatriation for this family, as Radiant Ring's dam was bred by that estimable outfit, Nuckols Bros.)

The late Empire Maker at Gainesway | EquiSport Photos

The upshot, for Messier, is a copper-bottomed Classic pedigree. Obviously the legacy of his late sire feels pretty secure, Pioneerof the Nile having made all due arrangements despite his own premature passing; and along the bottom line the seeding reads Smart Strike, A.P. Indy, Seeking the Gold and Halo.

In a way, his rise reminds all parties to the Baffert impasse that the stakes are bigger than their own reputations or interests. How apt it would be, for those who created the Sam-Son brand, for their legacy to be gilded so soon after the dispersal by a Kentucky Derby winner! And how disappointing, if Messier remains excluded, for those who–though newer to the game–have recognized the value of that genetic heritage and invested in its conservation.

Dr. Malluche plainly has a wholesome sense that the interests of his program can coincide with those of the breed overall; that there should be nothing more commercial than prioritizing the running power of a family. If you do that, the selling power will follow naturally. Hence the stipulation that mares recruited to Silesia Farm should themselves have demonstrated black-type quality.

Warrendale's Hunter Simms | Keeneland

“That's the whole thing, when you're putting matings together, and trying to develop families,” Simms says. “A mare can have four foals that all bring half a million dollars. But if they then don't race, if they don't do well, at the end of the day you're losing value in your product. So you have to do it from the standpoint of: 'Yeah, potentially I can get X, commercially; but this way I can also give my horse the best odds of success on the track.'”

That strategy also emboldens Dr. Malluche to retain such horses as happen to miss their cue at the sales. A couple of years ago, for instance, Rodolphe Brisset saddled stakes-placed Lantiz (Tizway) to run fourth in the GI Flower Bowl S.

Of course, you can make all the right calls and still be at the mercy of luck. You could hardly ask for a more compressed sample of the sport's ups and downs, in fact, than the checkered winter of Checkered Past: first the loss of her Authentic foal, and now this thrilling elevation in her value.

“Oh, they're ecstatic, jumping for joy,” affirms Simms of his clients. “You have a down like that, with the mare losing her pregnancy, and then you turn around and something so positive happens just a few weeks later. They understand that the lows of this business are really low, but the highs are really high. What happened is still rather fresh: they love their horses, they love the foals running around them in the paddock. But it all kind of comes full circle, and obviously this mare now looks pretty good value.”

And her new custodians could have no better model for their whole program than the one that produced their most exciting mare.

“They're very enthusiastic about the business,” says Simms. “It's a very good operation to represent, and we really enjoy working with them. They haven't been in it that long, but they're raising good horses, and they're doing it the right way.”

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