Three Kentucky Derby candidates proving worth high price tags

It’s rare for high-priced auction yearlings to earn their purchase price back on the racetrack. But three of the nine youngsters sold for seven figures at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale are chasing that target with solid performances against high-end competition – and even more importantly, they’re chasing priceless notoriety as Kentucky Derby candidates.

Topping that 2016 sale at $3 million was Mendelssohn, whose pedigree on both sides fueled the bidding – the son of the late Scat Daddy is a half brother to four-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder, as well as to Grade 1 winner and successful sire Into Mischief.

“It’s a lot of money, but he deserved to be,” said M.V. Magnier, who signed the ticket for Coolmore. “You won’t see much better than [Beholder]. He’s also a brother to another very good colt. He’s a very good mover, he’s very good-looking, it’s a very good family.”

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Mendelssohn has earned $1,961,137, thanks largely to his score in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and this spring’s UAE Derby. His romp in the UAE Derby boosted his stock for the Kentucky Derby.

The second highest price at the 2016 sale was for Grade 3-placed Marconi at $2 million, with the seven-figure horses also including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and champion Good Magic at $1 million. Both are set to start in Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes.

Good Magic, who was selected by bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, has earned $1,255,000. He is owned by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and breeder Stonestreet Farm, which sold the colt but later regained an interest.

“We don’t make many seven-figure purchases, but he was very, very special,” Ryan said. “Just a beautifully bred horse with a great physical, and his mind was the most impressive thing to me – his demeanor, his aura.”

Of the Keeneland September sale-toppers from the 2008 edition and onward, none earned back their purchase price on the racetrack. The one who came the closest was Mohaymen, who co-led the 2014 edition at $2.2 million. The multiple graded stakes winner earned $998,417.