There were several trends that emerged during the first day of the Keeneland September yearling sale, including market dominance by leading sire A.P. Indy on both sides of the pedigree and softness at the top of the market.
Although Dynaformer was the first-session leading sire by average, with three averaging $1,283,333, by sheer numbers A.P. Indywas the major player Sept. 10. His 13 yearlings that sold averaged $914,231, more than three times his $300,000 stud fee in 2005, when the matings took place that produced the 2007 yearling crop. He was also leading sire by median price (with two or more sold) at $700,000. Gross sales by A.P. Indy yearlings of $11,885,003 represented 17.6% of the session total of $67,395,000. A.P. Indy stands at William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near Midway, Ky.
By comparison, during last year’s two select sessions in September, A.P. Indy was sixth-leading sire, with 13 selling for an average price of $578,846. The first and second sessions of the 2006 September sale were dominated by horses sired by Danzig, with 11 averaging $1,590,000.
In addition to his overall numbers, A.P. Indy sired five of the top 15 selling lots in the session and was broodmare sire of three others that sold in the same group. Two A.P. Indy colts brought the session’s second- and third-highest prices of $2.4 million and $2 million, respectively.
A breakdown of the first session by price range shows a shift in strength from top to bottom. The number of yearlings selling below six figures increased by 171.4% to 19 this year, compared with seven during the 2006 first session. Within the next price range of $100,000-$249,000, there were 53 sold Monday, compared with 47 last year.
Conversely, the number sold at the top dipped this year, with 11 yearlings selling for $1 million or more, compared with 16 during the comparable session in 2006.