$480K half-sister to Street Sense tops Thursday session at Keeneland January

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The broodmare Crowning Jewel, a half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, sold for $480,000 to lead a session with double-digit gains as the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale opened its Book 2 portion.

Keeneland reported 259 horses sold in Thursday's session, the third of the four-day sale overall and the first of two Book 2 sessions, for gross receipts of $5,471,700. Last year's comparable Book 2 opener grossed $4,378,300 from 255 horses sold.

Thursday's average price was $21,126, jumping 23 percent from $17,170 in the comparable 2021 session. The median soared 43 percent, to $10,000 from $7,000.

The buyback rate also improved, checking in at 13 percent compared to 19 percent.

Crowning Jewel, an unraced 5-year-old daughter of leading sire Into Mischief, was purchased by Adena Springs from her breeder, Godolphin, which makes strategic offerings at public auction.

“We try to keep a broodmare band where we can have about 100 2-year-olds every year,” director of bloodstock Michael Banahan said. “We work off that number. The ones that have not raced or not won are the ones that probably will go to a sale. We bought [Crowning Jewel's dam, Bedazzle] early in her broodmare career, so we have daughters from her at home.”

Crowning Jewel sold carrying her second foal, to the cover of Street Boss, who stands for the Godolphin operation under the Darley stallions banner. The young broodmare is out of the winning Dixieland Band mare Bedazzle, dam of five winners from eight starters. Those are led by Street Sense, who won the 2006 Breeders' Cup Juvenile to secure a divisional Eclipse Award and went on to take the 2007 Kentucky Derby, becoming the first horse to pull that double. He is now a successful sire for Darley. Bedazzle is also the dam of stakes winner Elusive Sparkle, the dam of stakes winner Camdus.

This is also the family of Grade 3 winner and sire Mr. Greeley.

"The pedigree is everything,” said Dan Hall, who made the purchase on behalf of Frank Stronach's Adena Springs. “She’s by Into Mischief and a half to Street Sense – a great family. She was a typical-looking Into Mischief mare, and is a family Frank wanted to get into.”

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