Tapit Colt Leads Way at KEENOV

New York Central (Tapit), winner of this spring's GIII Maryland Sprint S. at Pimlico, brought $240,000 from Saudi owner Khalid Mishref to top Wednesday's session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

The 4-year-old colt was previously campaigned in partnership by WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International Ltd. and SF Racing LLC and trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. He was consigned by WinStar Racing, agent, as Hip 3089. The gray was fifth in the Bet on Sunshine S. last time at Churchill Downs Nov. 2.

Produced by the winning Forest Wildcat mare Fashion Cat, New York Central is a half-brother to GII Saratoga Special S. winner Corfu (Malibu Moon) and hails from the family of MGISW Peace Rules. New York Central was previously a $390,000 KEENOV weanling and $750,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling.

New York Central is being pointed at the $1.5-million Dirt Sprint in February 2020 on the undercard of the $20-million Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, per Mishref.

“Hopefully he will do well for us,” Mishref said. “He looks good as an individual. I love his conformation, and he's filled out. He could be a stallion prospect in Saudi Arabia down the road; step by step, we're going to try and promote the breeding in the long run.”

Mishref continues to make headlines this week. He purchased the impressive 2-year-old Keeneland maiden winner Liam's Legend (Liam's Map) for a session-topping $325,000 at KEENOV Tuesday. He has also made a big splash in the private market, recently buying into GI Pennsylvania Derby upsetter Math Wizard (Algorithms) and narrow G1 Dubai World Cup runner-up Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}), respectively.

Horses of racing age led a strong market during Wednesday's eighth session. Mike Ryan, agent, was the session's leading buyer, purchasing four head for $410,000, including MGISW Annals of Time (Temple City) and last out Hudson H. winner Build to Suit (Dominus), both from the ELiTE consignment for $190,000 apiece.

WinStar Racing was the session's leading consignor with gross receipts of $1,634,500 for 18 horses.

Wednesday's top-priced broodmare was the 15-year-old Magical Ride (Storm Cat-Victory Ride, by Seeking the Gold). The dam of GI Preakness S. runner-up Ride On Curlin (Curlin), offered by Lane's End, agent, in foal to Lookin At Lucky as Hip 2772, was purchased by Empire Thoroughbreds, agent, for $170,000. She is out of GI Test S. heroine Victory Ride.

A colt by Midshipman brought $67,000 from Scoot Stables to lead the way for weanlings Wednesday. Pope McLean (Crestwood Farm), agent, consigned the colt, as Hip 2848. He is out of the Petionville mare Sharp Finnish and is from the family of Grade III winners Baby J and Hot Brush. The gray was bred in Kentucky by Tilford Hardin Sharp.

On Wednesday, Keeneland sold 234 horses for $7,344,400, for an average of $31,386 and a median of $16,500. Cumulative sales with four sessions remaining in the auction are $191,698,200 for 1,895 horses. The average is $101,160, and the median is $45,000.

The November Sale continues Thursday at 10 a.m. ET. The auction runs through Sunday.

Klaravich/Lawrence Part Ways

Seth Klarman of Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence ended their longtime and very successful partnership in Lexington Wednesday, selling their eight final horses owned together.

Recent standouts campaigned by the duo include: Horse of the Year candidate and recent GI Breeders' Cup Turf hero Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway); three-time Grade I winner Practical Joke (Into Mischief); GI Preakness S. winner Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music); and Cigar Mile H. winner Patternrecognition (Adios Charlie).

The group of eight Keeneland November offerings all sold without reserve as Racing Prospects through the ELiTE consignment:

• Hip 3136, Annals of Time (h, 6, Temple City–Lemon Haze, by Distant View) *Last out winner of Saratoga's GI Sword Dancer S. and also the winner of the 2016 GI Hollywood Derby. **$80,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling. ***Purchased by Mike Ryan, agent, for $190,000.

• Hip 3142, Build to Suit (r, 5, Dominus–Aspen Mountain, by Chief Seattle) *This $140,000 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga New York Bred Yearling was a last out winner of Belmont's Hudson H. Oct. 19; sports a record of 10-6-2-2 and earnings of $342,850. **Purchased by Mike Ryan, agent, for $190,000.

• Hip 3160, Focus Group (h, 5, Kitten's Joy-Cocktail Hour, Dynaformer) *Winner of this year's GII Pan American S. and also third-place finisher in the GI Northern Dancer Turf S. Sept. 14 was a $140,000 Keeneland September yearling. **Purchased by Christophe Clement for $170,000.

• Hip 3161, Frontier Market (g, 6, Lemon Drop Kid–Sedley, by El Prado {Ire}) *Three-time winner and a close second in GIII Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup S. Sept. 21 and third in the Artie Schiller S. at Aqueduct earlier this month. **$100,000 Keeneland September yearling. ***Purchased by David Ingordo, agent, for $170,000.

• Hip 3156, Favorable Outcome (h, 5, Flatter–Shananies Song, by Eltish) *Winner of the 2017 GII Swale S. and third-place finisher in the GI Champagne S. and GI Malibu S. was previously a $300,000 OBS March graduate. **Purchased by Cindy Evans & Amy Hardy for $20,000.

• Hip 3157, Financial System (g, 5, Twirling Candy–Early Vintage, by Jump Start) *Three-time winner and $320,000 Keeneland September yearling graduate. **Purchased by Mike Ryan, agent, for $20,000.

• Hip 3143, Call Provision (g, 6, Lemon Drop Kid–Run In, by Dynaformer) *Multiple graded-placed $140,000 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga New York Bred yearling with a record of 19-7-4-1 and earnings of $519,725. **Purchased by Mike Ryan, agent, for $10,000.

• Hip 3085, Minsky Moment (h, 5, Flatter-River Nore, by Archers Bay) *A $290,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York Bred yearling graduate, this Empire-bred is a two-time winner. **Purchased by Craig Smith Racing for $6,000.

“My understanding is that Seth is going to continue to play at the top end of the game competing for Eclipse Awards and Bill is going to play at a smaller level, but still be involved in the horse business,” said Bradley Weisbord of EliTE Sales. “Klaravich Stables will be a leading owner for many years to come. Seth Klarman could be the Eclipse Award leading owner this year. He deserves it.”

Weisbord continued, “Annals of Time was coming off an ankle chip surgery after winning the Sword Dancer and Built to Suit was coming off a win, too. They were both signed for by Mike Ryan and will be staying with Chad Brown. Focus Group and Frontier Market will be heading to new trainers.”

ELiTE posted the session-leading average of $105,385 for consignors Wednesday, selling a total of 13 head for $1,370,000.

“We're extremely thankful to work for the biggest names in the game,” Weisbord said. “This [horses of racing age] has really been our bread and butter for the last three years. We try to keep the quality as high as possible. There's no better endorsement than when people that play this game every day choose us to consign for them. We had five of the top nine horses sold Wednesday, and as we continue to get the support from people like Chad [Brown], Todd [Pletcher], Seth [Klarman], Jonathan [Thomas], etc., we'll continue to lead this space and we thank the buyers for stepping up.” –@SteveSherackTDN