Consignors active on the first day of the 2013 Keeneland January horses of all ages sale discuss seven prominent horses scheduled to go through the sales ring, including Grade 2 winner Potesta and stakes winner Princess Arabella.
Here are a few of the horses to keep an eye on during this year’s Keeneland January sale.
On the heels of a November mixed sale season that saw gains in the open market, the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale will try to carry that momentum into 2013 with the help of the high-profile Fares Farm dispersal.
An added measure of interest was injected into the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale when Issam Fares, best known as the breeder of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, announced plans to disperse his Thoroughbred breeding and racing stock. His dispersal will feature 80 horses, with Lane’s End acting as agent.
After a year that generally saw gains in the sales market, the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale will be the first auction in 2013 to gauge the industry’s momentum.
The West Coast portion of the 2013 auction calendar kicks off on Jan. 22 with the Barretts Equine Ltd. January mixed sale. The one-day sale will begin at 11 a.m. Pacific at the Hinds Pavilion on the grounds of Fairplex Park in Pomona, Calif.
Tattersalls Ireland has named Neil Walsh as the company’s new head of bloodstock sales, promoting him from his previous role as bloodstock representative.
Led by a $1.5 million purchase by Three Chimneys Farm, Arqana’s December breeding stock sale ended Tuesday in Deauville, France, with gains in total sales, average, and median.
Love Torch, an $18,000 mare by El Prado, headed the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s annual winter mixed sale at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion on Saturday.
A Champali mare believed to be in foal to Flower Alley brought $9,500 on Saturday to top the first straight Thoroughbred auction Heritage Place in Oklahoma City has put on in more than 20 years.
