Keeneland Photo
By Sarah Mace
At the conclusion of bidding Monday, halfway through the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale (Books 1-3 and Sessions 1-7), the total number of New York-breds sold was 12 with nine buybacks, which had driven the RNA percentage to an uncomfortable 42.9%. On Tuesday and Wednesday (Book 4) all but one of the 16 New York-bred yearlings offered found new homes. The obvious demand for these middle-market Empire State-bred yearlings has generated a much more palatable post-Book 4 cumulative RNA percentage of 27.0% for the group.
The other key Empire State-bred indicators remain solid. The average New York-bred yearling price is $85,833 while the cumulative New York-bred median is $75,000. Overall at Keeneland the cumulative average and median stand at $183,319 and $100,000, respectively, through Book 4. To date the overall buybacks are 27.5%.
The top New York-bred colt and filly of Book 4 both sold in Wednesday’s Session 9.
Repole Stable went to $90,000 to take home the male topper, a bay by Goldencents from a strong female family who was offered as Hip 2819 from the Sequel New York consignment. Bred by Sequel in partnership with Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, LLC, the April 22, 2018 colt is the second foal out of Cool Ten Grand, an unraced Kentucky-bred daughter of Malibu Moon who was purchased by the colt’s breeders for $40,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale. Cool Ten Grand is a full sister to Grade 2 Peter Pan winner Freedom Child. The sale colt’s third dam is Grade 1 winner City Band, producer of stakes winners Weather Warning and Foolishly (also a stakes producer).
The top filly of Book 4 was Hip 2767, also consigned by Sequel, this time on behalf of top New York breeders Chester and Mary Broman. The winning bidder was Glen Hill Farm who paid $75,000 for the dark bay or brown daughter of Medaglia d’Oro. She is the third foal out of Broman homebred Beautiful But Blue, a multiple stakes winner and Grade 1-placed runner by El Corredor whose first foal, Rachel’s Blue Moon, is already a winner. The filly’s second dam is four-time stakes winner Beautiful America, a daughter of Dixie Brass who was bred in New York by Thomas C. Ryba, campaigned by the Bromans and earned $523,927.
The top colt and filly of Wednesday’s Session 8 were offspring of Mineshaft and young sire Tonalist.
Wednesday’s top colt, Hip 2409, a chestnut colt by Mineshaft who is a half-brother to New York-bred multiple graded stakes winner Flipcup, went to Jerry Crawford for Donegal Racing for $75,000 from the consignment of Woods Edge Farm (Peter O’Callaghan). Bred by Saratoga Glen Farm LLC and Beals Racing Stable LLC, the youngster is out of Dream Affair, by Touch Gold, who was unraced but has produced six winners from six foals to start, including two New York-bred stakes winners.
Dream Affair’s star foal is Flipcup (Milwaukee Brew), a winner of five stakes races, topped by the Grade 3 Maple Leaf at Woodbine and Grade 3 Arlington Matron, and earner of nearly $700,000. Dream Affair is also the dam of stakes winner Pat’s No Fool. The Mineshaft colt’s second dam is stakes winner Fleet Wahine.
Session 8’s top filly was a chestnut daughter of Tonalist whose first and second dams are stakes winners and went to Eric Antonio Delvalle for $65,000 (Hip 2563). Foaled on March 20, 2018, she was bred by Robert S Evans and is the first foal out of out of Notte D’Oro, who was purchased by Evans for $450,000 at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed sale and went on to become a stakes winner on turf and multiple stakes-placed runner. The filly’s second dam is stakes winner and multiple graded stakes-placed May Night who, in addition to Notte D’Oro produced multiple graded winner Red Rifle, the earner of $946,832. Notte D’Oro produced a full-brother to the sale filly this year and has been bred back by Evans to Tonalist.
The Keeneland yearling sale will continue through September 22, with sessions beginning each day at 10:00 a.m.
Click here for auction hips, links to catalogue pages & current registration status.
