Even Steven As KEENOV Wraps
By Lucas Marquardt
The 2014 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale concluded its 11-day run yesterday in Lexington, and the prognosticators who eyed a stable market going in couldn’t have gotten nearer to the bulls-eye. With one more session and 338 more horses through the ring from last year, a total of 2,512 horses sold for $205,899,500. The average of $81,966 was up just 2.1%, while the median of $35,000 was unchanged. The cumulative RNA rate was 21.82%. Last year, it was an exceptional 14.5%.
Last year’s sale, boosted by the dispersal of E. Paul Robsham Stable, saw 2,457 horses sold for $197,189,000, an average of $80,256. The 2013 auction was toped by the $4-million Awesome Maria, a member of the Robsham dispersal.
Topping the sale was the $3.9-million Aloof (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a group-winning daughter of champion Airwave (GB) (Air Express {Ire}) who sold to Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm. Aloof was offered in foal to War Front by Paramount Sales as Hip 246.
Also in foal to War Front was the sale’s second-highest lot, the $3.6-million Naples Bay (Giant’s Causeway), who was hammered down to Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier. Claiborne Farm consigned the MGSW half to Medaglia d’Oro as Hip 156.
Those mares helped set the stage for a lively week and a half of trading.
“We talk about it all the time–if we start out well in Book 1, it will carry through the rest of the sale, and this sale more than any other proved it,” said Keeneland Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell. “The strength and depth in Book 1 definitely carried through.”
There were 11 different buying entities who purchased November’s 18 seven-figure horses–compared to the 14 who sold in 2013. Included among them was new shooter China Horse Club, which came away with the $2.8-million Iotapa(Afleet Alex) and the $1.5-million Last Full Measure (Empire Maker).
“We saw new buyers play at the top end, which is very good for our industry, and we saw regular commercial breeders reinvesting in our industry, and at a high level,” said Russell. “We had 18 million-dollar horses, and it’s interesting to note that they were pretty evenly split between domestic and international buyers. Before, maybe they weighted it a little more toward the international side, so to see the domestic bench stand up and get involved is encouraging.”
Don Alberto Corp. was November’s leading buyer for the second straight year. It purchased nine horses for $8,575,000, an average of $952,778.
One of the highlights of the auction was the sale of a North American record weanling. A Tapit great-granddaughter of Serena’s Song (Rahy) from SW Serena’s Cat (Storm Cat) brought a whopping $3-million winning bid from Bridlewood Farm’s George Isaacs. The filly was bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm and Dell Ridge Farm and was consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale as Hip 402.
“We use the phrase collector’s item,” said Russell. “That Tapit foal will never see the light of another auction ring. This was the only opportunity people would have to buy her, and when people understood that, they stepped up. It’s the highest-price ‘racing prospect’ we sold this year–higher than the two $2.2-million colts we sold at September–and it was two end users going head-to-head.” Mandy Pope was the direct underbidder.
There were two primary takeaways from November, said Russell. First, quality continues to sell. Second, breeders are beginning to take a long-term view of the market.
“We had two very good Septembers [in 2012 and 2013] and a stable market this year, and that has encouraged people to invest long term,” he said. “The great thing is that people want to own a mare now. In past years, they didn’t want to. Even some people who got out of the business got back in. And we keep on talking about it, but quality sells.”
“Here, it was quality in the millions, quality in the $100,000s, quality in the $50,000s. At every level, quality is selling. On Thursday, we had a six-figure horse on the second-to-last day, because she was a nice mare, and people are willing to give money for that. Anything with quality is bringing a premium price, no matter what level of the market you’re talking about. That’s very good news for us.”
Top weanlings were once again prized commodities, with an established group of astute pinhookers battling with ever-growing bench of end-users.
“The foal market was ultra-competitive,” said Russell. “The pinhookers I talked to say they’ve never worked harder, bid more and got less.”
Tom Thornbury, Keeneland’s associate director of sales, weighed in. “Last year was exceptionally strong, and initially, that may have scared off some pinhookers. But the yearling market’s been so good, and the subsequent 2-year-old market’s been so good, that people have been encouraged to step in at a higher level. [Gainesway’s] Brian Graves told me that he had limits, and exceeded them several times. Several others said they’d see us back in [Keeneland] January because they didn’t get their orders filled. It goes back to quality–really good horses are bringing good money. I saw a lot of end-users here buying. Maybe they’re trying to get a jump on the market and try to buy those quality horses now.”
Keeneland now moves forward to its January auction, set to run Monday, Jan.12 through Friday, Jan. 16. The next bloodstock sale on the calendar is Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic Winter Mixed Sale, to be held at Timonium on Dec. 8.
For complete Keeneland November results, www.keeneland.com.
Win Willy On Top Once More…
Topping the final day of selling at November was one of the last horses through the ring, the popular Grade II winner Win Willy (Monarchos–City Far, by Carson City), who sold to Guillermo Elizondo for $45,000. Taylor Made Sales Agency consigned the 8-year-old stallion prospect as Hip 4011.
Machmer Hall snatched up the top broodmare on the day, the $28,000 Backroom Blues (Dixieland Band), an 18-year-old who is the dam of GSW Sindy With An S, SW & GISP Indian Winter (Indian Charlie) and SP Five Star Holding (Five Star Day). Taylor Made consigned the mare, in foal to Morning Line, as Hip 3756.
A colt from the first crop of GISW Dialed In (Mineshaft) brought $28,000 to lead all weanlings. Preston Stables purchased the half to SP Casse (Broken Vow) and SP Zyzilla (Flatter) from the draft of Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, which sent him through the ring as Hip 3854.
Union Rags Supported by Connections, Market…
The leading first-crop sire by weanling average in 2014 is Lane’s End’s Union Rags (Dixie Union–Tempo, by Gone West), whose youngsters averaged $133,931 from 17 of the 20 on offer selling. That led runner-up Bodemeister (Empire Maker), with an average of $118,739 (23/25); and To Honor and Serve (Bernardini), with an average of $101,875 (8/9).
The median for a Union Rags weanling was $130,000, which was tied with Bodemeister for highest median.
Leading the Union Rags brigade was a Lane’s End-consigned colt who sold to Walnut Hill Bloodstock for $290,000. Bred by Grade I Bloodstock, Halcyon Farm and W.S. Farish, the colt was produced by Brush of Fortune (Broad Brush) and is a half-sibling to MSW & GSP Lecturing Lynn (Pulpit). He was one of 12 Union Rags weanlings to make six figures.
It’s maybe worth noting that another Union Rags colt at Fasig-Tipton November RNA’d for $290,000 from Taylor Made’s draft.
By the now deceased Dixie Union, Union Rags won the GI Champagne S. in 2011 and the GI Belmont S. a year later. One of his biggest boosters continues to be the woman that bred him, sold him, bought him back again, and campaigned him to a Classic win with trainer Michael Matz, Phyllis Wyeth. Wyeth was on hand at November both selling and buying Union Rags weanlings.
“She’s had a plan to help this horse succeed,” said Royal Oak Farm’s Braxton Lynch, who with her husband Damian advises Wyeth. “She bought nice mares to send to him, then presented some of his weanlings at this sale for people to see and buy.”
Those weanlings included a colt bred by Wyeth’s Chadds Ford Stable who attracted a bid of $220,000 from Ingordo Bloodstock. The colt, Hip 397, was produced by the Grade II winner Sapphire N’ Silk (Pleasant Tap) and is a half to the Grade II winner Shaniko (A.P. Indy). Royal Oak consigned.
Royal Oak also sold a Union Rags half-brother to SW Backdoor Kenny (Half Ours), Hip 1070, for $175,000. Royal Oaks and Chadds Ford co-bred the colt, and Chadds Ford purchased him.
“Mrs. Wyeth bought out us out on that horse,” Lynch explained.
Some astute eyes might have noticed the name Union Rags Racing on the sales sheets twice, first for a $100,000 Union Rags colt from Pope McLean’s Crestwood Farm (Hip 139), then for a $170,000 Union Rags half-sister to SW Charming Vixen (Bernstein) from Noel Murphy’s Castle Park Farm (Hip 798).
“We’ve put a small syndicate together with Mrs. Wyeth and Lane’s End,” said Lynch. “For young stallions, one of the most important things you can do is to get their offspring in the right hands. So we approached Lane’s End, who has [the racing partnership] Woodford Racing, and we based it on their model and with their help.”
Lynch said that Wyeth would retain the largest group of shares, while others would go to private investors. “That way she doesn’t have to do it all herself, and we were really liking what we were seeing on the ground, and we thought we could have a lot of fun racing his foals. And by doing this, we’re helping to support him in the sales ring.”
Lynch and Lane’s End’s David Ingordo are selecting prospects. “Our aim is to buy a few weanlings and few yearlings,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll get five altogether–and then we plan to spread them out to five different trainers.”
While strictly cosmetic, Lynch said it’s also allowed Wyeth to get her hands on some of Union Rags’s flashier babies.
“It’s funny. Mrs. Wyeth bred five colts by him by herself, and none of them had the chrome he did,” she said. “And everyone else was talking about how theirs had so much chrome, and she was like, ‘C’mon! I wanted some with some chrome!’ The one she bought from us was the spitting image of Union Rags: three white socks, big white blaze, a beautiful blood-bay color. Hopefully, she can do it all over again with that one.”
A tall, elegant, strong horse, Union Rags wasn’t entirely typical of his own sire, who was a stout miler type. Lynch said it’s a maternal family trait he’s passing on those looks to his offspring.
“His second dam is by Nijinsky II, and I really see a lot of that in the family,” she said. “He’s got that imposing size, and I think that’s where he gets it. You wouldn’t typically get that from Dixie Union or [damsire] Gone West. We have a sister of his on the farm, and she’s big, and I think [cousin] Declaration of War is pretty good sized. And his foals are big, and are generating a lot of chatter. I’ve talked to a lot of people who say they have some great ones that they’ll sell as yearlings. We think he could be the real deal.”
Leading Consignor? It’s Taylor Made. Again…
For the third straight year and for the 17th time in the last 21 years, Taylor Made Sales Agency was Keeneland November’s leading consignor. Taylor Made sold 260 horses for $28,048,900–an average of $107,880. Next on the list was Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales, with 73 sold for $18,994,000, a $260,192 average; and Lane’s End Farm, with 124 sold for $15,330,500, a $123,633 average.
Taylor Made sold a trio of seven-figure horses, including the $1.9-million Egg Drop (Alphabet Soup), the $1.3-million Scarlet Strike (Smart Strike), and the $1.1-million Renee’s Titan (Bernstein).
“It’s very rewarding,” said Taylor Made’s Duncan Taylor. “It’s great to be able to perform for your customers. They entrust their product to us, and they expect us to get out there and deliver on our promises. We have a good, strong team. It’s not just the Taylors. We have a lot of good people working for us who know what they’re doing, have the experience, and know the importance of every detail, of every update, of every show. When your team is operating like it should, it really does deliver better results for your customers.”
Taylor said the market was “strong all the way through, but if people do their homework and shop, you can still find good buys.”
Interestingly, he thought some of those good buys came in the market’s upper echelon. “At the top end, I think some people may have gotten some very good mares for fair money,” he said. “You can never look at a mare who brings $3 million and say she was bought for cheap, but I do think there were so many good horses at the top that it kept some horses from going through the $4, $5 or $6-million mark. There were so many options to buy, and people could land on different ones.”
Taylor also took an interesting take on November’s increased RNA rate. This year it was 21.8%; last year it was 14.5%. A high RNA rate is often viewed as a negative, but Taylor thought it’s possible that this November’s higher rate didn’t indicate a dearth of buyers, but increased confidence among sellers.
“I think maybe some of the sellers are gaining more confidence in the market, and they’re not as scared to hold a horse for another year,” he said. “They might think, ‘Hey, if I get a decent foal out of this mare, I can do all right next year, and still be able to sell the mare for about the same money.”