DSCN7061
Lexington, Ky -While much of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale is comprised of broodmares, stallion prospects began making their appearance in today’s session.
It’s relatively uncommon to see adult male horses in Keeneland’s public auctions, since most owners looking to retire their stallions to stud broker private syndication deals after the track. For those who haven’t garnered a satisfactory deal upon retirement, or who aren’t generating interest in their current market though, public sale can sometimes be a good chance to get them in front of buyers from other states or countries.
“I always say, ‘People tend to come and go in the business, but horses tend to stay in the business,’ so you have to have markets and plans for them,” said Bernard McCormack, agent for Cara Bloodstock, who consigns Silver Deputy stallion Vibank.
“The best way to create competition for anything you’re selling is to run it through public auction,” said Guinness McFadden, sales director for Three Chimneys Farm. “You’ll get it in front of the most people at the Keeneland November sale because it’s the largest sale of its kind anywhere, and you’re going to get the most international buyers, as opposed to someone trying to market a stallion on their own.”
Three Chimneys cataloged three stallions for the November sale, including 2010 Kentucky Derby (G1) hopeful Aikenite and Breeders’ Cup Marathon (G2) winner Afleet Again.
“He’s by a nice stallion—Afleet Alex—who’s off to a good start, out of a Wild Again mare, so I think he’d be something that would really be able to sell in a regional market,” said McFadden.
Owners don’t stop marketing a horse to private buyers once they catalogue for the sale, so it’s also fairly common for a stallion prospect to be a last-minute “out” if he finds a home before heading to the ring. Buyers may step forward once they see a stallion’s name among the entries, which was the case with Aikenite—the announcement came Saturday that he will stand stud at Calumet Farm in 2013. At press time, 11 of the 26 stallions in the Keeneland November books had been withdrawn from the sale.
Managing stallions, who have a reputation for causing trouble, in an environment full of broodmares and young horses, takes some special consideration.
Keeneland typically places all stallions in a given session at the end of the book, and allows the back walking ring to clear of other entries before bringing them in, so nobody gets any romantic notions.
“You just have to make some special requests with your neighbors in terms of where you’re going to show the stallion and not interfere with their showing," noted McCormack. "We do little things like [put] Vicks up their nose to throw them off the scent of other horses, and you usually put your best strong handler on them … as long as you take some basic precautions, you’re not going to get into a problem.”
* * * * *
Monday’s seventh session again saw steady numbers, as the day closed with 271 horses selling for $5,584,700, with an average of $20,608 (down 15.1 percent from last year), and a median of $17,000 (up 9.7 percent from last year).
The day’s sale topper was Hip 2221, Pastilla, a three-year-old filly consigned by Hagyard Farm for $190,000. Pastilla is by sought-after Pulpit, out of Paiota Falls, who is one of a dwindling numbers of mares from the family of sire Kris S. She is unraced and sold to James Ryan as a broodmare prospect.
The day’s most promising stallion prospect, Afleet Again, brought $30,000 and will be standing at stud in Korea.
"They liked the pedigree very much, and we knew that we were going to buy a prospect anyway, for a stallion,” said Yoonie Choi on behalf of agent Yoon Heung Yui, who purchased the horse for a private client.
Monday’s session brought the gross receipts for the overall sale to $130,171,600, which marks an increase of 5.1 percent from last year (with 2011’s two major dispersals removed from the figures). Cumulative average for the sale is up 3.18 percent to $88,372, while the median is unchanged at $40,000.