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Tour of Duty, a War Front colt out of the winning Medaglia d’Oro mare Sabbatical, was the first foal delivered in the first season of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Foal Patrol project, and is cataloged at Keeneland September.
It’s typical for a young stallion to garner an outstanding book of mares in his first season as his stud farm and supporters look to get him off to a strong start. Then the quality and quantity of his book of mares may decrease somewhat in the ensuing few years, only picking up again later if the stallion’s first crops are a success on the racetrack. But 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, the hero the sport waited 27 years for, isn’t a typical case and the market has not responded in typical fashion.
There are more than 100 mares with yearlings cataloged in Keeneland September’s elite Book 1 portion who are Grade/Group 1 winners or producers – but only five who are both. Making up that exclusive club, in alphabetical order, are Appealing Zophie, Colina Verde, Dream of Summer, Dream Rush, and Rigoletta.
If she’s anything like her half-siblings, the yearling filly out of Leslie’s Lady will manage what is sure to be a busy period of showing on the sale grounds and fireworks in the auction ring with aplomb.
In an effort to take a degree of stress off young horses, a growing movement has emerged among consignors and buyers to scale back the number of endoscopic examinations a yearling undergoes, in some cases by making high-quality video of exams available for viewing by potential buyers. In advance of the September yearling sale – where time is of the essence for buyers, who may have hundreds of yearlings to inspect – Keeneland is encouraging consignors and veterinarians to utilize the video capabilities of its repository to upload and view endoscopies.
Following are horses to watch during the elite Book 1 portion of the Keeneland September yearling sale, which comprises the auction's first three sessions.
A Society’s Chairman colt sold for $200,000 at the Canadian premier yearling sale at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion on Thursday.
It’s the seven-figure yearlings that generate the spontaneous applause and make all the Book 1 headlines at the Keeneland September yearling sale. But there is a consistent stream of highly successful runners that passes through the sales ring early on in the September sale perhaps with less fanfare and fewer lightbulbs illuminated on the results board. The adulation for these value buys is held until they cross the wire first in important races.
An unnamed Louisiana-bred colt by Shanghai Bobby topped the Texas Thoroughbred Association's annual summer yearling sale Monday when he brought $115,000 from Summer Grove Farm. The auction was held at Lone Star Park, which is a partner in the sale with the TTA.
Million-dollar horses always grab the headlines at the Keeneland sales, but there are a wealth of “Hidden Gems” mined every year by astute buyers for much lower prices. This series from Daily Racing Form and Keeneland focuses on those future graded winners who sold for less than $100,000.
