By Joe Bianca
Inflamed (Unusual Heat), a 9-year-old mare consigned as Hip 3552 by Paramount Sales, Agent LXI, topped the second and final session of Keeneland November's Book 5 when hammering for $170,000 to Glen Hill Farm Thursday in Lexington. Bought for $28,000 at this sale in 2016 by McCauley Farm/Auerbach, the chestnut is a full-sister to GSW Burns and GISP Brushburn and was sold in foal to Tapiture. She received a big catalog update when her sophomore colt Mo Forza (Uncle Mo) upset the GII Twilight Derby on the Breeders' Cup undercard Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
Alana B. (Animal Kingdom), an unraced 4-year-old filly from a productive female family that includes red-hot freshman sire Constitution (Tapit), was clearly the second-priciest lot when selling for $135,000 to Craig and Carrie Brogden's Machmer Mall, who also took home the third-priciest purchase of the day.
Sold as Hip 3391 and consigned by her breeder Godolphin while in foal to Midshipman, the dark bay is a half-sister to GISW and young sire Emcee (Unbridled's Song), GSW Surfer (Distorted Humor) and SW Spring Party (Smart Strike). Even with that level of success in her immediate family, her most currently pertinent relation comes via GSP half-sister Baffled (Distorted Humor), producer of Constitution. The MGISW and WinStar Farm resident has been at or near the top of a star-studded freshman sire class this year, and is represented by four graded stakes winners, 21 overall winners and seven black-type horses.
“She has such an amazing family, and a running family,” Carrie Brogden said. “She is not perfect in her front end by any stretch of the imagination, so we'll be careful and we'll breed away from her faults, but she's a big, strong, beautiful mare other than that. We're just looking to buy into those big-time families that produce sales horses and racehorses, the racehorses being most important and the sales horses being secondary to that, of course. We look at her as a long-term investment and I'm just such a big fan of the family.”
As for banking on the early returns of Constitution, Brogden is looking to emulate a previously successful heavy investment in a young sire.
“I went 'all in' on Into Mischief as anybody that knows me knows,” she said. “I'm going all in with Constitution.”
Brogden also signed the ticket for the third-highest lot of the day after going to $80,000 to secure 9-year-old mare Lyrical Diva (Unbridled's Song). Consigned as Hip 3191 by Bryan and Gray Lyster's Ashview Farm, Agent, the gray was originally a $400,000 KEESEP yearling buy by Whisper Hill Farm and was sold in foal to Collected. Lyrical Diva is responsible for an unraced juvenile Tiznow colt who went for $195,000 at KEESEP to Jim McIngvale and has drilled a pair of three-furlong bullets at The Thoroughbred Center.
Brogden had a simpler explanation for that purchase, saying, “She's by Unbridled's Song. We have over 40 Unbridled's Song mares on our farm. I sold three of them at this sale that didn't work out and we added three, one of which was scratched and we bought privately. If she had been by anything else, I wouldn't have bought her, but I'm hearing really good things about her 2-year-old, so we're just gonna take a shot.”
Leading the way for weanlings Thursday was Hip 3199, a dark bay colt from the first crop of Midnight Storm, who hammered to Dailey Bloodstock for $58,000. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, Agent CLXVIII, he is a half to GSP King Abner (Hansen) out of the unraced Salt Lake mare Margarita Salt, who was bought by Mary Haire for $60,000 at KEENOV three years ago.
Overall, 263 horses were sold Thursday, grossing $4,465,300, for an average price of $16,978 and a median of $11,000. Korean interests K.O.I.D. paced all buyers, taking home 10 horses for a combined $241,000, while the leading consignor was Godolphin, who sold 20 horses, all mares, for a total of $591,000.
Cumulatively through nine sessions, 2,159 horses have been sold for gross receipts of $196,173,500 and an average of $90,863. The median for the sale stands at $37,000.
The November Sale resumes Friday at 10 a.m. ET with the first of three Book 6 sessions, the last of which will close out the auction Sunday.
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