Palace colt tops Equine Sales Company yearling auction

A colt from the first crop of multiple Grade 1 winner Palace brought $105,000 to top the Equine Sales Company yearling auction Thursday in Opelousas, La.

J. Stevens Bloodstock purchased the unnamed Louisiana-bred from 4M Ranch, agent.

The sales company on Friday reported 150 of 206 yearlings sold for total receipts of $1,949,900. The average was $12,999. Last year at the corresponding sale, 138 of 193 horses sold for $1,636,400, for an average of $11,858. The median Thursday was $6,000 and the buyback rate was 27 percent.

“We had a very strong sale last year, so we were extremely pleased to exceed those numbers this year,” Foster Bridewell, sales director, said in a press release. “The fact that we had 10 horses go for $50,000 or more proves that our consignors really brought some quality stock and that our buyers stepped up to get those individuals.

“There’s a lot of money to run for in Louisiana, and Louisiana-breds have proven again and again that they can win anywhere, most recently with Classy John, who sold here as a 2-year-old for $12,000, winning an $85,000 maiden special at Saratoga last month by daylight.”

The sale-topper is out of the winning Kafwain mare Sheer Speed, who is a half-sister to Red Lead, a multiple stakes winner who earned $891,012.

The second-highest seller Thursday was a colt from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Lea who brought $100,000. Carl Moore, who races Grade 1 winner Finley’sluckycharm, purchased the Louisiana-bred colt from Red River Farm, agent. The Lea colt – named Likable Lea in the catalog – is a half-brother to Kylie’s Cutie, a stakes winner of $125,640.

Likable Lea’s dam, the unraced Beat the Street, is a half-sister to Ahead of Her Time, a multiple stakes winner of $340,100, Hisse, a multiple stakes winner of $435,681, and the undefeated 2-year-old Pickett, the first winner and stakes winner for Goldencents.