Keeneland September sale: Gainesway Farm posts big results as consignor and breeder

Antony Beck’s Gainesway Farm finished as the Keeneland September sale’s leading consignor by gross – and also was among the sale’s leading breeders.

Gainesway consigned nine seven-figure yearlings in the early books of the sale and was active late into the auction, finishing with 137 yearlings sold for gross receipts of $43,573,000 for its first leading consignor title. The operation ended an eight-year run atop the leaderboard for Taylor Made Sales, which traded 268 for $39,387,000.

Gainesway bred two of its seven-figure yearlings – a $1.2 million Into Mischief colt and a $1.1 million filly by its perennial leading sire Tapit. The farm also consigned, as agent, four seven-figure yearlings for breeder Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm. Pope also co-bred another seven-figure yearling with Three Chimneys Farm, with that one also consigned by Gainesway.

“I would describe it as a lifetime achievement,” Gainesway general manager Brian Graves said. “I’m just so grateful to our clients for giving us such a quality product to put us in a position to be the leading consignor. We knew we had a really nice physical draft of horses, especially with the addition of Mandy’s horses and top pedigrees, and the feedback from Keeneland was very positive. They had asked us to put more horses into Book 1 and move more horses from Book 3 to Book 2, so that was a good sign we had a strong and really deep group of horses.”

Pope, who had the most seven-figure lots of any breeder, also praised Gainesway.

“I really appreciate all the effort and knowledge and expertise that they bring to the table,” she said.

In addition to co-breeding a high-ticket lot with Pope, Three Chimneys enjoyed an outstanding sale on its own and in other partnerships. Goncalo Torrealba’s operation bred a $1.15 million filly by its first-crop sire Volatile and co-bred a $2 million Uncle Mo colt in partnership with Runnymede Farm and Peter Callahan.

“It’s very gratifying,” Three Chimneys COO Chris Baker said. “It further proves if you bring the goods up here you’re going to be rewarded for it.”

Runnymede Farm, under the leadership of Brutus J. Clay III, enjoyed an outstanding sale as a breeder and consignor. In addition to the aforementioned Uncle Mo colt, the farm consigned a seven-figure colt by Three Chimneys stallion Gun Runner that it co-bred with Callahan, and a high-ticket colt from the first crop of Gainesway stallion McKinzie that it consigned on behalf of breeder Grandview Equine.

“We’re just thrilled for our partners,” Clay said. “They’ve been incredible to work with. And our team that did an extraordinary job. . . . Just incredibly filled with gratitude.”

Mike Repole bred the sale-topping $3 million son of Into Mischief out of Nonna Mia, a mare he purchased in 2008. He was consigned as agent by Lane’s End Farm.

The other breeders represented by seven-figure lots at the September sale, in alphabetical order, were Audley Farm, Bar C Racing, Barry and Judith Becker, Breeze Easy LLC, Chasemore Farm, Clearsky Farm, Mark Erlandson, Emory Hamilton, Hill ‘n’ Dale and Matt Dorman, Hunter Valley Farm and Mountmellick Farm, International Equities, Bret Jones, Kindred Stables, Machmer Hall, Joel Politi, Ranjan Racing, SF Bloodstock and Tuscany Bloodstock, and WinStar Farm.

Some of those breeders reinvested in their operations as leading buyers, as well. Officially, the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables purchased 20 horses for $12,590,000 to lead the way by gross. However, adding up Repole’s purchases, with 35 on his own and an additional eight in partnership with Spendthrift, he not only led by number of horses, but contributed $16,020,000 in gross sales.

Bret Jones, at the helm of the family’s Airdrie Stud, said it was emotional to sell the $1.35 million Not This Time colt who led the Airdrie consignment, on Sept. 12. His father, former Kentucky governor and Airdrie founder Brereton C. Jones, died Sept. 18 at age 84.

“Special is the right word. A little overwhelming,” Bret Jones said. “I’m feeling a little sentimental right now, thinking about Dad and thinking how many memories we get from these great horses, these horse sales, horse races.”

In addition to Gainesway and Runnymede, the consignors of seven-figure yearlings at the September sale were Taylor Made with three, Hunter Valley, Lane’s End, and St. George Sales with two each, and Airdrie, Clearsky Farm, Denali Stud, Eaton Sales, Elm Tree Farm, Hill ‘n’ Dale, Indian Creek, Machmer Hall, and Penn Sales with one each. Elm Tree and Penn were each achieving their first seven-figure sales.

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