LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Keeneland September yearling sale, the largest of its kind in North America and considered the bellwether for this marketplace, reached its midway point with strong figures in pursuit of last year’s record renewal. The Sunday session marked the end of Book 3 of six, and was the sixth of 12 sessions overall. To that point, 1,242 horses had sold for gross receipts of $327,909,500, surpassing the milestone of $300 million. Last year’s sale hit that mark in the seventh of 11 sessions. To this point of the 2021 sale, also comprising the first three books, 1,169 horses had sold for a gross of $278,883,000. The gross was thus tracking upward 18 percent on year-to-year comparisons, although the number of horses sold was up only 6 percent. The current cumulative average price for Keeneland September sat at $264,017 through six sessions, up 11 percent from $238,565 through six sessions in 2021. The cumulative median was also up 11 percent, to $200,000 from $180,000. The buyback rate had also improved, sitting at 24 percent compared to 28 percent. While the average price was certainly influenced by the 30 seven-figure horses sold in Books 1 and 2 – exactly double the number to break that ceiling last year – the median and buyback rate are considered key figures to show the health of the market overall. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales Last year’s Keeneland September sale, which showed a resurgent marketplace following the pandemic-impacted 2020 edition, finished with a gross of $364,516,500 and record figures for the average ($130,698) and median ($65,000). Curlin colt tops Book 3 Partnerships continued to drive the buying in the third book of Keeneland September, including the book-leading $900,000 Curlin colt purchased on Saturday. Stretching for the colt was the BSW/Crow Colts Group, a partnership headed by Brad Weisbord and Liz Crow selecting young horses intended for trainer Brad Cox. Joining that partnership was Spendthrift Farm, which provided seed capital for the venture when it launched in 2021, and Gandharvi Racing. Stonestreet Farm, which bred the colt and consigned him via Elm Tree Farm as agent, came back in for a piece of the partnership, a common practice. The BSW/Crow Colts Group and partners purchased 10 horses for $4.29 million through the first three books, placing them among the top 10 buyers by gross at the halfway point of the sale. Among those leaders by gross, and a leader by sheer volume, is Mike Repole, who had purchased 70 horses for more than $26.67 million in various iterations of partnerships. Repole had purchased more than two dozen horses on his own, but also had landed 31 alongside regular partner Vinnie Viola’s St. Elias Stables and others with various partners. Also among the leading buyers is the partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, landing 20 horses for $12.34 million. Weisbord of BSW spoke to the impact of partnerships on this marketplace and how it affected the price for the $900,000 Curlin colt, citing the competition for horses from Repole, Viola, and SF Bloodstock. “We try to stay in the $500,000-$600,000 range, but we thought he was the top colt today, so we stretched,” Weisbord said. Winchell buys Epicenter’s sister The catalog for the Keeneland September yearling sale was released on Aug. 9. On Aug. 27, Epicenter won his first Grade 1 with a 5 1/4-length score in the Travers Stakes to seize control of the 3-year-old division. That update made his yearling half-sister one of the anticipated lots after being placed in Book 3 of the September sale. Ron Winchell knows that good things can come out of Book 3. He purchased Epicenter for $260,000 out of the book two years ago to campaign the colt in the colors of his Winchell Thoroughbreds. Winchell went back to the well this year, purchasing his half-sister for $170,000. Epicenter, also winner of the Grade 2 Risen Star, Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, and Grade 2 Jim Dandy, and second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes this year, is not Winchell’s only tie to this filly’s family. She is by multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Tapiture, who raced as a homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds. Tapiture, who stands at Darby Dan Farm, is by Winchell supersire Tapit, and has been a consistent sire of stakes horses. Epicenter’s half-sister is out of the Grade 3-placed stakes winner Silent Candy, a Candy Ride mare who is the dam of three winners from five starters. The filly was consigned by Padraig Campion’s Blandford Stud as agent for Westwind Farms, which purchased Silent Candy at the 2014 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.