Keeneland January sale finishes with notable gains

Kentucky Oaks winner and champion Abel Tasman opened the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale by fetching a record-tying $5 million from Coolmore - and the action didn't let up there. Four days of trade closed Thursday with across-the-board gains that exceeded expectations, including a record average price.

"With Abel Tasman, we kind of anticipated that Day 1 would be up from last year," Keeneland's director of sales Geoffrey Russell said. "But then you take her out, and it was still up, considerably. It's just been really strong."

Keeneland January concluded with 916 horses sold over the four sessions for total gross receipts of $46,759,600. That figure marked a 34 percent gain for revenues from last year's four-day auction, when 909 horses sold for $34,996,000. It also finished as the auction's highest gross since the $70,446,000 amassed in the 2008 edition, before the recession later that year.

The cumulative average price finished at $51,048, edging the auction record of $50,182 established more than three decades ago, in 1988. It also soared 33 percent from last year's final average, $38,499. The median was $20,000, spiking 67 percent from $12,000 and equaling the record of $20,000 established in 2014 auction.

The overall buyback rate finished at a realistic 22 percent in a selective market, improved from a cumulative 26 percent last year.

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Abel Tasman was the only horse to crack the seven-figure ceiling at the auction, compared to two who did so during last year's renewal, but there was plenty of market strength just behind her. Four horses sold for prices between $500,000 and $1 million, a price bracket no horses were in last year. The number of horses sold in the range between a quarter-million and a half-million improved to 23 from 18. The demand for quality continued late into the auction; in the third and fourth sessions, 11 horses topped six figures, compared to just two who did so in 2018.

"I think the market is very good – but as we said, it is quality [that sells]," Russell said.

The undisputed star of the show was Abel Tasman, whose price during Monday’s opening session tied the $5 million Britton House Stud paid in 2000 for Grade 3 winner Mackie, a half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero in foal to the great Mr. Prospector.

"She's a queen, though, isn't she?" Dermot Ryan, manager of Coolmore's Ashford Stud, said after signing the ticket on Abel Tasman. "They're very rare when they come across like that, animals like her. She had everything. She'd be anybody's dream filly to own, wouldn't she?"

Ryan said stallion plans were still in the process of being finalized for Abel Tasman's first mating, which will come during the Northern Hemisphere breeding season beginning next month. Coolmore, of course, stands Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify at Ashford Stud. American Pharoah's first foals, who have been a commercial success, are juveniles of 2019, while Justify begins his stallion career next month as the most expensive new stallion on the continent.

"Hopefully, she'll go on and produce herself from one of our own stallions," Ryan said. "American Pharoah, Justify, Uncle Mo, Galileo - all those directions."

Abel Tasman concluded her career with a record of 8-4-0 from 16 starts and earnings of $2,793,385. Simon Callaghan trained her to win the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes as a juvenile. Transferred to Bob Baffert early in her 3-year-old season, she won the 2017 Kentucky Oaks, Acorn Stakes, and Coaching Club American Oaks, and also finished second in the Breeders' Cup Distaff to champion Forever Unbridled. She was honored with the 2017 Eclipse Award as outstanding 3-year-old filly. Last season, Abel Tasman added two Grade 1 triumphs in the Ogden Phipps Stakes and Personal Ensign Stakes, and is again an Eclipse Award finalist as outstanding older dirt female.

Abel Tasman was bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farm, with China Horse Club buying into the filly early in her 3-year-old season. Sending a high-profile horse through public auction is a common way to fairly dissolve partnerships. The mare was consigned by Taylor Made Sales as agent for her owners.

"I think it was a fair price, but I don't think it was a total premium," Mark Taylor said. "When we came over, I kind of appraised her at $4 to $6 million. Maybe if she would have been ready to go to the sale, if it would have worked ou, in November, when everybody's here and there's a little bit more momentum, you might get a couple more bids. But I thought it was a good price for the seller, and I thought it was a good value for the buyers."

Abel Tasman is from a productive female family, boding well for her second career as a broodmare. She is out of the Deputy Minister mare Vargas Girl, also the dam of Grade 3 winner Sky Girl and stakes-placed Moonlight Sky. Vargas Girl is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Bevo, Grade 3 winner Moonlight Sonata, and stakes-placed Carson Hall. Moonlight Sonata, in turn, is the dam of Grade 2 winners Beethoven and Wilburn, as well as stakes winner La Appassionata.

Behind Abel Tasman, multiple graded stakes winner House Rules and the young stakes producer A Star Is Born each sold for $750,000.

"I think this year, we were just fortunate that we had some very nice mares in the first two days that attracted [prominent operations]," Russell said. "Take away Abel Tasman for a second, we were very fortunate to have those [other] mares."

WinStar Farm purchased House Rules, marking a return home for the daughter of WinStar stallion Distorted Humor who was bred by the farm in partnership with El Catorce Inc. She was sold for $90,000 at the 2012 Keeneland September yearling sale to Leverett Miller, as agent, and raced for the late Joseph V. Shields Jr. and trainer Jimmy Jerkens. Shields died last October at age 80, and Keeneland January marks the first phase of a dispersal of his stock, which is being handled by Blackwood Stables, as agent.

Multiple Grade 2-placed as a 3-year-old, House Rules emerged as a 4-year-old in 2015, winning the Grade 3 Rampart Stakes at Gulfstream, Grade 3 Top Flight Handicap at Aqueduct, and the Bal Harbour Handicap at Gulfstream. She placed in three graded stakes that season, including a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes.

House Rules sold carrying her second foal, to the cover of Quality Road. WinStar general manager David Hanley, who signed the sales ticket, said it has not yet been discussed what stallion the mare might be bred to in 2019. He noted that Distorted Humor's presence in the pedigree was one reason to bring House Rules home. The WinStar stallion has emerged as a standout broodmare sire, with his daughters producing the likes of champion and leading money winner Arrogate and Grade 1/Group 1 winners Book Review, Constitution, Elate, Moanin, Molly Morgan, New Money Honey, and Practical Joke.

"She's a ton of quality, really beautiful mare," Hanley said. "She was obviously a really top racemare, and we loved the cover. We've been waiting for her all day, and we're delighted to get her."

House Rules is out of the Mutakddim mare Teamgeist, a Group 2 winner in Argentina who was later Grade 1-placed in the U.S. Teamgeist is also the dam of Grade 1-placed Win the Space.

A Star Is Born went to Summer Wind Farm. The winning Galileo mare's first foal is Group 1-placed stakes winner Fleet Review, and she sold carrying a full sibling to that son of commercial standout War Front.

Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consigned A Star Is Born, who is a full sister to Group 1 winner Rip Van Winkle.

“War Front and Galileo are the best things on the planet,” Hill ‘n’ Dale owner John Sikura said. “She is a young mare and already a producer. She could have made a million dollars.”

Among the newly turned yearlings on offer at Keeneland January, a colt by Union Rags led the way, fetching a price of $390,000 from Albert Racing. The colt, consigned by Indian Creek, as agent, is the first foal out of the Bernardini mare Zondaq. She is a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Discreet Dancer and stakes winners Travelin Man and Sweet N Discreet.

The colt's fifth dam is Lassie Dear, meaning this is the extended family of champion and leading sire A.P. Indy, classic winner and sire Summer Squall, and classic winner and champion Lemon Drop Kid.

“That sale price was very good," Indian Creek president Shack Parrish said. "He was a really nice colt that was well received. It was above what we expected, but we loved it. The credit must go to our former farm manager, who did the majority of the prep on this guy."

Rounding out the top three prices among yearlings were a $375,000 colt by leading juvenile sire Into Mischief sold to Ardfield Bloodstock, and a $330,000 colt from the second crop of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah sold to Brady Bloodstock.

The Into Mischief colt, who was consigned as agent by Taylor Made, is out of the stakes-placed Distorted Humor mare Mary Rita. Her granddam is unbeaten champion and blue hen Personal Ensign, who counts several stakes producers among her daughters and granddaughters.

The American Pharoah colt, consigned by Hurstland Farm, is out of stakes winner Please Sign In, dam of Grade/Group 1 winners Certify and Cry and Catch Me. Signing the ticket for the colt was Peter O'Callaghan of Woods Edge Farm, who said he planned to offer the colt as a pinhook at the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale. The presence of pinhookers toward the top of the short yearling market speaks to both the difficulty of buying weanlings in a strong mixed market last November, and continued faith in the stretch of a resurgent yearling market later this year.

"I think what happened on the short yearling side, I definitely believe that pinhookers didn't fulfill their orders in November, so they had no choice but to be here in January," Russell said.

Classy Tune leads strong closing session

Thursday's fourth and final session of Keeneland January carried the auction across the finish line in strong fashion, as Classy Tune sold to Douglas Scharbauer for $230,000 to lead six six-figure horses in an improved session.

A total of 213 horses changed hands on Thursday for gross receipts of $3,828,000, up 18 percent from 258 sold for $3,251,300 in the 2018 finale, when there were no six-figure horses. The average price finished at $17,972, up 43 percent from $12,602, while the median rose 33 percent, to $8,000 from $6,000. The buyback rate was 20 percent, compared with 19 percent.

Stakes-placed Classy Tune, a 5-year-old Maclean's Music mare, sold as a racing or broodmare prospect to Scharbauer from the consignment of Eaton Sales, as agent. Classy Tune is out of the winning Dixieland Band mare Southern Swing, dam of stakes winner Mr. Pee Vee, Grade 1-placed Erinsouthernman, and stakes producer Mantekilla. Southern Swing is a half sister to Grade 3 winner Jaded Dancer

stakes winner Nephrite, and multiple stakes producer Lienholder; it is the extended family of two-time Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Mizdirection and Grade 1 winners Hooh Why, Mass Media, Ralis, Solar Splendor, and Sultry Song.

The session's top yearling was a $105,000 filly by Street Sense, purchased by Chestnut Valley Farm. Consigned as agent by Lane's End, the filly is out of the winning Arch mare Peace Talk.

For hip-by-hip results, click here.