Keeneland sale: Tell It, half to Pulpit, brings $540,000

Tell It, a half-sister to successful sire Pulpit, set the new high-price mark during Thursday’s third session of the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, selling to Blandford Bloodstock for $540,000.

A 15-year-old Storm Cat mare and a stakes-placed winner, Tell It is the dam of five winners from as many to start, including stakes winner Dream Nettie. She sold in foal to Candy Ride.

Tell It has had five of her six foals sell at public auction for an average price of $210,600, led by Spoken, by Unbridled’s Song, who brought $550,000 at the 2006 Keeneland September yearling sale.

The ticket for Tell It was signed for the England-based bloodstock agency by Aisling Duignan, director of bloodstock for Coolmore America.

Tell It is out of Grade 1-winning Mr. Prospector mare Preach, whose ten horses to race are all winners, including Grade 1 winner Pulpit, stakes-placed winner Urban Poet, and New York-based sire Friar.

Tell It won 4 of 18 starts during her racing career, including a third-place effort in the 2001 Nicole Stakes, for earnings of $162,283. Bred in Kentucky by Claiborne Farm, Tell It was also consigned by Claiborne as agent.

“We were actually surprised,” said Bradley Purcell of Claiborne. “She’s a 15-year-old mare by Storm Cat out of Preach. Preach is a foundation mare for Claiborne with Pulpit, but we’re very surprised and we’re very pleased.”

Tell It sold for the first time at public auction on Thursday, making her the fourth-highest-priced foal out of Preach, behind Impervious, Urban Poet, and President Lincoln, who brought $3 million, $2.9 million, and $775,000 as yearlings, respectively.

“We don’t sell much out of Preach, especially daughters,” Purcell said. “We have plenty of daughters, and her daughters are having daughters as well, so we’ve got plenty of the family. With her age, it was either sell or live with her, but we’re very happy.”