By Jessica Martini
The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale begins its five-day run Monday morning in Lexington with the first of two Book 1 sessions. The auction follows on the heels of a strong renewals of the company's November Breeding Stock Sale and September Yearling Sale and Keeneland officials look for those results to continue on in January.
“The September Sale and the November Sale both went very well,” commented Keeneland's Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell. “The top end was very very strong in November and we just hope that the market continues along. Overall, I thought the November sale was solid, so if that continues on into the January sale that would be great.”
Six weanlings sold for seven figures during the November sale.
“I thought the foal market was very strong in November from start to finish,” Russell confirmed. “But I thought the overall comment on the market, both mares and foals, is that the market is still selective. The buyers are selective–it doesn't make any difference what level of the market you are talking about, they have criteria and if they don't see the criteria, they just move on.”
The January catalog includes 624 broodmares, 181 broodmare prospects, 729 yearlings, 251 horses of racing age and 11 stallions and stallion prospects. The sale features three dispersals: that of the estate of Eric A. Delvalle, consigned by Brandywine Farms, agent; the estate of Sarah J. Leigh, Denali Stud, agent; and the dispersal of Steve Marshall's Black Rock Thoroughbreds, Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, agent.
The 6-year-old mare Up (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) topped last year's January sale when selling for $2.2 million to Ran Jan Racing. The mare's weanling filly by War Front was the auction's second-highest price, selling for $800,000 to bloodstock agents Jason Litt and Alex Solis on behalf of LNJ Foxwoods.
In all, 948 head sold at the 2015 January sale for a gross of $35,305,500. The average was $37,242 and the median was $16,000.
All five sessions of the January sale begin at 10 a.m.
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