LEXINGTON, Ky. – A colt by 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner and a filly by 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline each sold for $2.2 million to lead Tuesday's action as the Keeneland September yearling sale wrapped up its elite Book 1 portion with big improvements in key economic indicators. Keeneland reported 217 yearlings sold for gross receipts of $144,185,000 across the Monday and Tuesday sessions that made up Book 1, featuring the yearlings judged by the company's inspection team to be the finest based on pedigrees and physical conformation. In last year's two-session Book 1, 204 horses sold for $119,565,000. Both sets of session figures include only horses sold through the ring, not yet accounting for private sales on the grounds that will ultimately be factored into official results. A total of 35 yearlings sold for seven figures through the ring in Book 1, compared to 30 last year - the latter figure excluding one horse who later reached the mark in a private transaction. Fueled by those, the cumulative average price for the book was $664,447, up 13 percent from $586,103 last year. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  “Everybody wants to try to win the Kentucky Derby and play at the top level in the American classics," M.V. Magnier, who represents the Coolmore group, said. "That’s why we’re all here, and that’s why we’re all banging heads. Looks like there is plenty of energy here. The cost of doing business with horses like this is high.” The median, considered a key figure for market health because it samples a wide swath of the activity rather than being influenced by the top prices as the average can be, spiked 16 percent, to $550,000 compared to $475,000. “The median, we always look at,” Keeneland president Shannon Arvin said. “It was a great number. The average, certainly, too, but the median is more meaningful to us, because you throw out some of the crazy ones and get that.” The buyback rate also improved, to 21 percent for this book compared to a cumulative 29 percent for these sessions last year. “It’s really, really encouraging," Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said of the clearance rate. "It's a lot healthier than it even was last year, when we had a record sale. There’s a lot of cool metrics.” The 2024 Keeneland September sale ultimately finished with record numbers for gross and average and tied its record median. Hall of Famer Gun Runner, who stands at Three Chimneys Farm, set an earnings record for a North American freshman sire in 2021 and has quickly transitioned into a prominent general sire, finishing sixth on the earnings list in 2022, third in 2023, and second last year, according to Daily Racing Form statistics. As of Tuesday, he ranked third this season. Gun Runner was Keeneland September’s leading sire by gross sales last year and got off to a fine start in his title defense, with 10 seven-figure lots overall in Book 1. Those included the book's most expensive lot -- a $3.3 million colt who led Monday's opening session -- and the $2.2 million colt sold Tuesday who tied for the second-highest price overall. The $2.2 million colt, who was consigned by Taylor Made Sales, as agent, was bred by Three Chimneys. Trainer Wesley Ward signed the ticket after brokering a partnership between the breeder and his client Roy Israel, who he said has been in the business for about a year. The colt is out of the unraced Tiznow mare Amour d'Ete, whose four winners from as many starters are led by 2022 Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting, a full brother to this colt. Early Voting also won the Grade 3 Withers and was second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial. Amour d'Ete is out of the Canadian champion Silken Cat, also the dam of Eclipse Award champion and successful sire Speightstown and of multiple graded stakes winner Irap. "His pedigree was outstanding, by the hottest sire going right now," Ward said. "He’s a beautiful colt with a fantastic female family. . . . I’m excited to get this colt and to get the opportunity to train a horse like this." While Gun Runner is well established, this is the first crop for 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline, who retired to Lane's End Farm unbeaten in six starts, including four dazzling Grade 1 triumphs. He garnered an outstanding book of mares, which has helped him to smashing early commercial results. Flightline has now recorded nine seven-figure yearlings from his first crop in the U.S. alone, with two at last month's boutique Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale joined by seven here in Book 1. He trailed only Gun Runner by gross sales in this book. Flightline's top lot was the filly sold for $2.2 million to the Sarf family's LSU Stables, which bid over the phone. The filly is the first foal out of the Majesticperfection mare Four Graces, winner of the Grade 3 Beaumont and Grade 3 Dogwood, and also Grade 1-placed sprinting. She is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner McCraken, who was also Grade 1-placed, and to graded stakes-placed Bondurant and With Dignity. The filly was consigned by Gainesway, as agent for her breeder, Whisper Hill Farm. “I think she was one of the best fillies here and she proved it,” Gainesway general manager Brian Graves said. “She brought a little more than we thought she was going to bring. She was absolutely stunning. We weren’t sure at her size that she would break through like that, but all the best judges found her. I think Flightline is just like his name would indicate -- he’s taking off.” In addition to Gun Runner with his 10 and Flightline with his seven, seven other stallions were represented by seven-figure yearlings sold during Book 1, including six-time reigning leading sire Into Mischief (Spendthrift Farm) with four and Not This Time (Taylor Made Farm) with six. Those two stallions are first and second, respectively, on the general sires list this season to date. Others to light the board were Tapit (Gainesway) with three, Curlin (Hill 'n' Dale) with two, and Constitution (WinStar Farm), Good Magic (Hill 'n' Dale), and Nyquist (Darley) with one each. “It’s been very solid here," Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift, said of the activity at the top. "There has been a good a crowd as I’ve seen, and plenty of them look like they’ve got money. There is great energy. It feels like there are some new people and a lot of activity so let’s hope that carries on through the sale." The 12-session Keeneland September run continues with a two-session Book 2 on Wednesday and Thursday. After the sale’s lone dark day on Friday, the sale continues daily through Sept. 20, with Books 3, 4, 5A, and 5B. Seven-figure fireworks are often seen in Book 2 and even into Book 3, but the second week of the sale, often frequented by pinhookers as well as end-users, is crucial for overall market health, even if the prices are lower. "We need to maintain a middle market as well," Lacy said. "We need the middle market here. There has to be horses at different price points so it doesn't become so boutique that it excludes a lot of the buyers that need to be included." For hip-by-hip results, click here. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.