By Christina Bossinakis
A colt by Not This Time led the initial Book 5 session of the Keeneland September Sale in Lexington Wednesday. Consigned by his breeder Woods Edge Farm, Hip 3027 was purchased for $350,000 by bloodstock agent Justin Casse, purchasing on behalf of an undisclosed client.
“He is a lovely colt,” said Casse. “He was spotted well in the latter part of the sale by one of the best consignors out there, Peter O'Callaghan. His pedigree stood out. You weren't going to run into many pedigrees like that at this stage and the physical held its own. We were happy to give it a whirl.”
As for the price, he added, “When you talk about a stallion whose last stud fee was $150,000, I think the price makes sense.”
The Apr. 13 foal is out of the unraced Cape Town mare Running Creek, a half-sister to Grade III winner He Loves Me (Not For Love) and MSW and GSP For Kisses (Not For Love). The 20-year-old mare is already responsible for full-sibling Grade III winner Easy Time, dual stakes winner Softly Lit (Latent Heat), in addition to multiple stakes placed Venice Queen (Latent Heat).
“Sometimes when you run into pedigrees like that this late in the sale, there are problems with vetting or physical,” explained Casse. “But this one was right on target with what we'd hope.”
Through nine session of the September sale, three yearlings by Not This Time brought seven figures–Hip 286 ($1.3 million), Hip 324 ($1,150,000) and Hip 238 ($1 million).
“Not This Time has always been on my radar,” said Casse. “I bought a few of them over the years and we've had a little bit of success with them. I was really happy with what I saw here. I thought he held is own in regards to what I saw in earlier books.”
Late in the sale, a colt by Daredevil brought $200,000 from Pin Oak Stud. Consigned by Gainesway, Hip 3213 is out of unraced Come Follow Me (Eskendereya), a half-sister to Grade I winners Majestic Harbor (Rockport Harbor) and Danza (Street Boss).
A pair of colts brought $190,000, the third highest price of the session. Hip 2833, by Jimmy Creed out of El Haseena, went to FMQ Stables, while Hip 3060, by Violence out of Starlite Starbrite, was purchased by agent Barry Berkelhammer. The former was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, while the latter was offered by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa.
“I think it's tough,” remarked Casse when asked about the yearling market. “If you're a buyer it's hard to get the ones you want. I brought three and sold all of them, but I think as a buyer, coveting the higher end stuff, or what I perceive to be the higher end, it's been a difficult task. But I think for what's left to sell, I think you'd feel good if you had something nice to sell.”
On Wednesday's opening Book 5 session, a total of 308 yearlings were sold through the ring for gross receipts of $13,744,000, up 2.34% from 2023. Average dipped 1% to $44,623, while media ticked up 4.48% to $35,000 over one year ago.
Gross through nine sessions rose 4.44% to $396,213,500 for 2048 sold, with average rising 7.24% to $193,464. Median increased 10% to $110,000.
RNAs for Wednesday's session dropped significantly, down from 60 last year to 49 this term, while showing an 11.41% increase (674) from 2023 (605).
The sale continues Thursday, with bidding commencing at 10 a.m.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
