KEENELAND YEARLING SALES HIT A NEW HIGH

The results are in and the four day Book One Keeneland yearling Sale hit some impressive numbers starting out on opening day. A colt by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah made a whopping$2.2 million. This year also saw a rare visit from none other than Sheikh Mohammed who was dressed in a casual yellow jacket, rather a change from his usual bespoke $10,000 suit. Opening day saw 138 yearlings sell for $48.6 million which is an average of $352,319 and a buy back rate of 34.9%.
Sheikh Mohammed purchased the $2.2 million colt after spending extensive time checking him out in the walking ring and loved the colt who was produced from the Indian Charlie mare Kindle. He is her second foal and was pin hooked for $400,000 as a weanling by Peter O’Callaghan of Cavalier Bloodstock.
Other notable first day sales were a Curlin colt who sold for $1.8 million out of the mare Molly Morgan and a Tapit filly out of Miss Macy Sue who fetched $1.4.million, Overall the entire four day sale 596 yearlings sold for a total of $363 million which was an increase of 29% over the figures for 2017. That reflects an explosive growth at the top of the market with 26 yearlings selling for $1 million or more. This was an increase from the 16 sold in 2017 and most of the top action was seen from just eleven sires who now dominate the American market. They are WarFront, Medagliad’Oro. Tapit, Empire Maker, Curlin, American Pharoah, Pioneer of the Nile, Uncle Mo, Candy Ride, Quality Road and Into Mischief. American Pharoah alone sold 37 yearlings, an impressive performance for an unproven sire.
The overall statistics of the sale prove very interesting reading especially if you are a mathematician, and despite numerous complaints of crowd congestion in the stabling area almost everybody left happy. In other breeding news, it was confirmed this week that Justify will stand the 2019 season at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.