Keeneland catalogs 4,181 for September yearling sale

The catalog for the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale will feature 4,181 horses to be sold over 13 sessions.

The North American yearling market’s bellwether sale will be significantly expanded from 2013, with a 7 percent larger catalog and an additional day of selling compared with 12 sessions last year.

The online catalog for the Keeneland September sale will be available at Keeneland’s website on Tuesday, Aug. 9, while print catalogs will be mailed the week of Aug. 18.

“Without question, the September sale is where America and the world come to buy graded stakes winners,” said Walt Robertson, Keeneland’s vice president of sales. “No other sale comes close to offering the concentration of quality individuals that are found at Keeneland during these two weeks.”

Of the 4,181 yearlings in this year’s catalog, 2,215 are colts, 1,962 are fillies, and four are geldings.

The sale will continue with the select format introduced at last year’s auction, with Book 1 spanning the four opening-week sessions and featuring a total of 762 yearlings. Book 1 will be held Sept. 8-11 (Monday through Thursday) with sessions beginning daily at noon Eastern. The sale’s traditional dark day will be Friday, Sept. 12.

Book 2 will held the following weekend on Sept. 13-14, with sessions beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. Books 3-6 will continue daily Sept. 15-21 (Monday through Sunday), also beginning at 10 a.m.

Among the sires that will be represented by their first crop of foals to the Keeneland September sale are Archarcharch, Cape Blanco, Desert Party, Drosselmeyer, Gio Ponti, Girolamo, Haynesfield, Munnings, Paddy O’Prado, Sidney’s Candy, Tizway, Trappe Shot, Twirling Candy, Uncle Mo and Wilburn.