Keeneland January: Brisk trade to open Book 2

Two young mares sold for $125,000 each to pace the action as the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale moved toward its finish line with gains across the board in Wednesday’s penultimate session.

Wednesday's session, the sale's third of four overall and first of two Book 2 sessions, finished with 238 horses sold for $4,074,300, an 18 percent gain in gross receipts compared with 236 horses sold for $3,442,700 during the comparable third session last year. The session's average price was $17,119, up 17 percent from $14,588. The median price was $8,000, rising 3 percent from $7,750. The buyback rate improved to 18 percent, compared with 20 percent.

The top of the market was bullish to power those increases. Five horses changed hands for six-figure amounts, compared with two to do so during the similar session last year. Additionally, another four horses sold for amounts between $90,000 and $100,000; none were in that price bracket last year.

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The young broodmare Oh Mrs. G went to the C F Farms of Charles Fipke and the racing or broodmare prospect Stallion Heiress sold to the partnership of SF Bloodstock and Newgate Farm for $125,000 each to lead trade.

Oh Mrs. G, an unraced Offlee Wild mare whose first foal just turned 2, sold carrying a foal from the first crop of Practical Joke. Out of the winning Private Account mare Mrs. Marcos, she is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Zoftig, dam of Grade 1 winners Zo Impressive and Zaftig, both now stakes producers in their own right. Oh Mrs. G is also a half-sister to Manerbe, dam of Grade 3 winner Marbe Rose and stakes winner Gidu; and to Verve, the dam of Fipke's Grade 3 winner Verve's Tale and classic-placed Tale of Verve.

“Being in foal to Practical Joke helped, and she has a huge [catalog] page,” Liz Crow, a partner in consignor Elite Sales, said. “People are looking for quality today, and she stuck out in the catalog. People have a lot of respect for Offlee Wild as a broodmare sire and that helped. She is a nice physical, a very pretty mare.”

Stallion Heiress, an Ontario-bred daughter of Exchange Rate, was consigned by Taylor Made Sales, as agent. The mare won the 2017 Allen Black Cat LaCombe Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds, and was stakes-placed last year as a 4-year-old. Out of Grade 3-placed Mendocino Beano, by Smart Strike, she is a half-sister to stakes placed Conquest Fleetfeet. It is the immediate family of multiple Grade 2 winner Mr Havercamp.

“She has a lovely physical and she was obviously a fast filly on the track,” Caroline Wilson of SF Bloodstock said. “I think she will be a great broodmare for our program. We will get together as a team and discuss [which stallion to send her to in] the breeding shed this year.”

Among the newly turned yearlings in the session, a Midnight Lute colt went for $120,000 to lead the way, with Brian Graves, Gainesway’s director of public sales, signing the ticket in the name of Fish Bloodstock. Graves said the colt, who was consigned as agent by Taylor Made, will be a pinhook target for the Keeneland September yearling sale.

“He is a leggy colt with a long neck and a really good mover,” Graves said. “When you lead a quality horse up by a stallion that is proven to get good racehorses, people will believe. We’ll probably bring him back here in September and see how we did. The [yearling market] has been extremely tough.”

The colt is out of the Storm Cat mare Stop the Lights, dam of Grade 2 placed Lightscameraaction. His second dam is multiple Grade 1 winner Stop Traffic, the dam of Grade 1 winner and leading freshman sire Cross Traffic, stakes winners Thirteen Arrows and Exodus, and stakes-placed winners Bianco Tartufo and Into My Soul.

A colt from the first crop of Mshawish and a filly by Fast Anna, who is among this year’s freshman sires, each sold for $100,000 to round out the top yearlings. The Mshawish colt, who is out of stakes-placed Lemon Hero, went to The Legend Stables, from the Taylor Made consignment. The Fast Anna filly, who sold to Caroline and Grey Bentley from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment, is from the family of champion sprinter Benny the Bull.

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