This year’s Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which concluded Nov. 16, marked the start to the next part in the story of top race mare Lady Eli – but as far as the 6-year-old mare is concerned, not much will change in her day-to-day.
Keeneland
John Sikura
Lady Eli came to the sale as Hip 111, offered by the Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm consignment, and it was Hill ‘n’ Dale which purchased her for a cool $4.2 million. She has boarded at the farm for the past year, awaiting sale after her retirement at the end of 2017.
“It’s a lot of money for a horse, but she was an extremely good value,” said Hill ‘n’ Dale President John Sikura. “She’s indomitable. She knows she’s special and commands your respect. We want to keep accumulating elite mares so we can sell elite commercial yearlings. This is a good place to start when you buy champions.”
Lady Eli first attracted attention as a 2-year-old, when she capped off an undefeated season with a win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She built on her success as a 3-year-old, picking up more graded stakes victories, including a Grade 1 in the Belmont Oaks. On the way back to the barn after that race, the formidable bay stepped on a nail, causing a puncture wound in a front hoof. An infection developed at the site of the puncture, followed by laminitis in both front feet.
Keeneland
Laminitis is an extremely painful condition in which the laminae, the tissues holding the outer hard shell of the hoof onto the soft inside structures of the foot, become inflamed. There are a variety of causes which aren’t well-understood, but seem to include injury elsewhere in the body, sudden changes in sugar intake or infection. Laminitis proves fatal to many horses, and career-ending for many, even among horses with less-demanding athletic careers. It can be managed with medical treatment and therapeutic shoeing, but the recovery process is long.
In Lady Eli’s case, it was a long road to health with the assistance of trainer Chad Brown and his staff, together with several experienced equine podiatrists. Incredibly, the team not only saved Lady Eli’s life, but was able to regain her soundness, allowing her to reenter training. A little more than a year after her injury, Lady Eli returned to action and raced two more seasons, collecting four more graded stakes wins.
Owner Sheep Pond Partners does not retain breeding stock, and had originally planned to sell Lady Eli after her last Breeders’ Cup performance in 2017, but she exited the race with a number of superficial scratches after bumping and jostling during the race. Her owners bred her to top stallion War Front, and waited for this year’s Keeneland November.
Lady Eli’s $4.2 million was the top price for the sale, which saw eight horses total bringing $1 million or more. Top purchases primarily went to domestic buyers, as well as several from Japan, where breeders have maintained a steady interest in American bloodlines over recent years.
Overall though, figures were down slightly as compared to last year’s sale. After 12 days of sales, 2,538 horses sold for a total of $188,508,300, down 6.7 percent from last year’s gross. Average price of $74,274 was down 10.9 percent, while median price of $25,000 was down 18 percent. The most notable difference at the top end of the auction was a significant drop in the number of horses achieving seven-figure prices: eight this year, versus 18 in 2017. Still, with most economic indicators dropping only slightly, and with this auction coming on the heels of a highly successful September sale at the company, there’s no reason to think the Thoroughbred breeding industry at large has lost ground.
The next breeding stock sale in central Kentucky will be Keeneland’s January Horses of All Ages Sale, slated for Jan. 7-10.