Whisper Hill Spends $2.4m For Roses For Debra As Keeneland November Book 1 Attracts 'Strong, Healthy Marketplace'

by Jessica Martini, Christina Bossinakis, & Jill Williams

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale opened Tuesday in Lexington with a solid Book 1 session punctuated by nine million-dollar mares purchased by a diverse, international buying bench. Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm made the session's highest bid when purchasing graded-stakes winner Roses For Debra (Liam's Map) for $2.4 million from the Candy Meadows Sales consignment.

“It was a very solid, vibrant marketplace,” said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. “It was a really diverse buying bench. We had great participation from Japan, which was awesome to see, carrying on from their great participation in the Breeders' Cup. And there was really strong activity from the domestic buying bench. I think all around, it just felt like a really good, strong healthy marketplace.”

For the session, 143 head sold for $62,370,000 for an average of $436,154 and a median of $350,000.

The average dipped 3.68% from last year's Book 1 session, when 120 horses grossed $54,340,000 for an average of $452,833. The median fell 6.67% from last year's figure of $375,000.

From a catalogue of 254, a total of 184 horses went through the ring Tuesday with 41 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 22.3%. It was 35.14% a year ago.

“There was a really solid core through the market,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “The clearance rate is almost 80%, which is really positive in a select portion of a sale. Quality, as always, comes to the fore, and young mares–whether they're off the track or with a good early cover–have a lot of appeal from all over the world. We saw a strong domestic market, but we had great participation from Australia, Japan and Europe. Everybody was here, and everybody was very, very active. I think they felt like there was something for everybody, and that's what we try to create here.”

In addition to Tuesday's $2.4-million topper, Pope also partnered with Gainesway to acquire the day's co-second highest price lot, going to $1.8 million to acquire Lady Tapit (Tapit) from the Paramount Sales consignment. Whisper Hill purchased six head during the session for a gross of $6,675,000.

Japanese buyers, so strong across town at the Fasig-Tipton November sale Monday, continued to feature at the top of the market Tuesday at Keeneland with Japanese interests purchasing two of the day's nine seven-figure mares.

Glen Hill Farm purchased the session's top-priced weanling, going to $900,000 to acquire a colt by Into Mischief from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. During Tuesday's session, 45 weanlings sold through the ring for an average of $284,556 and a median of $250,000.

At last year's Book 1 session, 41 weanlings sold through the ring for an average of $292,561 and a median of $220,000, with a top price of $750,000.

“The weanling market was very consistent with last year,” Lacy said. “But when you are getting into that rare air, there is a select group of people who can afford those at a certain range. So it's not that you have a very broad-based buying base, but we had end-users, we had pinhookers, you had everybody in there. But they know what they want. And people were protecting their weanlings. They weren't going to let them go for less than what they thought they were worth when the yearling market is so strong and they have confidence to come back next year.”

The Keeneland November sale continues Wednesday with the first of two Book 2 sessions beginning at 10 a.m.

Pope Lands MGSW Roses for Debra for $2.4M

MGSW Roses for Debra (Liam's Map) strode into Keeneland's ring as a $25,000 bargain yearling buy that didn't owe anybody anything. A multiple graded stakes winning earner of over $600,000, Hip 198 gave her owners yet another reason to celebrate, garnering a session-topping $2.4 final bid from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill at the Keeneland November Sale Monday.

The 5-year-old was campaigned by John O'Meara in partnership with Everett Dobson's Cheyenne Stables. Dobson also owns Candy Meadows, consignor of the mare.

“She is going to a great home,” said Dobson. “I couldn't be happier that she was bought by Mandy. I love it when a plan comes together.”

Bred by Blackstone Farm in Pennsylvania, Rose for Debra is out of Essential Rose (Bernardini), who is also responsible for SWs Rose's Vision (Artie Schiller) and Rosie's Alibi (Justify).

Initially a $125,000 purchase by Albert Racing at Keeneland January in 2020, she turned into what would turn out to be an epic bargain at $25,000 at Keeneland later in September during the height of COVID.

Roses for Debra | Keeneland Photo

Named after John O'Meara's partner Debra Rose Fritz, Roses for Debra won four of five starts for trainer Christophe Clement at three, including the Malvern Rose Stakes against fellow state-breds. Showing the same level of consistency in 2023, she won four straight races, including the GIII Caress Stakes at Saratoga in July.

“She was stabled with Christophe Clement and I have horses with him,” explained Dobson when asked how the mare came onto his radar. “Every morning I would see this big, beautiful grey. Then she won the Caress, I got more interested. One thing led to another and we have been on this roll together.”

Dobson bought into the filly after her winning Caress effort and was quickly rewarded when the filly scored in the Smart and Fancy Stakes in upstate New York the following month. Third in the GIII Turf Monster Stakes, the grey was ninth in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.

“I bought into her last summer after she won the Caress at Saratoga with the idea of running her through this sale, but I never dreamed of an outcome like this,” admitted Dobson. “I am really happy for my partner, John O'Meara, and for her namesake, Debra.”

This season, she won Keeneland's GIII Giant's Causeway Stakes in April before coming up a head short of the win in the GII Intercontinental Stakes at the Spa in June. Third while taking another swing at the Smart and Fancy Aug. 23, Roses for Debra eked out a win when returning to the synthetic for the GII Presque Isle Masters Stakes Sept. 20.

In her latest start, she was eighth in the GII Franklin Stakes Oct. 13.

During Monday's Book 1 session, Pope secured six mares-alone or in partnership–for a total of $6,675,000, including Lady Tapit (Hip 225), who brought $1.8 million later in the session.

Candy Meadows sold two of three offerings, including Hip 155, a daughter of Kantharos for $275,000–@CBossTDN

Whisper Hill Tops Book 1 Buys with Roses for Debra, Adds Mares for New Stallions Charge It and Tapit Trice

Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm has been active in Book 1, buying five mares outright for an average of $975,000. They included MGSW Roses for Debra (Liam's Map) (Hip 198), who hammered for $2.4 million. Candy Meadows consigned the half-sister to stakes winners Rose's Vision (Artie Schiller) and Rosie's Alibi (Justify).

“She was very elegant, very well put together,” said Pope. “She was very fast. It was on the grass, which is not necessarily ideal for American breeding programs, but she was so fast, and I needed some mares of speed to add to the stallions that I like to breed to.”

Pope said Curlin and Justify were among the stallions who would be considered for Roses for Debra.

“We have a couple of good options there that both work on the grass and the dirt, and it's a good cross.”

After signing for Roses for Debra, Pope said, “We're mainly taking the opportunities as they come up, and then later on we'll be looking for mares to breed to Charge It and Tapit Trice.”

Whisper Hill homebred Charge It, a 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Florida Derby winner, will stand his first season in 2025 at Gainesway. Tapit Trice, a Gainesway homebred campaigned in partnership with Whisper Hill, is also a 'TDN Rising Star'. He won the GI Blue Grass Stakes and will likewise stand in 2025 as a new Gainesway stallion. Both are by Gainesway's outstanding cornerstone sire Tapit.

“Neither one of them were really quick out of the gate,” said Pope. “They always needed a chance to get their footing and to get going. We'll probably be looking for some mares to put some speed with them.”

Shortly afterward, Pope purchased GSP Lady Tapit (Tapit) (Hip 225) for $1.8 million in partnership with Gainesway. Consigned by Paramount Sales, Lady Tapit is a half to GISW Gozzip Girl (Dynaformer) and is the dam of this summer's GI Stephen Foster Stakes winner and new Spendthrift sire Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo).–@JillWilliamsTDN

Grand Stud Extends to $1.5M for Twirling Candy's MGSW Walkathon

After amassing a quartet of mares for $11.7 million at Fasig-Tipton one day earlier, agent Emmanuel de Seroux, representing Yoshiyuki Ito's Grand Stud, returned early Tuesday to land MGSW Walkathon (Twirling Candy) for $1.5 million on the opening day of the Keeneland November Sale.

“You can see what I saw,” said de Seroux. “She is a beautiful filly, full of quality. And a very good race mare, very good addition for our farm.”

The mare represented the sole purchase for Grand Stud during Monday's Book 1 session.

Walkathon | Keeneland Photo

De Seroux added, “She'll end up in Japan, but I don't know. She might be bred in Kentucky before and then go to Japan.”

“She's beautiful, full of quality and a very athletic filly–very nice. We are not the only one; there were at least five or six other people that wanted her. It has been very competitive.”

Offered as Hip 101 from the Denali Stud consignment, the 5-year-old is out of Grade III winner Walkabout (Stroll), herself a half-sister to MGISW and $4.4-million earner Fort Larned (E Dubai). The third dam is two-time North American Champion Older Mare Bayakoa (Arg).

“She has shown soundness and durability all the way through,” said Denali's Conrad Bandoroff. “We knew she was popular and was going to sell well. [The price] was well beyond our expectations but when they have her performance and her quality, results like this can happen.”

A homebred for Whitham Thoroughbreds, whose family also campaigned Bayakoa, and trained by Ian Wilkes, who also conditioned Fort Larned, Walkathon earned her initial graded stakes win in the GIII Regret Stakes at three before adding another in this winter's GIII Endeavour Stakes at Tampa. Runner up in the GIII Honey Fox Stakes, the bay returned later in the summer to reel off three wins, including the one-mile GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Stakes in August.

In regard to her pedigree, Bandoroff explained, “The whole family is cultivated by the Whitham family. They have been wonderful stewards of this family tracing back to third dam Hall of Famer Bayakoa and Fort Larned.”

“She is beautiful,” said Bandoroff. “She has a lot of class and so much presence. To have her ability and her class, results like this can happen.”—@CBossTDN

'Really, Really Talented' Hidden Connection to Spendthrift

What a difference a few years and a few races can make. Hidden Brook bought Hidden Connection as a 2021 OBS Open 2-year-old for $85,000, campaigned her with Black Type Thoroughbreds to victory in the 2021 GIII Pocahontas Stakes, as well as eight other black-type wins or placings, and finally consigned her Tuesday to Book 1 of Keeneland's November sale, where she sold as Hip 204 for $1.5 million to Spendthrift Farm.

“I loved the physical, especially, and loved the talent,” said Spendthrift's Ned Toffey, who signed the ticket. “There's enough pedigree there, but she was a really, really talented filly and has the physical to go with it. We've had good luck buying that kind in the past.”

Out of the unplaced C J's Gal (Awesome Again) from the family of GI King's Bishop Stakes winner Capo Bastone (Street Boss), Hidden Connection was bred by St. Simon Place. When asked if he had a stallion in mind for her, Toffey said with a laugh, “I think we can scare one up, but the nice thing is that she'll go with a variety of the horses that we would like to use. We have a lot of options with her.”

Shortly after acquiring Hidden Connection, Spendthrift also signed for MGSW Kathleen O. (Upstart) (Hip 221) for $850,000.–@JillWilliamsTDN

Shotgun Hottie to Wathnan for $1.5 Million

Shotgun Hottie (Gun Runner) will be joining the Wathnan Racing roster after selling for $1.5 million Tuesday at Keeneland.

“She has a ton of quality about and she has a great race record,” said bloodstock agent Case Clay after signing the ticket on the 5-year-old mare. “She is just a beautiful Gun Runner.”

Shotgun Hottie was purchased by Jeff Ganje for $45,000 at the 2021 OBS April sale. Racing for Ganje and Omar Aldabbagh, the bay mare won the 2023 Molly Pitcher Stakes and hit the board in six additional graded stakes races. Second in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis Stakes in June and the GII Shuvee Stakes in July, she was most recently third in the Sept. 14 GII Locust Grove Stakes.

“I am very happy,” Ganje said after watching the mare sell. “It's a great sale. I'm a little sad. I had her for a long time. She's been a big part of my life. It was three years of excitement. Winning the Molly Pitcher was amazing. She was just a mare who fought every race. She just always shows up. She's been wonderful.”

Looking ahead to his next generation of runners, Ganje said, “I have four or five yearlings and five mares and a bunch of racehorses. I will keep going. I will spend the next 20 years trying to find another one like that.”

Of the decision to sell Shotgun Hottie Ganje said, “I had to take the money. It's just too much money. If I had a billion dollars, I would keep her and just keep breeding her. But I had to sell her.” @JessMartiniTDN

Quick Start with Midnight Memories Selling for $1.45 Million in Sale's First Moments

After buying five mares for a combined $6,350,000 at Fasig-Tipton Monday, including GISWs Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) for $2.8 million and Queen Goddess (Empire Maker) for $1.5 million, Shingo Hashimoto struck mere minutes into the Keeneland sale on Tuesday with Hip 10 as he signed for MGSW & GISP Midnight Memories (Mastery) for $1.45 million. Hashimoto buys on behalf of Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm and their newest acquisition will “most likely” join the broodmare band in Japan.

“She has a strong pedigree,” said Hashimoto. “She looks very nice and strong. We like her very much. I think she pretty much qualified on what we wanted. She ticked the boxes. She's a very nice filly and we're very excited.

The 5-year-old Midnight Memories was trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and raced as a homebred for Mike Pegram, Paul Weitman, and Karl Watson. A winner of the 2022 GII Zenyatta Stakes, she is out of track record setter and GSW & GISP Tiz Midnight (Midnight Lute), who is in turn out of GI Ruffian Handicap and GI Lady's Secret Stakes winner Tough Tiz's Sis (Tiznow). Midnight Memories is carrying her first foal after being covered by Curlin in April. The Sikura family's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, who consigned eight of the millionaires at Fasig-Tipton Monday, also consigned Midnight Memories.

Yoshida also picked up an additional mare at Keeneland Tuesday: 4-year-old GSW Safeen (War Front) (Hip 55) for $675,000–@JillWilliamsTDN

Glen Hill Farm Picks Up Into Mischief Colt from Seltzer Dispersal

Craig Bernick of Glen Hill Farm bought what he described as the best colt of the sale during Tuesday's Book 1 session at Keeneland, going to $900,000 for Hip 173, a weanling son of Into Mischief out of GSW Eres Tu (Malibu Moon).

“We decided to try and buy some colts in September and we couldn't get near anything, so we thought we'd try to buy some foals. We bought a few last night and this was our favorite one. We've seen everything Book 2, everything today, and everything last night and we thought this was kind of the best one here.”

Bred by Edward and Beverly Seltzer, the Mar. 10 colt was consigned by Taylor Made as agent for the complete dispersal of Edward Seltzer's Solera Farm. Bernick first saw the colt at Jamie Frost's Amaroo Farm.

Hip 173 | Keeneland Photo

“He was raised at Amaroo Farm, which is where we have all our mares, so I've kind of known the horse all his life. Malibu Moon mare, really good family, good racemare, obviously Into Mischief. I'm not going to say he ticked all the boxes, because that's very obvious. He was a lot of money, but we kind of figured he would be.”

Bernick continued, “Jamie's always had a high opinion of the horse and when we came here, he was a very obvious horse. He's a really classy mover, a pretty head, a strong colt, but he looks like he'll hopefully run around two turns. We really like the horse.”

The bay colt's dam was also slated for the sale, but was withdrawn. Hip 173 is her second foal; the first, a yearling filly by Daredevil, sold for $180,000 at Keeneland September to Taproot Bloodstock for Steven Rocco and New Phoenix. Eres Tu, winner of the 2020 GIII Allaire du Pont Stakes, is a half to two other stakes winners from the family of GI Preakness Stakes winner Tank's Prospect.

The colt was Glen Hill's lone purchase Tuesday. The operation added three weanling colts–by Justify, McKinzie, and Jackie's Warrior–Monday evening at Fasig-Tipton.–@JillWilliamsTDN

Curlin Colt to Amo for $725k

Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing went to $725,000 to acquire a colt by Curlin (hip 234) late in Tuesday's Keeneland November Book 1 session. The weanling is out of Liam's Promenade (Liam's  Map), an unraced half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Cavorting (Bernardini). He was consigned by Denali Stud, which purchased Liam's Promenade for $290,000 at the 2023 Keeneland January sale and co-bred the weanling with S.D. Brilie L.P., Elicia Rankin and Valli Rose Equine.

“He was a homebred for us and some partners,” Denali's Conrad Bandoroff said. “Honestly, there were some very lengthy discussions as to whether we were going to bring him here or not. This is typically the kind of horse–in my father's career and my career–we would hold and take to a yearling sale. There were some length discussions and debates about what was the right thing to do. We put him in here and we were going to protect him. We thought if we could attract some end user attention, it made sense. He is a lovely horse. We are thrilled that Kia's got him. He's going to go into a great program. It's a good thing for our mare. We are delighted all around.”

Cavorting is the dam of multiple Grade I winner Clairiere (Curlin), as well as this year's Keeneland September sale-topping son of Curlin.

“The pedigree speaks for itself,” Bandoroff said. “Obviously, Curlin has worked very well in the family before with Clairiere, and Cavorting had the $5-million Keeneland September sale topper this year. She wasn't a very hard mare to mate. She is a beautiful Liam's Map mare. Liam's Map is a son of Unbridled's Song and has every chance to be a fantastic broodmare sire. [The weanling] was a very nice physical blend of both of them.”

Bandoroff said Liam's Promenade is in foal to Nyquist and will be bred to Good Magic next year.

“We are hoping she is going to be a foundation mare for us,” he said. @JessMartiniTDN

'We Just Wanted a Flightline:' First-Crop Weanlings in Demand at Keeneland

Flightline, who was represented by the top-priced weanling at the Fasig-Tipton November sale Monday, had a pair of foals bring $500,000 or more during Tuesday's first session of the Keeneland November sale Tuesday.

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo purchased a colt by the stallion (hip 241) for $575,000 from the Lane's End consignment. He is out of Lucrezia (Into Mischief), whose yearling filly by Gun Runner sold for $1 million at the Keeneland September sale earlier this year and was part of the dispersal of Ed Seltzer's Solera Farm.

“We just wanted a Flightline,” Hartley said after signing the ticket on the weanling. “We just loved him as a horse. We were able to be around him. The Mayberrys broke him and they train on our farm. So I saw him since he was getting broke. He was just a beautiful animal.”

Hartley said the plan is to offer the youngster at a yearling sale next year.

“It's kind of hard to buy the weanlings because you don't really know,” Hartley said. “That's a nice baby, but you know there are some that are going to come through in September that are going to be monsters. But we have to have nice babies to sell. And we have to stretch when we see one we like. No risk, no reward.”

Of what he is seeing in Flightline's first crop of foals, Hartley said, “I see a lot of the stallion in them, but I also see a lot of the mares in the babies. This one looked a lot like an Into Mischief. I see the traits of the mares and I see the traits of the stallion, too. Flightline was just a Tapit who had such great balance. He was such a beautiful horse. We are super happy to have one.”

Earlier in the session, trainer Yoshito Yahagi purchased a colt from the first crop of the Breeders' Cup Classic winner (hip 147) for $500,000 Tuesday at Keeneland. Yahagi, who saddled Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) to a third-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic last Saturday, was already dreaming of a return trip to championship weekend with his newest acquisition.

Flightline-Champagne-Lady-colt-KS11-24KLD604_KEENOV24_PRINT-credit-Keeneland-1024x745.jpg" alt="" width="611" height="445" /> Hip 147 | Keeneland Photo

“Flightline is very popular in Japan,” Yahagi said, with bloodstock agent Keisuke Onishi of J.S. Company acting as interpreter. “I really wanted to purchase a weanling by Flightline.”

Consigned by Eaton Sales, the weanling was bred by the Nagles' Barronstown Stud. He is out of stakes-placed Champagne Lady (Uncle Mo), who is a full-sister to Grade I winner Mo Town and a half to stakes winner Justique (Justify).

Barronstown purchased Champagne Lady, with the colt in utero, for $1,450,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“He will race in Japan,” Yahagi, who was bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, said. “And I should return to the Breeders' Cup with him.”

Yahagi added, “We saw Flightline race on the track. It was very impressive. And we saw him at Lane's End. He is a special horse.”

Flightline's first weanlings to go through the sales ring sold in Japan over the summer and averaged $974,057 with a top price of $1,305,651.

The stallion's first foal to sell in the U.S. was the top-priced weanling at the Fasig-Tipton November sale when selling for $675,000 to David Ingordo Monday.

During Tuesday's first session of the Keeneland November sale, four weanlings by Flightline sold for an average of $412,500. In addition to the two colts, a filly by the sire (hip 178) consigned by Paramount Sales sold for $435,000 to Tarpon Stables. @JessMartiniTDN