Keeneland Yearling Sale Barn Notes - Sept 10
The first two sessions of the 71st Keeneland September Yearling Sale have produced strong results. A total of 241 yearlings have been sold for $70,953,000, up slightly from $69,621,000 last year when 269 horses were sold during the same period. The average of $294,411 rose 13.75 percent over $258,814 in 2013, and the median increased 25 percent from $200,000 to $250,000.
On Tuesday, three yearlings brought final bids of $1 million or more, bringing the number of seven-figure yearlings sold so far to five. A new top price for the sale was established when Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm of Citra, Fla., paid $1.6 million for the colt by Unbridled’s Song who is a half-brother to 2013 Preakness (G1) winner Oxbow and stakes winner Awesome Patriot.
The colt was consigned by Burleson Farms, agent.
Consignors and buyers commented on Tuesday’s session:
Denali Stud’s Craig Bandoroff’s tweet this morning about consigning the $1.3 million War Front colt: “So proud of this horse and my team. Very grateful for clients who trust us.”
Ben Glass, agent for Gary and Mary West: “The ones I want to bid on are bringing lots of money. It’s a strong sale.”
Eric Hamelback, general manager, Adena Springs: “Book 1 has been very good. I think there were certain predictable RNAs that occurred, but that’s the wonderful thing about Book 1: It’s typically filled with horses that many of the owners putting them in the sale don’t mind to race. I think that’s really good for the game, to have those owners that can step up and keep (the yearlings) if they don’t bring what (the owners) think their value is. I’m always happy for owners to put their value on it, judge what the market sees. If they feel like they are in a better place taking (the horses) to the races, great. The horses that we have sold we’ve been very pleased with.”
Arthur Hancock of Stone Farm, which consigned the $1 million Tapit filly: “I think the market is good. You’ve seen a lot of horses bring good money out here. If you’ve got a good horse with a good pedigree, there is plenty of money. I think it’s a very good sale.”
Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier, who bought the $1.3 million War Front colt: “(The market) has been good. The good horses are hard to buy. It seems to be going well and hopefully it will continue.”
Catherine Parke, Valkyre Stud: “There’s been a lot of activity and quality, serious people scrutinizing the horses. We’ve had all the traffic and wonderful people looking at our animals, the kind of people you want to buy your horses.”
Shack Parrish, Indian Creek: “I think it’s a very good market.”
CATALOG UPDATES OFFERED ONLINE
For the latest pedigree updates for yearlings in Book 1 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, visit
http://flex.keeneland.com/
KEENELAND BROADCAST TEAM KEEPS SHOW RUNNING SMOOTHLY
Tucked in a room off a hallway in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion is a team of nearly a dozen people who work tirelessly to make sure the audio/visual components of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and the three other sales here each year go off without a hitch.
These people are members of the Keeneland broadcast team, which is responsible for a variety of technological components of the sale, including producing the following:
· Promotional footage and commercials.
· Live feeds and accompanying graphics that air on screens throughout the Sales Pavilion and outdoor show ring.
· Highlight packages for TV stations and others wishing to air clips of the sale.
· Race replays of Grade 1-winning relatives of sales yearlings that are shown when yearlings are in the ring.
The broadcast team also archives to DVD the more than six hours of footage of each session of Book 1 and will archive the more than 10 hours of each session of Books 2-6. These records date back to September 2005 when Keeneland upgraded the equipment in the control room during a renovation of the Sales Pavilion.
Here is a look at the Keeneland broadcast team by the numbers:
10: Crew members working during each session of the September Sale.
3: Remote-controlled cameras that shoot the live feed of the Sales Ring.
50: Television monitors broadcasting the auction in the Sales Pavilion and outdoor show ring.
40: Monitors used in the control room to produce the broadcast.
AROUND THE RING
Bode Miller, the most accomplished men’s alpine skier in American history, was at Keeneland Tuesday for the second session of the September Yearling Sale. Miller and wife Morgan Beck, a professional volleyball player, joined trainer Bob Baffert in looking at yearlings and watching the sale.
Miller has raced several horses in recent years, including 2012 Real Quiet Stakes winner Carving, a 2011 September Sale graduate he owned in partnership with Baffert’s wife, Jill. …
A number of leading domestic and international trainers have been seen on the sales grounds, inspecting yearlings and participating in the sale. They include Tom Amoss, Rusty Arnold, Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, James Bond, Chad Brown, Jim Cassidy, Mark Casse, Wayne Catalano, Christophe Clement, Simon Crisford, Neil Drysdale, Tony Dutrow, Carla Gaines, Leah Gyarmati, John Gosden, Steve Hobby, Jerry Hollendorfer, Mark Johnston, Eddie Kenneally, David Lanigan, Charlie LoPresti, D. Wayne Lukas, Michael Matz, Ron McAnally, Ken McPeek, Bill Mott, Jeremy Noseda, Danny Pietz, Todd Pletcher, Mark Prescott, John Shirreffs, Dallas Stewart, Mike Stidham, Tom Taaffe, Rick Violette, Wesley Ward, George Weaver and Ian Wilkes.
SALE CLIENTS INVITED TO JEFFERSON STREET SOIREE TONIGHT
Tonight from 6-10 p.m. ET, Keeneland and VisitLEX’s Beyond Grits will present the Jefferson Street Soiree to showcase the September Yearling Sale and one of downtown Lexington’s culinary and cocktail hot spots. Guests will enjoy food and beverage tastings and live music along Jefferson Street, which will be closed from West Short Street to West Second Street.
Beyond Grits
celebrates Lexington's robust and diverse food culture, showcasing
traditional and cutting-edge Southern cuisine by local chefs and artisan
entrepreneurs. The Soiree
will present the
culinary and cocktail hot spots for area residents and for people in town to attend the September Sale.
The
restaurants and bars along Jefferson will offer food and beverage
tastings, and live regional entertainment will be featured on a stage
between The Grey Goose and Wine
+ Market. Aly'An, a female country duo from Burgin, Ky., will take the
main stage at 6 p.m. to open the festival, followed by Lexington's own Tee Dee Young at 8 p.m. Restaurants and bars not within the enclosed area will have booths to serve customers tastings
from their menu and/or bar.
Parking will be available at the Cox Street Lot behind Rupp Arena. Shuttle service provided by LexTran's COLT Trolley will be available.
SPOTLIGHT ON STAKES-WINNING SEPTEMBER SALE GRADUATES:
SWEET REASON and FASHION PLATE
Two fillies who are graduates of Keeneland’s 2012 September Yearling Sale have excelled in 2014.
A Grade 1 winner as a 2-year-old last year, Treadway Racing Stable’s Sweet Reason (left) has maintained top form in 2014 by winning the Acorn (G1) at Belmont and Test (G1) at Saratoga. The Street Sense filly was consigned by Bettersworth Westwind Farms to the September Sale, where she was purchased for $185,000 by Jeff Treadway (click here to see auction video). A Midshipman half-sister to Sweet Reason is cataloged for the 2014 September Sale as Hip 779 selling on Saturday, Sept. 13.
This year, Fashion Plate has captured the Las Virgenes (G1) and Santa Anita Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita. Racing for Arnold Zetcher LLC and Michael Tabor, the Old Fashioned filly was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, to the 2012 September Sale and sold to Nick de Meric, agent, for $35,000 (click here to see auction video). Fashion Plate was bought as a weanling at the 2011 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $75,000 by 4th Street Racing from Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.