Brisk trade at Keeneland November Book 2 opener

Cover image courtesy of Keeneland

Keeping the momentum

The momentum from Monday's opening session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continued into the first session of Book 2 on Tuesday in Lexington with a pair of mares bringing seven figures.

“I would describe it as a solid day,” said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. “Overall, we are very happy with the gross, very happy with the median and average being up over last year.”

During Tuesday's session, 197 horses sold for US$35,073,000 (AU$53,971,300). The average of US$178,036 (AU$274,000) was up 6.26 per cent from a year ago and the median, which dipped slightly during Monday's session, was up 7.69 per cent to US$140,000 (AU$215,400).

“We continue to use the median and the RNA rate as our measures of the depth and health of the market overall,” said Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach.

“The averages are great and are great for headlines, but we look at the depth of the market as well and the median is a good indicator of that. Today (Tuesday), in that sense, was a strong day. Yesterday (Monday) was a good day, too, we had a lot of seven-figure offerings which made the average really strong. But overall, our median is up from last year and that's how we hope to see that continue.”

The session's buy-back rate was 27.84 per cent, up from last year's corresponding figure of 22.07 per cent, but that increase could be a reflection of the strong market, according to Breathnach.

“The RNAs are up a little bit, but people are probably being a bit more selective because replacement costs are high,” he said. “And you are going to roll on for another year if you don't feel like you can replace with the same quality.

“We had a really strong buying bench,” Arvin said. “We had much more domestic activity today than we did yesterday. We saw Jane Lyon, Determined Stud, and the Winchells and Jim and Dana Bernhard adding to their bloodstock. It was nice to see them active.”

With two positive sessions in the books already, the November sale will have plenty of momentum to carry it through its final eight sessions.

“We are off on the right foot,” said Breathnach. “We have the first day of Book 2 behind us and we have eight more sessions in the Breeding Stock Sale and then the racehorse sale to come, but it feels really good and the energy is good. There are a lot of buyers here and a lot of people talking about the shows in the barn area for tomorrow and beyond. We know we have a long way to go, but we are very pleased with this beginning.”

Newgate and SF Bloodstock swoop for Irish Constitution

Henry Field’s Newgate Farm and SF Bloodstock made their first purchase of the Keeneland November Sale when they went to US$310,000 (AU$477,000) for the winning Constitution (USA) mare Irish Constitution (USA), who was bred by SF Bloodstock.

Catalogued as Hip 403, the mare is out of Listed-winning D’Wildcat (USA) (D’Wild Ride {USA}), making her a half-sister to the stakes-placed More Than Ready (USA) mare Wild N Ready (USA).

The mare was offered by Mill Ridge Farm in foal to Lane’s End resident Candy Ride (Arg).

Field said the mare would be mated to G1 Cox Plate winner State Of Rest (Ire) in Australian next season.

“We were delighted to buy Irish Constitution. She’s a filly that SF Bloodstock originally bred, and she was a beautiful weanling and a beautiful yearling. So, we knew the mare well and she was a really good race filly, probably better than her record reads,” Field told TDN AusNZ.

“She was actually fourth in the G1 Spinaway at Saratoga as a 2-year-old, so she’s a high-class mare and by Constitution, who’s one of the best young stallions in North America. And, she’s a mare that we’ll bring down and more than likely breed to State Of Rest next season in Australia. That was the main reason we purchased her.

“We’ll take the foal out of her, it’ll be an early foal, and once the foal is weaned we’ll send her down to Australia around August and get her covered by State Of Rest in September. She’s a fast American, Grade 1-performed mare by one of America’s top young sires, who I think will really suit him physically. We’re very pleased to get her.”

Field said that working alongside Tom Ryan and Gavin Murphy of SF Bloodstock, who know the American market so well, means they have all bases of the market covered.

“We’re lucky to have Tom Ryan and Gavin Murphy of SF Bloodstock who are based up here. They know the form in North America like I know it in Australia - so it allows us to have good intel. For example, we knew this filly was much better than her record read, she’s a very talented filly.

“They know the ins and the outs - if a trainer has a high opinion of horses, or if a horse has had issues - all the detail of the market. That really helps us with our purchasing.”

US bloodlines have always carried extra weight for Newgate with two of their most promising stallions, Russian Revolution and Wild Ruler, being out of USA-bred mares.

“It's great to see the American sale companies really promoting that success to drive continued Australian participation at the sales. We’ve bought many North American mares and had huge success breeding out of them.

“We stand two sons of top North American mares as stallions at Newgate, in Russian Revolution and Wild Ruler, so we believe in them.

“We’ve got a number of new horses on the roster this year and we’ll more than likely have State Of Rest, Artorius and In The Congo next year, so we’re just trying to pick mares for the young horses that we see fit.

“We thought this mare was particularly good for State Of Rest so we feel really good about buying her and we’ll keep adding to the portfolio over the next few days.”

Park Avenue leads to Summer Wind

Jane Lyon of Summer Wind Farm had been outbid on some of her top picks earlier on the sale, so she was bidding with determination when she acquired Park Avenue (USA) (Quality Road {USA}) (Hip 478) for US$1.45 million (AU$2,231,300) on Tuesday at Keeneland.

“I need some good mares,” Lyon said after signing the ticket on the 4-year-old filly. “I've been outbid on several I wanted the sale topper yesterday and a couple of others along the way, so I was pretty determined not to get outbid on her.”

Park Avenue won this year's Ouija Board Distaff S. and was second in the G3 La Canada S. for Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler.

Lyon is breeder and co-owner of recently retired superstar Flightline (USA) and Park Avenue could be visiting that stallion next year.

“We are going to debate it,” Lyon said of possible mating plans. “Because there is a close connection pedigree-wise (to Flightline). But we will debate that with people who know certainly not me.”

Park Avenue is out of Remarkable (USA), who, like Flightline's dam Feathered (USA), is by Indian Charlie (USA).

Asked if she was surprised by Park Avenue's seven-figure pricetag, Lyon said, “Oh yes. I am always surprised.”

Park Avenue was consigned on Tuesday by Lane's End and the farm's Allaire Ryan thought she was a standout in Book 2.

“When two people want them, anything can happen,” Ryan said. “In this group, she was a standout for us. That was beyond our expectations and a super sale all the way around. She was a beautiful filly who obviously had plenty of talent and ability on the track. Her looks just surpassed that. She took your breath away when you saw her. She's a classy filly. She was popular at the barn and people kept coming back to look at her multiple times. We knew we had the right players on her. It's nice to see everyone get rewarded.”

Bernhards assembling broodmare band for their 'new' farm

With their recent purchase of the historic Pin Oak Stud near Versailles, Jim and Dana Bernhard were busy at Keeneland purchasing mares for their new property. They purchased 10 yearlings at the Keeneland September sale under the name of their Lynnhaven Racing but signed under the name of Pin Oak Stud on Tuesday.

“We have plenty of stall space out there, so we figured we might as well get as many good ones as we can,” Matt Weinmann, the Bernhards' advisor, said. “We are looking for top quality, good pedigrees with really good physiology. You can't put a number on how many of those are in this sale. We will see.”

Their first purchase under their new moniker was Broadway Lady (USA) (Constitution {USA}) (Hip 283) for US$500,000 (AU$769,400). The dark bay won four of her 21 starts and hit the board in seven others. She had a timely update coming into the sale, finishing third in the G3 Ontario Matron S. on October 22.

Out of stakes winner Livi Makenzie (USA) (Macho Uno {USA}), Broadway Lady is a half to dual Grade 3-winning sophomore colt Tawny Port (USA) (Pioneerof The Nile {USA}). She was consigned by Bluewater Sales on behalf of owner Gary Barber.

“We are going to breed her next year,” said Weinmann. “She is a lovely filly and checked all the boxes for us. Being Grade 3-placed in her last race gave her that black type, which is very important. After the sale, we will go over matings and see who she fits and go from there. We really liked her. She's beautiful.”

The new Pin Oak crew was back in action later in the session, taking home Cyrielle (USA) (Animal Kingdom {USA}) (Hip 313) for US$160,000 (AU$246,200) and going to US$700,000 (AU$1,077,200) for Querelle (USA) (Violence {USA}) (Hip 497), who was sold in foal to Constitution (USA), from the Grovendale consignment.

They made their biggest purchase of the day late in the session, going to a cool US$1 million (AU$1,538,800) for Sweet Sami D (USA) (First Samurai {USA}) (Hip 573), who sold in foal to red-hot sire Gun Runner (USA).

“She was probably my favourite physical of the day,” said Weinmann. “She is a really high-quality mare in foal to one of the best stallions on the planet. We are just extremely excited to have her.”

Stonehaven's Stellar season continues

The Reddoch's Stonehaven Steadings had an exceptional Keeneland September Sale and their hot streak continued in the November sales ring on Tuesday with the US$1 million sale of Sweet Sami D (USA) (First Samurai {USA}) (Hip 573), who was offered in foal to sensational young sire Gun Runner.

“I'm speechless,” said a clearly emotional Leah O'Meara, who owned the mare in partnership with her parents' operation and her husband Aidan O'Meara. “I didn't want to bring her out here, but I'm glad we did. I'm really glad we did.”

Aidan O'Meara added, “We bought her last year and she just blossomed ever since she's been at the farm. We put her in foal to Gun Runner last year with the thoughts of coming this way. Then Gun Runner did what he did last year, so we decided we'd take a chance and bring her out here and see what the market would do. There is an obvious attachment there, so it is a little bittersweet.”

A US$65,000 (AU$100,000) claim last August, Sweet Sami D was withdrawn from last year's November sale and was mated to Gun Runner. She was a talented racehorse with a record of 21-4-4-4 and multiple stakes placings, including the G3 Monmouth Oaks for trainer Pat McBurney.

“We were talking ourselves in and out of bringing her out here,” Aidan O'Meara said. “But, this was just an incredible result. We are delighted to have made the decision to come out here with her.”

The Stonehaven Steadings team sold a total of 18 yearlings for US$8.188 million (AU$12,599,900) during Keeneland's September Sale, including the sale-topping US$2.5 million (AU$3,847,000) Quality Road (USA) colt now named Metro (USA).

“We are lost for words,” said Aidan O'Meara. “We were lost for words in September here, but this is even more incredible. It is hard to even fathom the type of year we've had. We've been so blessed. So many things have gone our way in an industry which is renowned for things being difficult. It has just been an incredible year for us and hopefully we can use this as a catalyst to build off and keep it moving forward bit by bit.”

CHC collecting mares for Life Is Good

The China Horse Club (CHC) kept busy on Tuesday, acquiring mares to send to their new stallion Life Is Good (USA), topped by the US$750,000 (AU$1,154,100) Ragged Rose (USA) (Union Rags {USA)) (Hip 500), who is in foal to Quality Road (USA).

“She is a beautiful mare from a great family and in foal to Quality Road, who is nearly the best stallion in America,” said CHC's Michael Smith. “She is very clean, strong, good limbs, great action. She is very straightforward, everything you look for in a mare. She will complement him beautifully.”

Ragged Rose is out of stakes winner and Graded stakes-placed mare Cat Charmer (USA) (Storm Cat {USA}), making her a half-sister to multiple Graded stakes winner Strike Charmer (USA) (Smart Strike {USA}) and multiple stakes-placed Sweet Dreams (USA) (Candy Ride {Arg}), the dam of Subconscious (USA) (Tapit {USA}). She was consigned by Grovendale Sales.

China Horse Club, signing as CHC INC, also purchased Summer Solo (USA) (Arch {USA}) (Hip 566) for US$400,000 (AU$615,500) in foal to champion Essential Quality (USA), Coastana (USA) (Kitten's Joy {USA}) (Hip 304) for US$290,000 (AU$446,300), Lady Aces (USA) (Constitution {USA}) (Hip 419) for US$200,000 (AU$307,800) and Pythoness (USA) (Liam's Map {USA}) for US$110,000 (AU$169,300). Smith indicated that all four of those mares would go to Life Is Good.

CHC purchased five mares in total for US$1.75 million (AU$2,692,900) and an average of US$350,000 (AU$538,600). They also bought Princess Grace (USA) (Karakontie {Jpn}) for US$1.7 million (AU$2,616,000) at Fasig-Tipton on Sunday and intend to race her in Australia next year.

Gallery: Mares purchased by China Horse Club at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, images courtesy of Keeneland

“The market is strong, but if you do your homework and keep sifting through them, you can find a bit of value as well,” Smith said. “I think we bought well today (Tuesday). We got some really nice race fillies with stakes form as well as this mare with the big cover.”