Flatter filly brings $310,000 to top Tuesday session at the Keeneland September yearling sale

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A $310,000 filly by Flatter led the way as the Keeneland September yearling sale moved into the second half of its marathon run with its Book 4 opener on Tuesday.

Tuesday's session, the eighth of 13 overall, finished with 273 horses sold for revenues of $15,463,700. The comparable Book 4 opener in 2018 had 283 horses sold for $13,354,600.

Tuesday's average price finished at $56,644, a gain of 20 percent when placed against the $47,189 average in the comparable session last year.

:: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales

The median price, $40,000, was up 14 percent from $35,000 last year. The buyback rate for the session was 28 percent, compared to an unusually low 20 percent last year.

The session-leading $310,000 Flatter filly sold to bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, while just behind her on the leaderboard was a $300,000 Empire Maker filly, sold to Wise Racing. Those two enabled Book 4, in its first of two sessions, to already have matched the total number of horses sold for $300,000 or more in last year’s two-day run of the same book.

The Flatter filly was consigned by Select Sales, agent for Machmer Hall. She is out of the Grade 3-placed Candy Ride mare Co Cola, whose first foal to race is a winner. Co Cola is a half-sister to Kingdom Road, who is Group 1-placed in Peru. Their dam, Yong Musician, is a half-sister to Canadian champion Kimchi, as well as to Jazzmane, dam of multiple Grade 1/Group 1 winner Mind Your Biscuits.

Keeneland September continues with daily sessions through Sept. 22.