Keeneland September Produces Three $2 Million Yearlings on Day 4

Solid session concludes Week 1 of auction

Keeneland’s 83rd September Yearling Sale wrapped up Week 1 today with gross through-the-ring sales for the first four days of $318,115,000 for 633 horses and a record 65 horses bringing $1 million or more. The high seller came Tuesday when Glennwood Farm, agent, sold a colt by Into Mischief to M.V. Magnier and Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm for $3.7 million.

Week 1, which began Monday, Sept. 14, comprised a two-day Book 1 and a two-day Book 2 with more than 1,100 horses representing the sale’s highest concentration of sire power, pedigree and physical quality in the catalog. The gross to this point was 3.41% higher than $307,639,000 from the corresponding period last year while the average rose 9.61% from $458,478 to $502,551, and the median is up 2.86% from $350,000 to $360,000.

For Week 1, the leading buyer was the partnership of St. Elias, West Point, Lane’s End Racing and Belladonna, which acquired 16 horses for $13,925,000. The leading consignor was Taylor Made Sales Agency with sales of $46,545,000 for 92 yearlings. Gun Runner led sires with gross sales of $37,790,000 for 42 sons and daughters, who averaged $899,762.

Today three $2 million colts — two sons of Not This Time and one son of Nyquist — topped sales while the 10 million-dollar horses in the session eclipsed Session 4’s previous record of six from 2014 and 2018. For the session, Keeneland sold a total of 216 horses through the ring for $77,180,000, nearly equal to last year’s fourth session when 233 horses brought $77,752,000. The average of $357,315 increased 7.08% from $333,700, and the median rose 3.64% from $275,000 to $285,000. 

“It's been very healthy,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “Buyers are finding it really difficult to get what they want, but they’re starting to get horses now. You see that they’re actually starting to engage and starting to get what they want. The barns were extremely active all day. The demand is there. The appetite for quality horses is extremely high. We saw the number of seven-figure horses reach 10 to bring us up to 65 for the sale, which blew past our old record from last year of 56. It’s a significant benchmark. It just shows that there is a strong focus towards those top horses.”

“There certainly have been several highlights for some people, and a little selectivity in the market too,” Keeneland Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “Our RNA rate blended over Week 1 was 30% — up three points from last year. That’s something we want to see improve and we’re trying to figure out ways for that to come down a little bit.

“The sale has been remarkable. It’s very hard to surpass last year’s sale, and somehow it’s happening right before our eyes,” Breathnach continued. “We’re trying to see it from all angles and make sure the people who aren’t having a great sale are going to have a good week.”

On Thursday, trainer Chad Summers, agent, acquired the first $2 million colt, a son of Not This Time who is the first foal out of the Curlin mare Spell On You, a half-sister to Triple Crown winner Justify. Glennwood Farm, agent, consigned the colt, who also is from the family of graded stakes winner The Lieutenant and stakes winner Stage Raider.

Summers said he bought the colt for Al Gold’s Gold Square.

“We felt like we got a good value from Glennwood last year, so we tried to buy from them this year,” Summers said. “He’s a really special horse; they know how to raise a really nice family. John and Tanya (Gunther of Glennwood) do a great job. We felt like obviously they know what they’re doing. They’ve had Justify, they’ve had (champion) Vino Rosso — the list goes on and on of horses that they’ve raised.”

Asked whether he thought the price was a surprise, Summers said, “The way this market’s been, he was by far kind of the standout of the day today. We thought he was a Day 1 horse.”  

“I don't know what to say,” John Gunther said of the homebred. “He was a lovely colt. He’s got that hip like Not This Time. I didn’t expect (the sale price); the reserve was much, much lower, but I know a lot of people really liked this colt. It’s hard to believe — $2 million — but it’s wonderful.

“This is unbelievable,” Gunther continued. “I’m short of breath thinking about it. I might have to sit down. It’s so wonderful for my daughter. Tanya works so hard, and the staff is just fantastic. Every part of the Glennwood team is unbelievable.”

The colt added another big result to the family this week. On Monday, Glennwood, agent, sold a half-brother to Justify to Winchell Thoroughbreds for $1.9 million.

Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner’s Speedway Stable paid $2 million for a colt by Not This Time out of Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Believe You Can, by Proud Citizen. A half-brother to Grade 2 winner Conclude and stakes winner Believe in Royalty, he was consigned by Airdrie Stud Raised and Offered.

“He was just a masculine version, really, of the mare,” said Airdrie’s Bret Jones of the son of Believe You Can, a mare who raced as a homebred for his late father, Brereton Jones. “All of us watched her grow up, and she's been with us now for a long time. He really was just the spitting image, but a bigger, stronger version. And classy — just everything you’d ever want in a sales yearling or a racehorse.”

“He’s in the same mold as his sire,” agent Marette Farrell, who signed the ticket, said about the colt. “Ton of quality. A lot of the progeny of Not This Time have similarities, but I thought he was the most beautiful of them all.”

St. Elias, West Point, Lane’s End Racing and Belladonna went to $2 million for a Nyquist colt consigned by Betz Thoroughbreds, agent. A half-brother to stakes winner and Grade 3-placed Light Won Up, he is out of stakes winner Factorofwon, by The Factor.

“We’re really excited to acquire the colt,” said Monique Delk, Executive Director of Racing Operations for St. Elias. “He was a standout for us: by the right sire, amazing physical, beautiful walk. He’s the whole package.”

St. Elias, West Point, Lane’s End Racing and Belladonna led buyers Thursday by spending $5,535,000 million for five yearlings.

In other top sales on Thursday:

Greg Goodman’s Mt. Brilliant Farm sold three horses for $1 million or more, led by a son of Not This Time purchased by St. Elias, West Point, Lane’s End Racing and Belladonna for $1.65 million. The colt is out of the winning Unbridled’s Song mare Miss Exclusive, a daughter of champion Intercontinental (GB), and from the family of Grade/Group 1 winners Champs Elysees (GB), Banks Hill (GB) and Heat Haze (GB).

Mt. Brilliant’s other seven-figure horses were a filly by Gun Runner purchased by Dream Big Racing, John Wade for $1.5 million and a colt from the last crop of Uncle Mo sold for $1 million to St. Elias, West Point, Lane’s End Racing and Belladonna.

Greg Goodman’s sons Hutton Goodman and Bo Goodman were at Keeneland today.

“He was on the phone with us the whole time, and he loved this colt and loved this family,” Hutton Goodman said after the Uncle Mo colt sold. “One of our dad’s big things is he loves to go out and buy fast mares from all over the world and bring them here and breed them to dirt sires. So it’s kind of (dad’s) plan coming together.”

Two yearlings sold for $1.6 million apiece.

Lauren Carlisle, agent for an undisclosed client, paid the amount to acquire a son of Gun Runner consigned by Four Star Sales, agent. Out of stakes winner She’s My Gem, by Into Mischief, he is from the family of Grade 1 winner My Conquestadory, Grade 2 winner Kelly Kip and Grade 3 winner Runninsonofagun.

“I loved him,” Carlisle said. “Beautiful colt, looks very two-turn. Gun Runner speaks for himself. We had swung pretty big the last few days and had not gotten it done, so I’m a little relieved that we got one that we really wanted. We’re trying to collect colts.” 

Carlisle said colt will be trained by Mark Casse. 

Faris Breeding Horses paid $1.6 million for a colt by Into Mischief who is a half-brother to Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress. Out of the Bernardini mare Havisham, he was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised.

“I’ve said this before: Selling for Stonestreet is really every consignor’s dream because their brand is recognized throughout the industry,” Taylor Made’s Mark Taylor said. “They just breed and raise very high-quality horses year in, year out. There’s no year that goes by that they don’t have horses they produced running in Grade 1s all over the place. I think that really helps our cause presenting the horses. (With) this particular horse, we raised Serengeti Empress; she’s on our farm, so we have a connection to the family. This horse was especially cool to have.”

Taylor Made led consignors during the session by selling 32 yearlings for $11,060,000.

Following Dream Big’s aforementioned $1.5 million Gun Runner filly from Mt. Brilliant, three yearlings each reached $1 million, including the previously mentioned Uncle Mo colt consigned by Mt. Brilliant. The others were colts by Good Magic and Life Is Good.

The son of Good Magic sold to Donato Lanni, agent for FRC/Starlight/Madaket. Out of stakes winner Two Sixty, by Uncaptured, he was consigned by Heartwood Farm, agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised. The colt is from the family of Grade 2 winner Havnameltdown.

“It’s a beautiful horse,” said Tom Ryan of FRC. “Raised by Stonestreet. Good Magic has really stepped up as a very, very important stallion. We’re excited to put him in our program and see what it becomes.”

The colt by Life Is Good, consigned by Norevale Farm, was purchased by CHC Inc., Maverick Racing and Light Post Ventures. Out of stakes winner Cougarstown, by Speightstown, he is a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Treason and stakes winner Elevenses.

Norevale’s Leo Dooley credited the early achievements of Life Is Good at stud for his colt’s sale success in becoming his first million-dollar September Sale horse.

“The Life Is Good (son The Good Life) winning the (Spendthrift Farm) Hopeful-G1 and breaking out with all these fancy maidens went a long, long way,” Dooley said. “The horse’s attitude has been great. Ever since he was foaled on the farm, this horse has been laid back. He’s filled out — so straightforward.”

***************

Friday is a Dark Day at the September Sale when no horses will be sold. The auction will resume with the Book 3 catalog on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 10 a.m. ET and continue each day through Saturday, Sept. 26.

The September Sale is livestreamed at Keeneland.com.