A Bernardini —Ava Knowsthecode colt consigned by Valkyre Stud as Hip No. 565 was bought by John Ferguson for $625,000 during the early portion of the Sept. 14 fourth session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
The colt, whose graded stakes-placed dam is a daughter of Cryptoclearance, was consigned by Catherine Parke’s Valkyre on behalf of breeder Oakbrook Farm. During the Sept. 13 session, Valkyre sold a Bernardini filly for a session-topping $1.2 million. Bernardini stands at Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley in Lexington.
Ava Knowsthecode is the dam of grade II winners Keyed Entry and Justin Phillip , grade III winner Successful Mission, and stakes winner Alex's Allure. The mare is also represented by a current promising 2-year-old in Algorithms , a Bernardini colt purchased by Starlight Partners for $170,000 at the 2010 Keeneland September sale.
Ferguson, who bought the Bernardini colt on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed, said considering the colt's pedigree he would likely remain in the U.S., although his boss would make that decision later.
“It’s as solid as a rock; the mare has done it every time,” Ferguson said of the colt’s female family.
“The breeder brought two lovely yearlings here and gets $1.2 million for one and $625,000,” Ferguson commented on Parke. “She deserves it because they were two wonderfully presented yearlings, with great pedigrees. I am glad she is being rewarded. People outside the business don’t know how hard it is to produce horses like that.”
