Breeders Sales Co. of Louisiana catalogs 220 yearlings for sale

Horses from the first crops of Astrology, Caleb’s Posse, Star Guitar, and The Factor highlight the Breeders Sales Co. of Louisiana yearling auction, to be held Tuesday at the Ike Hamilton Expo Center in West Monroe. There are 220 yearlings catalogued to the sale, which starts at 11 a.m. Central.

The book also includes offerings by such stalwarts as Songandaprayer and Valid Expectations as well as younger faces like Eskendereya, General Quarters, Into Mischief, Line of David, Paddy O’Prado, Street Boss, and Temple City.

“This sale has ascended from the leading Louisiana yearling sale to the strongest Southwest regional sale,” said Tim Boyce, the new sales director for the Breeders Sales Co., of Louisiana. “With six states represented, I feel buyers from all over will be attending as the pedigrees are strong.”

Boyce comes to the organization from Fasig-Tipton, where for 19 years he worked as sales director for the auction house’s operation in Texas. Fasig-Tipton closed its Texas offices in March.

In another new wrinkle to this year’s sale, horses sold through the auction will be eligible for a new sales stakes to be run at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., in 2017. Evangeline extended an invitation to the Breeders Sales Co., a subsidiary of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, to be part of the stakes for 3-year-olds.

The race will be restricted to horses sold through the LTBA auction, as well as any sale put on by the Equine Sales Co. in Opelousas, starting in 2015. There will be divisions for males and fillies, with each race worth $75,000.

In addition, all Louisiana-breds who pass through the ring Tuesday will once again be eligible for either the A.L. “Red” Erwin Memorial Stakes or the Elge Rasberry Memorial Stakes. Both races are for 3-year-olds and traditionally are held in the fall at Louisiana Downs.

The sale Tuesday drew seven supplemental entries, including fillies by Into Mischief, Twirling Candy, Einstein, and Songandaprayer. Another filly, by D’wildcat, is a half-sister to Little Ms Protocol, a multiple stakes winner and earner of $731,290. The supplemental entries also include a colt by Flower Alley.

Last year, a Yankee Gentleman colt from the female family of Wood Memorial winner Wicked Strong brought $100,000 to top the auction. In all, 120 yearlings sold for $1,544,900 in 2014, for an average of $12,874. There were 52 buybacks. The same auction in 2013 was led by a record sale-topper, an Awesome Again colt who brought $210,000.