Supplements light up end of Keeneland January's Book 1

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The restraint at the upper end of the market waned as the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale moved into the final half-hour of its Book 1 portion, with competition heating up for a number of quality mares offered at the end of the day as supplemental entries to the original catalog. When the dust settled the leaderboard was topped by Grade 1-placed broodmare prospect Enaya Alrabb, sold for $640,000; the young broodmare prospect Confidently for $560,000; Inflamed, the dam of Eclipse Award finalist Mo Forza, sold for $525,000; and multiple graded stakes winner Pomeroys Pistol, dam of Kentucky Derby hopeful Thousand Words, at $475,000. All except for Confidently emerged from the supplemental catalog.

“Today’s session ended very well,” Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland’s director of sales operations, said. “The supplements were ones we knew were going to be very popular with the buyers.”

And thus, although Keeneland January lacked the major fireworks it generated last year when headlined by champion Abel Tasman, the two-day opening portion of the major-market mixed sale continued to show a competitive buying bench and signs of a healthy middle market, including a steady median.

Book 1 closed with 464 horses sold for revenues of $32,167,100, including private sales. Last year's two-session Book 1 portion finished with 487 horses sold, led by Abel Tasman at a record-tying $5 million, for $40,270,800. The cumulative average price sits at $69,326, a drop of 16 percent from the Abel Tasman-fueled $82,692 through 2019's Book 1. Taking that champion out of the mix, last year's average to this point was $72,574. The Book 1 portion of the 2018 Keeneland January sale averaged $66,751, led by a pair of seven-figure lots.

While there was definite restraint at the top of the market - three horses surpassed $500,000, compared to five who did so last year - the median price, which tends to illustrate the health of the middle market, finished steady at $37,000. The buyback rate also steadied somewhat on Tuesday, after it increased with a number of high-ticket buybacks on Monday. It finished at 24 percent for Book 1, compared to 22 percent last year.

“The first book was a very solid book of horses, a typical January catalog,” Russell said. “The quality, I thought, was even and good, so we’re happy about that.”

Enaya Alrabb, a 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, was purchased by James Schenck, as agent. The bloodstock agent landed the top two prices of the book after earlier purchasing Confidently. He declined to comment on the new additions.

Enaya Alrabb, who was consigned as a broodmare prospect by Paramount Sales, as agent, won just once from four starts before being sidelined by injury, but kept outstanding company. In the filly's third career start, she finished second in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes, edged just a head by Chasing Yesterday. She then finished second in the Grade 2 Las Virgenes Stakes, beaten only three-quarters of a length by multiple Grade 1 winner Bellafina.

“She was a lovely filly," Pat Costello of Paramount Sales said. "That was on the top end, but she was lovely, she didn’t turn a hair, and she was a great racehorse. We were delighted, the owners are delighted."

Enaya Alrabb is out of the Grade 2-placed stakes winner Lotta Rhythm, who also produced Grade 3-placed Hattaash. The Rhythm mare is a half sister to stakes winners High Blues and Lotta Kim. The latter is the dam of Horse of the Year and Hall of Fame racemare Rachel Alexandra, as well as Grade 3-placed Dolphus and stakes-placed Wooderson.

Rachel Alexandra further showed the ability of this female family to produce through the generations when she became the dam of Grade 1 winner Rachel's Valentina. Another of Lotta Rhythm's half-sisters, No Blues Today, is the dam of stakes winner Big Blue Caboose.

Confidently, who was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect, sold to Schenck from the consignment of Glen Hill Farm. Glen Hill, which also sold Inflamed to Shadai Farm of Japan, is returning to the ranks of consignors after routinely offering stock through other consignors in recent years at the major Kentucky auctions.

“It was a good day," Glen Hill president and COO Craig Bernick said. "It’s about the horses."

Bernick gave a good deal of credit for the consignment's success to Lindsay Schultz, who manages Glen Hill's Florida farm and oversaw the consignment.

"Lindsay Schultz did the equine program at Louisville and was an assistant to Tom Proctor and was in Darley Flying Start," Bernick said. "She has worked a sale or two, but never in a management position. And this is her first sale where she’s ever run a barn and she sold two of the three most expensive horses in the sale. So she did a great job."

Confidently, a 4-year-old daughter of popular international sire War Front, won once from nine starts in the Glen Hill colors, taking a maiden special weight last summer at Presque Isle Downs. The filly is out of the stakes-placed Arch mare Playa Maya, making her a half-sister to Eclipse Award champion juvenile and young classic sire Uncle Mo.

Confidently is also a full sister to multiple group stakes-placed Could It Be Love, who finished second in the Irish 1000 Guineas. Further boosting Confidently's stock, one of her half -sisters, Grosse Pointe Anne, is the dam of stakes-placed Indian Annie.

"We thought about breeding her and maybe selling her in November," Bernick said. "But when I’m buying a horse myself, a lot of times I like to pick out the stallions. I thought whoever bought her would breed her to who they wanted to. When you get to November, you have to make sure they like the covering sire and so on. So I thought this was a good place to sell her."

Inflamed, the dam of Eclipse Award outstanding male turf horse finalist Mo Forza, represented a quick turnaround for Glen Hill, which purchased her for $170,000 at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale. At the time, Mo Forza had won the Grade 2 Twilight Derby. He followed up by winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby and Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile, boosting his own stock and that of his dam. The 10-year-old Unusual Heat mare, who is a full sister to Grade 2 winner Burns and Grade 1-placed Brushburn, is in foal to Tapiture, among last year's leading freshman sires by winners.

"Mo Forza is a turf horse, and in Japanese racing, turf is the main track," Shadai representative Naohiro Hosoda said. "She's a proven mare. She's still young, 10 years old, and Unusual Heat is California's leading sire. His progeny are very active on fast ground, and we have the same, so that's key. I know she was sold for $170,000 in November, but her bloodstock value is going up."

Pomeroys Pistol, a multiple graded stakes winner herself, is the dam of a standout young runner in Thousand Words, a $1 million purchase at the 2018 Keeneland September yearling sale who won both his starts last year, including the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity. Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan purchased the mare on behalf of the owners behind another standout young runner, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner and Eclipse Award finalist Structor. He said he signed for the mare on behalf of the Kindred Stables of Jeff Drown, who co-owns Structor with Don Rachel.

“He wants to play at the upper end of the market with some quality mares,” Ryan said of Drown, who he said owns a handful of mares thus far. “She’s obviously a very good mare, a brilliant racemare, and who knows how good [Thousand Words] is. She is a mare, hopefully, we can breed a couple of good ones out of.”

Pomeroys Pistol, who was best around one turn, won the Grade 2 Forward Gal Stakes, Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Stakes, and Grade 3 Sugar Swirl Stakes during a productive 3-year-old campaign. She was also second in the Prioress and the Test Stakes, both Grade 1 events, during that campaign.

Pomeroys Pistol, a 12-year-old daughter of Pomeroy, is a half sister to stakes-placed D'cats Meow and Wildcat Creek. The mare, the dam of two winners from three starters, was not in foal at the time of this sale. Ryan said that leading general sire Into Mischief tops the short list of stallions being considered as a potential 2020 mate for the mare.

The highest price for a newly turned yearling in Book 1 also came on Tuesday, as a filly from the first crop of unbeaten Grade 1 winner Mastery sold for $365,000 to bloodstock agent Andre Lynch. Royal Oak Farm consigned the filly, as agent, and Braxton Lynch -- no relation -- of that operation pointed out that Mastery's first crop was conceived on a $25,000 stud fee.

"Obviously the Masterys are very popular,” Braxton Lynch said. “But she just showed herself so well. She just kept coming out of her stall and doing her walk, and really it was all her. She was an athlete. A pure athlete. I think that’s why people went so strong on her. You just don’t come across horses that move that well that often.”

The filly is out of the winning Belong to Me mare Dowry, the dam of five winners from six starters. Her offspring are led by Grade 1 winner Nereid and Grade 1-placed stakes winner Sea Queen. Nereid has gone on to produce Grade 3-placed stakes winner Figarella's Queen.

For hip-by-hip results, click here. The Keeneland January sale continues with a three-session Book 2 from Wednesday through Friday.