28 Cal-breds in Keeneland sale

Of the 4,891 yearlings offered during the Keeneland September yearling sale, which begins in Lexington, Ky., on Monday, 28 are California-breds, with half by Kentucky-based stallions and half by California-based stallions.

No California-breds will be offered during the prestigious first two days of the sale, but there is at least one in every session that follows. The sale ends Sept. 27. Thirteen California-breds will be offered on the final four days.

The marathon sale comes in the midst of a series of yearling sales in California. Last month, the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association held its annual sale at Del Mar. This month, the CTBA is offering a yearling sale in Pleasanton, Calif., for the first time. Next month, Barretts in Pomona has a yearling sale on Oct. 5 and a mixed sale that also features yearlings on Oct. 25-26.

At Keeneland, there are 14 yearlings by California-based stallions - five by Cee's Tizzy, two by Benchmark, General Meeting, and Valid Wager, and one by Event of the Year, Old Topper, and Swiss Yodeler.

Cee's Tizzy is the sire of 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow, who is a California-bred and now stands at stud in Kentucky. Swiss Yodeler was the top juvenile sire in California in 2002. Old Topper, whose first crop is racing this year, was represented by his first stakes winner on Labor Day, when Top Money won the six-furlong I'm Smokin Stakes for statebreds.

The California-breds by stallions based outside California are by Afternoon Deelites, Distorted Humor, Dixieland Heat, Golden Missile, Grand Slam, Grindstone, Gulch, Honour and Glory, Louis Quatorze, Matty G, Real Quiet, Silver Charm, and two by Wild Rush.

They are categorized as California-breds because the dams of those yearlings were shipped to California before delivering those foals and then were bred back to California-based stallions.

By far, the most prominent yearling among the California-breds is a Wild Rush filly who is a half-sister to the multiple stakes winner Summer Wind Dancer. She will sell on Saturday as Hip No. 1428.

The filly is out of Native Wind Dancer, a winner. Summer Wind Dancer has won four stakes in her career, including the Delaware and Hawthorne handicaps this year.

Summer Wind Dancer, 4, is in training with Jeff Mullins.

Another yearling with top bloodlines is an Honour and Glory filly out of Not So Careless. Selling as Hip No. 1044, the filly is a half-sister to Subordination, a five-time stakes winner who won the Hollywood Derby.

On Sept. 23, a colt with connections to a multiple stakes winner and an expensive 2-year-old in training will be offered. The colt is a full-brother to Don'tsellmeshort, the winner of three sprint stakes in the past 14 months.

Selling as Hip No. 1428, the colt is by Benchmark out of Miss Soft Sell, an unraced mare out of Siyah Kalem. The colt's half-brother Swissle Stick was purchased for $600,000 by Bob and Beverly Lewis at the Barretts March sale of 2-year-olds in training this year. The colt had been purchased as a weanling for $70,000 at the 2002 Keeneland November yearling sale. Swissle Stick, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, remains a maiden.

The Cee's Tizzy yearlings are all colts. The first to be sold, Hip No. 2259, is out of Parla Mi d'Amore, by Horatius. The dam is a sister to five-time Maryland stakes winner Forry Cow How. The colt is consigned by the California bloodstock agent Andy Havens.