Keeneland September continues to surge upward at end of Book 3

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A $625,000 Quality Road colt led trade as the Keeneland September yearling sale closed its Book 3 portion on Monday, reaching roughly the midway point of the bellwether sale with double-digit gains in average and median prices, and surpassing the $300 million milestone in total gross revenues.

Monday's session, the finale of the third book of six and the seventh session of the 13-session sale overall, finished with 268 yearlings sold for gross receipts of $26,756,500. The 2018 Book 3 finale, which was slotted as the eighth of 13 sessions, featured 271 horses sold for $19,603,400.

Keeneland tweaked the format of the September sale's Book 1 and Book 2 portions this year, with Book 1 cataloging 569 horses over three days, compared to four sessions with 989 horses in 2018, and the size of the Book 2 catalog 730 horses compared to 826, both over two days. With those changes, the general consensus is that quality horses have been pushed deeper into the catalog, creating a trickle-down effect of high-ticket horses through later books. That was borne out in Book 3, with five horses surpassing the half-million mark; Book 3's high price in 2018 was $450,000. A total of seven sold for $400,000 or more, easily bettering the five horses to reach that threshold over two days last year.

Fueled by those figures, Monday's average price finished at $99,838 - the first session of this sale to fail to average six figures, but up 38 percent from $72,337 in the comparable session last year. The median price was $73,500, up 47 percent from $50,000. The buyback rate finished even with last year, at 28 percent

To this point of Keeneland September, through three books, 1,309 yearlings have sold for gross receipts of $314,829,500, ensuring that this will be the third year in a row with revenues finishing above the key point of $300 million. The 2017 edition of the September sale was the first time that threshold was met since 2008, when the effects of the recession began to be felt late in the sale. With the market recovering, the sale grossed $307,845,400 in 2017 and $377,130,400 last year.

Through three books, the cumulative average price sits at $240,511 and the median sits at $170,000, those figures tracking upward 18 and 31 percent, respectively, from $202,982 and $130,000 through three books in 2018. The cumulative buyback rate sits at 29 percent, compared to 26 percent.

The Quality Road colt who topped Monday’s session, and Book 3 overall, was purchased by Team Casse from the KatieRich Farm consignment.

The colt is out of the stakes-winning Empire Maker mare Miss Red Delicious, dam of three winners from as many starters, led by Grade 3 winner Nootka Sound and stakes-placed Follow No One. Miss Red Delicious is out of Grade 2-placed Miss Mary Apples, the dam of multiple graded stakes winner Lady Apple, who finished third in this year's Kentucky Oaks, and Grade 2-placed stakes winner Dr. Diamonds Prize. Miss Mary Apples is also the dam of My McIntosh, dam of five winners from as many starters, including Grade 3-placed Parlor.

The other top prices in Book 3 were a $525,000 Tiznow colt who is a half brother to Grade 1 winner Girvin, sold to Winchell Thoroughbreds in the Monday session; a $510,000 Quality Road colt sold to China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's Maverick Racing on Sunday; a $500,000 colt from the second crop of Triple Crown winner and leading freshman sire American Pharoah, sold to bloodstock agent Ben Glass on Monday; and a $500,000 filly from the first crop of Frosted, sold to trainer Ken McPeek, as agent for Walking L Thoroughbreds, on Sunday.

The Keeneland September yearling sale continues until Sept. 22 with Books 4 through 6.

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