Through the four elite Book 1 sessions, 546 yearlings were sold for
The 18 yearlings sold for $1 million or more is the most since 2008, equaling
“Mission accomplished,” Keeneland Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell said.
Keeneland reformatted the September Sale this year to reflect three distinct
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The new design enhanced the sale in a number of ways: it gathered a broad
cross section of yearlings at all levels of the market, it allowed buyers more
time to inspect a variety of horses, and it aided consignors in marketing their
horses to their fullest potential.
“The format change has been well received by consignors and buyers alike,”
Vice President of Sales Walt Robertson said. “The barn area has never been
busier, and the tremendous activity at the barns is carrying over to the horses
in Book 2.
“Consignors tell us they have been overwhelmed with buyer interest today. We
see this excitement continuing throughout the remainder of the sale.”
Buyers from across North America and all parts of the world converged at
Keeneland beginning September 6. Domestic buyers flexed their spending power at
the highest levels, accounting for a majority of the seven-figure purchases. Of
the week’s two top-priced yearlings, one went to a foreign interest, M.V.
Magnier of the Irish-based Coolmore Stud, who paid $2.5 million for a colt by
leading sire War Front, while American buyer Mandy Pope took home a filly out of
multiple Grade 1 stakes winner Take Charge Lady (Dehere) for $2.2 million.
“There was a hugely diverse group of buyers participating this week —
foreign, domestic, new buyers, familiar faces, prominent pinhookers, and
end-users,” Russell said.
“You name the criteria of the buyer, and they were here. And buyers elevated
their game; the quality of the yearlings and the strength of the market demanded
they do so, and they stepped up.”
Earlier this week, several prominent buyers and consignors commented on how
the sale was unfolding.
“The market is really strong, which I really applaud because I love this game
“The right people are here, there are good horses here and they deserve to
“I thought demand was great (Wednesday),” Bluewater Sales’ Meg Levy said. “We
“There really aren’t a lot of the fillies with great pedigrees that have the
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“I think the buyers find the horses wherever they are,” said Richard Hogan,
agent for Nat Rea’s Regis Farms. “I can’t speak for everybody else, but we’re
getting what we want. The nice horses you gotta reach for. But we’re getting
what we want, and I’d rather do that than come in here and settle.”
“I think Keeneland did an excellent job of putting a very nice group of
horses together and I commend them on that,” Mandy Pope of Whisper Hill Farm
said. “I mean, we were taking horses off the list that any other time would have
been great horses and we would have been excited to own them. But you can’t vet
every horse on the sales grounds so you have to be selective. For the buyers,
it’s tough, but for the sellers I think it’s an excellent sale.”
“It’s not very convenient for me because I have to overpay,” Goncalo
Torrealba of buyer Borges Torrealba said, “but I guess if it’s not very
convenient for me, it’s good for the market.”
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Shadwell Estate Company Ltd. purchased
25 yearlings for $11,300,000 to rank as the opening week’s leading buyer.
Taylor Made Sales Agency, as agent, sold 68 yearlings for $18,390,000 to be
the leading consignor.
After the usual day off on Friday, the auction resumes with Book 2 yearlings
on Saturday and Sunday. Next week comprises Books 3-5. Sessions begin daily at
10 a.m.
For the complete catalog, latest updates and live video of the sale, log on
to keeneland.com.