A full brother to Canadian champion Pender Harbour was sold for the top price of $325,000 at the Sept. 2 selected Canadian premier yearling sale, which saw large gains in every key statistical category.
The sale-topping chestnut colt by Philanthropist out of the Hail the Ruckus mare Uproar was purchased by John LeBlanc, agent on behalf of a syndicate, from the consignment of Mapleville Farms, agent for Paradox Farm Inc.
Pender Harbour, the 2011 Canadian champion 3-year-od when he won the Prince of Wales Stakes, has won or placed in 22 of 31 starts and earned more than $1.6 million.
The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division), which conducted the sale at the Woodbine sale pavilion, reported that 135 yearlings sold for $4,466,000, up 48.7% from last year's grossl of $3,003,000. The average price was $33,081, up 50.9 % from last year at $21,920. The median was $25,000, a 56.3% increase from the $16,000 median of 2013.
This year 52 yearlings did not sell, compared with 75 in 2013.
The second-highest price of the sale was a bay colt by the three-time leading Canadian sire Old Forester who sold for $145,000. The colt, out of the multiple stakes-winning Smart Strike mare Miss Blakely was the property of Ballycroy Training Centre and was purchased by Full House Stable.
The third-highest price of the sale was another colt by Philanthropist out of the Ascot Knight mare Simply Precious who was purchased by Colebrook Farms for $135,000. He was consigned by Huntington Stud Farm Corp.
Participants in the sale, which continued Sept. 3 with an open session, said the improved results reflect optimism over the future of the Ontario Sires Stakes program, according to a release from the CTHS.
"Renewed faith and confidence in the OSS program was evident throughout the sale. From the outset it was clear the enthusiasm from both buyers and consignors would carry the day," auctioneer Ryan Mahan said.
"I am glad to see the whole sale is doing well and that there is interest in the Ontario program," said Paradox Farm's Dr. Moira Gunn.
"Our local breeders have struggled for the last couple of years, and it is with renewed optimism and well- deserved success that those who persevered through these trying times have finally been rewarded as a result of faith and confidence, now prevalent in our Ontario-bred/Ontario-sired program," said Yvonne Schwabe, sales chair and director of the Ontario CTHS.
The open session Sept. 3 begins at 6 p.m, EDT with a total of 74 horses cataloged. It can be viewed live via webcast an the CTHS website.