LEXINGTON, KY — The Keeneland September Yearling Sale marched into Book 3 Saturday with no signs of slackening of its torrid pace as the auction's fifth session continued to produce double-digit gains over last year's figures. During the opening Book 3 session, 278 yearlings sold for $61,799,000. The session average was $222,299–up 26.69% from last year's corresponding figure–and the median of $300,000 was up 20%. The buy-back rate ticked down to 26.43% from 28.62% a year ago.
“Today marks the fifth consecutive session in which we've set a record, an achievement that speaks volumes about the strength of Keeneland as the global marketplace,” said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “The sustained momentum we've seen each day reflects both the exceptional quality of horses on offer and the depth of this sale.”
For the first time in its history, the auction's fifth session produced three million-dollar yearlings. A colt by Into Mischief led the session when selling for $2 million–the highest-priced horse of any fifth session of the auction–to the bid of Justin Casse, acting on behalf of the partnership of Coolmore, White Birch Farm, and John Oxley. One horse brought seven figures at the auction's fifth session in 2019 and two reached that mark in 2011. Through five sessions, a record-extending 56 yearlings have sold for $1 million or more. The previous record was 40 set in 2005.
Casse admitted that, before seeing the results from earlier in the sale, he might have been surprised to still being paying million-dollar prices into Book 3.
“Probably a week ago, I would have said absolutely I'm surprised,” Casse said. “But not given the way the last few days have gone.”
Casse continued, “Basically, Book 2 was like Book 1 of five years ago. I don't know if Book 3 is going to be like Book 2 was five years ago, but it's almost like Book 1 was in a whole other stratosphere from what we have seen in the past. And then the other books have shifted up as far as the value and the statistics of what horses are bringing.”
Taylor Made Sales Agency sold one of two yearlings by Not This Time to bring seven figures Saturday.
Asked if he had expected to see the million-dollar parade that started in Books 1 and 2 continue into Book 3, Taylor Made's Frank Taylor said, “I am a little surprised, but man, this market is strong. I thought it was going to be a really good sale after Saratoga, but I didn't know if that Saratoga magic was going to carry to here. It certainly did.”
The table for Book 3's success was laid with the competitive market in Books 1 and 2 and Lacy looks for the auction's momentum to continue on as a new buying bench arrives to compete with buyers who got shut out earlier in the sale.
“We're fortunate to have some of the most astute judges of Thoroughbreds in the world here,” Lacy said. “One thing that really stands out is how many major players are still on the grounds and active. There's been a convergence of new participants arriving with those who were here in the early books and remain determined to secure horses. The competition is still incredibly strong, and it's been exciting to watch so many engaged buyers driving the market forward. The energy that defined the opening books has carried over through each session. What we're experiencing here is truly extraordinary.”
The Keeneland September sale continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.
Into Mischief Colt a Book 3 Millionaire
Into Mischief, who by his lofty standards had been fairly quiet during the first week of the Keeneland September sale, made his presence felt in a big way early in Saturday's fifth session of the auction when Justin Casse, bidding on behalf of Coolmore, White Birch Farm, and John Oxley went to $2 million to acquire a son of the Spendthrift stallion (hip 1197). The yearling was consigned by Gainesway and was bred by that farm and Al'Shira'aa Racing.
“The sire, the pedigree, the individual,” Casse ticked off the yearling's appeal. “I think he easily could have been in any of the last two books and he just ended up in this day and he was a real standout. He's a beautiful physical with a lot of scope. And he is obviously by a sire of sires who can do no wrong.”
Hip 1197 | Keeneland photo
The yearling is out of Miss Jessica J (Empire Maker), who matched her son's price tag with a $2-million price tag of her own when purchased by Al Shira'aa Racing at the 2019 Keeneland September sale. The mare, who never made it to the races, is a half-sister to champion Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) and multiple stakes winner Danzatrice (Dunkirk), who produced GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Tapit Trice (Tapit).
Miss Jessica J's first foal, Abdul (Tapit), sold for $350,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale and was flying late when second while making her debut in the My Dear Stakes for trainer Mark Casse and owner D. J. Stable in July.
Hip 1197 was the sixth million-dollar yearling by Into Mischief at this year's Keeneland September sale. He was the 14th to reach that threshold from the Gainesway consignment.
Not This Time Continues to Shine at Keeneland
Not This Time added a pair of seven-figure yearlings to his tally Saturday, bringing his total at Keeneland this week to 14. A son of the Taylor Made stallion (hip 1426) bred by Three Chimneys Farm and consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency sold for $1.4 million to Douglas Scharbauer. The colt was initially led out of the ring unsold at $1.6 million before selling after leaving the ring.
“He had a great walk to him and a great mind,” said Taylor Made's Frank Taylor. “We knew he was going to bring a lot money. He got vetted over 25 times.”
The colt is the first foal out of stakes winner Bella Runner (Gun Runner), who is a daughter of multiple Grade I winner Love and Pride (A.P. Indy).
Later in the session, Bridlewood Farm's George Isaacs, standing out back alongside Eclipse Thoroughbred Partner's Aron Wellman, signed the ticket on a colt by Not This Time (hip 1517) for $1.15 million on behalf of the partnership of Eclipse, Bridlewood, LaPenta, and Warren.
The yearling is out of Flash Magic (Pioneerof the Nile), a half-sister to champion Good Magic (Curlin). He was consigned by Summerfield on behalf of his breeder, Barbara Banke's Stonestreet.
“Not This Time is a great stallion and the mare is a winner with an exceptional pedigree,” Isaacs said. “Good Magic is in the second dam. So he certainly has a stallion's pedigree in the making. We just need to get lucky and put a G-1 next to his name and we will be in good shape.”
Eclipse and Bridlewood, in various partnerships, have teamed to buy 19 yearlings at Keeneland this week for a total of $8,710,000. The two operations are among the co-owners of multiple Grade I winner Journalism (Curlin), who won this year's GI Santa Anita Derby, GI Preakness Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes and was second in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes.
“We are trying to buy very high-end colts and take them to the American Classics,” Isaacs said. “When we partner like this, it gives us more buying power.”
Through five sessions, Not This Time has had 50 yearlings sell for an average of $721,400 and a median of $612,500.
Isaacs sees Not This Time carrying on the tradition of his champion sire, Giant's Causeway.
“Giant's Causeway was an exceptional sire and has become an exceptional broodmare sire,” Isaacs said. “And it looks like Not This Time is well on his way to being a very important pre-eminent sire in this country. It's really cool to see that that sire line is going on. I think the market reflects that any colt or filly by Not This Time that looks the part, the breeders are being well rewarded. And those of us that are buying to race, we want them.”
De Luca Has High Hopes for Boerne's First Foal
Boerne (Fed Biz) took owners Aldo and Kelley De Luca on a memorable ride, starting when they purchased her for just $10,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton October sale. The filly became their first stakes winner in 2020 and went on to win stakes races at three, four and five–on dirt and turf–and was named Texas champion 3-year-old filly. The couple declined all offers to purchase the dark bay mare and chose instead to add her to their young Florida-based broodmare band. They will be hoping that decision proves fruitful when they send the mare's first foal, a son of McKinzie (hip 2286), through the ring as part of the Gainesway consignment at Keeneland Monday.
“We had so many offers to buy her when she had finished her racing career, but I am into breeding in Florida,” Aldo De Luca said. “I turned down several good offers because, if I need to buy a momma like her, I'd need to bring at least $200,000 or $300,000 to the table. So, I said, 'no'.”
The De Lucas have been breeding Thoroughbreds in Florida for seven years now and have nine broodmares, but after deciding to keep Boerne, they also made the decision to ship her North to begin her breeding career.
“It would have been convenient to keep her in Florida, if you look at the breeders awards and everything,” De Luca said. “But on the other side of that, I knew I needed to try to play in the big leagues with her and keep her up North. So we brought Boerne to Kentucky.”
De Luca had originally thought of breeding the mare to Gainesway's Karakontie (Jpn), but eventually settled on McKinzie, who was proving popular in the sales ring and successful on the racetrack.
“McKinzie was a lot more expensive, but I decided it was once in a lifetime that you have such a good mother,” De Luca said. “We decided to go play in the big leagues.”
Heading into Monday's sale, De Luca remains confident he is bringing a quality offering to a competitive market.
“We think that Boerne will have big success as a broodmare,” he said. “And I have no doubt that the first one will be right away a good one. He is a head turner.”
Nothing But Net
Wente Strikes Again with Twirling Candy Colt
Tommy Wente of St. Simon Place has steadily built a career finding mares to buy at discounts and and selling their foals at sometimes eye-popping profits. The breeder struck again early in Saturday's session of the Keeneland September sale when, through the Machmer Hall Sales consignment, he sold a colt by Twirling Candy (hip 1164) for $575,000 to the SF/Starlight partnership. Wente had purchased Lavendar Lane (Quality Road), with the colt in utero, for $30,000 at the 2023 Keeneland November sale.
“I just try to steal them,” Wente said of his process for buying mares. “We are just trying to get a deal. Twirling Candy was $60,000 and I bought the mare for $30,000. It was a little bit light on the page, but if we can get a good foal and–BAMMO–when he was born, he was a great foal. There is no method to my madness. It's crazy.”
Wente added, “Not all of them make it. But if you can pick five and one does, you are getting rid of four, but you are still going to have the one who does pretty good. I just want to get them, put them in our program and raise them the way we want to raise them and see what they do. Basically, it's paying off.”
Wente said the colt's $575,000 price tag wasn't a surprise once he saw his popularity back at the sales barn.
“Can I say that I thought that back at the farm, probably not,” he admitted. “But when you get over here and they start doing the vetting, you get an idea that you have a pretty good horse.”
The 6-year-old Lavendar Lane, a half-sister to multiple stakes placed Vulcan (Munnings), has a weanling filly by Frosted and was bred back to Yaupon.
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