The closing session of Book 4 Sept. 21 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale showed healthy increases across the board compared to the same session a year ago. Session eight this year ended with gross receipts of $20,569,000, up from $12,131,500 in 2020.
Ontario-bred fillies from the Anderson Farms and Sam-Son Farm consignments took win, place, show honors for session eight. The top price of the day was the Anderson-consigned Hip 2622, a filly by Airdrie Stud's first-crop yearling sire Collected from the female family of Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot.
Marette Farrell signed the ticket for Hip 2622 on behalf of Speedway Stables, the same connections that campaigned the filly's grade 1-winning sire. The filly is the highest-priced yearling by Collected sold at public auction to date.
With only a few more crops of yearlings by Bernardini to come to market, Ben McElroy, on behalf of Mark Dodson, purchased Hip 2517, a daughter of the late Darley stallion, for $300,000 out of the Sam-Son consignment. McElroy said Dodson plans to race the filly and hopes she can add some black type to her pedigree before she eventually becomes part of Dodson's broodmare band.
Sam-Son also sold Hip 2434, a Pioneerof the Nile filly, to CJ Thoroughbreds for $295,000.
Tuesday's results continued an upward trend from 2020. Final figures for session eight show 313 horses sold for gross receipts of $20,569,000, an average of $65,716, and a median of $45,000 for the 356 horses through the ring. With 43 horses not meeting their reserve, the RNA rate was 12.1%.
"The market is crazy; I have never seen Book 4 so busy, the back walking ring looks like Books 1 and 2," David Anderson of Anderson Farms said. "These good horses are going to stand out, and there is lots of money around to spend."
After Anderson's last horse for the entire sale went through the ring, the session-topping Collected filly, he couldn't help but smile.
"It's a nice note to end the sale on, and I'm walking out of here feeling proud," he said.
At the conclusion of session eight in 2020, Keeneland reported 264 horses sold for gross receipts of $12,131,500, an average price of $45,953, and a median of $25,000 from 335 horses on offer. Seventy-one horses failed to meet their reserve for an RNA rate of 21.2%
This year's cumulative figures through session eight, including post sales, show 1,895 horses sold of the 2,340 on offer, grossing $337,266,500, averaging $177,977, and carrying a median of $110,000. The cumulative RNA rate is 19% for the 445 horses not sold.
The 2020 cumulative figures through session eight, including post sales, show for the 1,635 horses sold of the 2,315 offered gross receipts of $234,282,200, an average of $143,292, and a median of $80,000. Keeneland reports 680 horses failed to attain their reserve, representing an RNA rate of 29.4%
Keeneland continues to update its statistics with post-sale purchases, which can cause later changes in overall numbers.
Leading consignor by gross for session eight was Taylor Made Sales Agency, which sold 31 horses from 33 offered for total receipts of $2,168,000 while achieving an average of $69,935 for its yearlings. Cumulatively, Taylor Made has continued as the leading consignor by gross with receipts of $34,041,000 for 206 horses sold, with an average of $165,248.
The 2021 edition of the Keeneland September sale has given consignors a boost of confidence in the market and a pep in their step walking up to the sales pavilion.
Four Star Sales' Kerry Cauthen said, "I think we have sold everything barring two horses, and both of those were situations where the owners thought a lot of the horse and wanted a pretty good premium."
While the two-week sale is proving competitive for buyers, it has been tremendous as the Thoroughbred industry recovers from a year largely affected by COVID-19 in 2020.
"It has been an incredible market. I have been here a long time, and I don't know that I have seen anything 'pound for pound' at this stage of the sale that may compare," Cauthen said. "All sales are relative—it's what you feel like and what your group sells like relative to how you went into the day thinking.
"I don't think I have very many sad faces in my barn."
Tuesday's leading buyer, Gentry Farms, securing four horses from the second day of Book 4 for total receipts of $497,000. Gentry Farms purchased a Sharp Azteca filly (Hip 2509) for $115,000 from Four Star Sales, a Shaman Ghost colt (Hip 2649) for $200,000 from Vinery Sales, a Maclean's Music colt (Hip 2662) for $150,000 from Warrendale Sales, agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised, and an Accelerate colt (Hip 2720) for $32,000 from Taylor Made.
With plans to stay through the end of the sale, mainly purchasing for racing clients, Alistair Roden commented, "It's still a robust market, a lot of nice horses, tough to buy; it's amazing. Probably the strongest (market) I can remember."
While the sale rotates through a dichotomy of buyers, all purchasers continue to seek out quality individuals at fair market value.
"I buy to race; the pinhooking guys are at it today and finding a lot of difficulties to buy at the right price," Roden said. "I'm appraising horses at $100,000, and then they sell for $150,000, maybe $200,000."
The three-day Book 5 begins Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m. ET, with Hips 2754-3166 scheduled for session nine.
"I think Keeneland is working hard to get consignors into the barns sooner than the days before the horses sell. Everyone is making a concerted effort to get horses shipped out," Cauthen said.
