Frenetic Selling as Book 3 Opens

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale continued its pattern of brisk bidding with the first of two Book 3 sessions Sunday, as numbers continued to be up from a year ago and with more than one buyer admitting the action was so competitive it was hard to get orders filled.

For the session, 269 horses sold for $23,243,000. The average was $86,405–up 17.16% from last year's opening Book 3 session–and the median rose 27.27% to $70,000. The buy-back rate was 26.3%. It was 27.72% a year ago.

“I feel like today is the strongest day of all the sales,” said Carrie Brogden of Select Sales. “I feel like there is a lot of trade here today. We only had five RNAs and we got three of them done afterwards. For the good horses with the good physicals who can jump through some of the hoops, there are plenty of people to buy them. It will be interesting to see what happens when the quality of the physicals starts to tail off.”

Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners has signed the ticket on six yearlings so far at the September sale for an average of $140,000, but he acknowledged it was tough to buy several horses on his short list.

“I have been very surprised how strong it has been at the top,” Wellman said. “I thought there was going to be some softening in the market and I couldn't have been more wrong. The horses that don't possess much quality or pedigree are obviously struggling. But anything with quality and any semblance of pedigree is through the roof. I understand the desire to find high-caliber horses and it's tough to get them bought here, but at the same time I am worried about how long we can sustain this type of activity. For our stable, while we are willing to dabble here and there in the upper echelon of the price range, we are far more comfortable trying to buy in that $75,000 to $200,000 range and create our own middle market because the middle market doesn't really exist right now.”

Wellman continued, “I think it requires a lot of discipline to resist that temptation to go beyond your comfort level for a horse. The problem is a lot of guys are recognizing how difficult it is to get a horse bought, so they are stretching themselves significantly to be able to get what they believe to be a quality individual. Whether that is right or wrong, time will tell. But our strategy is to try our best to stick to our guns and identify horses that we don't have to pay premium-plus for, but hopefully will show up in the paddock at Saratoga and Del Mar and compete with those guys who pay the premium-plus prices.”

Bloodstock agent Mersad Metanovic also said he has been surprised by demand at the top of the market.

“It's extremely strong on the good ones–I go up to the ring and think one is going to go for $125,000 and it goes for $225,000,” Metanovic said. “It's amazing. At this point, there seems to be a good amount of buyers, but we will see what happens tomorrow.”

Despite the apparent strength of the sale at the top end, some consignors continued to lament a polarization in the marketplace.

“It's very, very good for the good horses and for the average horses, it's very, very bad,” commented Frank Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency.

Tom Haughey's PTK, LLC purchased Sunday's top-priced lot, going to $700,000 for a colt by Pioneerof the Nile (hip 1816) from the Woods Edge Farm consignment of Peter O'Callaghan. The yearling was one of seven to bring $300,000 or more on the day. During the first session of the 2015 Book 3, the top price was $710,000 and three horses brought $300,000 or more.

The Keeneland September sale continues Monday at 10 a.m. and runs through Sept. 25.

Late Topper for PTK

Tom Haughey's PTK, LLC, which purchased a Ghostzapper half-sister to champion Songbird (hip 61) for $800,000 during the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale in August, struck late in the evening to purchase a colt by Pioneerof the Nile for a session-topping $700,000 Sunday at Keeneland.

The yearling (hip 1816), the second to last offering on the day, is out of Running Creek (Cape Town) and is a half-brother to stakes winner Softly Lit (Latent Heat), who won the 2011 Selima S. in the PTK colors. Bred by Clicquot Bloodstock, the yearling was consigned by Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge Farm.

“What wasn't there to like about him?” Haughey, standing out back with daughter Kaitlin and trainer Dane Kobiskie, asked after signing the ticket on the bay colt. “We've owned two halfs out of the mare and this one was a spectacular-looking horse. He looks the part and you can tell he's really smart. We just loved him.”

Also out of Running Creek, PTK campaigned three-time winner Flickering (Twirling Candy), an $18,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase in 2014.

PTK, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, has owned racehorses since 1999 and has regularly been among the leading owners on the Mid-Atlantic circuit while racing in the claiming ranks. Haughey, who signed for four horses for $1.475 million, admitted he was making a conscious effort to up the quality of both his racing and breeding stock.

“We've bought enough $5,000 ones and some of those turn out and some of the $20,000 ones turn out, but we thought we needed to get an eye for a better horse, well-bred horses, particularly fillies. We have a broodmare band and we're looking to up the quality of that, too.”

PTK's broodmare band is based at Fallbrook Farm in Versailles.

Haughey purchased a More Than Ready colt (hip 1721) for $200,000 earlier in Sunday's session of the sale and said it was tough to stay busy waiting for the Pioneerof the Nile colt to make into the sales ring.

“400 hips is a long day and 100 hips between ones you're looking at, that's a long time,” he laughed. “It's a lot of down time. I just tried not to go back there and see another one that I liked. I just tried to hang around the table and talk to people.”

Through six sessions, Haughey has signed for seven yearlings for a total of $1,585,000 and an average of $226,429.

Sadler Strikes Early for Mineshaft Filly

Trainer John Sadler, alongside bloodstock agent David Ingordo, saw off EQB's Patti Miller to secure a filly by Mineshaft (hip 1416) for $410,000 early in Sunday's sixth session of the Keeneland September sale. Sadler was bidding on behalf of Kosta and Pete Hronis's Hronis Racing.

“She stacks up as good as all the ones that were in the earlier books,” Ingordo said after signing the ticket on the dark bay filly as Martin Anthony.

“She is a nice, big strong filly, a good type” Sadler added. “I thought she was a really good filly regardless of what day she sold. We liked her and we had to step up a little bit, but you want to get the ones you want.”

Hronis Racing and Sadler captured the Barretts Debutante S. Saturday night at Los Alamitos with Bitzka (Tiago). The operation's most famous current runner is champion Stellar Wind (Curlin), who upset Beholder (Henny Hughes) in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S.

Hip 416, who is out of Scenic Drive (Empire Maker) and from the family of GI Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos, was consigned by Lane's End. She was bred by Three Chimneys Farm, which purchased Scenic Drive with this foal in utero for $245,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale.

Baffert Battles for Violence Colt

Trainer Bob Baffert continued shopping to fill orders during Sunday's sixth session of the Keeneland September sale, going to $400,000 to take home a colt from the first crop of Grade I winner Violence (Medaglia d'Oro) from the Taylor Made Sales consignment.

“I'm just trying to get horses bought,” Baffert said after signing the ticket on hip 1559. “This is a good horse–he looks a lot like Violence did when he ran. I really loved the horse, so that's all we can do.”

The dark bay yearling is out of Bala (With Approval) and is a half-brother to multiple graded stakes winner Bay to Bay (Sligo Bay {Ire}). He was bred by Black Rock Thoroughbreds and sold as part of that operation's dispersal last winter. The yearling brought $100,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February sale.

“He had a great walk on him, but he was really immature,” Frank Taylor said, who purchased the youngster in February. “We just thought he would get better and better. I love Violence and I think he's going to be a really top stallion. So with all of that, with Medaglia d'Oro and Violence, and the mare had had runners. He looked like a horse who was just going to get better and better and he did. I thought we had found a bargain in February, but you never know. Everything has to line up right and everyone fell in love with that colt.”

Of the yearling's final price Sunday, Taylor added, “He sold very well. I was hoping he would bring $200,000-$250,000. I thought he would do that and Bob Baffert has as good an eye as anyone in the business and he got on him and there were a lot of other good horsemen who were on him. So things just went perfectly.”

The 17-year-old Bala is currently in foal to Curlin, according to her owner Marc Ricker.