Momentum Builds In Keeneland January Opener

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, delayed a day due to last week's blizzard, took some time to find its footing, but gained in strength throughout Tuesday's opening session to end the day with figures up compared to its 2020 opening session.

“We are very pleased with the way things ended up,” said Keeneland's vice president of sales Tony Lacy. “We were expecting a very solid day. There was some nice quality, especially towards the end. And that is the way it ended up. The numbers were pretty stable with last year's numbers until about halfway through the day and then we started creeping ahead. I think we ended up with $18 million in gross, so that's really strong for the first session.”

In all, 249 horses sold Tuesday for a gross of $18,015,200. The average of $72,350 was up 23.22% from a year ago, while the median rose 11.43% to $39,000. With 85 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 25.45%. It was 31.79% a year ago.

Three Chimneys Farm purchased the session's top-priced offering when going to $750,000 to dissolve its partnership with Hill 'n' Dale Farm on the 2-year-old filly Princess Lele (Quality Road), a daughter of Carina Mia (Malibu Moon). The operation teamed with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm to acquire the mare Remedy (Creative Cause) for the session's second highest price of $470,000. Again buying out Hill 'n' Dale, Three Chimneys purchased Justly, a 2-year-old filly by Justify out of Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway) for $410,000 to have three of the session's top four prices.

“It was great to see the domestic market very strong,” Lacy said. “There was a lot of positivity there again. The demand for quality was as eager as ever. We are looking forward to tomorrow and I think it will be more of the same.”

Adrian Regan of Hunter Valley Farm admitted the consignment was having just an average day before sending the top-priced short yearling through the ring late in the session. Emmanuel de Seroux of Narvick International purchased the colt by Gun Runner for $375,000.

“The middle market seems a little weaker than Novemeber,” Regan said. “But then we've been trying to buy and when we follow something in, we're not getting close. The good ones are making a premium.”

Becky Thomas of Sequel Bloodstock agreed some of the demand from the November sale was missing Tuesday at Keeneland.

“For me, I haven't felt the sense of urgency in the market that there was in November at the end of the tax year,” Thomas said. “I feel like it is a fair market, but there isn't the feeling of 'gotta have a horse, gotta spend money.' Everybody made money last year, so they kind of needed to spend money and there isn't that sense right now.”

Tuesday's session ended with a flurry of activity from a strong group of supplemental entries to the auction. Larry Best's OXO Equine purchased the final horse through the ring, multiple stakes winner Hello Beautiful (Golden Lad), for $410,000.

“I think after the September sale, people had enough money that they didn't feel like that had to sell in January,” Lacy said. “So we felt the supplements brought back a little bit of quality that might have been lacking in the depth of the catalogue. I think people saw there was a real premium on quality in November and because of that they decided this might be a good opportunity to sell in this market.”

Keeneland's director of sales operations Cormac Breathnach added, “We had a lot of quality in the initial catalogue. Seven of the top 10 sellers came from the main part of the catalogue, but this freedom to accommodate fillies like Hello Beautiful added some quality to the back-end and finished the session strongly. Hopefully that creates some momentum in and of itself, too.”

At the end of the session, Keeneland sold a no-guarantee season of Gun Runner donated by Ron Winchell and Three Chimneys for $130,000. Proceeds from the season, which was purchased by Bill Layni, went to tornado relief efforts in Western Kentucky.

The Keeneland January sale continues through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Three Chimneys Cleans Up

Three Chimneys Farm bought out partner Hill 'n' Dale Farm on a pair of juvenile fillies from stellar families Tuesday at Keeneland and then added to another partnership to ultimately acquire three of the session's top four lots. Bidding on the internet, the Torrealba family's operation acquired Princesse Lele (Quality Road) (hip 276), a daughter of Grade I winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Carina Mia (Malibu Moon), for $750,000. Earlier in the session, Three Chimneys bought Justly (Justify) (hip 176), a daughter of champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), for $410,000. Both fillies were offered by John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency. Three Chimneys and Whisper Hill Farm teamed up to purchase Remedy (Creative Cause) (hip 298) for $470,000.

Carina Mia was purchased by Three Chimneys for $410,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and she went on to win the 2016 GI Acorn S. in the farm's colors. Sold to Shadai Farm for $2.6 million while in foal to Uncle Mo at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale, she is also the dam of an unraced 3-year-old colt by Curlin and a yearling colt by that stallion, both of whom were bred in partnership by Three Chimneys and Hill 'n' Dale.

“She is a beautiful physical,” Three Chimneys' Doug Cauthen said of Princesse Lele. “I know a lot of people looked at her in the summer. She was one of the favorite yearlings of some high-end buyers, but unfortunately at the time she had a little issue that kept her out of the sale. So we waited and broke her and then, just to clean up the partnership, brought her to the sale.”

Carina Mia is a half-sister to Grade I winner Miss Match (Arg) (Indygo Shiner) and her unraced dam is a full-sister to Grade I winner Miss Linda (Arg) (Southern Halo).

“It's a family that has done so well,” Cauthen said. “We hope she can run and do well at the track, but she is such a good physical and with a great pedigree that we are always looking long term to the broodmare band. That's what the Torrealba family does–look at the long term.”

Of the filly's session-topping price, Cauthen said, “That exceeded expectations by quite a bit. As a buyer you always want to get them for less, but it's such an amazing family and there was a lot of active bidding amongst people well beyond the two partners.”

Cauthen added of the two fillies purchased out of the partnership, “They would have been on the list no matter what. Would you have paid full retail at 100%? It's a little easier at 50%, but it's still money no matter how you look at it. They were expensive, but hopefully in the long-term it will pay off.”  @JessMartiniTDN

More Brandi for Three Chimneys

In the final dissolution of a partnership between Three Chimneys Farm and Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings on the mare Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), Three Chimneys purchased the champion's newly turned 2-year-old filly Justly (Justify) (hip 176) for $410,000 via an internet bid Tuesday at Keeneland, just 10 days after her 3-year-old half-brother Courvoisier (Tapit) won the Jerome S. at Aqueduct.

Three Chimneys and Hill 'n' Dale purchased Take Charge Brandi for $3.2 million at the 2019 Keeneland November sale to dissolve the Elevage partnership of Hill 'n' Dale and Glen Hill Farm. Three Chimneys purchased the mare, in foal to Uncle Mo, outright for $1.15 million at the Fasig-Tipton November sale last year and purchased her weanling filly by Quality Road in partnership with Glen Hill Farm for $450,000 at that same auction. Both the now-yearling and 2-year-old were purchased with an eye towards their future career as broodmares.

“This filly in particular, with that pedigree, was always an appealing prospect as a future broodmare,” Three Chimneys' Doug Cauthen said. “With the big update of Courvoisier winning the stakes and hopefully going on to get further black-type, that just added to the appeal of the filly.”

Justly has been broken and has been in training in Ocala with Eddie Woods.

“Eddie said she was a really good mover, tough, and had the right attitude,” Cauthen said. “That part was always there, obviously we will see what happens going forward, but the main focus was her future as a broodmare down the road. Whether she hits the track or not is not really a primary concern. It's a family that keeps on giving and hopefully down the road, she will prove to be a nice broodmare prospect for Three Chimneys.”

Of the Quality Road yearling, Cauthen added, “We are looking forward to racing her and she will be a broodmare for the partnership as well.”

Take Charge Brandi, named champion 2-year-old filly of 2014, is a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Omaha Beach (War Front) and her second dam is broodmare of the year Take Charge Lady (Dehere), who produced Will Take Charge, Take Charge Indy, and As Time Goes By.

The 10-year-old mare will be bred back to Three Chimneys' standout young sire Gun Runner this year, according to Cauthen.

“It's the final phase of the dispersal between Hill 'n' Dale and Three Chimneys, no other reason,” Hill 'n' Dale's John Sikura said of Justly's engagement at the Keeneland January sale. “We had two 2-year-olds left and they are in this sale. It was not pre-arranged; it was the next venue. We had not come this far down the road yet so we were not prepared to sell them in September. Her dam sold in November and this is the last logical step.”

Sikura is co-owner of Take Charge Brandi's 3-year-old son Courvoisier, who won the Jerome S. on New Year's Day for trainer Kelly Breen, and he was underbidder on the 2-year-old Tuesday.

“She is a lovely filly, I tried hard to buy her, I was the underbidder,” Sikura said of Justly. “It's a lovely, active pedigree and there is a good current 3-year-old. Everything is positive.”

Of the juvenile's final price, Sikura said, “She wasn't perfect up front. I thought that might provide a little opportunity, but that pedigree is so strong. I thought she was full value for sure. Special fillies are hard to find. You have to chase to find and own them, but once you do, they are a valued commodity.” @JessMartiniTDN

Three Chimneys, Whisper Hill Team For Remedy

Even as Three Chimneys Farm was dissolving one partnership, it was adding to another one when teaming with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm to purchase Remedy (Creative Cause) (hip 298) for $470,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment Tuesday at Keeneland.

“That's been a real positive partnership,” Cauthen said. “We bought one in the November sale together and it's nice to get another one.”

Whisper Hill and Three Chimneys teamed up to purchase Magical World (Distorted Humor) (hip 203) for $5.2 million at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Remedy was purchased by Twin Creeks Racing for $200,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September sale. Racing for Twin Creeks, Medallion Racing and Parkland Thoroughbreds, she was runner-up in the 2018 GIII Comely S. and GIII Remington Park Oaks. She sold to Twin Creeks Farm for $570,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale and produced a colt by Constitution in 2021. She was not mated last year and sold empty Tuesday.

The 7-year-old mare is out of Daisy Mason (Orientate), an unraced daughter of Leslie's Lady (Tricky Creek) and a half-sister to Beholder, Mendelssohn and Into Mischief.

“She is a good physical and from an amazing family,” Cauthen said. “It doesn't get better than Into Mischief and Mendelssohn. All reports are that, with a little luck, we should be able to get her in foal and get a great-looking Gun Runner out of her because that's who she will go to.” @JessMartiniTDN

Beautiful Ending to Best's Day

Larry Best of OXO Equine acquired four broodmares during Tuesday's opening session of the Keeneland January sale and saved his biggest purchase for last when buying Hello Beautiful (Golden Lad) (hip 430G).

“Most likely she'll go to Instagrand,” Best said after signing the ticket on the multiple stakes winner, who was consigned by ELiTE. “But I have three stallions. I have Instagrand and I also have Instilled Regard and, kind of under the radar, I have Rowayton.”

Best said he remembered Hello Beautiful's career, which included eight stakes victories and earnings of over $580,000, becauase the 5-year-old finished behind his Mundaye Call in the 2020 Runhappy Audubon Oaks.

“We beat her at Ellis Park, but I forgot about her after that,” Best said. “When I looked at the record, she's a very fast horse and a multiple stakes winner. And I love the Medaglia d'Oro bloodline.”

Early in Tuesday's session, Best went to $220,000 to acquire Evil Lyn (Wicked Strong) (hip 118) and $210,000 to acquire Ego Trip (Ire) (No Nay Never) (hip 113). Just before securing Hello Beautiful, the last horse through the ring Tuesday, he purchased multiple graded stakes placed Reagan's Edge (Competitive Edge) (hip 430) for $220,000.

“I was really pleased with Reagan's Edge's price,” Best said. “She is a very fast horse. I own Center Aisle and Reagan's Edge beat her three times. Now Center Aisle is three for three and just won a graded stakes. But I couldn't beat the horse, so I bought her.” @JessMartiniTDN

Haunted Heroine Proves Popular

Graded stakes producer Haunted Heroine (Ghostzapper) (Hip 148) sparked the first big fireworks during Tuesday's opening session, summoning $420,000 from Mike Cline, acting as agent for Andrew Warren, whose parents campaigned MGISW City of Light (Quality Road).

“He has a longstanding relationship with Lane's End,” said Cline, who is the former manager of that operation. “We bought her to breed to City of Light.”

A two-time stakes winner, Haunted Heroine is a half to Grade I winner Celestine (Scat Daddy) and stakes winner Silent Sting (Silent Name {Jpn}). The 11-year-old mare's second foal, Twin Creeks Farm homebred Law Professor (Constitution), captured the off-turf GII Santa Anita Mathis Mile S. Dec. 26 for City of Light's trainer Michael McCarthy. She was bred to City of Light on a late cover in June, but did not get in foal.

“She is a nice young mare and is proven,” Cline said. “She has already had a graded stakes winner. There are not that many of them around. She is pretty and we thought she mated well with City of Light. We are happy to have her and feel good about being able to buy one of that quality in January.”

Haunted Heroine was consigned to the sale by Taylor Made Sales Agency. —@CDeBernardisTDN

De Seroux Gets a Gun Runner

Emmanuel de Seroux of Narvick International purchased the highest-priced short yearling of Tuesday's opening session of the Keeneland January sale when going to $375,000 to acquire a colt by Gun Runner (hip 365) from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment.

“He will race in the U.S.,” de Seroux said, while declining to name his client.

De Seroux said the yearling looked to be the complete package.

“First he is by Gun Runner,” de Seroux said. “Second, he is a very athletic colt. He walks very well. He's nice. We loved everything about him.”

De Seroux purchased a weanling colt by Gun Runner (hip 32) for $380,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale, so Tuesday's competitive price was no surprise.

“The good Gun Runners, you have a lot of people trying to get them,” he said.

The dark bay colt is out of Take a Memo (Empire Maker), a daughter of graded winner Memorette (Memo {Chi}). He was bred by Hunter Valley's Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin.

“To be honest, we were having a fairly average day in the ring up until this and we were getting a little worried he wouldn't get his full value,” Regan admitted. “Thankfully, the right people showed up.”

Gun Runner's stellar start to his stud career with his first 2-year-olds last year led Regan and Galvin to call an audible with hip 365, who had originally been targeted at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“We had him here in November and we had a little bit of a mishap with him down at the barn,” Regan explained. “We weren't happy with the way he was moving afterwards, so we sent him home. We were thinking of keeping him to sell as a yearling, but Gun Runner was doing so good, we decided to send him in there. We knew he was a good horse.” @JessMartiniTDN

Sequel Brings November to January

Becky Thomas's Sequel New York was absent from the Keeneland November Sale due to her son's wedding, causing her to re-route a group of November-quality horses to the Keeneland January Sale. That move proved to be a good one, as Sequel led all consignors by average at $161,833–aside from Clarkland Farm, who only sold one horse for $240,000.

“It was my son Zachary's wedding in November, so this is really a November consignment in January,” Thomas said.

The Sequel New York consignment was topped by the $350,000 mare Call to Service (To Honor and Serve) (Hip 424), who was purchased by Andrew Cary on behalf of Coteau Grove Farms. Cary purchased Munnings' Finest (Munnings) (Hip 235) from the Sequel consignment for $300,000 for Coteau Grove earlier in the session and she is also in foal to Authentic.

In foal to Horse of the Year Authentic, Call to Service was supplemented to the sale after receiving a timely update courtesy of her half-brother Giant Game (Giant's Causeway), who was third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and is currently prepping for a start in Gulfstream's GIII Holy Bull S.

Call to Service is also a half-sister to MGSW Isotherm (Lonhro {Aus}) and GISP Gio Game (Gio Ponti). Thomas purchased the 6-year-old mare for $110,000 for a partnership consisting of herself, longtime partner Lewis Lakin and Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker at the 2020 KEENOV sale. She was carrying a foal from the first crop of champion Vino Rosso at the time and produced that colt Feb. 16 of last year.

“She is a half to a horse, who is on the Derby trail for Dale Romans,” Thomas said when asked what led to the decision to supplement Call to Service to KEEJAN. “He ran a really big third in the Breeders' Cup and we've been watching him fire bullet works every week. Plus, the average for mares in foal to Authentic was strong in November. We are very excited about Giant Game, so we thought it would be a good opportunity for us. We are all a group of pinhookers, so we are very happy.”

Thomas added, “I also have to thank Tim Hamlin and H. Allen Poindexter, who bred Call to Service and her talented siblings. I have seen this family year after year because of them, so when this mare became available in 2020, I already knew what the whole family looked like. When she went through the sale, Mark [Toothaker] said, 'Buy her!'”

Sequel New York was also responsible for the day's most expensive yearling filly in Hip 317, a daughter of Triple Crown hero Justify, who summoned $300,000 from Brian Graves.

Bred by Lakin's Lakland Farm, Hip 317 is the first foal out of San Saria (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who is a daughter of GSW San Sicharia (Daggers Drawn).

“She was always fancy,” Thomas said. “She looks like a colt. She is really, really strong. We hand walk all of these horses and she walked my main yearling man Humberto every day. He couldn't really walk her because she was walking him. She is just a machine. I love her.”

“We will definitely bring her back through [the sale ring],” said Graves, who has enjoyed great success pinhooking yearlings in the summer and fall. “I just thought she was gorgeous, maybe the prettiest Justify I've seen yet. She just did everything right for me. She is drop-dead gorgeous and has an athletic walk. I liked everything about her.”

Sequel New York offered a total of 14 horses, all of which went through the ring during Tuesday's opening session. They sold 12 of those for a gross of $1.942 million.

When asked if her consignment stood out more in the much smaller January sale, Thomas said, “That is hard to tell because I do think there was a lot of money to spent in November. However, I think we stood out here because these were November horses. I thought Keeneland did a phenomenal job, moving the sale back and getting horses placed, giving people a chance to look at them and us an opportunity to show them. The horses were well received and we are happy to be here.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Cary Stays Busy at KEEJAN

Bloodstock agent Andrew Cary was quite busy throughout Tuesday's opening session, scooping up three mares, two for Coteau Grove Farms and one for that operation's new stallion No Parole (Violence), who they stand in Louisiana in partnership with Whispering Oaks.

Both of Cary's acquisitions for Coteau Grove Farms were in foal to reigning Horse of the Year and GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic and both hailed from the Sequel New York consignment. The most expensive was Call to Service (To Honor and Serve (Hip 424), who is a half-sister to last term's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile third Giant Game (Giant's Causeway). He takes his next step down the Derby trail in the Feb. 5 GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream.

“Obviously, there is a big potential update with the 3-year-old,” Cary said. “The mare is already a tremendous producer with what she's already done. She is also another mare in foal to Authentic, which was not by design. It is just the way it worked out, but you can't get too much of a good thing.”

He added, “It gives us a lot to root for in the spring. Giant Game just worked another bullet this morning [five furlongs in :59.85 at Gulfstream] and hopefully he will keep on trucking down the Derby trail.”

Earlier in the session, Cary bought Munnings Finest (Munnings) (hip 235) for $300,000. A half to MSW Baffle Me (First Samurai), she hails from the family of top sire Maclean's Music and GSWs Uncle Chuck (Uncle Mo), Kentuckian (Tiznow) and Electric Forest (Curlin). The 6-year-old mare's first foal is a now-2-year-old filly by City of Light and she aborted her 2021 foal.

“She was another mare in foal to Authentic,” Cary said. “She is a great-looking mare with a nice family. Those are the types everyone wants. You just have to keep swinging and hope to get some of them.”

Cary also picked up Catenaria (Bernardini) (Hip 67) for $80,000. She is currently in foal to Complexity, but was purchased with the intention of sending her to No Parole.–@CDeBernardisTDN

Twin Creeks Goes Back to the Well

Randy Gullatt and Steve Davison's Twin Creeks Racing campaigned MGISW Constitution (Tapit) in partnership with WinStar and he has gone on to be a very successful stallion. The operation returned to the well Tuesday, going to $260,000 to acquire a son of their former stable star (Hip 125).

“He has a lot of size and is a good, athletic colt,” said Gullatt after signing the ticket. “He has the same qualities as some of the good Constitution colts I have been around.”

When asked about Constitution's success as a stallion, Gullatt said, “It's pretty incredible. He is just over-achieving all of the time. It just gives you a lot of confidence that his [offspring] will over-achieve and do some good things.”

Consigned by Taylor Made, the chestnut colt was bred by Fred Hertrich, who had an outstanding year in 2021, breeding six Grade I winners either alone or in partnership. His operation had a hand in producing top-level scorers Americanrevolution (Constitution), Juju's Map (Liam's Map), Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy), Hit the Road (More Than Ready), Pinehurst (Twirling Candy) and Maxim Rate (Exchange Rate).

Out of Fifth Avenue Ball (Deputy Minister), Hip 125 is a half to SW Gotham Gala (Smart Strike) and SP Eastwood (Speightstown).

“He's an awful good Constitution and we really thought he would bring something in that $250,000 to $350,000 range,” Hertrich said. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Munnings Colt Proves Popular

A short yearling by Munnings (hip 128) brought a final bid of $240,000 from Joe Hardoon, racing manager for Al Gold's Gold Square LLC, during Tuesday's first session of the Keeneland January sale. The dark bay colt was owned and consigned by Clarkland Farm and is out of Forget Me Not (Uncle Mo), a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision (Paynter).

“He was a really classy, well-balanced colt,” Hardoon, who did his bidding alongside trainer Chad Summers, said. “He looks like he is going to be fast and can win early. We decided to take him to the races.”

Clarkland Farm purchased Forget Me Not, a winner of her lone career start for Fox Hill Farms in 2017, for $80,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale. The mare's first foal, a filly by Maclean's Music, sold for $115,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale.

The 23-year-old Hardoon purchased three yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale last August, going to $170,000 for a colt by Unified (hip 539) and a son of Bolt d'Oro (hip 513) and to $120,000 for a colt by Maclean's Music (hip 509).

“We're just picking our spots at this sale,” Hardoon said of Tuesday's purchase. “We're usually more active with yearlings in September and later in the fall, so we're just picking our spots here and looking to find quality horses.” @JessMartiniTDN

Gun Runner Season Summons $130K

A season to 2021's leading freshman sire Gun Runner, donated by his owners Ron Winchell and the Torrealba family's Three Chimneys Farm, brought $130,000 from Peter Penny, who was acting as agent for Bill Layni, at the end of Tuesday's session. All proceeds from that sale will go directly to the victims of the deadly tornadoes that ravaged Western Kentucky last month.

“Everyone in Kentucky at every level wanted to do the right thing for those hit by the disaster,” said Three Chimneys Farm's Doug Cauthen. “This plus another $50,000 from Kentucky Downs and $50,000 from Three Chimneys is a step in the right direction. The whole horse community has done a great job. I have seen a million different donations. Gun Runner's owners, the Torrealba family and Ron Winchell, just wanted to do their part. It was a good way to do it with the sale being here. There are no more Gun Runner seasons around, so we thought it would bring a good number.”

Keeneland waived their commission on this offering so 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the cause.

“I thought it was a wonderful gesture by Ron Winchell and Three Chimneys, going to an amazing cause,” said Keeneland's Tony Lacy. “Having been able to support the effort and getting $130,000 for the victims of the Western Kentucky tornado–it's something that's great to see the industry getting behind. It's something that is very important to our state. We all talk about figures and numbers, but really the people of the state, it's a part of who we are as well. So this is great to be able to give back and support such a great endeavor. There is no commission, it is 100% going to the victims. We were just happy to facilitate the process. I think it was really well received. A lot of people showed a lot of interest.”

Gun Runner was bumped up to $125,000 for the 2022 breeding season after a record-setting freshman year in 2021 with two Grade I winners, six black-type winners and 31 individual winners. —@CDeBernardisTDN