The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) has tweaked the structure of its Canadian premier yearling sale in recent years, and seller interest remains high. The auction will take place Thursday at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion in Toronto, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. Canada’s most prominent yearling auction, the CTHS premier sale saw a 14 percent catalog growth from the 2016 sale, rising to 320 entries from 280. “We have more horses than we did last year, which is an indication of a larger foal crop,” said Yvonne Schwabe, sales chairperson for the CTHS Ontario Division. “We used to be a two-day sale. We used to have the select sale, and then we had an open sale, and now we put them all in one and don’t have a selection process. The whole thing worked out better because people could choose what they want. I think that makes for a stronger setting.” The horses on offer make up a significant portion of Ontario’s foal crop, and Schwabe said the auction is well established as fertile ground for finding Canada’s future top runners. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales “This year at the Sovereign Awards, we had four champions that came from our yearling sale, and they’re on the cover: Lexie Lou, Ami’s Gizmo, King and His Court, and River Maid,” Schwabe said. “It’s nice to know you can buy a champion from our sale.” Last year’s Canadian premier sale saw mild declines. A total of 181 horses sold for $3,481,800, marking an 18 percent decrease from the 2015 sale. The average sale price fell 8 percent to $19,236, the median dropped 21 percent to $11,000, and the buyback rate finished at 28 percent. A pair of fillies topped the sale, each selling for $95,000. William and Anne Scott bought Summer Sunday, a Silent Name filly out of the Millennium Allstar mare Dancing Allstar, a Canadian champion who counts two winners from three runners, including stakes winner Trini Brewnette. Summer Sunday races for the Scotts and is trained by Stuart Simon. She is undefeated in two starts, both at Woodbine, most recently winning the Nandi Stakes on Aug. 6. Also drawing $95,000 was Safe to Say, a first-crop Justin Phillip filly who sold to Windways Farms Limited, as agent. She is out of the stakes-placed Yonaguska mare Dicey Girl, Safe to Say races for owners Windways Farm and Gary Barber, and she is trained by Mark Casse. Safe to Say has won one of two starts, most recently taking an Aug. 7 Woodbine allowance restricted to graduates of CTHS Ontario sales.