$625,000 Into Mischief colt tops trade as Book 3 begins at Keeneland September sale

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The popularity of Into Mischief, as well as the market trends of selectivity and restraint at the top, continued as Keeneland September moved into its Book 3 portion with Friday's session.

A colt by Into Mischief sold for $625,000 to lead the way as Keeneland reported 200 horses sold in Friday's session, the Book 3 opener and the fifth session of the sale overall, for a gross of $21,803,500.

While the session leader matched the top price for Book 3 overall during the 2019 renewal of this sale, last year's comparable book featured four other horses sold for prices in excess of $500,000, a mark no others reached in Friday's action. With that restraint at the top, the average price for the session finished at $109,018. That was a 5 percent drop from $115,037 in the comparable 2019 Book 3 opener, the sixth session of that sale overall. The median remained steady at $85,000.

The buyback rate for the session was 40 percent, roughly in line with the figures produced earlier this week by the first two books of the sale.

Into Mischief, who claimed his first general leading sire title in 2019 and who was recently represented by Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, continued his run atop the leaderboard at Keeneland September, as bloodstock agent Mike Ryan signed the ticket on Friday's session leader. Into Mischief is represented by five seven-figure yearlings at this sale – including a $1 million colt who topped Book 2 – and leads all stallions by gross sales at this auction.

The session leader was consigned by Summerfield Farm as agent for breeder Stonestreet Farm. Stonestreet also bred the $2 million Tapit colt who topped Book 1 of Keeneland September earlier this week and the $1 million Into Mischief colt who topped Book 2.

The colt is the first foal out of True Romance, a Grade 2-placed Yes It's True mare. True Romance is out of stakes winner Spring Rush, making her a half-sister to stakes-placed Hazards of Love. Irish classic-placed Hypermetric appears on the catalog page.

The Keeneland September sale, which comprises six books, continues through Sept. 25. For hip-by-hip results, click here.