Keeneland December Digital Sale: Is This Our Future?

When the owners of Fancy Green (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}-Fancy Stone {Ire}, by Rainbow Quest) decided to enter her and seven others into Keeneland's December Digital Sale, they did so with years of personal experience with the technology and methods that made digital buying and selling possible.

“We are international owners,” said Majdolin Shatrit, the Executive Director of Marbat LLC, based in Saudi Arabia. “We don't live in America or Europe, and so we've used this method for a long time.”

Indeed, the offering of Fancy Green (Fr), who sells as hip 21 in Tuesday's sale (full catalogue here), represents a quantum leap forward for an increasingly international marketplace with a technology accelerated by the global pandemic of COVID-19.

Fancy Green (Fr) is boarded at Anna Sundstrom's Haras du Grand Chene in Survie, France, about an hour south of Deauville. The 10-year-old mare's second foal was the Group 1 Criterium de Saint Cloud winner Mkfancy (Fr) (Makfi {GB}) (video). She is in foal to Coolmore Ireland's Saxon Warrior (Jpn), whose first foals are being well received all over the world.

So why a digital sale based in America?

“The travel restrictions were the main reason,” said Shatrit. “The sales were not as good this year, as everyone knows, especially in Europe, and we found the Keeneland Digital Sale to be a good opportunity to show the filly to everyone in Europe, Australia, America-all over the world.”

“COVID has changed a lot about our lives, and about this business,” said Shatrit. “For years, in France and all over Europe and America, people have been traveling to buy horses, and it's very difficult to stop that trade because of travel restrictions. I think this digital sale is very helpful if people really think about it in the correct way.”

Sundstrom, whose Coulonces Consignment sells horses all over Europe, said that the digital sale will be an interesting test, and that Fancy Green is the perfect mare for the situation.

Fancy Green (Fr)'s son Mkfancy (Fr) wins the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud

“With what's going on around the world, it's going to be very interesting to see if it works, how it works, what kinds of interest it will get,” she said. “And obviously, Fancy Green is such a high-profile mare, having produced a Group 1 winner. She's in foal to Saxon Warrior and the buyers are mad about them. They're looking like the real deal, those foals. So she's a good candidate to do this and she's such a beautiful mare and I think it's enough to see in the videos and pictures, that she's very correct, in great form and shape. It's very exciting.”

Indeed, her location provides some interesting choices and opportunities for a buyer anywhere in the world.

“She's here in France, and she's due at the end of January which means she can foal down, she can be covered again, wherever the buyer may be, they can breed her back in Europe to a top stallion. And then, brought to America, Japan or Australia, in foal to Dubawi (Ire) or Kingman (GB) or Frankel (GB), it could be quite a nice opportunity. If I lived in America, I would be interested in that.”

But as the world has moved more and more to online sales over the past decade, the Thoroughbred trade has been slower to adapt.

Said Shatrit, “I think that people don't want to buy horses from digital sales because they are not used to it. It's a tradition, they love to go to sales, we love to see the horses.” But, she said, because of their Saudi Arabian base and the additional burden their location puts on travel, Marbat has conducted its business in this way for years, with the advice of bloodstock David Ingordo, who selects potential racehorses for the group, and Kris Stuebs, who chooses their broodmares.

“We call our agent, they take videos, pictures, send veterinary reports, and based on what we see we decide on whether we want to buy this horse or not and we put a budget based on what we see. I think now, people should start wanting to conduct their business in this way. When you have a horse's physical information, his height, his weight, his full vet records, I think this information is enough to buy horses even if you can see the horse physically or not.”

Marbat is also offering Fancy Green's yearling colt by Myboycharlie (Ire), along with a yearling by Constitution, among several others.

“Her yearling is also in the sale,” she said. “You can see how pretty, how strong he looks. People love him in the pre-training center. They're all very sound.”

But Fancy Green is clearly the star of their show. “This broodmare is really beautiful and a top producer. Her first foal is a multiple winner, her second foal is a Group 1 winner. Her blood is free of Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector which makes it easy for an owner to breed her to any type of stallion. She can stay in Europe until she has the foal. She can go to any of the top horses at Coolmore, or Dubawi, Frankel, Sea The Stars (Ire)-sires who do very well everywhere; Australia, America. She has the potential to do whatever the owner wants.”

Marbat and its owner, Sheikh Abdullah Almaddah, have successfully campaigned horses such as Green Mask (Mizzen Mast), a $150,000 OBS Spring purchase by Ingordo on their behalf who went on to win over $1 million.

Through Stuebs, they have acquired a number of successful broodmares, including Rote, whose progeny have sold for up to $1,250,000, and Miss Challenge, who produced a then-record Saratoga New York bred in 2013 at $430,000.

“We want to do this, we love this, have a great passion for it, but it's very difficult to be able to travel to every sale in Europe and America,” said Shatrit. “This makes it easier for us to look at horses. We look at almost every horse that goes through the sale, then we pick our horses based on pedigree and conformation, then we request more information.”

Accelerated by COVID, digital sales, said Shatrit, really are the future, and should remain when the pandemic has abated.

“I really encourage horsemen everywhere to look at this sale,” she said. “These sales are very important even if we go back to our normal life, because it's nice to buy horses everywhere. Maybe you don't have to travel to Australia to buy a horse from there. The digital sale gives the chance to everyone-the owner and the seller–to conduct business in a very easy and safe environment.”

Bidding for the December Digital Sale begins Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 10 a.m. EST.