Monarchos colt tops day

The Keeneland September yearling sale took a break on Friday, giving buyers a free day to look at horses for the 14-day auction's second week. When selling resumed at Saturday's fifth session, buyers came ready to bid.

At 5 p.m., with the session still under way, the top seller was a $550,000 colt by 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos. Bob and Beverly Lewis bought the colt, the first foal out of Meadowlake's daughter Lac du Printemps. Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge agency sold the colt.

That sale was the latest in a string of flashy prices to come from the Woods Edge consignment. Earlier in the week, the agency sold a $700,000 Grand Slam-Ring Star colt to John McCormack Bloodstock and a $650,000 Elusive Quality-Dazzling Bright colt to Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum's agent John Ferguson.

Other high-priced yearlings to sell Saturday by 5 p.m. were Hip No. 1421, a $360,000 Golden Missile-Ms.Copelan colt that Dapple Bloodstock bought from the Bluewater Sales agency; Hip No. 1464, a $360,000 Arch filly out of Questress that Whitehorse Stables purchased from Caliborne, agent; Hip No. 1357, a $340,000 Elusive Quality-Istinad colt that Jay Em Ess Stable acquired from Dromoland, agent; and Hip No. 1483, a $340,000 Notebook-Romantic Summer colt that Buckram Oak Farm bought from Taylor Made, which acted as agent for Classic Oaks Farm.

In addition to prominent racehorse owners like the Lewises, pinhookers also were active at the Saturday session. Among those were the Kirkwood Stables agency, operated by Kip Elser, whose purchases included a $120,000 Behrens-Dawn's Curtsey filly sold by Darby Dan Farm, agent, and Nick de Meric, agent, who bought a $120,000 El Corredor-Polish Spirit colt from Gainesway's agency.

The auction was to continue through Sept. 27.