Keeneland sale slows a bit

Prices began to slide Wednesday on Day 9 of the Keeneland September yearling sale, but the auction remained on a record pace and there was highly competitive bidding for certain lots.

The session-leading price at 4:30 p.m. was the $250,000 that Robert Trussell Jr., co-founder of the Tempur-Pedic Inc. mattress company, spent for a Malibu Moon colt out of Shoofha. Agent Cecil Seaman signed the ticket on Trussell's behalf, and Castleton Lyons was the consigning agent.

At Tuesday's eighth of 14 sessions, the session topper was a $500,000 Booklet colt out of Fees Waived (Wavering Monarch) that agent John Brocklebank bought from Vinery. Through Tuesday, the two-week auction had grossed $365,071,000 for 2,023 yearlings, up 4 percent from last year. The cumulative average price of $180,460 was up 5 percent, and the $90,000 median was up 13 percent.

The sale was to continue through Sept. 25 at Keeneland's sale pavilion in Lexington, Ky.