The elite Book 1 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale is normally viewed as a place for the established stars of the stallion ranks to flex their commercial muscles, but it can also be a place for the rookies of the stud book to make a memorable first impression.
Three Chimeys Farm's Volatile did just that during the auction's first two sessions, leading all first-crop stallions by average sale price at $690,000, which put him third overall behind titans Into Mischief and Uncle Mo. The member of the 2022-23 All-Value Sire Team was also the only first-year stallion with a seven-figure offering in Book 1.
As much as there can be an underdog victory in the ultra-boutique Book 1 of the Keeneland September sale, Three Chimneys COO Chris Baker said Volatile had achieved it with his debut yearlings; especially considering the son of Violence's relatively modest initial stud fee of $17,500.
“We didn't think we'd have any Volatiles in Book 1,” he said. “We had one in Saratoga that sold very well, one of our own. Keeneland was high on them in general, and as a Book 1 that may be more physical-focused than in previous years, several Volatiles ended up in there, including two that we had which sold very well.
“Seeing his foals in his first and second crops, and how they've developed, and what the average one brings to the table physically in conformation, substance, and correctness, their natural muscle and the speedy look of their biomechanics, it's not surprising to me that he was very well received by the market,” Baker continued. “You wouldn't anticipate him being the leading first-year sire and the third overall sire at the end of Book 1.”
Volatile's three yearlings to sell in Book 1 all went through the ring during Tuesday's second session, led by Hip 215, a Three Chimneys-bred filly out of the multiple Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Love and Pride who sold to Mike Rutherford for $1.15 million.
All six of Love and Pride's foals to race are winners, including stakes winners Bella Runner and Princesinha Julia. Her third dam is the 2006 Broodmare of the Year Cara Rafaela, producer of champion and top sire Bernardini.
“She, like so many of the offspring of Love and Pride just kind of reeked of quality and class, just a beautiful eye and beautiful head on her, and a lot of confidence in how she carries herself,” Baker said. “That was all there. She was also very powerful with her angles, the strength of her hind leg and shoulder, the depth of her heart girth. Physically, she was beautiful and carried herself well, and was a super good mover. When you add that depth of pedigree, it's a pretty uncommon depth of pedigree for a stallion in his stud fee range, but it was a reflection of our confidence in the horse to breed that kind of mare and other high-quality mares to him.”
Taylor Made Sales Agency consigned the seven-figure Volatile filly, as agent.
Much like the overall success of Volatile in Book 1 of the sale, Baker expected a strong performance from the filly, but the point when he knew she'd be a seven-figure sale horse was the same as everyone else.
“Right after when somebody bid $950,000 and the first person bid $1 million,” he said. “At any point before then, I would have said, 'You're kidding me.'”
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.Though the average sale price for practically any sire will steadily drift down as the Keeneland September book order floats into the blue-collar offerings, Volatile's early placing this high on the first-year sire list by average is a dramatic jump from last fall, when he ranked ninth among sires of weanlings with an average of $80,742 from 33 sold.
Volatile has 71 yearlings cataloged to this year's Keeneland September sale, the sixth most of the first-crop stallions in this class, meaning he'll have plenty more opportunities to create a commercial impression with his yearlings. Baker was bullish on Volatile's fortunes in the days to come.
“He is so consistent in the physicals he throws, it doesn't drop off,” he said. “We've got some in the later books that we're really excited about. Some of the mare quality pizzazz might come off, but I don't see a big dropoff in physicals.”
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