By Jessica Martini
LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continued to produce strong results as the nine-day auction continued into its Book 3 section Friday with double-digit gains over last year's corresponding session.
During Friday's session, 244 head grossed $18,195,500 for an average of $74,572 and a median of $60,000. The average increased 20.71% and the median was up 20.00% from last year's Book 3 opener when 243 horses sold for $15,012,500 for an average of $61,780 and a median of $50,000.
With 417 head catalogued Friday, 314 went through the ring with 70 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 22.29%. It was 24.77% a year ago.
Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, which purchased the auction's $2.4-million topper during Tuesday's opening session, made the top bid of Friday's session when paying $600,000 to acquire the 3-year-old broodmare prospect Adoptable (Curlin) from the Claiborne Farm consignment.
Wimberley Bloodstock made the session's second highest bid when going to $375,000 to acquire graded-placed Unsung Melody (Maclean's Music) from the Grovendale Sales consignment.
Grovendale also sold one of eight weanlings to sell for $200,000 or over during the session, when offering a colt by Corniche who sold for $200,000 to Mouse Bloodstock.
Demand for horses continued to be strong into Book 3, according to Grovendale's Chance Timm.
“I think it's been pretty solid overall,” said Timm. “For the right foals, there are plenty of buyers there. And I was pleasantly surprised by the mare market. Older, in-foal mares probably did a little better than I expected. To be honest, Book 2 was a little spotty, especially around the $100,000 to $200,000 mark, it was on or off the line. Whereas, today there were some older mares that were in foal to desirable stallions that brought what they should have brought. In the last couple of years, those have been kind of tough. The market kind of falls off a bit of a cliff for some of those 10-year or older mares. But today felt a little better, which was good.”
A pair of weanlings shared Friday's top price of $250,000, with Joe Pickerrell bidding that amount for a colt by Jackie's Warrior and an internet bid from Easy Living Stables paying that figure for a colt by Twirling Candy.
Twenty five weanlings sold for six figures, with eight bringing $200,000 or over Friday.
“It's strong. Very strong,” Pickerrell said of the weanling market at Keeneland this week. “Anything you follow up there, it seems like a crowd follows you. Everybody is still here. We are all still looking. The yearling guys made plenty of money last year, so everybody is still shopping and I figure it will be that way to the end.”
Weanlings by first-crop sires continued to dominate the results sheets, with five of the eight to bring $200,000 or over Friday from their stallion's first crops.
“They are always popular,” Pickerrell said. “Everybody is always excited about the next big thing. First-crop sires have been good to us and Jackie's Warrior was a fast one, so he fits a lot of what we are looking for.”
Timm said this year's class of first-crop sires is exceptional.
“I think the quality of the first-crop sires out here is very strong,” he said. “We sold a really nice Corniche colt today that was very well-received. I think he, amongst the other first-crop stallions, have had a really good sale. It's a really strong group for sure. But overall, I think the foals are as good as they have ever been.”
The Keeneland November sale continues through Wednesday, with sessions beginning at 10 a.m.
'An Outstanding Looker:' Pope Buys Adoptable for $600k
The broodmare band at Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, which already included a pair of daughters of American Story (Ghostzapper), added a third Friday when Pope went to a session-topping $600,000 to add the mare's 3-year-old daughter Adoptable (Curlin) (hip 1285) to the roster.
“I own part of the family and we have been happy with the foals and sold some good foals out of them,” Pope said. “She is good looking and we are just looking to keep that family going.”
Whisper Hill purchased American Gal (Concord Point) for $3 million at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November sale and then, on the very next hip, purchased that multiple Grade I winner's unraced full-sister America's Starlet for $550,000.
American Gal's 2-year-old colt by Into Mischief sold for $1.1 million at last year's Keeneland September sale, while America's Starlet's 2-year-old colt by Curlin sold for $600,000 at that same sale.
Through four sessions of the November sale, Whisper Hill–alone or in partnership–has purchased 17 head for $9,015,000, including the auction's $2.4-million topper Roses for Debra (Liam's Map).
The unraced Adoptable was purchased by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables for $450,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale. She sold Friday as a broodmare prospect and was consigned by Claiborne Farm.
“We are very happy with that result,” said Claiborne Farm Manager Bradley Purcell. “She was a $450,000 yearling, so we were thinking maybe $250,000 or $300,000. So we are very happy with the outcome and very happy with the home she is going to. She must have been a standout in this book, with her pedigree and her looks. She is an outstanding looker.”
Unsung Melody | Keeneland
'She Will Make a Top-Class Broodmare:' Jacobson Buys Unsung Melody for $375k
Brendan Jacobson of Wimberley Bloodstock, who came into the Keeneland November sale looking to add numbers to his broodmare band, made his most expensive purchase of the week when going to $375,000 to acquire stakes winner Unsung Melody (Maclean's Music) (hip 1260), a 4-year-old racing/broodmare prospect, from the Grovendale Sales consignment Friday.
“She is going to go into the broodmare band,” Jacobson said after signing the ticket on the bay filly out back. “She had a lovely physical. She is a proven runner and I really, really liked her. I think she will make a top-class broodmare.”
Racing for WSS Racing and trained by John Ortiz, Unsung Melody finished third in the GIII Winning Colors Stakes in May before winning the Saylorville Stakes in July.
Wimberley Bloodstock currently has a commercial broodmare band of some 15 to 20 head and Jacbobson said the goal is to get that number above 30. The star of the band is Holiday Soiree (Harlan's Holiday), the dam of Grade I winner Vahva (Gun Runner), whom he purchased for $300,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.
“We breed to sell,” Jacobson said. “We will keep fillies, typically out of really good fillies, mainly mares that are producers of graded stakes winners. I own the dam of Vahva. I have a foal on the ground from her [by City of Light] and we will probably keep her and run her and then add her back to the broodmare band.”
Also at Keeneland this week, Wimberley has purchased Golden Review (Medaglia d'Oro) (hip 194) for $295,000 and Seeking Mo Jewel (Nyquist) (hip 1186) for $100,000.
Jackie's Warrior, Twirling Candy Colts Lead Weanlings Friday
A colt from the first crop of Eclipse sprint champion Jackie's Warrior (hip 1347) was the top-priced weanling for much of Friday's fourth session of the Keeneland November sale when selling for $250,000 to the bid of Ocala horseman Joe Pickerrell. That figure was matched late in the day by an internet bid from Easy Living Stables to acquire a colt by Twirling Candy (hip 1459) from the Lane's End consignment.
Pickerrell, who signed the ticket on hip 1347 as Arrowhead Farm, said the youngster was destined for resale next year.
“He just had a lot to like,” Pickerrell said. “He's by a freshman sire. He had a lot of stretch, scope and size. Jackie's Warrior was very impressive with what he did on the track. We are trying to find some big, fancy colts that look like him.”
The dark bay colt is out of Caribbean Lady (Speightstown), a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Halory Leigh (Halory Hunter). The weanling is a half-brother to stakes winner Let Her Inspire U (Practical Joke). He was bred by Torie Gladwell, Jordan Wycoff and Jimmy and Martha Gladwell and was consigned Friday by Scott Mallory.
Hip 1459 is out of Jemmabelle (Street Sense), a half-sister to graded-placed Moyo Honey (Mizzen Mast). She was bred by Jamie Corbett and W.S. Farish.
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