Keeneland September Sale

Alex Penn wasn't at Keeneland when his family's Penn Sales sent their first seven-figure yearling through the ring during Book 1 of the September Sale. He was back home in Bourbon County, busy prepping the rest of their consignment's yearlings pointing for the later books. "They were all drinking champagne and I was grooming horses," he said as he jokingly nudged his wife Kendra and laughed, because really, he wouldn't have it any other way. His family's business was founded a century ago as an all-purpose farm--over the years raising...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis The Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened with a packed pavilion and plenty of bidding from a diverse buying bench ultimately producing eight seven-figure sales led by a $2.3-million daughter of Into Mischief. At the end of the session, numbers were largely in line with the figures from the opening session of last year's record-breaking auction. "We were all biting our nails a little bit thinking about being measured up to last year's sale which was so phenomenal," said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. "But the...

1st-DMR, $82K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5fT, 6:00 p.m. PERSIA (War Front), making her juvenile debut for breeder Ramona Bass and her son Perry, is the first offspring to race out of Miss Temple City (Temple City), who posted two of her three career Grade I wins against the boys. Purchased by Steve Young for $2.5 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2017, Miss Temple City is a full-sister to GSW Pricedtoperfection, herself a $775,000 FTKNOV grad. Trained by Richard Mandella, Persia will have the services of Hector Berrios. Also entered is...

The TDN sat down with WinStar Farm President and CEO Elliott Walden for the next installment in this ongoing series presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA). Through conversations with buyers and sellers, the series looks to contribute to the discussion on radiograph findings and their impact on racetrack success. Elliott Walden had already enjoyed Classic success as a trainer with 1998 GI Belmont S. winner Victory Gallop when he joined WinStar Farm in 2002. He has served as CEO of the operation-- which has produced success...

Keeneland will supplement four horses to Book 1 of the September Yearling Sale, which begins Monday, Sept. 11, the organization said in a release Thursday. Opening day of the sale will include a daughter of American Pharoah out of Pushkinskaya (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (hip 190), consigned by Highgate Sales, agent, who is a full sister to European Champion 2-year-old filly Maybe (Ire). Four Star Sales, agent, consigns a colt by Uncle Mo (hip 191) and a half-brother to GISP Conquest Panthera (Kitten's Joy) and MGSW Happy Like a Fool (Distorted...

The one thing trainer Tom Amoss knew about his starter in Sunday's sixth race at Saratoga was that if she got into a fight in the stretch she would be able to handle it. That proved to be the case in the 6 1/2-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies. Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Alys Beach (Omaha Beach) scored a game win, out-battling the Todd Pletcher-trained Life Talk (Gun Runner) to win by a head. "On the track, she showed her competitiveness in practice," Amoss said. "She needed that today." Amoss has...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One of the more buzzed about workouts leading up to the first Saturday in May has been Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg})'s eye-catching, five-furlong bullet in :59 for trainer Keith Desormeaux at Churchill Downs last weekend. The steam behind the last-out Feb. 25 GII Rebel S. winner continued to build on a very lively backstretch as he led out the GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses with authority at 7:30 a.m. on another chilly and breezy Wednesday morning. 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit) is certainly another...

Minor ailments held her back from a juvenile campaign, but Shootoutthelights (City of Light) showed she was worth the wait as she lit up the clock with an electrifying cruising speed, and dominated her rivals to become her sire's first 'TDN Rising Star' as a brilliant cap to Gulfstream's Championship meet. The race was almost over from the jump as the filly rocketed out of the stalls as the 6-5 favorite and out-kicked Queen Karima for the lead. With an opening split posting at a wicked :20.89 and a half...

No getting away from it, the young stallions we assess today have already completed their service to many breeders. They've processed a debut crop of yearlings, often on an industrial scale, and many have obliged with the kind of averages that vindicate the familiar, self-fulfilling commercial cycle that so favors new sires: demand generating supply, and the quality incidental to that increased supply in turn increasing demand. That leaves us with another tricky podium. You can't just congratulate those who have "won" on this system, topping out the first-crop yearling...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency                   6th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 7:25 p.m. A $775k Keeneland September purchase by John Williams, the Three Chimneys Farm-bred SIR ROCK (Gun Runner) is out of a half-sister to MGSW Moonlit Promise (Malibu Moon). Third dam Weekend Storm (Storm Bird), herself a half-sister to late horse of the year and leading sire A.P. Indy, also produced MGISW Court Vision (Gulch) as well as GISP Lord Snowdon (Seeking the Gold). Three Chimneys Farm stayed in on the chestnut...

The phrase is traced to Bob Hope, apparently when challenged by a heckler during one of his military morale-boosters to explain why he wasn't in uniform. "Don't you know there's a war on?" he replied. "A guy could get hurt!" It would have been perfectly legitimate for one of the Keeneland auctioneers to respond in similar vein to the torrent of bidding that elevated the September Sale to unprecedented highwater marks. Somehow, the kind of factors that traditionally send markets into nauseous free fall have failed to stem a breathless...

Tony Lacy, the Vice President of Sales at Keeneland, joined this week's TDN Writers' Room ahead of the conclusion of another historic edition of the Keeneland September Sale.