Next week will see the next major international yearling sale of the autumn season – Keeneland September. This year 3,604 horses have been catalogued to sell during the mammoth two week long sale. The catalogue is split into 6 books, with the most expensive lots usually coming from either Book 1 or Book 2 (this covers the first 1,000 or so horses to sell) The catalogues can be viewed in full here: Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5 Book 6 As there are so many horses to go through, I have just concentrated on Book 1, which will feature the majority of the high-end lots. Book 1 covers just 132 horses which will sell in a “boutique” session starting at 4pm on 10 September. Book 2 will then commence at 11am on September 11 and will run for 3 days. Book 1 sees a number of European interests with yearlings by the likes of Danehill Dancer (2), Galileo (4), Montjeu (1) and Sea the Stars (1) on offer. Hip 6 – filly Distorted Humor/Our Golden Song – dam half-sister to BC Classic winner DROSSELMEYER (also by Distorted Humor) Hip 8 – filly Street Cry/Palangana – half-sister to G1 BC Filly & Mare Sprint winner INFORMED DECISION Hip 10 – colt Broken Vow/Playa Maya – half-brother to dual US G1 winner UNCLE MO Hip 19 – filly Galileo/Sharp Lisa – dam US G1 winner Hip 33 – filly Giant’s Causeway/Swan Nebula – dam winning half-sister to GB G1 winner POET’S VOICE Hip 40 – filly Empire Maker/Ticker Tape – dam dual G1 winner and half-sister to the dam of G1 winner RECKLESS ABANDON Hip 45 – Smart Strike/Untouched Talent – half-brother to three time G1 winner BODEMEISTER Hip 47 – Bernardini/Vole Vole Monamour – half-sister to French G1 winner MRS LINDSAY Hip 64 – filly Dynaformer/Catchascatchcan – half-sister to G1 placed ANTONIUS PIUS; dam G1 winner Hip 78 – colt Bernardini/Devils Lake – half-brother to US G1 winner GAYEGO Hip 99 – filly Danehill Dancer/Hold Me Love Me – dam G2 placed full-sister to G1 winners YESTERDAY & QUARTER MOON Hip 102 – colt Sea the Stars/Ice Mint – dam winning half-sister to French G1 winner FALCO Hip 106 – filly Henrythenavigator/Jewel Princess – dam 4 time US G1 winner Hip 110 – filly Galileo/La Chunga – dam G3 winner Hip 120 – filly Unbridled’s Song/Maggy Hawk – half-sister to 3 time US G1 winner AFLEET ALEX Book 2 sees yearlings by the likes of Cape Cross (1), Conduit (1 – the only one to sell outside of Japan to my knowledge), Duke of Marmalade (2), Galileo (1), Invincible Spirit (1), Raven’s Pass (1), Sea the Stars (2) and Shamardal (1), as well as the usual USA based sires. The sale, particularly in its first few days attracts a number of buyers from Europe. You would normally expect around 100 horses from this sale to be purchased to race in Europe. As the sale progresses I will try to update this thread with information on potential European purchases.
Bumping this as the sale gets underway tonight. You can follow the sale online here Today's Racing Post reports that Sheikh Hamdan, John Ferguson (Darley's bloodstock advisor), Sheikh Al Thani (Qipqo/Qatar Racing), the Coolmore team, the Rabbah team, and agents Grant Pritchard-Gordon, Tom Goff, Richard Brown and Anthony Stroud have all been seen at the sales ground, so expect a decent number of European purchases, over the first few days at least.
The opening session of Keeneland September took placce last night with Shadwell signing for the sale topper, Hip 131, a son of Distorted Humor, for $1,650,000. 114 horses were offered for sale, from 132 catalogued, with 75 finding new homes. The gross for the sale was down from $45.6million to $30.3million, but the average price was up 14% to $403,867, though exact comparisons are difficult due to the change in format this year. The results can be found here. Interestingly, John Ferguson failed to sign for a single animal (for the first time in many years) and Juddmonte made a rare foray into the yearling market when giving $525,000 for an Elusive Quality colt out of Champion 3yo Filly Xtra Heat. The European yearlings on offer sold as follows: Hip 1 Danehill Dancer/Nasty Storm - $250,000 to Dale Romans (USA) Hip 19 Galileo/Sharp Lisa - $250,000 to David Redvers (GB) Hip 84 Galileo/Egyptian Queen - $500,000 to Glen Hill Farm (USA) Hip 85 Montjeu/Eliza - $85,000 to Willie Browne (IRE) Hip 99 Danehill Dancer/Hold Me Love Me - withdrawn Hip 102 Sea the Stars/Ice Mint - $675,000 to K K Eishindo (Japan) Hip 105 Galileo/It Must Be Magic - $300,000 to Hajime Satomi (Japan) Hip 110 Galileo/La Chunga - $400,000 to David Redvers (GB) Hip 102 represented a nice bit of profit for David Redvers, who purchased the colt at Tattersalls Foal Sale last year for G225,000. European buyers in action were: SackvilleDonald (British bloodstock agents): Hip 14 Smart Strike/Rite Moment for $235,000 David Redvers (agent for Qatar Racing, amongst others): Hip 19 Galileo/Sharp Lisa for $250,000 Hip 110 Galileo/La Chunga for $400,000 Hugo Lascelles (British bloodstock agent): Hip 33 Giantâs Causeway/Swan Nebula for $310,000 Richard OâGorman (British bloodstock agent, often buys on behalf of Darley): Hip 49 Smart Strike/Wile Cat for $500,000 Shadwell : Hip 51 Indian Charlie/Witness Post for $625,000 Hip 72 Bernardini/Come Together for $675,000 Hip 131 Distorted Humor/Mushka for $1,650,000 Hip132 Distorted Humor/My Miss Storm Cat for $850,000 Juddmonte: Hip 52 Elusive Quality/Xtra Heat for $525,000 Blandford Bloodstock (British bloodstock agents): Hip 77 Street Cry/Dark Sky for $600,000 Willie Brown (Irish breeze up consignor): Hip 85 Montjeu/Eliza for $85,000 Demi OâByrne (Coolmore): Hip 95 Henrythenavigator/Good Time Sally for $235,000 Hip 125 AP Indy/Miraculous Miss for $675,000 The sale continues today getting underway at 10am (EDT) with 305 horses on offer.
Day 2 will get underway shortly. Racing Post have made this shortlist of the day's lots to watch: 189) ch f Sea The Stars - Premiere Creation: inbred 3x3 to Miswaki - whom she quite resembles - and a three-parts sister to French Group 3 winner Leo's Starlet. Bred by S F Bloodstock and consigned by Dromoland Farm 273) b f Henrythenavigator - Satin Sunrise: half-sister to dual Grade 1 winner and successful sire Lion Heart 320) b f Tale Of The Cat - Sleepytime: the latest yearling out of the 1997 1,000 Guineas heroine, the dam of Winter Derby winner Gentleman's Deal and a sister to top miler Ali-Royal 339) b f Elusive Quality - Star Of Paris: sister to Elusive City 368) b f Unbridled's Song - Summerly: daughter of the 2005 Kentucky Oaks heroine, who was acquired by this colt's breeder, WinStar Farm, for $3.3 million in 2006 379) ch f Distorted Humor - Swift Temper: first foal out of a Grade 1 Ruffian Handicap winner 384) ch f Giant's Causeway - Takesmybreathaway: the sister to Aidan O'Brien's Kilternan Stakes winner Frost Giant, now a promising first-crop sire in New York 397) b f Distorted Humor - Tee Kay: half-sister to Japanese champion Symboli Kris S 423) ch f Street Cry - Treasure Trail: first foal of a half-sister to the great Zenyatta, also by Street Cry 432) b f Tiznow - Turko's Turn: a half-sister to Horse of the Year Point Given You can watch the sale live here. European sales take note - you can view the video and catalogue page at the same time!
I don't think I'll ever be able to watch one of these with a straight face. I wish they would talk like normal people. I don't know the value of the dollar at the minute but $250,000 for a Galileo and $85,000 for a Montjeu strikes me as cheap compared to what their stud fees are/were and the fact that these were book 1s.
The American auctioneers do take it to a whole other level don't they?! The exchange rate at the moment for Dollars/Euros is about $1 = €0.78, so yes the Montjeu (about €66,000 to a stud fee of allegedly €125,000) would have been a bargain. The Galileo (about €195,000 to a stud fee of allegedly €175,000) probably just about broke even, taking into account keep costs, etc.
Day two of the Keeneland September Yearling sale was topped by Hip 402, a son of Tapit, sold for $700,000 to Stonestreet Stables. Only two European sired yearlings were on offer in this session and sold as follows: Hip 199 Duke of Marmalade/Private Whisper – withdrawn Hip 189 Sea the Stars/Premiere Creation – reserve not achieved at $230,000 Shadwell were once again active, signing for 8 yearlings. The Europeans in action were: Mark Johnston Hip 134 colt Bernstein/Net Worth $50,000 Blandford Bloodstock (agents) Hip 145 filly Lemon Drop Kid/Oh Pine $100,000 Hip 155 filly Malibu Moon/Panacea $100,000 Hip 320 filly Tale of the Cat/Sleepytime $310,000 Shadwell Hip 151 colt Elusive Quality/Our Rite of Spring $180,000 Hip 158 colt Dixie Union/Paris Rose $230,000 Hip 232 colt Arch/Red Dot $120,000 Hip 325 colt Harlan’s Holiday/Soloing $300,000 Hip 328 colt Distorted Humor/Somethingaboutbetty $300,000 Hip 339 filly Elusive Quality/Star of Paris $330,000 Hip 349 filly Tiznow/Storminthegarden $500,000 Hip 376 colt Dixie Union/Sweet Rider David Redvers (agent for Qatar racing, amongst others) Hip 174 colt Broken Vow/Pink Champagne $160,000 Hip 285 colt Arch/Seeking Silence $375,000 Hip 304 filly Dixie Union/Shriek $160,000 Hip 374 colt Malibu Moon/Sweet Nanette $275,000 Hugo Merry (Irish agent) Hip 193 filly Bernardini/Prime Investor $270,000 Demi O’Byrne (Coolmore) Hip 208 colt Tapit/Que Belle $500,000 Hip 257 colt War Front/Rule One $240,000 Hip 278 colt Harlan’s Holiday/Seafree $220,000 Norman Williamson (ex jockey, now breeze up consignor) Hip 275 filly Bernardini/Saunter $80,000 Hip 321 colt Tapit/Smara $95,000 SackvilleDonald (British agents) Hip 409 Giant’s Causeway/Ticket to Seattle $150,000 Today’s session is already underway and can be viewed here.
Keeneland Day 3 Update The third session of the sale was topped by a colt by Bernardini (Hip 469) purchased for $1,550,000 by Demi O’Byrne. The purchase was something of a surprise as Bernardini stands in the US under the Darley banner. It appears relations between the two groups continue to thaw! There were 4 yearlings by European sires on offer, which sold as follows: Hip 553 colt Invincible Spirit/Ballette – John Ferguson for $270,000 Hip 643 colt Duke of Marmalade/Cluain Fhada – RM Gansean for $25,000 Hip 648 colt Raven’s Pass/Communique – reserve not met at $230,000 Hip 736 colt Shamardal/Emperice – Jody Huckabay for $110,000 The European buyers in action purchased the following: Blandford Bloodstock (British Agents) Hip 725 filly War Front/Eclisse $42,000 Brown Island Stables (Irish Breeze Up consignors) Hip colt Empire Maker/Dundrummin’ $32,000 Demi O’Byrne (Coolmore) Hip 469 colt Bernardini/Wilshewed $1,550,000 Hip 548 filly Malibu Moon/Ayla Bella $310,000 Hip 645 colt Big Brown/Cold Awakening $825,000 David Redvers (agent for Qatar racing) Hip 474 colt Malibu Moon/Winner’s Ticket $170,000 Hip 529 filly Distorted Humor/A P Dream $95,000 Hip 704 colt Hard Spun/Divorce Settlement $210,000 Hip 724 filly War Front/Easy to Cope $150,000 John Ferguson (Darley) Hip 498 colt Elusive Quality/Acting Lady $130,000 Hip 553 colt Invincible Spirit/Ballette $270,000 Juddmonte Hip 535 filly Tapit/Arradoul $280,000 Marco Bozzi (Italian agent) Hip 522 filly Midnight Lute/Amura $115,000 Mark Johnston Hip 579 colt Stormy Atlantic/Bluemamba $80,000 Hip 696 colt Tiznow/Dianehill $150,000 Norman Williamson (ex-jockey, now breeze up consignor) Hip 639 colt Henrythenavigator/Clayton’s Lass $60,000 Shadwell Hip 580 colt Distorted Humor/Blushing $340,000 Hip 600 filly Tapit/Carolyn’s Cat $375,000 Hip 654 filly Tapit/Coral Necklace $525,000 Hip 728 colt Dynaformer/Effectual $650,000 Results can be viewed here
