Keeneland closed its November Breeding Stock Sale on Nov. 14 with a continuation of the momentum generated at the one-day Fasig-Tipton sale earlier in the month. Keeneland’s 11-day auction included broodmares and broodmare prospects, as well as a collection of horses of various ages, including weanlings, racing, and stallion prospects.
The auction saw increases across the board, including 18 horses who broke the $1 million pricepoint, up from 14 last year. The gross sales of $205,899,500 rose 4.4 percent, passing last year’s total sales on the eighth day of the auction. That figure is the second-highest gross the auction has accumulated in the past seven years, topped only by the 2011 edition, which included two major dispersals.
The average price was up 2.1 percent to $81,966 and median was $35,000, tying last year’s figure, which was a record. One horse set a record of her own in the sale’s early days: Hip 402 sold for $3 million, marking the highest price paid for a weanling at public auction in North America. John and Leslie Malone’s Bridlewood Farm of Ocala, Florida, picked up the tab for the pricey young filly, who was consigned to the sale by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency.
“We were at the max, but Mr. Malone’s a strong guy,” Bridlewood general manager George Isaacs said. “He gave me the green light to $2 (million); I had him on the phone. I said, ‘Look, I’m good to call it quits here at $2.5 (million),’ and he said, ‘No, keep going.’ At $2.8 (million), they bid $2.9 (million), and he said, ‘Well, bid $3 (million). Go ahead.’
“You can’t scare him away,” Isaacs said. “He likes it.”
The filly, a daughter of the famous gray Gainesway Farm stallion Tapit, came from a successful family. Her dam was stakes-winning Storm Cat mare Serena’s Cat, making her a half sister to Grade 2 winners Noble Tune and Honor Code.
That price might seem steep to many (it exceeded the previous North American record, set at Keeneland November in 2006, by $300,000), but high-dollar bidding in the early books of Keeneland’s auctions is often thought to be part bravado, part business deal. Racing prospects may be syndicated, though full or part ownership in expensive horses is often retained with the hope of making a profit when the horse retires to stud (a prospect that’s especially attractive with stallions). Mares also have a chance to earn their purchase price back over time if they are able to produce enough commercially viable offspring, or they can add longer-term worth to a farm’s broodmare herd through their second-generation offspring. (Isaacs informed the Daily Racing Form that the farm’s long-term goal was to keep the $3 million baby in the breeding band and give her a lifelong home).
The Tapit-Serena’s Cat filly comes from a family packed with success on her dam’s side, and her sire is one of the hottest names in the bloodstock market. Her bloodlines are also hard to come by — farms with a “blue hen” mare tend to keep her offspring and siblings when possible, driving up the demand for her DNA when it finally comes through the auction ring.
“We spent a lot of time and money accumulating super elite bloodstock,” said John Sikura, president of Hill ‘n Dale Farm. “It’s a strategic plan … to have mares other people don’t have, and those progeny hopefully reward that (effort). The money is rewarding, and you need to have that ammunition to go back into the marketplace.”
Hill ‘n Dale consigned four other seven-figure horses aside from the record-setting weanling. Other seven-figure horses from the auction included sales topper Aloof (IRE), a Group 3 winner who drew $3.9 million from Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm in Florida. Aloof has international success sprinkled through her bloodline as a full sister to French stakes winner Orator and half-sister to Irish stakes winner Meow. She was consigned by Paramount Sales. Together with Naples Bay, a broodmare who brought $3.6 million, the pair represented the two highest-priced horses to sell at public auction this year.
Haras Don Alberto of Chile was the sale’s leading buyer by total receipts, picking up nine horses for $8.75 million. The stable, which is run by Liliana Solari and Carlos Heller, is the leading breeding and racing operation in Chile and purchased the former Vinery farm on Spurr Road last year as part of an international expansion.
Nicholasville’s Taylor Made Sales Agency was the November Sale’s leading consignor by sales for the 19th time in 25 years, selling 260 horses through the course of the 11-day auction for $20,048,900.
An increased international buying interest from relative newcomers indicated to many horsemen that the dark days of the most recent recession are largely behind the Thoroughbred industry — making this a great time to be a seller.
“I think it’s unquestionable that the market is up; it’s up considerably,” said bloodstock agent Chad Schumer, who purchased 42 horses for $1,365,000. “Anything here that’s young and of real quality in terms of mares, the sky’s the limit. There’s been competition at every level. (My orders) are not all filled, and they’re not going to get filled. We’ll redirect some of our buying to January (Horses of All Ages Sale at Keeneland). No choice.”
Keeneland’s January sale begins Jan. 12 and runs through Jan. 15.