A chestnut yearling colt by Awesome Again out of Clear Sailing by Empire Maker brought $210,000 to top the Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana yearling auction Sept. 24.
The colt was bred and foaled by Coteau Grove Farms of Sunset, La., and purchased by Brittlyn Stables, the owner of multiple Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association Horse of the Year Star Guitar .
Consigned by Pelican State Thoroughbreds, the colt had plenty of interest the days leading up to the sale as well as the morning of the sale. Coteau Grove Farms owner Keith Myers said he received phone calls from all over the United States once the catalog was published.
"We had lots of new traffic this year," said Daren English, sales director for the Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association. "Buyers showed up from Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and more. We worked hard to make sure that our consignors had a good audience for the sale."
In all, 202 yearlings were cataloged for the sale; those sold produced a gross of $2,000,300. The average price was $14,288 with 140 sold, 17 outs, and 45 buy backs.
"I told several people when the catalog was published that we had 'broodmare power,' " English said. "The sale-topper and several other acquisitions seem to point in that direction."
The sale-topper's dam, Clear Sailing, sold for $255,000 at the Keeneland November sale in 2009.
Coteau Grove Farms bought Clear Sailing from the Overbrook Farm dispersal. Clear Sailing is out of the Old Trieste mare Steady Course, who is a half sister to grade II winner and former Overbrook sire Jump Start .
Clear Sailing was a $190,000 buy-back at Keeneland's September yearling sale, and finished third in her only start, a maiden event at Churchill Downs.
"We are pleased for our consignors and breeders," said Roger Heitzmann, secretary/treasurer for the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association and executive director for the sale.
All accredited Louisiana-bred foals of 2012 auctioned in the Sept. 24 sale are eligible for a Bayou State Bonus. Any such colt or gelding sold in the sale that wins the 2014 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile, the 2015 Crescent City Derby, and the 2015 A.L. "Red" Erwin Memorial Stakes will receive a $100,000 bonus at the completion of the final race.
Any filly sold in the sale that wins the 2014 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie, the 2015 Crescent City Oaks, and the 2015 Elge Rasberry Memorial Stakes will receive a $100,000 bonus at the official completion of the final race.
The bonus paid will be added to the earnings of the winning horse and paid to the owner of the horse after the official completion of the final race. Sittin At The Bar, a 2011 sales graduate, was the first ever to win either division.