Half-sister to Uncle Mo sells for $400,000

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A 3-year-old half-sister to likely 2-year-old champion and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Uncle Mo took top billing Friday at the Keeneland November breeding stock auction, selling to WinStar Farm for $400,000.

Trained by Ken McPeek, Grosse Pointe Anne has won 1of 6 starts to date and earned $21,723. She’s by Silver Deputy and out of Uncle Mo’s dam, the Arch mare Playa May, who sold for $1,650,000 at the Nov. 7 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Coolmore Stud purchased Playa Maya, who was carrying a Broken Vow foal.

Friday’s fifth of 13 sessions grossed $10,349,100 for 277 horses, down 5 percent from last year’s figure for 258 horses. Average price declined 11 percent to $37,361, and the $27,000 median was down 16 percent from last season.

Through its first five sessions, the auction had sold 1,120 horses for $118,752,100, down 8 percent from last year’s aggregate for 1,049 horses. The $106,029 cumulative average was 14 percent lower than last year’s, and the $60,000 median also was down by 14 percent.

It was a long way back to Friday’s second-highest price of $195,000, which Betz Thoroughbreds paid to get the Vindication mare Modification. Kingswood farm consigned the Grade 1-placed 5-year-old Modification, who was cataloged in foal to Spring at Last.

But weanlings were the hot product Friday. Led by a $180,000 Speightstown filly, weanlings were eight of the day’s 10 highest-priced horses, six of them fillies. The Speightstown filly is out of dual stakes winner Saratoga Humor, by Distorted Humor. Boulder High Equine was the purchaser. Fairlawn Farm, which consigned the $180,000 filly, also sold Blind Luck’s dam, Lucky One, for $1.85 million at the auction on Tuesday.

The November sale continues through Nov 20. Sessions begin daily at 10 a.m. in Keeneland’s sale pavilion.