LEXINGTON, Ky. – A highly selective marketplace put some blights on the elite Book 1 portion of the bellwether Keeneland September yearling sale, but buyers were willing to stretch for what more than one of them described as “the right horses.” One of those horses was a Tapit colt that a large partnership assembled to purchase for $2 million, as the book concluded with urgency in the bidding in pursuit of that elusive creature. Nine yearlings brought the hammer down above the seven-figure threshold during Monday's session, four of those coming from the final 11 to walk through the ring. "It was kind of a frantic end to it," said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland’s director of sales operations. "It was a very exciting couple of minutes." Coupling those nine with five horses who sold for seven figures in the Sunday opener at the top of the market, Keeneland reported 209 yearlings sold in Book 1 for gross receipts of $85,215,000. Last year's Book 1, which took place over three sessions as opposed to two this year, finished with 367 yearlings sold for $166,730,500. Not only is the year-to-year gross not directly comparable because of the additional session in 2019, another factor must be considered, as last year's sale was led by an outlier at the top of the market. An $8.2 million American Pharoah filly out of Broodmare of the Year Leslie's Lady was the fourth-highest price all time at Keeneland September and helped drive up the gross and average figures for Book 1. Although bidding this week has been competitive, with buyers willing to stretch past seven figures on key horses, some restraint was apparent, a common market reaction to uncertainty in the world at large – with the world, of course, still gripped by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the $8.2 million sale-topper, the 2019 edition of Book 1 finished with seven horses sold for more than $2 million. Last year's first book also had a greater number of million-dollar horses overall, with 20. "We haven't seen a horse bust loose like last year," said bloodstock agent Jacob West, who purchased 13 horses in Book 1 for various clients. "We have not seen that here. Obviously, maybe there's a certain cap everybody's going to, a certain level everyone feels comfortable at. . . . I think at the end of the day, the easiest way to summarize this market is fair. The right horses are bringing the right money." Partly as a result of that restraint, the average price for this year's Book 1 dipped downward 10 percent, to $407,727 from $454,307. The year-to-year median ticked downward 7 percent, to $330,000 from $355,000. The biggest change from 2019 was the buyback rate in an increasingly selective marketplace, finishing at 40 percent for the book overall. Book 1 ultimately sported a 20 percent buyback rate last year, with Keeneland including 27 horses sold as private transactions after failing to meet their reserves in their trip through the ring. "For the right horses, it's strong," Courtlandt Farm manager Ernie Retamoza, Jr., said after signing for six horses. "A lot of horses, if they're average or below, you see what's happening. . . . The right horses are bringing the money." Russell noted that the Book 1 buyback rate, which was "a little higher than we wanted," is influenced by the sellers as well as selective buyers. At this upper end of the marketplace, sellers may be more willing and able to retain and race horses themselves rather than parting with them for less than their perceived value. In the middle and lower markets, sellers may adjust their reserves to tip the scales in favor of a sale. "As we go through the sale, those people, they're commercial breeders with commercial crops," Russell said. "They'll want to sell, so we hope that we'll see a change in” the buyback rate. As expected, the buying bench was dominated by domestic interests, owing to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The book's top five buyers by gross were the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables; the partnership of Mike Repole and St. Elias; Courtlandt; Larry Best's OXO Equine; and bloodstock agent Mike Ryan. Almost all are domestic entities. Ryan, shopping for various clients, purchased horses intended to race in both the United States and Europe. "The diversity of the buyers was exciting," said Keeneland president-elect Shannon Bishop Arvin, the company's interim head of sales. "Of the 14 [million-dollar horses], there were 13 different buyers, primarily domestic, but there was some international presence as well." Notably absent from the buying bench was the international Godolphin operation of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, who himself traveled to Lexington in 2018 and 2019 for the sales. Godolphin led all buyers at last year's sale with 10 purchases for $16 million. Coolmore, another of the major international entities, purchased just four yearlings via agent this week, none for seven figures. The operation was in on 10 purchases, alone or in partnership, for more than $7.8 million last year. While that void in the gross could not quite be filled, the sale results showed a handful of Japanese interests and other European interests making purchases. Keeneland, which annually hosts an international marketplace at all levels, endeavored to provide multiple outlets for buyers unable or unwilling to travel, expanding its traditional phone-bidding program and also integrating its online auction platform unveiled earlier this year into the live auction. The horses sold via the online platform included $825,000 and $750,000 colts to Yuji Hasegawa of Japan, who had a representative on the grounds but did his own bidding remotely. "The mechanics really worked, the mechanics of the internet bidding," Arvin said. "We spent a lot of time practicing and preparing for that, so it was really great that it worked out as we hoped and expected that it would." The sale-leading $2 million Tapit colt sold late in Monday's session, with the well-acquainted team of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta, Gainesway, and Winchell Thoroughbreds joining forces. Eclipse, LaPenta, and Gainesway were among the partners in Tapwrit, one of the three Belmont Stakes winners sired by perennial leading sire Tapit. The stallion stands at Gainesway, and Winchell Thoroughbreds, which campaigned him, maintains an interest in him. Following the sale, Eclipse president Aron Wellman said that Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Farm, which bred the colt and consigned him via Eaton Sales, had joined the partnership to retain a piece of the action. Banke typically sells the colts out of her mares, but has been known to buy back in afterward, as was the case with Stonestreet-bred champion Good Magic. Forming multi-pronged partnerships to buy colts at the upper end of the market has been a common practice at public auction in recent years, as buyers look to spread the risk and reward on potential stallion prospects, as well as to give themselves additional buying power. “Partnerships are so prevalent in today’s market," Wellman said. "It is wild to think how far partnerships have come. We had a fabulous relationship with Cot Campbell of Dogwood Stable going back to when Eclipse first started. To think how the partnership model has evolved, and that now we, as a partnership company, are partnering with moguls in the industry, it speaks volumes. Barbara Banke has been gracious about staying in as a partner. She adores this colt. Hopefully, between all of us, we have plenty of good mojo." The colt is the second foal out of the Unbridled's Song mare Tara's Tango, who won the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Stakes and two other graded stakes races in California. The mare is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Visionaire as well as Grade 3 winners Madison's Luna and Scarlet Strike. Madison's Luna is by Tapit, making him bred on the same cross as this colt. "The family speaks for itself, Tapit speaks for himself," Wellman said. "He was just a phenomenal physical. He was a man among boys, in our eyes, in the sale. We waited two days to pull the trigger on him. We couldn't find any chinks in his armor – physically, mentally, or pedigree-wise. He handled it all." The nation's reigning leading sire, Into Mischief, a newly-minted classic sire with Authentic's Kentucky Derby victory, had an outstanding Book 1, finishing the run with four seven-figure yearlings. He had the most expensive filly of the sale as Best, a longtime supporter of the stallion, went to $1.9 million. The day prior, he had purchased an Into Mischief colt for $1 million. "The sire is unreal," Best said. "I just put Instagrand into stallion duty, so I'm betting big on Instagrand. I didn't sell him – I had offers to sell him. I put him to stud because I believe he has the potential to be an elite sire son of Into Mischief. So I'm obviously one of the biggest fans of what Spendthrift has done with Into Mischief, and my luck with Into Mischief has been quite good, starting with Instagrand. I have a horse named Rowayton who's a Grade 1 performer. I do have other sires in my portfolio for this [upcoming] 2-year-old crop, but I didn't have any Into Mischiefs. I had some Practical Jokes, but I'm a big fan of Into Mischief. I think he's probably one of the best sires ever." Best's high-ticket filly, bred by Albaugh Family Stables, was consigned by Taylor Made Sales, as agent. She is out of the stakes-winning Medaglia d'Oro mare Taylor S, whose first foal to race is a winner. Taylor S, out of Grade 3 winner Miss Macy Sue, is a half-sister to Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam's Map, a top five freshman sire of 2019; and to Grade 3 winner Not This Time, among the current leaders of the 2020 freshman sire class. Tapit and Medaglia d'Oro's bloodlines were seen in the top two prices of the sale, and they were joined for the third-highest price of the sale, a $1.6 million Medaglia d'Oro filly out of the Tapit mare Orchard Beach. She sold to the Shadwell operation of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which has studs in both England and Kentucky. Rick Nichols, vice president and general manager for Shadwell in Kentucky, said after signing the ticket that the Ontario-bred will likely remain in the United States as her sire has been more successful here than in Europe. "Sheikh Hamdan told me this morning to try to concentrate on getting some really nice fillies," Nichols said. “We send all of our good fillies to England, and he keeps promising to send them back [but he doesn’t]. Our broodmare band is starting to get a little old, and we need to rejuvenate it a little bit." The filly was bred and consigned by Anderson Farms, which also bred Orchard Beach, whose first foal is Group 3 winner Sergei Prokofiev. Orchard Beach is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Necessary Evil and from the extended family of Grade 1 winner Over All. Behind those top three lots, all in the Monday session, there were 11 other seven-figure yearlings in Book 1: • A Medaglia d'Oro filly who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Salty sold to Robbie Medina, as agent, for $1.4 million on Monday. Medina has been shopping as agent for owner Joe Allen. They acquired a Quality Road filly for $1.5 million to top last week's Fasig-Tipton selected yearling showcase, which opened the market. • Bernie Sams, the stallion seasons and bloodstock manager for historic Claiborne Farm, signed the ticket on the $1.25 million Tapit filly who topped Sunday's opening session, on behalf of an undisclosed client of the farm. The filly is out of Grade 1 Alabama Stakes winner Embellish the Lace, herself a half-sister to Grade 1 Travers Stakes winner Afleet Express and to stakes winner Reporting for Duty. It is the immediate family of Grade 1 winner Materiality and Grade 2 winner My Miss Sophia. • Another partnership formed Monday for a Curlin colt, as Repole, St. Elias, Gainesway, John Oxley, and Grandview teamed up to go to $1.2 million. The colt is out of multiple Grade 1 winner Midnight Lucky. It is the immediate family of Grade 1 winner and sire Jimmy Creed, as well as Grade 1 winners Hookedonthefeelin and Pussycat Doll. • An American Pharoah filly also sold for $1.2 million on Monday, going to Mike Rutherford. The filly is out of Grade 1-placed Modification, dam of four winners from six starters, led by Grade 2-placed Sawyer's Hill. • A Medaglia d'Oro filly who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and young classic sire Constitution sold for $1.1 million on Sunday to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. • A Medaglia d'Oro filly sold to What Time Is It Racing, via Oracle Bloodstock, as agent, for $1.1 million on Monday. She is from the immediate family of Grade 1 winner Stop Traffic, dam of Grade 1 winner Cross Traffic. • Ryan signed the ticket Sunday for a $1.05 million War Front filly who is a full sister to European champion juvenile Air Force Blue. Ryan said he purchased the filly for an undisclosed client, who will likely race her in Europe. • An Into Mischief filly from the family of unbeaten champion and blue hen Personal Ensign went to Courtlandt for $1.025 million on Monday. • An Into Mischief filly who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Gift Box and graded stakes winner Stonetastic sold to Liz Crow, as agent for an undisclosed client, for $1.025 million on Monday. • A Quality Road filly sold to Donato Lanni, acting as agent for Susan and Charles Chu, for $1 million on Sunday. • An Into Mischief colt out of graded stakes-placed Curlina sold to Best for $1 million on Sunday. “Book 1 has been unbelievably strong," Best said. "It blew away my expectations. Keeneland should be very happy." Powered by his seven-figure quartet, Into Mischief, who stands at Spendthrift Farm, was Book 1's leading sire by gross, with his 20 yearlings sold fetching $13,085,000. He was followed by Darley's Medaglia d'Oro, with 14 sold for $10,085,000, and Hill 'n' Dale resident Curlin, with 17 sold for $7,495,000. Medaglia d'Oro, who also was represented by four seven-figure lots, led the book by average sale price, at $720,357, edging out Into Mischief at $654,250. They were followed by Tapit, whose 12 sold, including the topper, averaged $533,750. Following a dark day on Tuesday, the Keeneland September sale resumes with the opening session of Book 2 on Wednesday and will continue on through the market until the Book 6 finale on Sept. 25. For hip-by-hip results from Book 1, click here.