Exaggerator Colt Tops Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale

Crew Dragon (Exaggerator), a stakes-placed 3-year-old (hip 50) topped the Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale Monday in Lexington when selling for $310,000 to the bid of bloodstock agent David Ingordo. The colt, consigned by Lane's End, was one of 37 horses to sell during the auction for a gross of $2,440,000. The average was $65,946 and the median was $45,000. Ten horses reached six figures during the auction.

“We are very happy with the results,” said Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. “We started the sale as part of the 2019 2-year-olds in training sale and it started out on a very good note. We sold two very nice horses out of it. Unfortunately, COVID came last year and debunked us. We are now trying to get it back up and started again and give an opportunity to people who raced here during the spring to come back and sell some of the horses as they go on to different parts of the country for the rest of the year. I think it's a good start back and hopefully it will continue.”

Keeneland offered sellers the opportunity to have their horses on-site or to offer their horses through the digital sales ring without having to ship to Lexington. While only two horses were offered virtually, Russell said he thinks the option will grow in popularity.

“Our goal was to try to expand the sale,” Russell said. “We want the buyers to be able to keep the dates at the racetrack, we don't want them to lose those dates or take the papers out of racing offices or bring horses from California to Lexington and then send them back. As the market goes on, I think people will be more comfortable doing that and we should see it more often.”

The April catalogue was completely online and provided buyers with the most up-to-date information available.

“We were excited to start the digital catalogue,” said Keeneland president and CEO Shannon Arvin. “That let us be much more flexible and let entries come later than we would typically see if we had a paper catalogue. We were able to provide a lot more information to buyers that you can't do with a paper catalogue.”

Of the 37 horses who sold Monday, 13 were purchased via internet bids for a total of $415,000.

Ingordo purchased Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro) for $250,000 at the 2019 April Horses of Racing Age sale and the bay went on to win that year's GI Pacific Classic for regular clients Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler. Ingordo made Monday's highest bid when going to $310,000 to secure Crew Dragon on behalf of what he called his “usual suspects in California.”

Crew Dragon was purchased by Kinsman Stable for $110,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. A maiden winner at Gulfstream in January, the chestnut was second in the Mar. 6 Columbia S. at Tampa Bay Downs and was most recently third in a Keeneland allowance Apr. 23.

“Keeneland did a great job putting this sale together,” Ingordo said. “The timing of it is good–right before the summer meets. I have been impressed with the trade and the quality of horses. The way they put the catalog together quickly was impressive. I hope they continue to build on this.”

California owners Holly and David Wilson purchased three lots at the April sale, going to $140,000 to acquire Tampa maiden winner The Right Stuff (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) (hip 32), who was consigned by Eaton Sales on behalf of Stonestreet Stables; and to $120,000 to obtain Secret Potion (Into Mischief) (hip 20), who has made five starts for the partnership of Peter Brant, Robert LaPenta and Woodford Racing, from the Lane's End consignment. The Wilsons also purchased Sam Houston maiden winner Holland (Into Mischief) (hip 61) from WinStar Racing.

The Wilsons purchased four horses at last week's OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, but David Wilson said he has been able to find value at the horses of racing age sales.

“I've owned Thoroughbreds for 25 years,” Wilson said. “I have had the most success buying horses who are lightly raced and somebody has said, 'I've got 20 of these, let's cull the bottom 10%.' And that works for me. I have a lot less exposure that way. I just spent $1 million last week at the OBS sale on four horses and one of them might not even make it to the races. But these three already have. That's my theory.”

Of the latest trio to join his racing stable, Wilson said, “I got a couple of really nice horses and a cheap one, I got an Into Mischief for kind of cheap. So I am excited. They were in the low-to-average range that I had estimated for the three horses. They weren't bargains, but they weren't at the top of the list either. I had two or three others picked out, but they went way over what I was thinking.”

The Wilsons campaigned 2000 GI Hollywood Gold Cup winner Early Pioneer (Rahy), who had been a $62,500 claim. The couple races mostly in California and Wilson agreed Del Mar's Ship and Win bonus did provide some incentive to buy at the April sale.

“We are hoping that they are capable of shipping and winning [at Del Mar],” Wilson said. “So yes. That has some factor in buying there.”