There’s nothing better than a successful recent graduate to advertise an auction, and the Adena Springs sale of 2-year-olds in training, which is scheduled for April 18 in Central Florida, has the perfect marketing tool in Stately Victor.
The son of Ghostzapper topped the 2009 edition of the auction, bringing $250,000 from trainer Mike Maker, who was representing Louisville attorney F. Thomas Conway. A member of the 2004 Horse of the Year’s first crop, Stately Victor scored in the April 10 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) at Keeneland and is headed to the Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum Brands (gr. I), where he will run for Conway and his son, Kentucky attorney general and U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway.
This year’s sale, which will be held at Adena Springs South near Williston, has 46 horses in its catalog. They include eight Ghostzapper offspring, six Awesome Again progeny, and a Giant's Causeway colt out of grade I winner Victory Encounter.
Frank Stronach, who owns Adena Springs, has won three Eclipse Awards (1998-2000) as outstanding owner, and his Stronach Stables was honored with an owner Eclipse in 2008. Stronach received an Eclipse Award as outstanding breeder in 2000, and Adena Springs won the breeder’s honor for five consecutive years (2004-2008).
In addition to its Florida operation, Adena Springs also has farms in Kentucky and Canada.
The 2009 Adena Springs sale of 2-year-olds bucked the downward tend in the Thoroughbred marketplace in one important statistical category as the median price rose 28.6% from 2008. However, the gross revenue declined 59.3% while the number of horses sold fell 50.5%. The average price dropped 17.8%, and the buy-back rate increased to 26.2% from 23% the previous year.
The 2010 edition of the auction, which will be conducted by the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co., is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. (EDT). The under tack show will be held earlier the same day at 8 a.m., and there will be a country barbecue in the afternoon prior to the auction. The charge to dine will be $20 per person, with proceeds going to the Ocala Farm Ministry and the Florida Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
