First-Crop Sires Making Their Mark at November Sales

The November sales often mark the emergence of a handful of first-crop sires as successes on the commercial market, and 2017 has proven to be no exception. While the aura of a Triple Crown winner or the presence of an heir apparent to A.P. Indy come with high expectations, a number of lower-profile sires have enjoyed breakout results in the sales ring in recent days.

The top three first-crop sires of weanlings at the November sales have indeed been somewhat predictable, with Coolmore's 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) leading the way with 10 horses selling for a smashing $445,500 average–propelled by a $1-million half-sister to Bodemeister (Empire Maker)–and the powerful Lane's End duo of Honor Code (A.P. Indy) and Liam's Map (Unbridled's Song) checking in with strong averages of $192,777 and $142,500, respectively. American Pharoah's robust average lands him third among all sires, behind perennial powerhouses Tapit (Pulpit) ($616,666) and Medaglia d'Oro (El Prado {Ire}) ($449,272), confirming that his foals are distinguishing themselves within the broader marketplace.

Both auctions undoubtedly saw weanlings by high-profile sires live up to their significant pre-sale buzz, but the Keeneland Sale has provided a deeper set of data that highlights a number of under-the-radar first-crop sires standing for $20,000 or less.

Bayern (Offlee Wild); Hill 'n' Dale; $15,000 2016 stud fee
2014 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Bayern settled in fourth behind the aforementioned trio amongst first-crop sires, with nine weanlings selling for an average of $131,333. Of those nine foals, five of them hammered for more than $100,000–three of which were purchased by Rocco Bloodstock. Hip 1167, a son of Sweet Destiny–herself a half-sister to GISW Graydar (Unbridled's Song) by Curlin–sold for $220,000 just two hips after Hip 1165, a half-brother to GSW and MGISP My Happy Face (Tiz Wonderful), went for $200,000.

Tapiture (Tapit); Darby Dan; $7,500 2016 stud fee
Tapiture enjoyed a stellar Monday session at Keeneland November, with three of his weanlings selling for $100,000 or more. There is reason to believe the young stallion is moving mares up significantly, as two of the dams of his foals to sell Monday hammered for just $9,000 at previous auctions. In total, Tapiture has enjoyed a 100% clearance rate, with all seven of his offerings selling for an average of $130,000. His top seller is Hip 587, a colt purchased for $300,000 by Hunter Valley Farm.

Summer Front (War Front); Airdrie; $10,000 2016 stud fee
Summer Front, a four-time graded stakes winner on turf, has generated significant buzz as a potentially versatile sire in the mold of War Front–an expectation that undoubtedly fueled his early success. In total, Summer Front had six foals to sell for an average of $122,833.

Leading the way for the sire at Keeneland is Hip 1091, a $200,000 colt from the family of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can (Proud Citizen) bred and raised at Airdrie Stud.

“We came to the sales with great expectations for the Summer Front babies and we couldn't feel better about the reception he's gotten,” said Bret Jones of Airdrie. “So many of the really top buyers have told us what a good horse he's throwing, and that certainly mirrors our opinion of all the ones we have at home. He's a horse we worked our tails off to get and I really believe he's going to reward us. Great bodies, walks and minds–they've got it.”

Lea (First Samurai); Claiborne; $12,500 2016 stud fee
Eight of Lea's foals have sold for an average of $120,875. For more, click here for Sue Finley's Q&A with Walker Hancock.

Karakontie (Jpn) (Bernstein); Gainesway; $15,000 2016 stud fee
Like Tapiture, all seven Karakonties offered sold for an average of $92,428. Interestingly, two of Karakontie's top three weanlings, including a $250,000 half-brother to MSW and MGSP Souper Colossal (War Front), were scooped up by Flaxman Holdings–who campaigned the sire to a career-defining victory in the 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Mile.

Daredevil (More Than Ready); WinStar; $12,500 2016 stud fee
GI Champagne S. hero Daredevil has seen 13 of his weanlings pass through the ring for an average of $80,000. Topped by a $150,000 half-sister to champion female sprinter Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper), the young stallion contributes to a formidable WinStar brigade of first-crop sires that includes Carpe Diem (Giant's Causeway; $125,125 average through Monday) and Constitution (Tapit; $80,466 average through Monda).

“We're very pleased with the Daredevils,” said Elliott Walden, President and CEO of WinStar Farm. “Six of them have brought $100,000 or over, and I've heard really good feedback from pinhookers. The people who have seen a lot of them are saying how good looking they are, how athletic they are and how fast they are… We're excited about him being the heir apparent [to More Than Ready] at WinStar, and hopefully his progeny will carry that on. He's similar to More Than Ready in the fact that he was a very good 2-year-old.”

Walden added that he is also pleased with the early returns from Carpe Diem and Commissioner (A.P. Indy), and expects to see more from Constitution in next year's yearling sales.

“We're very happy with all four,” Walden said. “I think this has the potential to be a great crop, with American Pharoah and Honor Code in it as well. I think the top three or four stallions out of this crop could go back to the crop we had with Speightstown, Medaglia d'Oro, Tapit–it looks like a very deep crop.”

Others to Watch:

Lane's End's Tonalist (Tapit) posted an $89,466 average from 15 foals to sell, while Spendthrift's Palace (City Zip) made the most from just two offerings, with a filly from the family of champion Banshee Breeze hammering for $140,000 at Fasig-Tipton November.

All statistics in this story represent numbers through the end of sales on Monday, November 13.

And the judges said…

by Sue Finley

We talked to several buyers to find out which sires' first weanlings particularly stood out to them. Here's what they had to say. (Click here to see TDN's Sales Statistics for sales by first-crop North American sires.)

JACOB WEST – I think it's been a fairly strong crop so far. There haven't been a lot of misses in this whole crop. Between Daredevil, Honor Code, Bayern, Lea–you go through the whole list, Karakontie over at Gainesway, there haven't been a lot of duds. Everyone has been on an equal playing field with good representatives here and supported by their stallion farms, or their previous owners, or people in their syndicates. Lea has been the one that picked up everybody's heads, when you think about what a good horse he was, how good-looking he is, that he's an outcross for a lot of mares, and he's putting size and stretch into his foals. Bayern is the same, a big outcross for a lot of mares, who could really run. He is a good physical and he has passed that onto his foals. Good horsemen have bought them and there seems to be a lot of buzz around him.

RYDER FINNEY– I would say the closest ones to can't-miss would be Honor Code for me. They're tremendously well-balanced, and he's stamping them. They look a lot like he does. That would be #1. American Pharoah was a pretty strong showing. You don't have to look real hard at the sales results to know that they're obviously a good bunch. He was a freak of a racehorse. On the other end of the batter-value side, I saw a couple of Bayerns that I liked. His babies have been really good-looking. And Daredevil is throwing a pretty fast-looking horse.

SID FERNANDO – There were quite a few sires with first-crop weanlings that did stand out. I saw two Tapitures who were really, for the $7,500 stud-fee price, a lot of horse. With that family behind him, with his race record, he's great value. He really stood out. I saw several Carpe Diems who looked great. He's a horse who was a little more expensive at $25,000, but he looks like the type of stallion that produced really uniform, really attractive horses. On the more obvious side, everybody is talking about American Pharoah and he had some great, great-looking weanlings. The half to Bodemeister in particular stood out at Fasig-Tipton, but even some of his lesser-priced horses uniformly looked great.

LIZ CROW – I like Tapiture quite a bit for a $7,500 stud fee. Through Monday, his average was $130,000. I liked Tapizar a lot, so I was curious to see what the Tapitures looked like. I think they have a good balance, good shape, good scope, for the value of a $7,500 fee. I like the Bayerns, too. I've bid on a few and have not been able to get them. They all move really well, and that's what I really like about him. I believe they're going to move well on the racetrack. They're nice individuals and very athletic.

JARED HUGHES – Obviously, American Pharoahs are a cut above everything else. But for me, I really like the Honor Codes. I had a client sell one for $370,000 and he was a beautiful colt, so I'd say the Honor Codes are right behind American Pharoah. On the opposite end of the radar has been Tapiture. They've got a lot of presence to them, and a lot of substance. They've got a nice walk, they're very athletic, and have a little more hip to them. I have been really impressed by him. A client of mine owns a share in him and we have a couple of foals by him at the farm and they're really nice as well. We'll sell them next year as yearlings. The Carpe Diems are nice–strong, with a lot of quality. Those are my top three. From the outside looking in, I'd also say Tonalist. They're surprising people, I think, and they're averaging just under $100,000. They're pretty nice. They're different types of Tapits. Tonalists are more traditional Tapits, where the Tapitures look quick.