Keeneland reported there were 1,006 yearlings that went unsold at the September yearling sale, for an RNA rate of 26.5%. In reality, the RNA rate was considerably lower due to the large number of horses that sold after they left the ring.
In her first foray into Thoroughbred ownership, Samantha Menker paid $2,700 for a Gemologist colt at this year’s Keeneland January mixed sale and sold him in September for $125,000.
Keeneland’s marathon September yearling sale highlighted by the sale of Beholder’s half brother for $3 million ended Sept. 25, with strength at the top and middle of the market and continued tepid demand for lower quality individuals.
Buyers with unfilled orders continued to shop the Keeneland September yearling sale during the Sept. 24 penultimate session as numbers for the marathon auction are nearly identical to 2015.
Two horses sold for $200,000 and up during the start of Keeneland September yearling sale's Book 5. The session average dipped by less than 2% compared with the same session of 2015.
An Uncle Mo filly bought by a Greathouse family partnership for $30,000 as a weanling was the most profitable pinhooking transaction during Books 1-4 of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
The Sept. 21 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale saw 274 yearlings sell for $11,120,100, up 4.1% from the same session a year ago; the average rose 6.4% from $38,158 to $40,584, while the median jumped 20% from $25,000 to $30,000.
With the Keeneland September yearling sale continuing to show vibrancy midway through its second week, Peter O’Callaghan of Woods Edge Farm is among consignors having one of the best auctions in recent history.
It wasn’t quite to the levels of Books 1 and 2, but there was a lot of energy at the Keeneland September yearling sale as Book 4 selling began with a Sept. 20 session that yielded across-the board increases.
The sale of an Uncle Mo colt for $750,000 to top the Sept. 17 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale was the high water mark for the Columbiana Farm of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ochocki.
A Bernardini colt from the family of top handicap horse Frosted was purchased by Ben Glass on behalf of Gary and Mary West for $600,000 to top the Sept. 19 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale in which numbers dipped slightly.
They saved the best for last during the Sept. 18 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale when the day’s highest-price of $700,000 was paid by Paul Haughey’s PTK Racing for a Pioneerof the Nile colt.
While major agencies topped Book 2 of the Keeneland September yearling sale by total receipts, KatieRich Farms had the highest average price during the two sessions.
Book 3 of the Keeneland September yearling sale got off to a strong start early Sept. 18 when a daughter of Mineshaft was sold by Lane's End for $410,000.
Topped by an Uncle Mo colt sold for $750,000, the Keeneland September yearling sale continued on a robust note Sept. 17 with across-the-board increases in every key statistical category.
Lane’s End went to $750,000 to secure an Uncle Mo colt from the family of millionaire and sire Papa Clem during the Keeneland September yearling sale’s fifth session Sept. 17.
A Pioneerof the Nile colt bought as a weanling for $85,000 was bought by EQB as agent for Zayat Stables, for $575,000 during the Sept. 17 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
A Ghostzapper colt from the family of grade I winner The Cliff's Edge was purchased by Dickman Legacy Ranch for $650,000 at the Sept. 17 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
The consignment of Brereton C. Jones and Airdrie Stud at the Keeneland September yearling sale included two $900,000 transactions.
Topped by a $1 million Curlin colt, the Keeneland September yearling sale continued on a strong note Sept. 16 as the marathon auction didn’t miss a beat moving into Book 2 after a strong three-day Book 1.
A chestnut Curlin colt was bought by Mike Ryan, agent for E5 Racing, for $1 million during the fourth session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
The final Tapit yearling to be offered at the Keeneland September sale, and several individuals with significant upgrades in their female families, are among horses to keep an eye on during the Sept. 17 session that completes Book 2 of the auction.
WinStar Farm went to $500,000 to acquire a More Than Ready colt as the first yearling to reach the half-million mark early during the Sept. 16 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
As the Keeneland September yearling sale moves to Book 2 after a one-day hiatus followed the blockbuster three-day Book 1, the catalog consists of horses with a little less pedigree and conformation, but they are nonetheless quality individuals.
Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm bought two back-to-back Tapit fillies, each for seven figures, during the late stages of Book 1's final session Sept. 14 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
Shadwell Estate Company struck again for a well-bred yearling at the Sept. 14 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale, going to $1.9 million to acquire a War Front colt from the Lane’s End consignment.
A Tapit colt who is a half brother to multiple grade I winner Mucho Macho Man lit up the Keeneland bid board when purchased by Bridlewood Farm and M. V. Magnier for $2 million during the Sept. 14 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
A War Front colt produced from the two-time grade I-winning A.P. Indy mare Love and Pride became the second seven-figure yearling Sept. 13 at the Keeneland September yearling sale when purchased by Shadwell Estate Co. for $1.3 million.
Clarkland Farm hit another home run at the Keeneland September yearling sale when a half brother to three-time champion Beholder and to grade I winner and sire Into Mischief was purchased by M. V. Magnier for Coolmore interests for $3 million.
Wayne Sweezey had a sleepless night Sept. 13, after a well-bred horse he consigned to the Tuesday session of the Keeneland September yearling sale went unsold following a rare mistake by the well-respected horseman.
The Keeneland September yearling sale's second session offered plenty of excitement: a new sale topper, an expensive buy-back that turned out to be a mistake, two high-priced yearlings sold by Airdrie Stud, and a continued uptick in prices.
They saved the best for last during the second session of the Keeneland September yearling sale when a colt by Tapit out of the grade I winner Hooh Why was bought by Crupi's New Castle Farm for $1.2 million.
The first colt produced from Horse of the Year Havre de Grace was bought back by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm for $1.9 million during the Sept. 13 second session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
Brereton C. Jones' Airdrie Stud had its second $900,000 yearling sale during the second session of the Keeneland September yearling sale Sept. 13 when Japan-based Shadai Farm went to that level for a War Front colt.
A striking gray Tapit colt who is a half brother to multiple grade I winner Mucho Macho Man is among the top horses to watch for during the Sept. 14 session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
One of the best-bred Tapits in the Keeneland September yearling sale catalog lit up the bid board early during the Sept. 13 second session, selling for $900,000 to William Mack and Robert Baker.
Boosted by a broad-based international buying bench and the appeal of top-caliber sires Medaglia d’Oro, Tapit, and War Front, the marathon Keeneland September yearling sale had a solid opening Sept. 12.
A War Front filly who is from the family of recent group I winner Churchill became the second-highest-priced offering at the Keeneland September yearling sale when agent John Ferguson went to $900,000.
A Medaglia d'Oro colt became the first seven-figure purchase during the first session of the Keeneland September yearling sale. M. V. Magnier of Coolmore Stud bought the colt for $1 million early during the Sept. 12 session.
A War Front colt produced from Havre de Grace and a Bernardini colt who is a half brother to the Horse of the Year are among the top horses to watch during the Sept. 13 second session of the Keeneland September yearling sale.
The Keeneland September yearling sale that begins Sept. 12 features some of the hottest bloodlines in the world and has attracted top buyers from around the world.
With so many siblings and half siblings to top-class runners and so many yearlings sired by the world’s leading sires, winnowing down the list of top horses to watch to light up the Keeneland September sale bid board can be a daunting task.
If success on the racetrack transcends into success in the sales ring, Keeneland is well-poised to have a successful marathon September yearling sale that could end the downward spiral experienced by previous sales this year.
Three colts sired by Pioneerof the Nile are among the top 10 pinhook prospects for the marathon Keeneland September yearling sale based on their respective purchase prices when they initially went through the sales ring as weanlings.
Fillies by Silent Name and Justin Phillip shared top price of CAN$95,000 ($72,485) during the Sept. 1 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society Ontario Division Canadian preferred yearling sale.
VinMar Farm near Versailles, Ky., has decided to disperse, with horses to be sold at Keeneland’s September yearling sale and November breeding stock sale, which begins Nov. 8. St. George Sales will handle the dispersal.
The first yearling sale held in Texas since 2014 was conducted Aug. 29 at Lone Star Park, topped by a colt and a filly by the state’s leading sire Too Much Bling that sold as part of the dispersal of Lane’s End Texas.
Though horses bred by Machmer Hall finished second in graded stakes over the weekend, it was Drefong's King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I) victory that the farm's connections found most exciting.
The value of a Medaglia d'Oro filly consigned to the Keeneland September yearling sale increased after her half brother Arrogate romped to a Travers Stakes (gr. I) triumph in track-record time.
Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Reckling graduated in his second start, going wire-to-wire to win the first race on the Travers Day card at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 27.
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