Book 3 Concludes With Numbers Down At Keeneland November

LEXINGTON, KY – The two-session Book 3 section of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale concluded Sunday evening with figures well off the corresponding section from the 2022 auction. During sessions at Keeneland Saturday and Sunday, 494 horses grossed $30,888,000 for an average of $62,526 and a median of $50,000. The average is down 22.1% from the 2022 Book 3, while the median declined 16.7%. There were 15 horses to sell for $200,000 or over during the two sessions, down from 25 a year ago.

“It is quiet,” Sarah Sutherland of Indian Creek said of the market Sunday at Keeneland. “But I don't think it's unfair. Obviously, we are seeing a little bit of a correction, but I think if you are willing to accept that and adjust how you're valuing horses, there are plenty of people here to buy them and you can get them sold. Obviously, the top is the top and it's always strong, but we've been very realistic with our reserves and we've had no trouble selling horses.”

Indian Creek sold the top-priced weanling of Sunday's session when a colt by Maxfield sold for $240,000 to Avocet Bloodstock. KatieRich Farms was responsible for the session's top mare when Dixiana Farms paid $270,000 for Taking Aim (Trappe Shot).

Taylor Made Sales Agency was the leading consignor at Sunday's session and continued to lead through five sessions of the auction with 148 head sold for $20,714,500.

“I've read a lot in the press–and it's fact–that the mares are down and the buy-back rate has been up,” said Taylor Made's Mark Taylor. “But just on the days that I've been selling, like today and the second day of Book 2, I actually thought the market was pretty fair. If you bring up anything with any quality–we just sold a mare for $250,000–there is money there.”

During Saturday's session of the November sale, Peter O'Callaghan, annually a major buyer of weanlings, lamented a lack of quality foals on offer at the auction.

“I do agree with what Peter O'Callaghan was saying, that, for us internally, we had fewer foals,” Taylor said. “I think there are fewer really high-quality foals on offer and a lot of the pinhookers that are here want quality. So if you are trying to get a $20,000 foal moved, there doesn't seem to be a big crowd around looking for it. Now, if you have one that is a legitimate $150,000 foal, everybody is gonig to follow it up and you might get $225,000.”

Taylor said he saw some evidence that breeders are holding on to their best foals while hoping for a home run at the yearling sales next fall.

“The market is polarized at the yearling sales also,” Taylor said. “So you might get $750,000 for a [yearling] that you have raised for $350,000 before the sale. A lot of these breeders don't want to give up that opportunity. So they are keeping the one that they can sell next year for all the money and they are going to move along some of the ones that they know there is no huge home run on the end of it. They would rather cull those out and cut expenses and keep those gold nuggets hoping to cash them in next September or at Saratoga or wherever it is.”

Taylor continued, “At the beginning of the day in session 2.2, a lot people were saying the sky is falling. There is definitely an adjustment going on cheaper mares, but I think the market for anything with quality is actually pretty solid.”

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Dixiana Aims True at Keeneland Sunday

Taking Aim (Trappe Shot) (hip 1735), a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Tapizar (Tapit), will be relocating from Larry Doyle's KatieRich Farms to Dixiana Farms after selling for $270,000 Sunday at Keeneland.

“She looked like a nice mare,” said Dixiana Farm Manager Robert Tillyer. “She produced a graded-stakes placed horse and it's a nice family, so we took a shot with her.”

Of the mare's price tag, Tillyer said, “It seems like the quality is a little down for mares. It's hard to find nice ones and she seemed like the obvious one.”

KatieRich purchased the mare for $200,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton February sale. Her first foal, the now-3-year-old Taking Candy (Twirling Candy), won the GII Saranac S. this year. She also has 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief, Rascality, who sold for $190,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October Sale. The mare sold Sunday in foal to sprint champion Jackie's Warrior.

“I think she might have been a diamond in the rough here,” said KatieRich manager George Barnes. “We thought she had a lot of quality and she might stand out here pretty well in Book 3, which proved to be the case. She has a lot of upside. Her first foal is graded-stakes placed and still has his 4-year-old year ahead of him. We've only gotten later foals–two May foals and an April foal–out of her, so I think if the buyers get an early foal out of her, they will do very well commercially.”

KatieRich, which is currently home to some 26 mares, is in the midst of a reduction, according to Barnes.

“Everybody asks why we are selling her and it's just a reduction and trying to get income into the farm,” he said. “We've slowly been reducing over the last couple of years, so we will plan to foal out 26 mares next year.”

Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds Charms Them

The Guffey family's Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds, which sold Holiday Soiree (Harlan's Holiday) (hip 23), the dam of recent GII Raven Run S. winner Vahva (Gun Runner) for $300,000 during Book 1, restocked Sunday at Keeneland, going to $250,000 to acquire Charmingly (Curlin) (hip 1845) from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.

Out of Goldfield (Yes It's True), the unraced 3-year-old is a half-sister to Grade I winner Complexity (Maclean's Music) and a full-sister to graded winner Valadorna (Curlin). She sold in foal to Maclean's Music.

“She is bred on a similar cross to Complexity and she is a full-sister to that great Curlin mare,” Codee Guffey said of the mare's appeal.

The family also purchased Arrifana (Curlin) (hip 183) for $450,000 Wednesday at Keeneland and came back later in Sunday's session to acquire Easy on the Sugar (Frosted) (hip 1888) for $155,000.

While the operation parted with Holiday Soiree, it is taking home Lemon Belle (Lemon Drop Kid) (hip 249), the dam of GIII Gotham S. winner Raise Cain (Violence), who RNA'd for $485,000 Wednesday.

“We keep 15 mares, that's kind of the number that we want,” Guffey said. “We are trying to keep a boutique broodmare band.”

Of the market, Guffey said, “I think for the better mares, you are having to step up and pay for them. But there is not a lot of middle. It seems like the top end does really well and that's all there is.”

Hip 1528 | Keeneland Photo

Maxfield Colt in Demand at Keeneland

A colt from the first crop of Maxfield (hip 1528) went to the front of the weanling class at Keeneland Sunday when selling for $240,000 to Bill Betz's Avocet Bloodstock. Bred by Bob Edwards's Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, the weanling is out of In It for the Gold (Speightstown), who is a daughter of Grade I placed All Due Respect (Value Plus). He was consigned by Indian Creek.

“That was fantastic,” Indian Creek's Sarah Sutherland said of the result. “We knew coming over that he was one of the better foals that we had in on the day. We've loved him from the very beginning on the farm. I think the Maxfield cross with the Speightstown mare worked really, really beautifully. He had a lovely way about him and great balance. And his movement was really effortless. I think all of the activity at the barn was evidenced in the result.”

Winner of the 2021 GI Clark S., Maxfield stands at Darley for $35,000. In addition to hip 1528, he was also represented at Keeneland this week by a $300,000 colt (hip 724). The stallion has had six sell at Keeneland for an average of $164,500.

Of the weanlings she has seen from Maxfield's first crop, Sutherland said, “We have a handful of the Maxfields at home. And we like them a lot. He's done well with mares that we bred where we had to stretch them out and get a little bit of scope and leg. Hopefully, we have more results like this when we bring them to the market next year.”

DuBois on the Board at Keeneland

French bloodstock agent Louis DuBois has been scouring the grounds at Keeneland this week searching for precocious-looking weanlings for trainer Wesley Ward. DuBois was outbid on a Curlin colt (hip 233) earlier in the week, but got his weanling Sunday when bidding $200,000 to secure a colt by McKinzie (hip 1738) from the Gainesway consignment.

“I've been working with Wesley for a while now at the sales,” DuBois said. “I've been looking at all the horses on the grounds–mainly the foals. I am looking at the pedigrees and the physicals that [Ward] is looking for–early and speedy looking to make them an early 2-year-old. So I've been looking at a lot of them.”

DuBois, who was supporting Ward at the European yearling sales over the summer, admitted the team just missed out on its favorite weanling of the November sale.

“I sent [Ward] a short list–a very short list–every day,” DuBois said. “Our favorite of the sale so far was the Curlin colt who sold for $600,000. Our last bid was $500,000, but we had to let him go. Our second favorite came up today, the beautiful McKinzie colt from Gainesway. He was an outstanding-looking horse. He had a great walk and a great physical. He looks fast. Wesley told me when they look like a yearling, that's a good sign. So he was exactly what we were looking for. I knew when I showed him to Wesley, that we would not leave the sale without him. I am very happy that we secured him.”

Born into a racing family, horses have taken DuBois around the world.

“My family have been closely involved in racing as owners or trainers,” DuBois said. “My dad is a blacksmith, so all my life I've been around horses. I started riding at a young age doing all kind of thing in horses–show jumping–and I quickly turned to Thoroughbreds.”

DuBois has worked in the sales industry in New Zealand and spent time in Dubai with trainer Charley Appleby before moving to the U.S. to work with Ward.

The Frenchman will be continuing his search for precocious-looking weanlings at the European sales in the coming weeks.

“Now our eyes are on the catalogues in Europe for the weanlings,” he said. “We will go to Tattersalls and Arqana and look for a couple to bring back to the U.S.”

DuBois plans to spend time in the winter with Ward in Florida.

“I will come up for the sales and spend a couple of months in Florida in the winter,” DuBois said. “And then wherever [Ward] needs me, mostly in Europe, with the Ascot contenders–fingers crossed. But the sales keep me busy. That's my focus now. So far, Wesley has been very helpful. So thanks to him and let's see how it goes.”