Format change proves a winner at Keeneland September sale

A staggering number of high-ticket offerings propelled the revised Book 1 of the Keeneland September yearling sale to positive economic indicators as the marquee portion of the sale concluded Thursday night.

At the top of the market, a total of 26 yearlings surpassed the seven-figure threshold during Book 1, doubling the 13 yearlings to do so during the entire sale last year.

Keeneland adjusted the format of the September sale this year, expanding the marquee Book 1 portion from one session to four in a move that had the net result of offering fewer horses prior to the sale’s traditional dark day. Last year’s Book 1 was a single ultra-select session with 167 horses in the catalog – ultimately resulting in an average of $570,263 and median of $500,000 – and was followed by three Book 2 sessions, with 1,202 total horses cataloged through the first four days of the sale. Keeneland officials said they received feedback that that format left buyers with too many horses to inspect in a condensed timeframe.

For 2018, Book 1 was restructured to run over four days with 989 hips cataloged – effectively serving as a blended Book 1 and 2 in terms of quality.

The first four sessions of the sale finished with 596 horses sold for $216,813,000 – a gain of 10 percent in gross compared with the 681 sold for $196,645,000 for the four sessions comprising Books 1 and 2 last year. The average price of $363,780 represented a gain of 26 percent from $288,759 in 2017. The median was $300,000, up 50 percent from $200,000. The buyback rate sat at 28 percent, improved from 33 percent at this point last year.

“All indicators are very positive,” Keeneland director of sales operations Geoffrey Russell said. “Our goal with Book 1 [was], we consider these horses to be the cream of the North American crop, and they need to be showcased like it. We want to give the buyers the opportunity to have the chance to get through all four days.”

Three horses surpassed the $2 million threshold to help their sires rank among the Book 1 leaders – a $2.4 million War Front colt sold to Coolmore, a $2.2 million American Pharoah colt sold to Godolphin, and a $2.1 million Medaglia d’Oro colt sold to Phoenix Thoroughbreds.

Medaglia d’Oro, who stands for Darley, and War Front, who stands at Claiborne Farm, each finished with five seven-figure yearlings. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, who stands for Coolmore, finished with three seven-figure yearlings, giving him eight members of his first crop, overall, to meet that threshold.

Medaglia d’Oro had 31 yearlings sold for a total of $19,395,000, leading all stallions by gross. American Pharoah, with 37 sold, checked in second at $17,270,000. War Front, who had 18 sold, led Medaglia d’Oro by average, $782,500 to $626,645.

“What can I say about War Front?” Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier said after signing for the sale leader. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve been exceptionally lucky with the horse.”

The colt, who was consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, will head to Ireland and be trained by Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle, Magnier said.

The colt is the second foal out of the Grade 1-winning Smart Strike mare Streaming, a full sister to stakes winner Treasuring and a half-sister to stakes winner Cascading and stakes-placed Distracting and Gifting. Another sibling, Achieving, is the dam of Group 1-placed stakes winner Arabian Hope and stakes winner Counterforce.

Streaming’s granddam is blue hen Better Than Honour, the dam of Kentucky Oaks and Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, fellow Belmont Stakes winner Jazil, Breeders’ Cup Marathon winner Man of Iron, and Grade 2 winner Casino Drive.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum was in attendance at the Keeneland September sale for the first time in several years, and his international Godolphin operation led all buyers by both number and gross, purchasing 22 horses for $18,940,000. The group was led by the $2.2 million American Pharoah colt, for which Godolphin had to outslug longtime commercial rival Coolmore.

“Sheikh Mohammed saw [this colt] at the barn and liked him very, very much,” said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin’s Darley America. “On the walk, he was all class, with a lot of presence about him.”

The colt was consigned by Peter O’Callaghan’s Woods Edge Farm, as agent. That outfit purchased him for $400,000 as a pinhook prospect out of last fall’s Keeneland November breeding stock sale for Cavalier Bloodstock.

“I knew when [Sheikh Mohammed] saw him today, his eyes lit up, and I just had a feeling he was gonna try hard to buy him,” O’Callaghan said. “It took a monumental effort to outbid Coolmore, I’d say. That’s what [consignors] all dream of – that two of the great racing powers get stuck into your horse and go at it.”

The colt is the second foal out of the Indian Charlie mare Kindle, a multiple Grade 2-placed stakes winner. She is a half-sister to Grade 3-placed stakes winner Tonopah and to Grade 1-placed Latigo Shore.

Amer Abdulaziz’s Phoenix Thoroughbreds landed the $2.1 million Medaglia d’Oro colt who led the final session, outlasting several other high-profile bidders for the purchase.

“It’s a tough game – it just comes down to how much you’re willing to stretch,” Tom Ludt of Phoenix Thoroughbreds said. “I know [bloodstock agent Jacob West] was the underbidder, I know [bloodstock agent Donato Lanni] was on him, I know Chad Brown was on him. It’s a tough game, those are great people to complete against, and you ultimately make a decision. [Abdulaziz] really wanted him. [Bob Baffert] loved him, and obviously Bob gets a lot of our good horses. It’s a tough decision, but you sometimes have to make it.”

The colt, out of the stakes-winning Montbrook mare Exotic Bloom, is a half-brother to 2015 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Stopchargingmaria. The colt was consigned by Taylor Made Sales – Book 1’s leading consignor by gross, with 89 sold for $31,854,000 – as agent for breeder Stonestreet Farm.

Curlin, who stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm, was represented by three yearlings sold for $1 million or more during Book 1. Other stallions to record seven-figure offerings were WinStar Farm’s Pioneerof the Nile, Gainesway’s Tapit, and Coolmore’s Uncle Mo, with two each; and Gainesway’s Empire Maker, Adena Springs’s Ghostzapper, Spendthrift Farm’s Into Mischief, and Lane’s End’s Quality Road, with one each.