Finally Over

The 2008 version of the Keeneland September yearling sale has come to an end after 15 mostly down sessions. Overall the numbers were bad but maybe not as bad as they could have been considering the malaise on Wall Street. 196 fewer horses were sold for $57 million dollars less than last year's sale. The average slipped from $101,000 in 2007 to $90,000 this year and the median also dipped from $42,000 to $37,000.

BEC fared very well in the depressed market, purchasing 7 yearlings all of which we had rated A- or better on our scale which takes into consideration breeding, conformation, athleticism, and price. The first horse that we bought was hip number 568 , a Mizzen Mast filly out of a stakes winning Petionville mare named Slewsville. She was our number one target in book two due to her tremendous balance and athleticism, her mix of classic bloodlines with Caro, Graustark, Seeking the Gold and Seattle Slew and our fondness for her sire, Mizzen Mast. We had her valued far in excess of the $45,000 that it took to secure her for Bob Gary.

Not long after that we went to $45,000 for a son of Theatrical, hip 595 , a very nice son of a stakes placed Peteski mare named Sweet and Firm. The colt is an Ontario bred and was a very good physical for his sire and had a tremendous stride. Both his second and third dams are consistent stakes producers and Theatrical has been a top sire for years. Bob Gary is the main owner of this horse.

Later in the day we spotted a sharp looking Smarty Jones colt that looked exactly like his father walking in the back ring. While we haven't been the worlds biggest SJ supporter (more because of his stud fee than anything) this horse looked promising. Jason Litt of Three Chimneys told me that the colt had not had much action and they weren't sure why. He also told me the owners were there to sell horses and the reserve would reflect that. We wound up securing the colt (Hip number 634) for $25000 which was surprising especially considering that our vet check revealed nothing negative. John Ball wound up winning a small bidding war to own the colt and has since brought Dr. and Mrs. Vince Verdile in on the colt. He is a half brother to million dollar earner West Virginia and looks like he will be more effective as a three year old and older horse and we aren't expecting him to run much next year as a two year old.

We has a good weekend in book three buying hip number 1566 , an Eddington filly, hip number 1899 , a Johar colt and hip number 1998 , a Mizzen Mast filly. The Eddington filly was a fast looking filly who had a great walk despite being a touch undersized. Her size doesn't bother us considering she is by a son of Unbridled and out of a daughter of Broad Brush and a growth spurt will come and if she retains her athletic stride she will be a steal for $30,000. BEC owns her with Paul Harte and there are still shares of her available.

The Johar was a tremendous physical with a great stride and looked like a bigger version of Albin, a Johar colt that we bought last year that has shown a lot of potential. He really was my favorite of the whole weekend and getting him for $40,000 was about 2/3rds of what I had him valued at. He is a half sister to a stakes winning filly who has set three track records on the turf at Monmouth and his second dam has produced grade one winners Auntie Mame and Star de Lady Ann. Bob Gary owns him.


The Mizzen Mast filly that we bought Sunday is a sharp looking filly who is big and strong. She didn't have a deep commercial female family but a little research shows that much of the family showed potential but was unlucky for one reason or another. Her dam, Far Afield, was a promising filly who won two of her first three starts including an allowance at Keeneland and was third in a listed stakes race in her 4th start before an unfortunate injury ended her racing career. This filly was an outstanding horse who is perfectly balanced and and has great size. Bob Gary also owns her.

On Thursday in book five we spotted a Powerscourt colt who was athletic and flashy. He is out of a really young Pleasant Tap mare and also happens to be a California bred. He was hip number 3412 but didn't sell as the reserve price was not met. We contacted the consignor, Mill Ridge Farm and made an offer for the colt which they accepted the next day. He does not look like a big two year old runner but has all the right pieces to be a good racehorse. BEC owns this horse 100% and is looking for partners to race him but would consider selling 100% also.

Overall we bought less horses numbers wise than last year but felt we got a lot of quality for reasonable prices. Most of the horses that we picked up may have brought a lot more in a freer spending environment. We will skip the Fasig Tipton Mid Atlantic sale but will be looking at their fall sale in Lexington where the market will still be in the buyers favor. Today Keeneland released the numbers for the upcoming breeding stock sale in November and they have almost 300 horses more than the massive catalog they had last year. A total of 5709 horses are listed which is an unbelievable number, and the buyers market may really be in effect here as Broodmares and weanlings are a longer term investment than yearlings and that market is thought to be especially hard hit in light of the weakening of the yearling market. I suspect that mares not in foal or in foal to less desirable stallions, especially the older ones, will almost be given away as breeders cull their herds aggressively. We may dip into the market if the right mare comes across our path though we will certainly be looking at many of the 524 horses of racing age cataloged.